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HISTORY 


OK 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


VOLUME  V 
NORTH  CAROLINA  BIOGRAPHY 

BY  SPECIAL  STAFF  OF  WRITERS 


.HC7 

( 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  AND  NEW  YORK 

1919 


Copyright,    1919 

BY 

THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


1 


in 

^  806441 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Fries  Family.  Fries  is  a  family  name  in 
Western  North  Carolina,  and  it  has  specially 
prominent  associations  in  and  around  Winston- 
Salem.  The  following  brief  genealogy  is  pre- 
sented for  reference  in  connection  with  sketches  of 
individuals  of  the  family  published  herewith. 

I.  Sigismund  Eberhard  von  Fries,  colonel,  and 
commandant  of  Hoechst  am  Main,  married  Ju- 
liana Anna,  Lady  Hamilton,  a  Scotch  woman. 
Their  son 

II.  Heinrich  Sigismund  von  Fries,  gentleman  of 
the  Bed-Chamber  in  Hesse-Homberg,  and  lieuten- 
ant in  the  Army  of  the  Emperor,  fell  in  battle 
October,  1683.  His  widow  (a  daughter  of  Philipp 
Moritz  von  Erckebrecht,  warden  of  the  Court  of 
Hanau),  bore  a  son  five  months  after  the  death  of 
her  husband.     This  son 

III.  Johann  Konrad  von  Fries  was  born  at 
Frankfort  am  Main  March,  1684,  and  died  Janu- 
ary 3,  1763.  His  mother  lost  the  greater  part  of 
her  fortune  through  a  second  marriage,  and  Kon- 
rad was  apprenticed  to  an  apothecary  in  Eriurt, 

who  required  him  to  renounce  his  rank.  As 
Konrad  Fries  he  later  settled  at  Montbeliard  (or 
Moempelgard),  France,  where  he  continued  as  an 
apothecary  and  also  became  burgomaster.  He 
married  (1)  Catharine  Duvernoy,  their  son,  George 
Conrad,  having  many  descendants;  married  (2)  on 
January  22,  1715,  Judith  Scharfenstein,  who  died 
in  February,  1747,  leaving  three  children.  The 
youngest   son 

IV.  Peter  Konrad  Fries  was  born  at  Montbe- 
liard, November  3,  1720.  Took  the  degree  Doc- 
tor of  Philosophy  at  Strassburg.  Served  as  pas- 
tor at  various  places  (Lutheran)  until  1758,  when 
he  joined  the  Unitas  Fratrum  or  Moravian  Church. 
November  30,  1763,  he  married  Christine  Jaesehke 
(born  August  17,  1738,  at  Herrnhut,  died  there 
November  22,  1798),  daughter  of  Michael  Jaesehke 
(born  September  27,  1701,  at  Sehlen,  Moravia, 
died  September  16,  1772,  at  Herrnhut),  a  de- 
scendant of  members  of  the  Ancient  Unitas  Fra- 
trum and  himself  one  of  the  company  that  to 
secure  religious  liberty  emigrated  from  Moravia 
to  Saxony  in  1722,  and  settled  on  the  estates  of 
Count  Zinzendorf,  where  the  Unitas  Fratrum  was 
renewed  in  1727.  Peter  Konrad  Fries  was  a 
man  of  marked  ability  and  held  many  important 
positions  in  the  Moravian  Church,  finally  becom- 
ing a  member  of  its  governing  board,  the  Unity  's 
Elders'  Conference.  He  died  at  Barby,  September 
12,  1783,  and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  at 
Herrnhut.  He  left  two  sons,  Jakob  Friedrich, 
who  became  an  eminent  Doctor  of  Philosophy, 
Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Logic  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Jena,  and  the  author  of  numerous 
books  and  pamphlets;   and 

V.  Johann  Christian  W'lhelm  Fries,  born  at 
Barby,    November    22,    1775.      Was    educated    at 


Niesky,  and  became  a  cabinet  maker.  Emigrated 
to  America  in  1809,  reaching  Salem,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  31st.  On  October  13,  1811,  he  mar- 
ried Johanna  Elisabeth  Nissen,  who  was  born 
March  15,  1787,  and  died  January  21,  1864.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Tycho  (or  Toego)  Nissen 
(born  March  14,  1732,  in  Gestrop,  Holstein), 
who  came  to  America  in  1770,  settling  among  the 
Moravians  in  North  Carolina.  He  married  Salome 
Meuer  (born  January  20,  1750,  in  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  May  4,  1821,  in  Salem), 
daughter  of  Philipp  Meuer,  born  March  25,  1708, 
in  Ingweiler,  Alsatia,  and  died  April  15,  1759,  in 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.  Philipp  Meuer 's  wife, 
whose  name  was  Kraft,  died  March  17,  1756. 
Tycho  Nissen  was  pastor  at  Friedland,  North 
Carolina,  from  1775  to  1780.  He  died  in  Salem, 
February  20,  1798. 

Johann  Christian  Wilhelm  Fries  bought  a  house 
on  Main  Street,  Salem,  and  was  superintendent 
of  the  Brothers'  House  carpenter  shop.  Later 
he  bought  a  farm  on  the  edge  of  town  and  moved 
there  and  died  January  26,  1866.  He  had  three 
children:  Carolina  Amanda,  born  June  16,  1817, 
married  Edward  Belo,  had  seven  children,  and 
died  February  14,  1881 ;  Henry  William,  born 
March  5,  1825,  died  November  4,  1902;  while  the 
eldest  was 

VI.  Francis  Levin  Fries,  who  was  born  Octo- 
ber 17,  1812,  in  Salem,  North  Carolina.  On  May 
24,  1838,  he  married  Lisetta  Maria  Vogler,  who 
was  born  March  3,  1820,  and  died  October  23, 
1903.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneer  manufacturers 
of  North  Carolina  and  a  leader  in  the  affairs  of 
town,  county  and  state.  He  died  August  1,  1863, 
leaving  seven  children: 

VII.  Carrie  Fries,  born  October  8,  1839,  mar- 
ried Dr.  John  Francis  Shaffner,  who  was  born 
July  14,  1838,  died  September  18,  1908,  and  had 
five  children.  Mary  Elisabeth  Fries,  born  August 
31,  1844,  married  Eufus  Lenior  Patterson,  who 
was  born  June  22,  1830,  and  died  July  15,  1879, 
and  they  had  six  sons.  John  William  Fries,  born 
November  7,  1846,  married  Agnes  Sonhia  de 
Schwe;n;tz,  who  was  born  August  12,  1849,  and 
died  February  2,  1915,  and  they  had  two  daugh- 
ters. Emma  Christina  Fries,  born  June  25,  1852, 
married  Dr.  Henry  T.  Bahnson,  who  was  born 
March  4,  1845,  died  January  16,  1917,  and  they 
had  six  children.  Francis  Henry  Fr:es,  born  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1855,  married  (1)  Letitia  Patterson,  who 
was  born  January  22,  1860,  and  died  May  28, 
1884,  their  only  daughter  dying  in  infancy;  and 
married  (2)  Anna  Paulina  de  Schweinitz,  who 
was  born  October  28,  1860,  and  is  the  mother  of 
one  daughter.  Henry  Elias  Fries,  born  Septem- 
ber 22.  1857,  married  Rosa  Mickey,  born  May  24, 
1860,  their  only  daughter,  Anna  Marguerite,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years.     Louisa  Sarah 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Fries,  born  December  8,  1859,  married  Rev.  "Walter 
William  Moore,  born  June  14,  1857,  and  had  four 
children. 

Francis  Levin  Peies,  mentioned  in  the  gen- 
ealogy of  the  Fries  family,  was  one  of  the  real 
founders  of  the  modern  City  of  Winston-Salem, 
and  a  pioneer  manufacturer  and  civic  leader  there. 
As  such  his  career  deserves  some  special  atten- 
tion. 

He  was  born  at  Salem,  October  17,  1812,  a  son 
of  John  Christian  and  Johanna  Elisabeth  (Nis- 
sen)  Fries.  For  his  higher  education  he  entered 
Nazareth  Hall  in  Pennsylvania,  and  after  the 
completion  of  his  course  taught  school.  He  stu- 
died law  under  the  prominent  attorney,  Emanuel 
Shober,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began 
practice  at  Salem.  His  real  life  work,  however, 
was  not  in  the  law.  Soon  after  beginning  prac- 
tice he  was  appointed  agent  for  the  newly  organ- 
ized Salem  Manufacturing  Company.  In  that  ca- 
pacity he  visited  cotton  mills  in  various  north- 
ern cities,  studied  their  business  methods  and 
acquired  a  thorough  understanding  of  ihe  machin- 
ery involved  in  cotton  manufacture.  Then  in 
1836  he  superintended  the  erection  of  and  in- 
stallation of  the  machinery  in  the  first  cotton  fac- 
tory in  what  is  now  the  City  of  Winston-Salem. 
In  1839  Mr.  Fries  severed  his  connection  with  the 
Salem  Manufacturing  Company,  and  erected  a  wool 
mill  of  his  own.  In  1846  his  brother,  Henry,  be- 
came associated  with  him,  making  the  firm  which 
for  so  many  years  operated  in  Winston-Salem, 
under  the  name  of  F.  and  H.  Fries. 
-  Mr.  Pries  continued  in  active  business  until  his 
death  on  August  1,  1863. 

The  energies  of  his  character  were  not  ex- 
pressed alone  in  business  activity.  When  Forsyth 
County  was  erected  he  was  appointed  by  the  Leg- 
islature one  of  the  commissioners  to  select  a  site 
for  the  courthouse  and  to  purchase  land  and  have 
it  surveyed  and  sold  into  lots.  Thus  he  arranged 
for  the  purchase  of  51%  acres  at  $5  an  acre. 
This  land  included  what  is  now  the  heart  of  the 
business  section  of  Winston-Salem  as  well  as  the 
courthouse  site.  For  several  years  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and 
Quarter  Sessions,  was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  one  of  the  first  board  of  commissioners  when 
in  1856  Salem  was  incorporated.  Later  he  was 
mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  a  strong  advocate  and 
liberal  supporter  of  higher  education.  Thus  he 
became  identified  with  the  Salem  Female  Acad- 
emy and  College.  He  carefully  planned  and  made 
the  drawings  and  specifications  for  the  main  hall 
of  that  institution,  which  even  today  is  a  much 
admired  piece  of  architecture.  The  hall  was  built 
in  1856. 

Before  the  railroad  era  and  when  transporta- 
tion was  by  wagons  and  teams,  he  became  a  pro- 
moter of  the  plank  road  from  Fayetteville  west- 
ward. He  was  also  a  promoter  of  and  a  stock- 
holder and  director  in  the  North  Carolina  Rail- 
road. In  1857  he  represented  his  county  in  the 
Legislature.  Mr.  Fries  for  a  number  of  years 
was  a  trustee  of  the  Moravian  Church  at  Salem. 

On  May  24,  1838,  he  married  Lisetta  Maria 
Vogler,  who  was  born  March  3,  1820,  and  died 
October  23,  1903.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Christina  (Spach)  "Vogler.  Christina  Spach 
was  born  August  17,  1792,  a  daughter  of  Gott- 
lieb and  Elizabeth  (Hege)  Spach  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Adam  and  Martha  Elizabeth  (Gue- 
ter)    Spach.      Elizabeth    Hege    was   the   daughter 


of  Balthaser  and  Juliana  (Frye)  Hege.  Francis 
L.  Fries  and  wife  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, as  mentioned  in  the  Fries  family  sketch. 

John  William  Fries,  the  oldest  son  of  the  late 
Francis  L.  Fries,  was  for  many  years  actively 
identified  with  the  cotton  mill  industry  of  North 
Carolina  and  has  filled  with  distinction  many  other 
posts  in  commercial  and  civic  affairs. 

He  was  born  at  Salem  November  7,  1846.  He 
was  educated  under  private  tutors,  and  in  the 
Salem  Boys  School,  and  in  1861  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  entered  the  offices  of  F.  and  H.  Fries, 
under  his  father  and  uncle,  and  was  with  that  cot- 
ton mill  firm  until  1866,  throughout  the  period  of 
the  war.  He  then  continued  his  higher  education 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  until  1868. 
Returning  to  the  mills  he  was  one  of  their  man- 
aging officials  for  a  great  many  years,  and  ac- 
quired a  highly  technical  knowledge  of  the  cotton 
industry.  Mr.  Fries  has  invented  and  patented 
several  machines  which  are  now  in  general  use. 

Mr.  Pries  served  as  director  of  the  Pries  Man- 
ufacturing and  Power  Company,  and  of  the 
North  Carolina  Midland  Railroad  Company,  of  the 
Wachovia  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  was  formerly 
president  of  the  Arista  Mills  and  now  a  director 
and  is  president  of  the  Fealty  Building  and  Loan 
Association. 

Since  1912  Mr.  Fries  has  given  his  time  to  the 
affairs  of  the  People's  National  Bank  of  Win- 
ston-Salem, of  which  he  is  president.  He  is  one  of 
North  Carolina 's  recognized  authorities  on  finan- 
cial matters  and  at  a  convention  of  the  Commer- 
cial Organizations  of  the  United  States  held  at 
Indianapolis  in  1896  to  devise  means  for  the  per- 
petuation of  the  gold  standard,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  its  executive  committee  and  subse- 
quently was  transferred  to  the  Monetary  Com- 
mission. 

The  public  welfare  has  always  bespoken  a  large 
share  of  his  studious  attention.  He  served  several 
terms  as  commissioner  of  the  Town  of  Salem  and 
as  a  magistrate,  he  was  a  member  of  the  board 
of  county  commissioners  and  for  six  years  was 
judge  of  the  County  Court.  He  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  local  Moravian  Church,  was  a 
delegate  to  two  general  synods  held  at  Herrnhut, 
Germany,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of 
provincial  elders  of  the  Southern  Province  of  the 
Moravian  Church.  He  is  also  a  trustee  of  Salem 
Academy  and  College  and  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Pries  married  Agnes  Sophia  de  Sehweinitz, 
who  was  born  August  12,  1849,  and  died  Febru- 
ary 2,  1915.  She  is  survived  by  two  daughters, 
Mary  E.  and  Adelaide.  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Col. 
W.  A.  Blair  and  their  three  children  are  Margaret, 
Marian  and  John  Fries.  Miss  Adelaide  is  a  grad- 
uate of  Salem  College,  has  pursued  studies  abroad, 
and  inherits  marked  literary  talent  from  her  father. 
She  is  a  ready  writer  and  is  the  author  of  several 
historical  works,  and  is  now  engaged  in  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Memorabilia  of  the  Home  Moravian 
Church. 

Col.  Francis  Henry  Fries.  In  the  making  oj. 
Winston-Salem  a  modern  commercial  city  hardly 
one  individual  factor  has  accomplished  more  than 
Col.  Francis  Henry  Fries,  widely  known  over 
North  Carolina  and  also  Virginia  as  a  banker 
and  manufacturer.  Colonel  Fries  has  had  many 
points  of  contact  with  the  world,  with  men  and 
affairs,    and    though    his   name   has   figured   little 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


in  political  life  he  has  the  qualities  of  the  pub- 
lie  leader.  His  best  years  have  been  devoted  to 
constructive    achievements. 

A  son  of  Francis  L.  and  Lisetta  il.  (Vogler) 
Fries  and  of  the  prominent  Fries  family  else- 
where mentioned  in  this  publication,  Colonel  Fries 
was  born  in  Salem  February  1,  1855.  He  was 
prepared  for  college  in  his  native  city.  It  was 
his  intention  to  take  his  college  work  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  but  when  he  was  ready 
the  blight  of  reconstruction  times  had  fallen  upon 
the  State  University  and  its  doors  were  tem- 
porarily closed.  He  therefore  entered  Davidson 
College  and  was  graduated  with  honors  from  that 
institution  in  1873. 

His  father  had  been  a  prominent  pioneer  man- 
ufacturer at  Salem,  and  the  young  college  grad- 
uate immediately  entered  the  mills  of  F.  and 
H.  Fries,  starting  work  in  the  garb  of  the  me- 
chanic and  in  the  blacksmith  shop.  By  the  ex- 
perience of  those  early  years  he  was  able  to  take 
the  laborer 's  viewpoint,  and  he  had  a  thorough 
fellowship  with  toil.  He  worked  his  way  through 
every  department  of  the  business,  from  the  han- 
dling of  the  raw  materials  until  the  product  was 
finished,  and  the  technical  knowledge  of  detail 
thus  acquired  has  no  doubt  been  one  of  the  im- 
port factors  in  his  success. 

Much  of  his  breadth  of  sympathy  and  large- 
ness of  view  can  be  attributed  not  only  to  his 
very  active  business  life  in  North  Carolina,  but 
also  to  the  influence  and  associations  derived  from 
a  period  of  travel  and  residence  abroad.  In  1878 
he  went  with  his  brother,  Henry  E.  Fries,  and 
his  uncle,  Henry  W.  Fries,  to  Europe,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  tour  visited  Ireland,  England,  Scot- 
land, France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Italy.  It 
was  part  of  a  liberal  education,  not  merely  a 
pleasure  trip. 

After  his  return  from  Europe  Colonel  Fries  be- 
came superintendent  of  the  F.  and  H.  Fries  mills, 
and  gave  his  entire  time  to  that  business  until 
1887.  He  personally  instituted  or  had  some  di- 
rect connection  with  all  the  many  changes  brought 
about  in  the  business  during  that  period.  Methods 
of  manufacturing  were  improved  and  the  many 
problems  involved  in  finding  a  market  for  the 
finished  goods  had  been  met  and  solved. 

While  the  success  of  the  mills  was  assured  so 
far  as  the  opportunities  of  the  location  and  the 
community  were  concerned,  other  problems  con- 
nected with  the  continued  advancement  and  pros- 
perity of  Winston-Salem  were  being  presented. 
In  1887  only  one  railroad  passed  through  Winston- 
Salem,  thus  restricting  the  transportation  facili- 
ties which  are  the  vital  consideration  in  any 
large  enterprise.  This  railroad  was  the  Rieh- 
mond  &  Danville.  Some  of  the  local  men  who 
were  striving  to  place  Winston-Salem  more  ad- 
vantageously on  the  commercial  map,  projected 
a  line  to  extend  from  Winston-Salem  across  the 
Blue  Ridge  to  Roanoke,  Virginia.  At  the  solici- 
tation of  his  friends  Colonel  Fries  accepted  the 
responsibilities  of  financing  and  building  this  road. 
He  withdrew  from  all  other  business  activities 
and  gave  the  railroad  his  entire  time  and  atten- 
tion. At  the  beginning  the  only  money  avail- 
able was  $40,000  raised  by  subscription  in  and 
around  Winston-Salem.  After  four  years  of  stren- 
uous labor  the  road  was  completed  at  a  total  cost 
of  $2,081,000.  That  road  did  more  than  anything 
else  to  fix  the  future  of  Winston-Salem.  When  it 
was  completed  Colonel  Fries  declined  further  active 
association    with    the    line,    and    justly    felt    that 


the    burdens    of    its    maintenance    and    operation 
should  be  carried  by  others. 

In  1896  with  a  few  associates  Colonel  Fries  built 
the  Mayo  Mills  and  established  the  Village  of 
Mayodan  on  the  Mayo  River  in  Rockingham 
County,  North  Carolina.  In  1899  Colonel  Fries 
and  associates  built  the  Avalon  Mills,  two  miles 
above  Mayodan.  In  1902  he  had  a  prominent 
part  in  the  construction  of  the  Washington  Mills 
at  Fries,  Virginia.  He  and  his  associates  secured 
large  tracts  of  land  bordering  on  New  River  in 
Carroll  and  Grayson  counties,  Virginia,  and  on 
part  of  that  land  laid  the  foundation  for  one  of 
the  largest  cotton  mill  properties  in  the  South. 
For  his  part  in  the  enterprise  his  associates  in- 
sisted that  the  name  of  the  manufacturing  town 
be  called  Fries.  Another  important  work  of 
Colonel  Fries  was  the  projection  of  the  Winston- 
Salem  Southbound  Railroad,  in  1893,  when  the 
Roanoke  &  Southern  Railway  was  merged  with 
the  Norfolk  &  Western  Railway.  Colonel  Fries 
organized  the  Wachovia  Loan  &  Trust  Company, 
w-hich  in  turn  was  merged  in  1911  with  the  Wacho- 
via National  Bank,  the  same  being  now  known 
as  the  Wachovia  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  with 
its  home  office  at  Winston-Salem  and  branch  of- 
fices at  Asheville,  Salisbury,  High  Point,  North 
Carolina.  It  is  the  oldest  and  largest  bank  and 
trust  company  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina  and 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  southern  states. 

The  usefulness  and  vigor  of  Colonel  Fries  in 
industrial  affairs  in  North  Carolina  are  now  just 
at  their  high  tide.  At  this  writing  he  is  president 
of  the  Waehovia  Bank  and  Trust  Company  of 
Winston-Salem;  president  of  the  Washington  Mills 
at  Fries,  Virginia;  president  of  the  Mayo  Mills  at 
Mayodan,  these  mills  since  their  original  construc- 
tion having  been  converted  into  a  knitting  mill, 
which  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the 
South;  he  is  also  president  of  the  Brown  &  Wil- 
liamson Tobacco  Company  of  Winston-Salem;  he 
is  vice  president  of  the  Oakdale  Mills  at  James- 
town, North  Carolina;  vice  president  of  the  Ma- 
line  Mills  and  the  Indera  Mills,  both  at  Winston- 
Salem;  and  director  of  the  Arista  and  South  Side 
Mills  of  Winston-Salem. 

It  is  only  natural  that  national  recognition 
should  be  accorded  to  a  man  who  has  accomplished 
so  much  in  his  native  state.  This  came  with  the 
presidential  appointment  on  November  15,  1917, 
of  Colonel  Fries  as  state  director  of  the  National 
War  Savings  Committee.  In  making  this  appoint- 
ment the  Government  selected  the  one  man  in 
North  Carolina  who  is  best  known  as  a  success- 
ful organizer.  At  this  writing  Colonel  Fries  has 
already  effected  a  strong  state  machine,  and  is  se- 
curing state-wide  co-operation  to  a  most  unusual 
extent.  It  is  confidentially  expected  that  North 
Carolina  will  fulfill  its  requirements  under  the 
strong  leadership  of  the  state's  leading  financial 
organizer. 

Colonel  Fries  is  undoubtedly  one  of  North  Car- 
olina's most  powerful  and  ablest  financiers.  His 
ability  has  been  frequently  recognized.  He  has 
served  as  president  of  the  State  Bankers'  Asso- 
ciation, and  also  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association, 
and  in  1911-12  was  president  of  the  trust  section 
of  the  American  Bankers'  Association. 

Such  a  career  is  naturally,  in  the  highest  degree, 
of  constructive  benefit  to  the  general  public.  He 
could  not  have  accomplished  any  more,  if  as  much, 
had  he  held  any  number  of  political  offices  and 
he  has   widely   abstained  from   politics  so   far   as 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


office  holding  is  concerned.  However,  he  served 
with  the  rank  of  colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor 
A.  M.  Scales.  In  his  youth  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Home  Moravian  Church,  in  1874  one  of 
the  teachers  in  its  Sunday  school,  and  from  1885 
to  1905  was  Sunday  school  superintendent.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  elders  of  the 
church  for  twenty-five  years,  until  he  became  a 
member  of  the  central  board  of  trustees  of  which 
body  he  is  now  president. 

Colonel  Fries  was  married  in  1881  to  Letitia 
Walker  Patterson,  who  was  born  January  22,  1860, 
and  died  May  28,  1884.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Hon.  Rufus  L.  and  Maria  (Moorehead)  Patter- 
son, and  a  granddaughter  of  Governor  Moorehead 
of  North  Carolina,  Mrs.  Pries'  death  occurred 
near  that  of  their  only  and  infant  daughter.  In 
1886  Colonel  Pries  married  Anna  P.  de  Schweinitz, 
who  was  born  October  28,  1860,  daughter  of  Bishop 
E.  A.  de  Schweinitz  and  member  of  the  old  fam- 
ily of  that  name  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this 
publication.  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Fries  have  one 
daughter,  Eleanor.  This  daughter  married  Rich- 
ard F.  Willingham  of  Macon,  Georgia,  and  is  the 
mother  of  two  children,  Eleanor  Eoss  and  Francis 
Fries  Willingham. 

1 

Henry  Elias  Fries.  The  youngest  of  the 
three  sons  of  the  late  Francis  L.  Pries,  Henry 
Elias  has  not  only  made  his  life  conform  to  the 
worthy  traditions  of  one  of  the  best  known  fam- 
ilies of  Western  North  Carolina,  but  has  con- 
tributed new  distinctions  and  achievements  to 
the  record.  His  name  could  hardly  be  omitted 
from  any  list  however  small  supposed  to  repre- 
sent the  dominant  figures  in  North  Carolina's 
commercial  and  industrial  life. 

Doubtless  the  best  answer  to  the  questions  which 
might  be  asked  concerning  who  he  is  and  his 
work  and  service  and  the  experiences  and  influ- 
ences of '  his  life  are  to  be  found  in  an  article 
written  by  an  old  acquaintance  and  business  as- 
sociate in  Winston-Salem.  It  is  from  that  article 
that  the  following  paragraphs  are  chiefly  con- 
structed. 

He  was  born  at  Salem  September  22,  1857. 
of  this  parentage  and  ancestry  little  need  be  said 
here,  since  it  is  all  set  forth  on  other  pages  of 
this  publication.  The  influences  of  his  youth 
were  not  only  those  of  loving  and  devoted  par- 
ents but  also  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  which 
he  was  reared.  Another  influence,  of  more  sin- 
ister character,  was  the  great  conflict  between  the 
North  and  the  South  which  was  raging  when  his 
first  conscious  recollections  of  life  began.  Though 
too  young  to  comprehend  its  meaning  and  its  re- 
sults, the  war  was  in  fact  one  of  those  mighty 
influences  which  often  sway  men 's  future  lives 
for  good  or  ill.  Physically  he  was  rather  fragile 
and  delicate,  but  in  school  learned  his  lessons  well, 
though  he  became  somewhat  restless  at  times  and 
longed  for  the  fields  and  the  woods  and  the 
open  places  of  the  world.  He  was  six  years  of 
age  when  death  darkened  the  household  and  took 
away  his  honored  father,  a  man  whose  life  was 
of  the  greatest  potency  in  Winston-Salem,  and 
concerning  whom  more  is  written  elsewhere.  For- 
tunately the  subsequent  years  were  guided  and 
inspired  by  the  noble  strength  and  beautiful  char- 
acter of  his  mother.  He  also  came  to  look  upon 
his  uncle,  H.  W.  Fries,  and  his  elder  brother, 
J.  W.  Fries,  somewhat  in  the  light  of  a  father, 
and  they  were  always  ready  with  counsel,  advice 
and  help. 


He  was  educated  in  the  Salem  Boys  School, 
an  institution  which  has  been  the  inspiration  for 
hundreds  of  young  men  in  Western  North  Carolina. 
When  not  in  school  he  spent  much  time  around 
the  cotton  and  woolen  mills  owned  by  the  family 
and  in  the  machine  shops.  He  acquired  some- 
thing of  an  expert  knowledge  of  tools,  and  of 
the  many  details  of  factory  work,  and  at  the 
same  time  learned  the  point  of  view  and  the 
problems  of  the  laboring  classes. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Davidson 
College.  His  uncle's  parting  words,  "Never  do 
anything  to  cause  regret  or  shame,"  lingered  with 
him  and  kept  him  through  his  college  career  as 
wall  as  in  later  years  honest,  industrious,  tem- 
perate, thrifty  and  always  endeavoring  to  meas- 
ure his  own  life  up  to  the  highest  standards  of 
human  conduct.  He  was  in  Davidson  College  three 
years.  He  had  to  give  up  his  course  because  of 
failing  eyesight  but  he  lost  no  time  in  idle- 
ness between  his  college  work  and  his  practical 
career. 

He  was  soon  made  manager  of  the  Wachovia 
Flouring  Mills,  owned  by  the  firm  of  P.  and  H. 
Pries.  He  was  at  the  head  of  that  successful 
enterprise  for  more  than  a  score  of  years.  Near 
Salem  had  been  established  a  Sunday  school,  and 
he  found  in  that  an  outlet  for  his  spiritual  and 
religious  nature  and  became  its  superintendent, 
a  post  he  has  now  retained  for  forty  years.  The 
finishing  touch  to  his  education,  worth  more  be- 
cause of  its  opportunities  for  observation  and 
study  of  the  world  at  large  than  a  full  college 
course,  came  in  1878  when  he  went  abroad  with 
his  uncle  and  other  members  of  the  family  and 
visited  all  the  larger  countries  of  Europe. 

In  1881  Mr.  Fries  married  Miss  Rosa  Mickey, 
who  was  born  May  24,  1860.  They  had  known 
each  other  from  childhood,  and  her  co-operation 
and  interest  in  all  that  he  has  done  and  is  doing 
has  proved  a  source  of  unbounded  inspiration,  en- 
couragement and  help.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fries  have 
one  child,  a  daughter. 

Mr.  Fries  was  cnosen  chairman  of  the  great 
State  Exposition,  which  signalized  the  Dirth  of  a 
new  industrial  era  in  North  Carolina.  To  his 
ability  and  intelligent  effort  was  largely  due 
the  success  of  that  exposition,  held  in  the  year 
1884.  In  1886  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education  of  Forsyth  County  which  dis- 
tinguished itself  by  a  magnificent  constructive 
program,  resulting  in  the  building  of  numerous 
convenient  and  improved  schoolhouses  throughout 
the  county.  The  work  of  this  board  was  not  only 
of  great  benefit  to  the  immediate  county  but  to 
other  counties  in  the  state,  which  thenceforth  used 
the  schools  of  Forsyth   County   as  a  model. 

In  1887  Mr.  Fries  was  elected  from  Forsyth 
County  to  the  General  Assembly.  He  was  placed 
on  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College,  a  position  he  held  for  ten 
years,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  the  establishment 
of  the  college,  was  member  of  a  special  committee 
with  Dr.  Charles  W.  Dabney  and  W.  S.  Primrose, 
who  visited  the  industrial  schools  of  other  states 
and  made  an  exhaustive  and  thorough  report 
which  became  the  basis  for  the  new  State  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  of  North  Caro- 
lina at  Raleigh. 

Not  only  did  the  state  at  large  claim  his  services 
but  his  native  ci'y  elected  him  mayor  for  three 
consecutive  terms.  He  has  been  a  member  for 
every  board  of  commissioners  in  Winston-Salem 
for  a  number  of  years. 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


In  1885  he  organized  the  South  Side  Manufac- 
turing Company  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
products,  built  a  large  mill,  and  was  chosen  its 
president. 

The  work  which  has  constituted  his  chief  claim 
to  distinction  among  the  industrial  leaders  of 
North  Carolina  was  in  the  development  of  elec- 
trical power.  He  came  to  manhood  about  the  time 
the  first  commercial  uses  were  made  of  electricity 
for  lighting  and  power  purposes.  He  was  more 
than  a  passive  observer  of  the  rapid  adaptation 
of  that  science  to  commerce  and  industry.  With 
his  uncle  he  often  discussed  the  problem  of  trans- 
mitting power  from  the  Yadkin  Kiver  to  Winston- 
Salem.  Out  of  these  discussions  grew  a  practical 
and  constructive  program  and  the  organization  of 
the  Fries  Manufacturing  and  Power  Company, 
with  Mr.  H.  E.  Fries  as  superintendent  and  man- 
ager. By  1897  this  company  was  supplying  the 
factories  of  Winston-Salem  with  electricity  as 
motive  power.  Beyond  the  results  accomplished  in 
the  immediate  locality  the  enterprise  wae  of 
much  greater  significance,  since  it  was  the  first 
electrical  transmission  plant  established  in  North 
Carolina.  Subsequently  all  the  electrical  inter- 
ests of  Winston-Salem,  including  the  street  rail- 
ways, public  and  private  lighting  plants,  etc., 
were  consolidated,  and  Mr.  Fries  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  corporation.  This  was  the  Fries 
Manufacturing  and  Power  Company,  and  its  re 
markable  development  and  prosperity  was  largely 
due  to  Mr.  Fries.  He  remained  president  of 
this  company  till  it  was  sold  to  the  Southern 
Pacific  Utilities  Company.  He  is  president  of 
the  Forsyth  Manufacturing  Company,  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Arista  Mills  Company,  and  director 
in  a  number  of  financial  and  manufacturing  cor- 
porations. 

The  phrase  successful  business  man  does  not 
adequately  describe  Mr.  Fries'  varied  interests 
and  usefulness..  He  is  a  man  among  men,  is 
sociable  and  charitable,  has  a  high  ideal  of  the 
value  of  example  to  the  younger  generation,  and 
seeks  out  and  works  for  those  opportunities  and 
advantages  which  mean  as  much  to  a  community 
as  bread  and  meat. 

Politically  he  has  always  been  a  democrat,  with 
the  qualifying  adjective  of  sound  money.  When 
Mr.  Bryan  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  in 
1896  he  was  unable  to  give  his  support  to  the  free 
silver  and  populist  ideas,  and  instead  he  at- 
tended the  Indianapolis  Convention  of  the  sound 
money  democracy  as  a  delegate.  He  subsequently 
became  national  committeeman  from  North  Car- 
olina of  the  national  democratic  party. 

At  the  present  time  Mr.  Fries  is  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  Industrial  and 
State  Normal  School,  and  of  the  Wachovia  His- 
torical Society,  of  Winston-Salem.  Since  1909 
Mr.  Fries  has  been  president  of  the  Winston-Salem 
Southbound  Railway  Company.  He  gave  personal 
attention  to  the  construction  of  this  road,  and  now 
devotes  his  time  to  the  supervision  of  this  prop- 
erty. This  road  traverses  the  counties  of  For- 
syth, Davidson,  Montgomery,  Stanley  and  Anson, 
and  the  great  industrial  development  taking  place 
in  these  counties,  is  to  Mr.  Fries  a  cause  of  per- 
sonal  satisfaction   and   gratification. 

I 

De  Schweinitz  Family.  The  name  de  Sehwei- 
nitz  occurs  so  frequently  in  sketches  of  North 
Carolina  families  that  it  is  deemed  appropriate 
and  wise  to  collect  the  principal  facts  concerning 
the    genealogy    of    the    family    under    one    head. 


Through  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  family  de- 
scendants this  is  made  possible  and  the  record 
follows : 

According  to  the  oldest  genealogies  the  family 
was  originally  of  Slavonic  stock,  its  seat  being 
in  a  district  of  Southeastern  Europe  known  as 
Merania.  When  Duchess  Hedwig  married  Henry 
I,  Duke  of  Silesia  and  Poland,  a  number  of  the 
noble  families  of  Merania  moved  with  her  to 
Silesia,  among  them  the  von  Swentze,  as  the 
name  was  then  spelled.  Definite  history  begins 
in  1350. 

I.  Hancke  von  Swentze  was  joint  Lord  of 
Swentz,  Wiltsch,  Douyn  and  Syff  ersdorff ;  was 
counselor  at  the  Court  of  Euprecht,  Duke  of  Leig- 
nitz.  This  title  to  his  land  was  confirmed  in  1350. 
He  married  Fenne,  or  Euphemia,  of  the  family 
that  owned  the  other  half  of  Syffersdorff.  They 
had  only  one  child. 

II.  Hans  von  Swentze,  whose  title  to  the  estate 
was  confirmed  in  1410,  married  a  Baroness  von 
Hangwitz  of  the  House  of  Klein.  He  fought 
under  Duke  Louis  II  against  the  Hussites;  and 
held  various  important  offices.  He  had  five  chil- 
dren, three  sons  and  two  daughters.     His  son 

III.  Christoff  von  Swentze  was  Lord  of  Sey- 
fersdorff,  Swentz  and  Donyn,  titles  thereto  being 
ratified  in  1464.  He  married  Ursula,  Baroness 
von  Buseweyn,  of  the  House  of  Bersdorff  in  Hay- 
nan.     His  only  son  was 

IV.  Christoff  von  Swentze,  Lord  of  Seyfers- 
dorff,  Swentz,  Dohna,  Petersdorff,  Langewalde 
and  Johnsdorff,  who  died  in  1499.  He  married 
Hedwig,  Baroness  von  Zedlitz,  of  the  House  of 
Perchwitz.  They  had  four  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters.     A  son 

V.  Georg  von  Schwentz  was  Lord  of  Petersdorff, 
Libenau,  Seltzenberg  and  Muehlredlitz.  He  died 
February  3,  1567.  He  married  Margaretha,  Baro- 
ness von  Hangwitz,  of  the  House  of  Klein-Obisch. 
Of  their  four  sons  one  was 

VI.  Frederick  von  Schweinitz,  Lord  Muehlred- 
litz. He  married  (1)  Helena  von  Schwenkfehl, 
and  had  one  daughter;  married  (2)  a  Baroness 
von  Kreckwitz.     By  the  latter  union  was  a  son 

VII.  Abraham  von  Schweinitz,  Lord  Muehlred- 
litz. He  married  (1)  Anna  Maria,  Baroness  von 
Portugal,  of  the  House  of  Kapscheln,  in  Prussia. 
They  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  He 
married  (2)  Demuth  von  Binau,  of  the  House  of 
Nismenau  in  Lower  Lusatia,  and  by  that  marriage 
had  a  son  and  a  daughter.  He  died  in  1659.  The 
second  of  his  first  marriage  was 

VIII.  Alexander  von  Schweinitz,  Lord  of 
Kutseheborwitz  and  Heugwitz.  His  fortunes  were 
ruined  by  the  Thirty  Years '  war.  He  married 
Maria  Elisabeth,  Baroness  von  Eottenberg,  of  the 
House  of  Schoeneich.  They  had  four  sons  and 
two  daughters.  One  son,  George,  was  the  father 
of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  von  Marschall  's  wife,  whose 
daughter  was  the  second  wife  of  Hans  Christian 
Alexander  von  Schweinitz  mentioned  below.  An- 
other son  was 

IX.  Moritz  Christian  von  Schweinitz,  who  was 
born  at  Hangwitz,  Silesia,  February  14,  1676. 
He  became  Lord  of  Nieder  Leube  and  eleven  other 
estates.  He  married  Eva  Anna  Helena,  Baroness 
von  Schweinitz',  of  the  House  of  Krain.  Her  fa- 
ther, Hans  Christoph  von  Schweinitz,  was  de- 
scended from  Georg  von  Schweinitz  (see  V; 
through  his  son  Georg,  and  his  son,  Hans  Christoff. 
Hans  Christoph,  the  second,  bought  the  estate  of 
Nieder  Leube  aud  built  the  castle  there.  His 
daughter  was  his  sole  heiress,  two   other  children 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


having  died.  Moritz  von  Sehweinitz  died  May  2, 
1739,  and  his  wife  June  29,  1747.  They  had  seven 
sons  and  three  daughters.     The  second  son  was 

X.  Hans  Christian  von  Sehweinitz,  Lord  of 
Nieder  Leube.  He  was  born  March  30,  1707,  and 
married  Sophia  Johana,  Baroness  von  Seidlitz  of 
the  House  of  Pfaffindorff.  They  joined  the  Uni- 
tas  Fratruni  or  Moravian  Church  in  1741.  He  died 
November  1,  1750,  after  which  his  widow  lived 
mostly  at  Herrnhut.  In  1759  she  sold  the  estate 
of  Nieder  Leube  to  the  neighboring  Catholic 
Convent  of  Marienthal.  She  died  October  15,  1761. 
They  had  ten  children.     The  second  son  was 

XI.  Hans  Christian  Alexander  von  Sehweinitz, 
who  was  born  October  17,  1740,  at  Nieder  Leube. 
In  1770  he  married  Hedwig  Elisabeth  von  Mar- 
schall  (see  under  VIII).  In  the  fall  of  1770 
they  went  to  America,  where  he  for  thirty  years 
was  administrator  of  the  American  estates  of  the 
Unitas  Fratrum.  In  1775  his  wife  died,  leaving 
two  children,  a  daughter,  Johanna  Elisabeth,  who 
married  Rev.  John  Frederick  Prueauff,  and  a  son, 
Frederick  Christian,  who  returned  to  Germany. 
In  1779  Hans  Christian  Alexander  von  Sehweinitz 
married  for  his  second  wife  Anna  Dorothea  Elisa- 
beth, Baroness  von  Watteville,  who  was  born  April 
25,  1754,  at  Herrnhut  and  died  at  Niesky,  May 
10,  1813.  In  1797  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference  and  the  following 
spring  returned  to  Europe,  settling  at  Berthels- 
dorf  as  member  of  that  board.  August  26,  1801, 
he  was  ordained  a  Senior  Civilis  of  the  Unitas 
Pratrum.  He  died  February  26,  1802,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Herrnhut  Graveyard.  There  were 
seven  children  by  this  second  marriage,  three  sons 
and  four  daughters.  Two  died  in  infancy.  Charles 
Henry  did  not  marry;  Christian  Eenatus  left  the 
Moravian  Church,  had  three  sons,  all  of  whom 
entered  the  Saxon  army;  Augusta  Sophia  mar- 
ried George  Maximilian  von  Heuthausen;  Ma- 
riane  Elizabeth  married  Frederick  Emanuel 
Knothe.     The  eldest  child 

XII.  Lewis  David  von  Sehweinitz  was  born  at 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  February  13,  1780.  He 
was  educated  at  Nazareth  Hall,  Pennsylvania,  and 
then  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Niesky,  Ger- 
many. He  held  various  positions  in  the  German 
Moravian  Church,  and  in  1812  was  appointed  ad- 
ministrator of  the  Unity's  estates  in  North  Car- 
olina. May  24,  1812,  he  married  Louisa  Amelia 
LeDoux,  a  descendant  of  Huguenots  who  had  fled 
from  persecution  in  France  and  settled  in  Stettin, 
Pomerania,  where  she  was  born  May  18,  1791. 
After  a  long  and  dangerous  voyage  they  reached 
Salem,  North  Carolina,  November  14th  in  the 
year  of  their  marriage.  During  a  visit  to  Ger- 
many in  1817-18  Lewis  David  was  ordained  Pres- 
byter. After  three  more  years  in  North  Carolina 
he  was  called  to  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  in  1821. 
In  1825,  during  the  General  Synod,  he  was  or- 
dained a  Senior  Civilis,  the  last  to  hold  that  office. 
Beturning  to  Bethlehem  he  died  February  8, 
18.34.  In  addition  to  his  church  activities  he  was 
a  distinguished  botanist,  and  belonged  to  a  num- 
ber of  scientific  societies  in  America  and  Europe. 
His  herbarium  was  left  by  his  will  to  the  Acad- 
emy of  Natural  Sciences  in  Philadelphia.  His 
widow  died  in  Bethlehem,  October  28,  1858.  They 
had  five  sons.  The  eldest,  Edward  William,  born 
at  Salem,  February  21,  1814,  died  there  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Bobert  William,  born  at  Salem,  Sep- 
tember 20,  1819,  was  married  during  a  visit  to 
Herrnhut  in  1846  to  Marie  Louise  von  Tschirschke; 
was   ordained  a   deacon   of   the   Moravian   Church 


in  1847,  presbyter  in  1856,  and  held  various  posi- 
tions in  the  American  Moravian  Church,  was  prin- 
cipal of  Salem  Female  Academy  from  1853  to 
1866.  His  wife  died  February  11,  1881,  and  he 
on  October  29,  1901.  They  had  six  children,  three 
sons  and  three  daughters.  Edmund  Alexander, 
fourth  of  the  five  sons,  was  born  March  20,  1825, 
was  ordained  a  deacon  of  the  Moravian  Church 
March  3,  1850,  a  presbyter  on  October  12, 1856,  and 
a  bishop  on  August  28,  1870,  was  pastor  of  various 
congregations,  president  of  the  General  Synod  of 
1879,  and  held  numerous  other  important  church 
offices.  He  was  also  a  noted  author,  especially  of 
church  history.  He  married  (1)  Lydia  Johanna 
von  Tschirschke,  who  died  September  12,  1866, 
leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters.     On  October 

1,  1868,  he  married  (2)  Isabel  Allison  Boggs, 
who  had  one  daughter.  Bernard  Eugene,  the 
youngest  of  the  five  sons,  was  born  August  16, 
1828,  at  Bethlehem,  married  in  1852  Ottelia  Goepp, 
and  died  in  Salem  July  20,  1854,  leaving  one  son. 
The  second  son  of  Lewis  David  von  Sehweinitz 
was 

XIII.  Emil  Adolphus  de  Sehweinitz,  who  was 
the  ancestor  of  the  descendants  of  the  name  in 
Western  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  at  Salem, 
October  26,  1816,  and  was  educated  both  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  in  Germany.  After  filling  several 
positions  in  Pennsylvania  he  was  called  to  Salem 
in  1849  as  president  of  the  Salem  Female  Acad- 
emy, an  office  he  filled  about  four  years.  He 
then  became  administrator  for  the  Unity's  estates 
in  North  Carolina.  June  28,  1842,  he  married 
Sophia  Amelia  Hermann,  who  was  born  February 
14,  1822,  and  died  March  21,  1883.  She  was  the 
oldest  daughter  of  Bishop  John  Gottlieb  Hermann 
(born  November  18,  1789,  died  July  20,  1854), 
and  his  wife,  Anna  Paulina  Shober  (born  De- 
cember 6,  1791,  and  died  January  30,  1869). 
Emil  A.  de  Sehweinitz  was  ordained  a  deacon  of 
the  Moravian  Church  July  24,  1842,  a  presbyter 
on  July  11,  1869,  and  a  bishop  on  October  11, 
1874.  He  attended  the  General  Synods  of  1857, 
1869  and  1879.  The  death  of  this  much  loved 
and  revered  member  of  the  Moravian  Church  in 
North  Carolina  occurred  November  3,  1879.  Of 
his  children,  the  oldest,  a  boy,  died  in  infancy.  A 
brief  record  of  the  other  children  is  as  follows: 
Adelaide,  born  May  24,  1847,  and  died  August 
3,  1871,  married  Dr.  Henry  T.  Bahnson.  Agnes 
Sophia,  born  August  12,  1849,  died  February  2, 
1915,  married  John  W.  Fries.  Eleanor  Elisabeth, 
born  December  23,  1853,  married  Dr.  Nathaniel 
Shober   Siewers.     Emily   Louisa,   born   September 

2,  1856,  married  William  A.  Lemly.  Anna  Pau- 
lina, born  October  28,  1860,  married  Francis  H. 
Fries.  Emil  Alexander,  born  January  19,  1864, 
died  February  15,  1904. 

Hon.  Benjamin  Franklin  Long.  If  the  State 
of  North  Carolina  should  wish  to  express  through 
one  citizen  its  best  ideals  of  vitalized  and  efficient 
citizenship  it  is  doubtful  if  any  choice  could  be 
so  adequate  as  that  of  Judge  Benjamin  Franklin 
Long  of  Statesville,  and  since  1902  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  for  the  Tenth  Judicial  District. 
Judge  Long  is  now  at  the  meridian  of  his  mental 
attainments  and  powers,  with  normal  expectation 
of  continued  work  and  influence,  yet  it  is  possible 
even  now  to  appreciate  and  understand  his  life 
and  character,  the  elements  that  have  entered  into 
it  from  ancestry  and  training,  and  the  big  role 
that  destiny  has  called  upon  him  to  enact.  For- 
tunately the  material  for  such  an  appreciation  is 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


at  hand,  collected  by  one  familiar  with  his  work 
for  many  years  and  as  a  result  of  careful  study 
and  investigation. 

Judge  Long  was  born  near  Graham,  Alamance 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  19,  1855,  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Jane  Stuart  (Stockard)  Long.  In 
racial  strain  he  is  a  composite  American — German 
and  Scotch  blood  predominating.  His  great- 
grandfather was  named  Conrad  Lange,  a  name 
subsequently  anglicized  to  Long.  He  came  from 
one  of  the  Rhenish  provinces  of  Germany  and  set- 
tled in  Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution.  By 
his  first  wife  he  had  two  children,  Casper  and 
Mary.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  mar- 
ried Catharine  McRin.  About  1760,  with  his 
second  wife  and  the  two  children  of  his  first  mar- 
riage, he  came  to  North  Carolina  settling  on  a 
farm  on  Haw  River,  where  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  spent.  In  this  state  three  sons  were 
born,  Jacob,  Henry  and  Conrad,  and  a  daughter 
Elizabeth. 

The  oldest  of  these  sons,  Jacob,  grandfather  of 
Judge  Long,  married  Catherine  Shepherd.  Their 
family  consisted  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
the  youngest  son  being  Jacob,  father  of  Judge 
Long. 

Jacob  Long  married  January  3,  1833,  Jane 
Stuart  Stockard.  Her  father  Col.  John  Stock- 
ard was  a  sou  of  James  Stockard,  a  Continental 
soldier  during  the  Revolution.  James  Stockard 
married  Ellen  Trousdale,  sister  of  William  and 
James  Trousdale.  Her  nephew  William  Trousdale, 
son  of  James,  become  one  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  his  day,  rising  to  the  rank  of  general  in 
the  LTirited  States  army,  serving  two  terms  as 
governor  of  Tennessee  and  later  was  minister  to 
Brazil.  Col.  John  Stockard  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Jane  Stuart  of  Scotch  descent. 
After  her  death  he  married  Catherine  Albright, 
daughter  of  Henry  Albright.  The  Albrights  were 
of  German  descent,  and  their  name  was  auglicized 
from  the  original  Albrecht.  They  came  from  Ger- 
many to  Pennsylvania,  one  branch  moving  to 
North  Carolina  before  the  Revolution.  Henry  Al- 
bright's wife,  Mary  Gibbs,  was  a  sister  of  tne  dis- 
tinguished soldier.  Gen.  Nicholas  Gibbs,  who  was 
killed  at  the  Battle  of  Horseshoe  Bend  in  Alabama 
during  the  Creek  Indian  war  of  1812-13. 

Jacob  and  Jane  Stuart  (Stockard)  Long  had  a 
remarkable  family  of  children,  and  much  of  their 
strong  character  was  derived  from  their  parents, 
both  of  whom  were  notable  both  by  descent  and 
by  personal  character.  Owing  to  the  conditions 
that  existed  during  his  youth,  the  country  being 
new  and  raw,  Jacob  Long,  though  a  man  of  ex- 
ceptionally strong  mind,  was  deprived  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  liberal  education.  This  made  him 
all  the  more  determined  to  give  his  sons  every- 
thing he  could,  and  the  lives  of  these  sons  have 
justified  in  abundant  measure  the  affectionate 
judgment  of  the  father.  Judge  Long  would  be 
the  first  to  acknowledge  the  debt  which  he  owes 
to  his  parents  for  the  measure  of  success  he  has 
won  in  life.  His  father,  long  active  in  affairs, 
lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-eight.  His  mother,  a 
woman  of  strong  intellect,  wide  reading  and  vast 
information,  so  impressed  her  children  that  each 
and  every  one  of  them  became  imbued  thoroughly 
with  the  desire  to  win  worthily  and  to  be  of  some 
use  in  the  world.  She  died  in  her  ninety-second 
year. 

Judge  Long  had  six  brothers  and  one  sister. 
The  oldest   brother,   John  H.  Long,  died  in  Mis- 


souri in  1907.  Another  brother,  Joseph  Gibbs 
Long,  was  orderly  sergeant  of  Company  E,  13th 
North  Carolina  Regiment,  Confederate  army,  in 
the  war  between  the  states  and  was  killed  at 
Chancellorsville,  May  3,  1863.  The  sister  mar- 
ried Capt.  J.  N.  H.  Clendenin  of  Alamance 
County,  North  Carolina,  who  was  an  officer  in  the 
Confederate  army,  and  since  then  a  fanner  and 
business  man.  One  brother,  the  Rev.  William  S. 
Long,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  minister  and  educator,  foun- 
der of  Elon  College  in  this  state  and  former  presi- 
dent of  it,  has  been  prominently  identified  with 
higher  education  in  North  Carolina  for  over  forty 
years.  He  lives  at  Chapel  Hill.  Another  brother, 
the  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Long,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  formerly 
president  of  the  Graham,  North  Carolina,  High 
School,  was  for  fifteen  years  president  of  Antioch 
College  at  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio,  and  later  was 
president  of  Union  Christian  College,  a  notable 
old  institution  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash  River 
at  Merom,  Indiana.  Another  brother,  Col.  Jacob 
A.  Long,  is  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Graham,  at 
one  time  was  acting  district  attorney  of  his  judi- 
cial district,  and  in  1893  was  chairman  of  the 
Finance  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
North  Carolina.  Still  another  brother  was  the 
late  Dr.  George  W.  Long,  eminent  as  a  physician, 
who  lived  in  Graham.  He  served  as  president 
of  the  State  Medical  Association  and  was  for 
years  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Medical 
Examiners.  No  physician  in  the  state  outranked 
him  in  the  esteem  of  the  profession  and  the  large 
number  of  patients  who  profited  by  his  care.  The 
State  Medical  Society  had  his  portrait  painted 
and  hung  in  the  Hall  of  History  at  the  State 
Capital  in  October,  1916. 

Two  brothers  of  Judge  Long  were  in  educa- 
tional work  while  he  was  a  schoolboy.  Rev.  Dr. 
William  S.  Long,  then  head  of  the  Graham  High 
School,  prepared  the  younger  brother  so  that  he 
was  able  to  enter  Trinity  College  in  1872  at  the 
age  of  seventeen.  He  graduated  in  1874  A.  B., 
and  later  the  college  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  A.  M.  He  took  up  the  study  of  law  in 
Judge  Pearson  's  Law  School,  and  in  1877  entered 
the  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1878  LL.  B.  His 
school  career  was  a  distinguished  one.  A  good 
scholar  always,  at  Trinity  he  was  valedictorian  of 
his  class,  which  numbered  among  its  members 
such  men  as  Reverend  Doctor  Staley,  Senator  Over- 
man and  Judge  Boykin. 

During  his  student  life  for  two  years  he  taught 
Latin  and  History  in  the  Graham  High  School, 
but  even  with  this  help  found  himself  at  the 
beginning  of  his  career  as  a  lawyer  somewhat  in 
debt  financially  for  his  education.  His  success 
was  such,  however,  that  it  did  not  take  him  long 
to  pay  this  debt.  At  the  University  of  Virginia 
he  pressed  a  two  years  course  into  one  year  and 
in  addition  won  the  orator's  medal  in  the  Wash- 
ington Society,  awarded  by  a  committee  of  the 
faculty  after  hearing  competitive  debates. 

After  his  return  home,  then  but  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  he  was  tendered  the  nomination  for 
state  senator.  With  that  promptness  of  decision 
which  has  characterized  him  through  life,  he 
turned  aside  the  flattering  offer  and  moved  to 
Statesville,  as  he  had  previously  decided  to  do, 
and  that  city  has  been  the  scene  of  his  active 
labors.  In  October,  1878,  he  formed  a  law  part- 
nership with  Hon.  William  M.  Robbins,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  lawyers  of  the  state  and   at 


8 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


that  time  a  member  of  Congress.  December  23, 
1879,  he  married  Mary  Alice  Bobbins,  daughter  of 
his  law  partner. 

Possessed  of  a  robust  physique,  a  strong  intel- 
lect, liberal  education,  industrious  habits,  he  threw 
himself  into  his  profession  with  zeal,  energy  and 
sound  judgment.  A  liberal  practice  came  to  him 
almost  at  the  beginning.  In  1879  he  edited  the 
Law  Lectures  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson,  one  of 
his  preceptors.  These  lectures  of  a  distinguished 
lawyer  and  teacher  were  thus  made  available  for 
students  and  are  still  used  as  a  test  book.  Por 
three  terms  Judge  Long  was  solicitor  of  the  In- 
ferior Court  of  Iredell  County,  served  as  attorney 
for  the  City  of  Statesville  and  while  in  that 
office  carried  on  a  general  practice  extending  over 
eight  counties.  In  1880  he  was  appointed  re- 
ceiver for  the  Western  Division  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad  and  for  five  years  per- 
formed his  duties  with  credit  to  himself  and 
advantage  to  the  railroad,  at  the  same  time  car- 
rying on  his  active  private  practice.  Por  one 
term  he  was  mayor  of  Statesville,  resigning  to 
accept  the  office  of  solicitor  of  the  Eighth  Judi- 
cial District,  and  was  twice  elected,  serving  a 
period  of  eight  years.  As  prosecuting  officer  he 
was  faithful,  fearless  and  impartial,  and  won  such 
a  large  measure  of  respect  from  the  people  that 
in  1894  he  was  nominated  by  the  democratic  party 
as  candidate  for  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  He 
was  included  in  the  general  democratic  defeat  of 
that  year,  resulting  from  an  alliance  between  the 
republicans  and  populists.  In  the  next  judicial 
election  in  1902  he  was  nominated  for  the  same 
position,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  and 
served  the  full  term  of  eight  years,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1910  for  another  similar  term,  which  he 
is  now  serving. 

With  all  his  notable  services  and  attainments 
it  is  his  career  on  the  bench  that  gives  Judge  Long 
the  dignity  and  influence  of  one  of  North  Caro- 
lina's foremost  public  citizens.  The  work  he  has 
done,  from  his  own  standpoint,  was  merely  the 
carrying  out  of  his  sworn  duties.  But  the  country 
is  full  of  examples  of  men  who  in  like  positions 
did  not  face  their  duties  with  the  same  courage. 
There  is  more  than  one  way  of  doing  one's  duty. 
Judge  Long  took  the  highest  and  the  best  way, 
compromising  nothing.  Some  of  the  largest  cases 
involving  property  rights  ever  tried  in  the  state 
were  before  his  court,  and  as  a  rule  in  important 
cases  where  appeal  has  been  taken  he  has  been 
sustained. 

The  case  which  gave  him  a  reputation  far  be- 
yond the  borders  of  his  own  state  forcibly  illus- 
trates the  public  service  which  can  be  rendered  by 
any  just  and  resolute  judge.  Lynching  has  not 
been  an  uncommon  American  crime.  But  punish- 
ment of  lynchers  were  almost  unknown  up  to 
August,  1906,  when  several  negroes  were  in  jail 
at  Salisbury  to  be  tried  for  a  barbarous  murder, 
with  but  little  doubt  as  to  their  guilt.  The  case 
was  within  one  day  of  trial  when  a  crowd  of  white 
men  came  into  town  at  night,  and  notwithstanding 
the  careful  precautions  that  had  been  taken  by 
the  county  officials  broke  into  the  jail,  took  out 
the  prisoners,  and  put  three  of  them  to  death. 
On  the  next  day  the  court  met  for  the  trial  of 
the  prisoners  who  had  been  lynched.  When  Judge 
Long  opened  court  the  town  and  the  surrounding 
country  were  convulsed  with  excitement.  He  sent 
for  the  Grand  Jury  and  in  delivering  his  charge 
made  this  announcement:   "God  Almighty  reigns 


and  the  law  is  still  supreme.  This  court  will  not 
adjourn  until  this  matter  has  been  investigated." 
The  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  shield 
the  participators  in  the  lynching.  Proof  was  diffi- 
cult to  obtain,  but  Judge  Long  held  to  his  posi- 
tion. He  had  the  support  of  a  courageous  prose- 
cuting officer,  Hon.  W.  C.  Hammer,  the  solicitor 
of  the  district.  Determined  to  sustain  the  majesty 
of  the  law,  unmoved  by  criticism,  he  persisted 
until  the  crime  was  fastened  upon  one  Hall,  a 
leader  of  the  mob,  and  an  ex-convict.  A  few 
days  after  the  crime  was  committed  Hall  was  put 
on  trial,  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  the  peni- 
tentiary for  fifteen  years.  Prom  one  end  of  the 
land  to  the  other  his  action  was  praised  and  ap- 
plauded by  the  best  citizens  and  as  an  example 
of  the  sentiment  in  other  states  may  be  quoted, 
the  following  editorial  from  the  Star  of  Indian- 
apolis, Indiana: 

' '  It  will  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  or  over 
estimate  the  tremendous  service  rendered  to  the 
state  or  to  the  race  by  Judge  B.  P.  Long  of  States- 
ville, North  Carolina,  who  has  just  sentenced  a 
white  lyncher  to  fifteen  years  in  the  penitentiary. 
This  brave  and  upright  judge,  and  all  who  have 
cooperated  with  him,  have  rendered  their  fel- 
low citizens  and  the  cause  of  self-government 
everywhere  a  service  which  is  worthy  of  the  best 
tradition  of  Carolinian  chivalry  and  statesman- 
ship. ' ' 

It  is  especially  noteworthy  that  since  this  action 
there  has  not  been  a  lynching  in  North  Carolina. 
It  is  the  first  instance  in  the  United  States  of 
severe  punishment  for  a  white  man  for  aiding  a 
mob  to  lynch  negroes,  and  by  a  judge  in  a 
southern  state  elected  by  democrats. 

While  this  case  attracted  wider  attention,  as 
is  always  true  of  a  matter  involving  the  funda- 
mentals of  social  and  individual  justice,  another 
case  in  which  Judge  Long  presided  involved  the 
sovereign  rights  of  a  sovereign  state.  In  February, 
1907,  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina 
passed  a  law  fixing  the  passenger  rates  within  the 
state  at  2%  cents  per  mile  and  making  violation 
of  that  act  a  misdemeanor.  The  Southern  Rail- 
way defied  the  law  and  secured  from  Judge  Pritch- 
ard of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  an  injunc- 
tion prohibiting  the  enforcement  of  the  law  until 
the  question  of  its  constitutionality  could  be  con- 
sidered. This  order  was  made  by  Judge  Pritchard 
on  June  29,  1907,  two  days  before  the  rate  law 
went  into  effect.  On  the  8th  of  July,  1907,  Wake 
Superior  Court  convened,  Judge  Long  presiding. 
The  situation  was  a  grave  one  in  so  far  as  the 
rights  of  the  state  were  concerned,  and  there 
were  no  precedents.  Judge  Long  had,  however, 
given  the  matter  careful  thought  and  in  his  ad- 
dress to  the  jury  instructed  them  particularly  to 
inquire  whether  the  railroad  violated  the  criminal 
law  in  selling  tickets  at  a  higher  rate  than  that 
prescribed  by  the  statutes.  In  consequence  of 
this  charge,  Agent  Green  at  Raleigh  was  indicted 
for  selling  a  ticket  at  Raleigh  at  an  unlawful  rate 
and  was  arrested.  There  was  much  feeling 
throughout  the  state.  Judge  Pritchard  announced 
that  he  would  protect  the  agents  and  officers  of 
the  company  acting  under  his  orders.  He  came 
to  Raleia-h  in  person  for  the  purpose,  it  was  be- 
lieved, of  issuing  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  for  the 
release  of  Green.  Judge  Long  ordered  the  sheriff 
to  deliver  the  body  of  the  prisoner  up  to  the  court, 
and  the  judge  took  Green  into  his  own  posses- 
sion.   Judge  Long's  position  was  a  denial  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


right  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  to  sus- 
pend a  criminal  law  of  the  state.  In  was  a  de- 
nial that  the  Federal  courts  could  enjoin  or  inter- 
fere with  the  Superior  Court  of  the  state  in 
indictments  or  trials  for  crime  committed  in  the 
state  and  only  against  the  laws  of  the  state, 
wherein  the  State  Court  alone  had  sole  and  ex- 
clusive jurisdiction  of  the  subject  matter  and  the 
accused.  There  were  other  points  involved  not 
necessary  to  enter  into  here.  His  rulings  upon  the 
main  question,  jurisdiction,  were  unanimously  af- 
firmed by  the  Supreme  Court.  It  is  sufficient  here 
to  state  that  Judge  Long's  prompt  action  had 
such  au  influence  upon  Judge  Pritchard  that  he 
returned  to  Asheville  without  taking  further  ac- 
tion, and  the  case  was  tried  before  the  State  Court 
in  due  form.  Both  the  Southern  Railway  and  the 
agent  Green  were  held  guilty  of  misdemeanor.  On 
Green 's  promise  to  observe  the  law  he  was  fined 
five  dollars  and  given  his  freedom.  The  company 
declined  to  obey  the  law  and  was  fined  $30,000. 
In  his  ruling  Judge  Long  held  that  the  Federal 
Court  could  not  suspend  a  criminal  law  of  the 
state  nor  protect  a  citizen  who  had  violated  state 
laws.  As  a  result  of  ttiis  trial  the  Southern 
Railway,  eight  days  after  the  verdict  and  judg- 
ment, suggested  that  it  would  obey  the  law  of  the 
state  and  the  matter  was  thus  finally  settled.  The 
consequences  of  this  trial  were  far-reaching  and 
have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  satisfactory 
passenger  rates  throughout  the  South  Atlantic 
states.  Judge  Long's  reputation  was  greatly  en- 
hanced by  his   action  in  this  important  decision. 

Notwithstanding  his  arduous  duties  upon  the 
bench  and  his  devotion  to  the  law  as  a  profes- 
sion, Judge  Long  has  found  time  for  other  in- 
terests connected  with  the  social  and  civic  life  of 
his  home  community  and  state.  From  its  or- 
ganization in  1898  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
State  Bar  Association  and  is  also  a  member  of 
the  American  Bar  Association.  In  1891  he  was 
author  of  the  bill  which  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  graded  schools  of  Statesville. 
About  the  same  time  in  conjunction  with  two 
other  public  spirited  men  he  organized  the  States- 
ville Cotton  Mill,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  town, 
and  now  ranking  high  among  the  industrial  or- 
ganizations of  the  state.  For  a  long  time  he 
served  as  a  trustee  of  the  State  University  and 
has  given  his  liberal  support  to  various  charitable 
institutions. 

In  1893  a  group  of  capitalists,  led  by  Hon.  Wal- 
ter H.  Page  of  New  York,  now  ambassador  at 
St.  James,  purchased  the  Manufacturers  Record  of 
Baltimore  and  offered  Mr.  Long  the  position  of 
manager  in  chief  of  the  publication  to  direct  its 
future  destinies.  It  was  a  flattering  and  attrac- 
tive offer,  as  the  main  purpose  of  this  great  jour- 
nal is  to  help  the  development  of  the  South,  but 
as  its  acceptance  required  a  change  of  his  pro- 
fession he  declined  it. 

Before  his  judicial  services  began,  in  every 
general  election  campaign  since  his  majority,  he 
has  worked  and  canvassed  in  behalf  of  the  demo- 
cratic ticket,  believing  that  the  safety  of  the 
South  as  demonstrated  by  the  horrors  of  Recon- 
struction, was  dependent  upon  democratic  control. 
Time  and  again  he  has  declined  offers  of  political 
promotion.  More  than  once  he  could  have  had 
the  democratic  nomination  for  Congress,  and  in 
1907  was  urged  by  powerful  influences  to  become 
a  candidate  for  governor.  Since  his  accession  to 
the  bench  he  has  scrupulously  avoided  public  poli- 


tical discussions.  His  career  on  the  bench  has 
been  free  from  partisanship;  as  a  judge  he  en- 
joys the  confidence  of  all  parties. 

Judge  Long  has  the  thoroughness,  the  persis- 
tence, and  the  courage  of  his  German  and  Scotch 
ancestors.  Many  instances  are  told  illustrating 
his  lack  of  fear  in  taking  the  unpopular  side  when 
he  feels  he  is  in  the  right.  When  Chief  Justice 
Furehes  and  one  of  his  associates  of  the  Supreme 
Court  were  impeached-in  1901,  Judge  Long  and  his 
associates,  employed  for  the  defense,  handled  the 
case  with  such  masterful  ability  that,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  part  of  the  alleged  mis- 
conduct consisted  of  an  unlawful  and  unconstitu- 
tional attitude  toward  the  General  Assembly,  he, 
in  conjunction  with  his  associate  counsel,  secured 
an  acquittal  at  the  hands  of  the  Senate  largely 
composed  of  their  political  opponents. 

In  1914  Judge  Long  was  honored  by  Davidson 
College  and  Elou  College  with  the  degree  Doctor 
of  Laws.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  the  Masonic,  fraternity,  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  the  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Alpha  Tau 
Omega  college  fraternity,  of  which  at  one  time 
he  was  the  second  ranking  officer  in  the  United 
States.  In  August,  1914,  he  was  recommended  by 
the  United  States  senators  of  North  Carolina,  and 
House  members  then  in  Washington,  for  appoint- 
ment on  Sujireme  Bench  to  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Justice  Lunton. 

Judge  Long  was  exceedingly  fortunate  in  his 
choice  of  a  wife.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Alice 
Robbins,  in  the  flush  of  young  manhood  and  al- 
most at  the  outset  of  his  professional  career,  and 
Mrs.  Long  as  wife,  mother  and  home  maker  has 
shared  in  the  achievements  which  have  bestowed 
so  much  honor  and  dignity  upon  his  name. 

Mrs.  Long's  father,  trie  late  William  McKen- 
dree  Robbins,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  a  linguist,  a  scientist,  erudite 
scholar,  and  a  statesman  and  orator  of  national 
fame.  He  was  born  in  Randolph  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1828,  and  graduated  with  highest 
honors  at  Randolph-Macon  College,  Virginia.  His 
father  Ahi  Robbins  of  Randolph  County  was  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  men  of  his  day.  William  M. 
Robbins  studied  law  and  just  before  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  went  to  Alabama  and  began  prac- 
tice. He  volunteered  in  the  Confederate  Army, 
and  served  throughout  the  entire  war  in  the  Fourth 
Alabama  Infantry,  of  which  he  was  major,  and 
as  major  and  acting  colonel  commanded  the  regi- 
ment at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg.  In  1893  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland  a  member  of 
the  Gettysburg  National  Park  Commission  and  was 
active  in  the  duties  of  this  office  until  his  death 
thirteen  years  later.  During  these  years  he  wrote 
the  reports  of  the  commission  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, and  much  of  the  writing  and  inscriptions 
appearing  upon  the  tablets  and  monuments  at 
Gettysburg  were  composed  by  him.  After  the  war 
Major  Robbins  removed  to  Salisbury,  North  Caro- 
lina, taking  up  the  practice  of  law  there.  He  was 
in  the  State  Senate  for  two  or  three  terms  from 
the  districts  composed  of  Rowan  and  Davie  coun- 
ties. In  1872  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and 
was  reelected  in  1874  and  in  1876.  In  Congress 
he  became  distinguished  for  his  oratory  and  states- 
manship and  when  he  closed  his  career  in  the 
national  legislature  he  was  regarded  as  an  orator 
and  debater  who  took  rank  with  Garfield,  Blaine, 
Randolph  Tucker  and  Ben  Hill.  When  he  retired 
from    Congress    he    was    acting   chairman    of    the 


10 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Ways  and  Means  Committee.  He  then  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  in  Statesville,  to  which  place 
he  and  his  family  had,  hitherto,  removed.  For 
many  years  he  distinguished  himself  at  the  bar 
as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  and  foremost  advo- 
cates in  North  Carolina.  In  Congress  and  as  a 
lawyer  he  delivered  many  notable  addresses.  A 
few  of  these  stand  out  as  being  truly  great  ora- 
tions— the  speech  he  delivered  at  the  Twentieth 
of  May  Celebration  at  Charlotte  in  1889;  his 
speech  in  Congress  on  the  sugar  tariff;  his  reply 
to  Ben  Butler  on  the  Civil  Bights  bill;  and  his 
address  to  one  of  the  graduating  classes  at  Ban- 
dolph-Macon  College. 

Major  Bobbins  married  Mary  Montgomery, 
daughter  of  Bev.  Dr.  A.  D.  Montgomery  and  of 
distinguished  ancestry.  Her  mother,  Elizabeth 
Lewis  of  Virginia,  was  a  descendant  of  John 
Lewis,  who  was  a  brother  of  Fielding  Lewis,  a 
brother-in-law  of  George  Washington.  The  Lewis 
family  has  been  identified  conspicuously  with  the 
history  of  Virginia  from  the  earliest  period. 
Elizabeth  Lewis  was  also  a  cousin  of  President 
Zachary  Taylor. 

Five  children  have  been  born  to  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Long.  William  Bobbins  Long,  the  oldest, 
died  in  infancy.  Benjamin  F.  Long,  Jr.,  whose 
youth  promised  a  splendid  career,  graduated  at 
Colonel  Horner's  School  at  Oxford,  North  Caro- 
lina, with  highest  honors  in  1899,  being  captain 
of  his  company  which  won  the  colors  at  commence- 
ment in  competitive  drill,  and  had  entered  the 
university  as  a  student  for  the  year  1899-1900 
when  on  November  16,  1899,  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  he  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident.  The 
third  child,  Lois,  is  a  talented  musician,  has  been 
trained  under  the  best  teachers  in  the  country, 
has  diplomas  from  three  colleges,  and  in  June, 
1914,  received  a  diploma  from  the  Masters  School 
of  Music  at  Brooklyn,  New  York.  She  made  her 
debut  in  Aeolian  Hall,  New  York,  November,  1917. 
She  married  Franklin  Biker  of  New  York  who  is 
a  musician  and  composer  of  note  of  that  city  and 
a  nephew  of  Admiral  Mayo.  The  other  daughter, 
Mary,  married  October,  1914,  Maj.  Edward  M. 
Land  a.  leading  lawyer  of  Goldsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina. She  is  a  woman  of  varied  accomplishments 
and  has  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  The  youngest 
is  McKendree  Bobbins  Long,  the  artist,  concern- 
ing whom  a  separate  sketch  appears  in  this  work. 

This  brief  story  of  Judge  Long's  life  illustrates 
in  the  strongest  manner  the  fact  that  greatness 
can  be  shown  in  the  discharge  of  the  ordinary 
duties  of  life.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed 
upon  the  minds  of  our  people  that  true  greatness 
always  consists  of  the  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 
The  man  who  has  served  his  generation  with  pa- 
tience and  with  fidelity  has  contributed  more  to 
the  welfare  of  his  country  than  the  man  who  wins 
notoriety,  however  great  that  notoriety  may  be, 
which  is  based  not  upon  solid  achievement. 

McKendree  Bobbins  Long.  North  Carolina 
has  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  achievements  of  her 
sons  and  daughters  who  have  followed  the  gentler 
muses  of  the  arts,  some  of  whom  have  deserved 
to  rank  alongside  her  soldiers  and  statesmen. 
While  his  career  as  a  portrait  and  landscape  artist 
may  be  said  to  have  only  begun,  it  is  possible  to 
rank  McKendree  Bobbins  Long  of  Statesville 
among  those  men  and  women  whose  merits  and 
achievements  have  made  an  American  art  worthy 
of  the  name. 


A  son  of  Judge  Benjamin  F.  Long,  he  was 
born  at  Statesville  in  July,  1888.  His  early  train- 
ing was  received  in  the  schools  of  his  home  town, 
and  later  in  the  Webb  School  at  Bellbuckle,  Ten- 
nessee, the  Horner  Military  School  at  Oxford, 
North  Carolina,  and  while  there  he  ended  his 
career  as  captain  of  one  of  the  military  companies 
and  won  the  colors  for  the  best  drilled  company. 

Pursuing  his  studies  he  entered  Davidson  Col- 
lege and  from  there  became  a  student  of  the  Art 
Students'  League  of  New  York  City  where  he  re- 
mained for  two  years.  In  the  meantime  he  took 
a  summer  course  in  the  School  of  Art  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia.  Two  noted  artists  of  New 
York  connected  with  the  Art  Students'  League 
awarded  him  a  scholarship  entitling  him  to  two 
years'  study  abroad. 

Going  to  Europe  he  spent  a  short  period  study- 
ing art  in  the  City  of  London.  He  also  studied 
at  Amsterdam  and  Volendam,  Holland,  and  at 
Paris  and  Madrid.  His  chief  instructor  in  Eu- 
rope was  Lazlo,  the  great  Hungarian  portrait 
artist,  whose  studio  is  in  London.  Lazlo  is  re- 
garded in  Europe  as  one  of  the  great  portrait 
artists  of  the  time,  and  ranking  with  another, 
perhaps  better  known  in  this  country  because  of 
his  American  origin,  John  Singer  Sargent. 

At  the  end  of  his  two  years  abroad  Mr.  Long 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  the  summer  of 
1913.  Since  then  he  has  given  his  time  to  paint- 
ing portraits  and  landscapes,  his  work  showing  a 
special  genius  for  portraiture.  In  December,  1916, 
he  was  tendered  and  accepted  the  position  of.  di- 
rector of  the  School  of  Art  and  Design  in  Los 
Angeles.  At  the  end  of  the  session  there  of 
1916-17,  though  his  place  was  a  delightful  one 
and  gave  a  fine  field  for  his  ambitions,  he  resigned 
and  returned  home  in  order  to  respond  to  the  call 
to  the  colors. 

In  June,  1917,  he  entered  the  Officers'  Training 
Camp  at  Fort  Oglethrope,  Georgia.  Some  time 
later  he  was  taken  very  seriously  ill.  There  fol- 
lowed a  dangerous  operation,  and  his  health  was 
so  shattered  that  he  was  unable  to  continue  his 
training  at  Fort  Oglethorpe.  He  then  returned 
to  Statesville  and  while  recuperating  and  awaiting 
the  return  of  his  former  splendid  physical  condi- 
tion, has  resumed  his  artistic  employment. 

In  the  Long  home  at  Statesville,  there  are  two 
splendid  examples  of  his  portrait  work,  one  a 
portrait  of  his  father,  Judge  B.  F.  Long,  the  other 
a  portrait  of  his  wife's  mother,  Mrs.  Mary  Bell 
Hill.  They  are  remarkable  paintings  and  show 
the  work  of  a  great  artist.  Mr.  Long  is  of  the 
highly  intellectual  type,  of  especially  independent 
thought  and  action,  and  follows  no  set  rote  or 
rule,  and  is  bold,  original  and  vigorous  in  his  treat- 
ment of  every  subject.  If  some  hazard  of  war 
does  not  intervene,  an  unusually  promising  career 
awaits  this  young  man. 

He  married  Miss  Mary  Belle  Hill,  daughter  of 
the  late  Dr.  M.  W.  Hill  of  Statesville.  They  have 
a  beautiful  little  daughter,  Caroline  Clements  Long. 

Col.  Clinton  A.  Cillet,  whose  last  years  were 
spent  at  Hickory,  North  Carolina,  where  he  died, 
is  generally  recognized  as  having  been  one  of 
North  Carolina's  ablest  lawyers  and  finest  citizens. 
He  was  not  only  distinguished  in  his  profession  but 
a  man  of  remarkable  versatility  and  of  forceful 
power  and  character  at  every  point  of  contact 
with  affairs  and  with  the  interests  of  his  home 
community. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


11 


He  was  of  New  England  birth  and  ancestry, 
and  was  born  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
was  reared  according  to  New  England  ideals  and 
his  college  career  was  in  Harvard  University.  He 
graduated  from  the  literary  department  of  that 
university  and  was  studying  law  in  Harvard  Law 
School  when  the  war  broke  out  between  the  states. 
He  soon  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  and  gained 
rank  as  an  officer  by  brilliant  service  on  the  field. 
He  became  colonel  of  his  regiment  and  served 
with  that  rank  under  General  Thomas  of  Chieka- 
mauga. 

Following  the  war  Colonel  Cilley  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  Freedmen  's  Bureau  to  take  care  of 
its  interests  in  North  Carolina.  In  that  official 
capacity  he  wa.s  located  at  Salisbury.  While  in 
that  city  he  met  and  became  a  friend  of  the  late 
Colonel  Folk,  one  of  North  Carolina 's  most  dis- 
tinguished lawyers  and  a  southerner  of  the  most 
uncompromising  type.  Notwithstanding  the  nat- 
ural political  differences  that  separated  them,  a 
mutual  affection  and  esteem  sprang  up,  and  after 
a  while  Colonel  Cilley  relinquished  his  position  with 
the  Freedmen 's  Bureau  and  went  with  Colonel 
Folk  to  the  latter 's  home  at  Lenoir  in  Caldwell 
County.  He  finished  his  law  studies  under  Colonel 
Folk  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Lenoir.  Colonel 
Cilley  had  his  home  at  Lenoir  from  1866  to  1900, 
when  he  removed  to  Hickory  in  Catawba  County, 
where  he  spent  his  last  years. 

Colonel  Cilley  was  successful  as  a  lawyer  from 
the  start,  and  in  time  was  elected  a  .iudge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  North  Carolina  and  served  with 
credit  and  distinction  on  the  bench  for  a  number 
of  years.  On  resuming  his  law  work  he  continued 
general  practice  and  had  a  clientage  such  as  any 
lawyer  might  be  proud  to  own.  A  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Catawba  County  bar  has  said  that 
Colonel  Cilley  was  the  most  remarkable  man  he 
ever  knew.  He  possessed  not  only  the  technique 
of  the  well  trained  lawyer  but  also  the  vastly 
more  important  foundation  of  erudition  and  thor- 
ough learning.  His  speeches  and  writings  had  a 
literary  flavor  in  addition  to  the  concise  and  logi- 
cal phrases  of  legal  diction. 

Colonel  Cilley  was  married  at  Lenoir  to  Miss 
Emma.  Harper,  daughter  of  Col.  J.  C.  and  Mrs. 
(McDowell)  Harper  of  Lenoir.  Both  the  McDow- 
ells and  Harpers  were  old  and  distinguished  fam- 
ilies of  Western  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Cilley, 
who  is  still  living  at  Hickory,  was  born  at  the 
old  Harrier  home  in  Happy  Vnllev,  Caldwell 
County,  6%  miles  from  Lenoir.  Her  home  is  one 
of  the  most  historic  spots  in  all  North  Carolina. 
It  wa.s  the  home  of  the  revolutionary  McDowells 
as  well  as  the  Harpers,  and  two  of  the  old  homes 
that  were  there  during  the  "Revolutionary  war  are 
still  standing  in  Happy  Valley. 

Colonel  and  Mrs.  Cilley  had  three  sons  who  are 
still  living.  John  Harper  Plummer  Cilley,  Cordon 
Harper  Cilley  and  .Tames  Lenoir  Cillev.  .Tames 
Lenoir  Cilley  is  now  assistant  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank  in  Hickory.  Gordon  Harper  Cilley 
has  long  been  active  and  successful  both  in  news- 
paper work  and  in  advertising.  He  was  formerly 
with  the  Charlotte  Observer,  later  with  the  Phila- 
delphia "Record,  and  he  went  from  that  paper  to 
become  assistant  to  the  advertising  manager  of 
John  Wanamaker.  Subsequently  he  was  pro- 
moted to  his  present  position  as  advertising  man- 
ager for  John  Wanamaker  at  a  salary  of  $12,000 
per  pear.  He  is  of  course  among  the  great  ad- 
vertising experts  of  America. 

The  oldest   son,   John   Harper   Plummer   Cilley, 


is  now  proprietor  of  the  Piedmont  Foundry  in 
Hickory,  and  a  leading  business  man  of  that  city. 
He  married  Miss  Anna  S.  Abernethy,  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  S.  Abernethy  of  Hickory.  To 
their  marriage  have  been  born  seven  children: 
Joseph  Everett,  J.  H.  P.  Jr.,  Clinton  A.,  Emma 
Louise,  Alice  Shuford,  Donald  Adolphus  and 
Dorothy  Winter. 

Maj.  Joseph  Em  Alexander,  prominent  lawyer 
and  citizen  of  Winston-Salem,  has  put  his  native 
talents  and  opportunities  to  excellent  use  in  his 
individual  advancement  to  success  in  his  profes- 
sion and  for  a  useful  service  to  his  community 
and  state. 

His  is  only  one  of  the  many  useful  and  honorable 
careers  that  might  appropriately  be  summarized 
in  this  article.  The  Alexanders  are  a  virile  and 
vigorous  stock.  They  have  been  in  North  Carolina 
since  earliest  colonial  times  and  the  painstaking 
labors  of  students  and  genealogists  have  traced 
the  family  record  back  to  the  time  of  the  Norman 
conquest  of  England. 

Concerning  the  older  branches  of  the  family  two 
quotations  will  suffice.  The  first  is  from  the  "Rec- 
ord of  a  Family  of_the  House  of  Alexander"  by 
Frances  Alexander  Butterworth  (Chicago.  1909)  : 
"One  of  the  Scottish  ancestors  was  Alexander 
McDonald,  son  of  Donald,  Lord  of  the  Isles.  He 
had  two  sons  who  assumed  the  Christian  name  of 
their  father  as  a  surname,  and  started  one  branch 
of  the  Alexander  family  on  the  way  to  fame  and 
fortune.  The  Donalds  trace  back  to  Somerled, 
through  a  somewhat  misty  Highland  genealogy. 

"William  Alexander,  Earl  of  Stirling,  from 
whom  many  of  the  Alexanders  in  America  claim 
descent,  was  secretary  of  state  for  Scotland  in 
1626.  He  ruled  for  the  king  with  a  single  eyed 
patriotism.  His  writings  were  famed  in  their  day. 
His  most  important  work  was  the  assistance  he 
rendered  James  I  in  the  metrical  version  of  the 
Psalms. 

"James  Alexander,  the  descendant  of  Lord  Stir- 
ling, was  obliged  to  leave  Great  Britain  on  account 
of  active  partisanship  with  the  Pretender.  He  was 
colonial  secretary  of  New  York  and  among  the 
staunchest  of  pre-revolutionary  friends  of  civil 
liberty.  His  son  William  was  the  Lord  Stirling 
of  Revolutionary  fame.  The  family  flourished  in 
Virginia." . 

The  second  citation  is  in  the  nature  of  a  sum- 
mary taken  from  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica, 
eleventh  edition,  Vol.  25,  page  924. 

"William  Alexander  (1567-1640),  son  of  Alex- 
ander Alexander  of  Menstrie,  was  born  near  Stir- 
ling about  1567.  The  family  was  old  and  claimed 
to  be  descended  from  Somerled,  Lord  of  the  Isles, 
through  John,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  who  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  II.  Robert  II 
(1316-1390)  was  King  of  Scotland  and  founder  of 
the  Stuart  dynasty,  and  was  the  tenth  in  direct 
male  descent  from  a  Norman  baron,  Robert  de 
Bruis,  who  came  to  England  in  1066  with  William 
the  Conqueror.  In  1621  James  I  g-ranted  William 
Alexander  enormous  tracts  of  land  in  America 
embracing  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick-  and  Gaspe 
Peninsula.  This  territory  was  afterwards  in- 
creased on  paper  so  as  to  include  a  great  part  of 

Canada Was  the  king's  secretary  to 

Scotland  until  his  death  and  was  created  Viscount 
Stirling  and  Lord  Alexander  of  Tullibody.  In 
1633  was  advanced  to  rank  of  earl  with  the  addi- 
tional title  of  Viscount  Canada,  and  in  1639  be- 


12 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


came  Earl  of  Dovan.  Was  succeeded  by  his  grand- 
son William,  who  died  a  few  months  later,  and 
then  by  his  son  Henry  (died  1644),  who  became  'the 
third  earl.  When  Henry's  grandson,  Henry,  fifth 
earl  (1664-1739),  died  the  earldom  became  dor- 
mant, and  in  1759  was  claimed  by  William  Alex- 
ander (1726-1783)  of  New  York  City,  son  of 
James  Alexander  (1690-1756),  a  noted  colonial 
lawyer  (referred  to  in  the  previous  quotation). 
William  Alexander  served  first  as  commissioner 
and  then  as  aide  de  camp  to  Gov.  William  Shirley, 
and  in  1756  accompanied  Governor  Shirley  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  persuaded  to  claim  the  earldom 
of  Stirling.  In  1759  in  Edinburg  a  jury  declared 
him  to  be  the  nearest  heir  to  the  last  Earl  of  Stir- 
ling, but  the  House  of  Lords  held  up  the  claim 
for  further  proof Returned  to  Amer- 
ica, espoused  the  cause  of  the  Revolution,  became 
brigadier  general  and  in  1777  major  general;  pre- 
sided over  the  court  martial  of  Gen.  Charles  Lee 
regarding  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  Washington  to  an  unusual  de- 
gree. ' ' 

It  is  said  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  several  brothers  of  the  name  Alex- 
ander fled  on  account  of  religious  persecution  from 
Scotland  to  Ireland  and  thence  to  Manhattan,  New 
York.  Some  of  these  remained  in  Manhattan  and 
one  of  their  descendants  was  the  William  Alexan- 
der above  referred  to.  The  others  took  up  their 
abode  for  a  time  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  descend- 
ants of  these  families  went  into  Pennsylvania  and 
into  North  Carolina.  According  to  ' '  Burke 's  Ar- 
more  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,"  there 
was  a  Samuel  Alexander  living  in  Cecil  County, 
Maryland,  1700-1714,  whose  grandson,  David,  set- 
tled in  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Carolina.  Erom 
1740  to  1760  many  Alexander  families  left  Mary- 
land, thirty  of  these  families  going  to  North  Caro- 
lina and  Virginia  at  the  same  time. 

Attracted  by  the  fertility  of  soil,  its  fruit, 
game  and  fishing  industry  and  its  mild  climate 
tempered  by  the  waters  of  Albemarle  Sound, 
Isaac  Alexander,  who  is  the  ancestor  of  the  branch 
of  the  family  now  under  consideration,  settled  in 
Tyrrell  County,  near  the  Town  of  Columbia,  appar- 
ently about  the  time  it  became  a  County,  shortly 
after  1729. 

The  County  of  Tyrrell  (named  for  Sir  John 
Tyrrell,  at  one  time  a  lord  proprietor),  in  North 
Carolina,  is  one  of  the  oldest  counties  of  English 
settlement  in  America.  The  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina was  owned  by  eight  lords  proprietors  until 
1729,  when  seven  of  them  sold  their  share  back 
to  the  Crown.  North  Carolina  was  originally  di- 
vided into  three  counties,  Albemarle,  Bath  and 
Clarendon.  Tyrrell  was  one  of  the  original  pre- 
cincts of  Albemarle  and  embraced  the  land  now 
known  as  Dare,  Tyrrell,  Washington  and  a  part 
of  Martin  Counties,  embracing  all  the  land  imme- 
diately bordering  on  the  south  of  Albemarle  Sound. 
In  1719  Tyrrell  Precinct  had  achieved  such  popula- 
tion and  importance  that  it  petitioned  the  lords 
proprietors  to  be  created  into  a  county.  This  re- 
quest was  not  granted  until  1729,  the  same  year 
that  the  proprietors  sold  the  land  back  to  the 
Crown. 

The  Alexander  family  in  Tyrrell  for  a  long 
number  of  years  resided  on  what  is  known  as  the 
Pinner  Place  or  Sound  Side  Plantation  in  a  sec- 
tion known  as  Sound  Side  on  the  south  side  of 
Albemarle  Sound.  In  the  Alexander  burial  ground 
on  this  place  Jesse  Alexander  and  his  son  Joseph 


Alexander  and  the  latter 's  wife,  Caroline,  are 
buried,  and  their  tomb  stones  are  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation. 

From  traditional  accounts  which  have  been  pre- 
served in  the  family  to  the  present  time,  there 
was  evidently  some  connection  between  the  Alex- 
anders of  Tyrrell  County  and  those  of  Mecklen- 
burg County.  It  is  said  that  the  families  in  the 
two  localities  visited  each  other  in  the  early  days. 
That  fact  explains  why  Isaac  Alexander  and  his 
wife,  Zilpha,  were  not  buried  in  the  above  ground. 
It  is  said  that  their  remains  were  taken  to  Meck- 
lenburg for  burial. 

Isaac  Alexander,  the  pioneer  of  Tyrrell  County, 
died  about  1780.  An  interesting  document  that 
has  a  curious  interest  of  its  own  and  also  con- 
tains some  account  of  the  Alexander  family  is 
Isaac  Alexander 's  will,  recorded  in  Book  1  of 
Wills,  page  144,  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  Tyrrell  County.  It  is  given  in 
its  entirety  as  follows : 

"In  the  Name  of  God,  Amen. 

the  Twenty-fifth  Day  of  March.  1780. 

' '  I,  Isaac  Alexander  of  the  County  of  Tyrrell, 
Planter,  being  very  sick  and  weak  in  body  but  of 
perfect  mind  and  memory,  thanks  be  given  unto 
God,  therefore  calling  unto  mind  the  mortality  of 
my  body  and  knowing  that  it  is  appointed  for  all 
men  once  to  die,  do  make  and  ordain  this  my  last 
will  and  testament,  that  is  to  say: 

"Principally  and  first  of  all,  I  give  and  recom- 
mend my  soul  into  the  hands  of  God  that  gave  it 
and  my  body  I  recommend  to  the  earth  to  be 
buried  in  decent  Christian  burial  at  the  discretion 
of  my  executors,  nothing  doubting  but  at  the  gen- 
eral resurrection  I  shall  receive  the  same  again 
by  the  Mighty  Power  of  God: 

' '  And  as  touching  such  worldly  estate  wherewith 
it  hath  pleased  God  to  bless  me  in  this  life,  I  give, 
devise  and  dispose  of  the  same  in  the  following 
manner  and  form : 

"Imprimus:  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Zilpha 
Alexander,  my  dearly  beloved  wife,  the  one-third 
part  of  all  my  movable  estate  wherever  to  be  found 
during  her  natural  life  with  the  use  of  my  planta- 
tion whereon  I  now  dwell  during  her  widowhood 
and  then  to  be  and  remain  as  after  specified. 

' '  Item :  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  well  beloved 
son  John  Alexander  the  now  called  Sound  Side 
Plantation  for  two  hundred  acres  of  land  as  the 
sundry  lines  round  the  same  will  appear,  with  one 
good  hunting  gun. 

"Item:  I  give  to  my  well  beloved  son  Joseph 
Alexander  the  black  walnut  land  being  two  hun- 
dred twenty  acres  lying  and  being  on  the  north 
side  and  near  the  head  of  Alligator  Creek,  with 
one  good  hunting  gun  and  one  feather  bed. 

"Item:  I  give  to  my  well  beloved  son  Abner 
Alexander  one  certain  piece  of  land  lying  on  the 
south  side  of  the  New  Road  commonly  called  the 
Woodyard  as  the  sundry  lines  round  the  same  will 
make  appear  with  one  good  hunting  gun  and  one 
feather  bed. 

"Item:  I  give  to  my  well  beloved  son  Jesse 
Alexander  the  plantation  and  land  appertaining 
to  the  same  whereon  I  now  dwell  as  the  sundry 
lines  round  the  same  will  make  appear,  with  one 
good  hunting  gun  and  one  feather  bed  and  fur- 
niture, and  to  have  a  good  still,  my  own  property, 
with  one  good  cow  and  calf. 

"Item:  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Mary 
Alexander  one  good  feather  bed  and  one  chest. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


13 


' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Eliza- 
beth Davenport  one  good  feather  bed  now  in  her 
own  possession. 

' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Ann 
Alexander  one  good  feather  bed  and  furniture 
and  one  cow  and  calf. 

' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Sarah 
Alexander  one  feather  bed  and  furniture  and  one 
cow  and  calf. 

' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Jamima 
Alexander  one  feather  bed  and  furniture  and  one 
cow  and  calf. 

' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Zilpha 
Alexander  one  feather  bed  and  furniture  and  one 
cow  and  calf. 

"Item:  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Millae 
Alexander  one  feather  bed  and  furniture  and  one 
cow  and  calf. 

' '  Item :  I  give  to  my  beloved  daughter  Clarca 
Alexander  one  feather  bed  and  furniture  and  one 
cow  and  calf. 

"And  as  touching  my  negroes,  I  dispose  of  them 
as  follows:  One  negro  girl  called  Juda  to  be  and 
remain  in  the  possession  and  custody  of  my  be- 
loved wife  Zilpha  Alexander  during  her  natural 
life,  whom  I  constitute  and  appoint  executrix  with 
my  well  beloved  son  John  Alexander  whom  I  con- 
stitute and  appoint  executor  of  this  my  last  will 
and  testament,  and  as  to  my  other  negroes  that  is 
now  to  say  Rose  and  one  negro  woman  Joan  and 
Hester  negroes  to  remain  in  the  care  and  custody 
of  my  executors  until  the  year  1790.  and  then  to 
be  equally  or  as  near  as  possible  divided  or  pro- 
portioned with  increase  to  and  among  my  before 
mentioned  children  and  the  remaining  part  of  my 
estate  not  before  left  in  legacies  or  mentioned  to 
be  equally  divided  at  my  decease,  excepting  my 
well  beloved  son  Jesse  Alexander  who  is  to  have 
no  part  of  the  said  negroes  or  increase;  to  him  I 
give  the  still  in  lieu. 

"And  I  do  hereby  utterly  disallow,  revoke  and 
disannull  all  and  every  other  former  testament, 
will,  legacies  and  bequeath  and  executors  by  me 
in  any  ways  before  named  and  willed,  and  be- 
queathed, ratifying  and  confirming  this  and  no 
other  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament. 

"In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  seal  the  day  and  date  above  written. 

"Isaac  Alexander."  [Seal] 

The  immediate  branch  of  the  family  here  de- 
scribed is  descended  through  Isaac 's  son  Jesse, 
known  as  Colonel  Jesse.  He  was  born  June  28, 
1774.  and  died  November  2,  1817.  He  is  buried 
on  Sound  Side  Plantation,  now  known  as  Pinner 
Place,  five  miles  from  Columbia,  Tyrrell  County. 
He  was  a  very  extensive  and  successful  planter, 
and  also  a  man  of  affairs.  He  represented  Tyr- 
rell County  in  the  House  in  1803-04,  and  in  the 
Senate  in  1808  and  1810.  He  was  also  a  colonel 
of  the  militia,  and  his  death  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-three  resulted  from  wounds  received  in  the 
war  of  1812.  In  connection  with  his  military 
service  the  following  letter  from  Governor  Haw- 
kins' "Letter  Book,"  page  259,  is  of  interest: 

"His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
accept  the  appointment  of  Brigadier  General  of 
the  Thirteenth  Brigade  of  North  Carolina  Mili- 
tia." Signed  Jesse  Alexander,  Tyrrell  County, 
May  15,  1813. 

Col.  Jesse  Alexander  married  Ann  Hoylt  Hos- 
kans  of  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  January  1,  1801. 


They  had  five  children:  Joseph,  George,  Thomas, 
Abner  and  Martha.  Of  these,  George,  who  was 
born  July  7,  1S07,  and  died  in  1835,  married  Ann 
Spruill;  Thomas  H.,  born  June  12,  1809,  and 
died  in  1870,  served  as  register  of  deeds  for  thirty 
years,  and  left  a  large  family  of  children  and 
grandchildren  by  his  marriage  to  Mary  Hardison; 
Abner,  born  September  12,  1811,  and  died  in  1844, 
married  Rhoda  Alexander,  but  had  no  children; 
Martha,  born  November  10,  1813,  married  Col. 
Charles  T.  Spruill,  who  several  times  served  as 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  from  Tyrrell 
County. 

Joseph  Alexander,  first  son  of  Colonel  Jesse,  was 
born  April  5,  1805,  and  died  December  28,  1850. 
He  was  a  planter  and  slave  owner  and  lifelong 
resident  of  Tyrrell  County.  He  married  Caroline 
B.  Spruill,  who  was  born  September  18,  1812,  and 
died  February  14,  1860.  Her  brother,  Gen.  H.  G. 
Spruill,  was  one  of  North  Carolina's  historic  char- 
acters represented  Tyrrell  in  the  Senate  in  1836- 
38-40-42,  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Internal 
Improvements,  and  as  state  senator  advocated  a 
system  of  common  public  schools,  using  funds  of 
the  state  lands,  and  introduced  one  of  the  first 
bills  for  this  purpose.  Joseph  Alexander  and  his 
wife  had  one  son  and  three  daughters.  The  daugh- 
ters were:  Martha  F.,  who  married  Dennis  Sim- 
mons, founder  and  president  of  the  Dennis  Sim- 
mons Lumber  Company  of  Williamston,  North 
Carolina;  Josephine,  who  married  Dr.  Edward 
Ransom,  who  was  president  of  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1875-76;  and  Fannie,  who  married 
Capt.  John  D.  Biggs,  who  served  as  captain  of 
Company  H,  Sixty-first  Begiment  North  Carolina 
troops. 

Dr.  Abner  Alexander,  son  of  Joseph  and  Caro- 
line Alexander,  was  born  September  28,  1845,  on 
the  Alexander  plantation  already  referred  to.  He 
enlisted  in  Company  H  of  the  Sixty-first  Begiment, 
North  Carolina  troops,  was  commissioned  first 
lieutenant,  was  in  service  to  the  end  of  the  strug- 
gle, was  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor  and  surrendered 
with  General  Johnston  near  Jamestown,  North 
Carolina,  in  1865.  His  regiment  was  in  Cling- 
man's  Brigade,  Hooke's  Division,  Longstreet's 
Corps.  After  the  surrender  he  walked  home,  a 
distance  of  two  hundred  miles.  He  then  took  up 
the  study  of  medicine,  graduated  from  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  and 
returning  to  his  native  county  practiced  there  and 
for  many  years  had  a  clientage  all  over  the  county 
and  the  adjoining  counties  of  Washington  and 
Dare.  He  continued  his  professional  work  almost 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  died  in  the  City  Hos- 
pital of  Baltimore,  where  he  had  gone  for  treat- 
ment, on  April  8,  1904. 

Doctor  Alexander  was  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  from  Tyrrell  three  times,  1895,  1897  and 
1903,  and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Health. 
The  bulletin  of  the  North  Carolina  Board  of 
Health,  March,  1895,  speaking  of  his  services: 
"We  feel  that  it  would  not  be  making  any  invid- 
ious comparison  to  particularly  mention  our  county 
superintendent  of  Tyrrell,  Dr.  Abner  Alexander, 
who  was  the  representative  of  that  countv  and 
who  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Health  of  the  House  proved  indeed  a  faithful  sen- 
tinel upon  the  watch-tower." 

At  the  time  of  his  death  the  Raleigh  Post  said: 
"One  of  Tyrrell's  greatest  men  has  gone  to  his 
reward.  Doctor  Alexander  has  worn  himself  out 
serving  the  people.     It  has  been  said  of  him  that 


14 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


he  never  refused  to  visit  the  sick  when  called 
if  it  were  possible  for  him  to  get  there,  no  mat- 
ter what  state  of  life,  from  the  humblest  to  the 
most  exalted,  there  was  never  any  difference. ' ' 
It  is  said  that  his  was  the  largest  funeral  ever  held 
in  Columbia. 

Dr.  Abner  Alexander  married  Dora  Spruill. 
She  was  born  in  Tyrrell  County  July  12,  1851, 
was  educated  at  Kittrell  Springs  and  Statesville 
Female  College,  both  in  North  Carolina,  and  died 
August  2,  1916.  She  is  buried  beside  her  hus- 
band in  the  cemetery  at  Columbia.  Her  father  was 
Eli  Spruill,  who  was  born  January  12,  1818,  and 
died  September  2,  1887.  He  was  a  slave-owner, 
lawyer  and  planter,  was  a  whig  in  early  day  poli- 
tics, represented  Tyrrell  County  in  the  Secession 
Convention  of  1861,  and  was  one  of  the  few  who 
opposed  secession,  though  he  finally  voted  for  the 
measure.  Eli  Spruill  was  a  son  of  James  Spruill, 
a  prominent  planter  of  Tyrrell  County.  The  wife 
of  Eli  Spruill  was  Harriet  V.  P.  Spruill,  who  was 
born  May  11,  1828,  and  died  June  22,  1902. 

Dr.  Abner  Alexander  and  wife  had  two  sons, 
Joseph  Eli  and  Webster  Spruill  Alexander.  Web- 
ster S.  Alexander  was  born  January  10,  1888,  at 
Columbia,  Tyrrell  County,  and  is  now  a  resident  of 
Winston-Salem. 

Joseph  Eli  Alexander,  who  may  justly  take 
pride  in  the  long  line  of  distinguished  ancestors 
only  briefly  noted  in  the  preceding  paragraphs, 
was  born  September  6,  1874,  on  the  Riverside 
farm  near  Columbia,  Tyrrell  County.  He  prepared 
for  college  at  Columbia  Preparatory  School  and  in 
1889  was  a  student  in  Williamstown  Academy  in 
Martin  County  under  Dr.  Sylvester  Hassell.  In 
1895  he  graduated  magna  cum  laude  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  While  in  the  univer- 
sity he  attained  membership  in  the  honorary  schol- 
arship fraternity  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 

Studying  law  in  a  law  office,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1896.  He  then  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Hon.  A.  E.  Holton,  United  States  dis- 
trict attorney  at  Winston-Salem.  For  fourteen 
months  from  January,  1897,  to  March,  1898,  he 
was  secretary  to  the  governor  of  North  Carolina 
and  in  that  capacity  was  also  military  secretary 
with  rank  of  major.  After  resigning  as  secre- 
tary he  was  appointed  in  1898  aide  de  camp  to 
the  governor  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  This  was 
during   Governor   Russell's   administration. 

He  resigned  as  secretary  to  the  governor  to 
resume  the  practice  of  law  with  Mr.  Holton  under 
the  firm  name  of  Holton  and  Alexander.  This 
firm  continued  until  January  1,  1904,  and  since 
then  Mr.  Alexander  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Alexander,  Parrish  &  KSrner,  the  other  mem- 
bers being  F.  M.  Parrish  and  Gilmer  Kbrner,  Jr. 
In  1915  the  firm  became  Alexander  &  Korner. 

Major  Alexander  has  had  a  large  and  successful 
practice  in  both  the  state  and  federal  courts  and 
before  the  departments  in  Washington.  He  was  the 
attorney  who  effected  the  consolidation  of  the  then 
separate  postoffices  of  Winston  and  Salem  in  1898. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  board  of 
trade  on  consolidation  of  the  two  municipalities  of 
Winston  and  Salem,  and  as  such  prepared  the  bill 
and  plan  for  the  consolidation  of  these  two  cities 
in  1913.  He  has  found  many  opportunities  to 
use  his  profession  and  his  individual  influence  to 
forward  important  local  movements.  He  has 
served  as  town  attorney  of  the  Town  of  Salem, 
city  attorney  of  the  City  of  Winston,  and  county 
attorney    of   Forsyth    County.      He    is   a   member 


of   the  North   Carolina  and  American  Bar   Asso- 
ciations. 

Major  Alexander  is  a  member  and  past  exalted- 
ruler  of  Winston  Lodge  No.  449,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks;  member  of  Winston 
Lodge  No.  167,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons;  Winston  Chapter  No.  24,  Royal  Arch 
Masons;  Piedmont  Commandery  of  the  Knights 
Templar,  and  Centerville  Council  No.  20,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics.  He  is  also 
an  active  member  of  the  Twin  City  Club.  His  law 
offices  are  in  the  O'Hanlon  Building  and  his  home 
at  1120  West  Fourth  Street,  Winston-Salem. 

He  has  been  twice  married.  Feburary  15,  1905, 
he  married  Miss  Edith  Kincaid  Butler.  She  was 
born  in  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  October  20,  1878, 
but  before  her  marriage  lived  at  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina.  Her  parents  were  Henry  Chase  Butler, 
who  was  born  January  6,  1840,  at  Kennebunkport, 
Maine,  and  now  lives  in  Greensboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Lucy  J.  Ross,  his  wife,  born  at  Great 
Falls,  New  Hampshire,  March  2,  1840,  and  died 
1910.  Lucy  Ross  was  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Abbie  (Kincaid)  Ross.  Mrs.  Alexander,  who 
died  October  19,  1910,  was  a  graduate  of  Peace 
Institute  of  Raleigh  and  the  Emerson  School  of 
Oratory  at  Boston. 

On  August  26,  1916,  Major  Alexander  married 
Miss  Lilla  Young,  who  was  born  at  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  May  20,  1877,  daughter  of  Major 
John  Graham  Young  and  Lucy  Winfield,  of  Win- 
ston-Salem. 

David  Gaston  Worth  was  one  of  North  Caro- 
lina's greatest  men,  whether  measured  according 
to  the  standards  of  business  success  or  devotion  to 
the  public  welfare  and  to  those  interests  and 
activities  which  constitute  the  magnificent  har- 
mony of  human  life.  His  career  serves  to  ex- 
emplify the  fact  that  the  acquisition  of  wealth 
and  power  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  high  souled 
manhood  and  a  practice  of  the  fundamental  virtues 
associated  with  the  Christian  religion. 

He  was  the  only  son  of  Governor  Jonathan 
Worth,  whose  career  is  a  part  of  the  general  his- 
tory of  North  Carolina.  Jonathan  Worth  was 
North  Carolina's  provisional  governor  for  two 
terms  and  administered  that  important  office  until 
he  was  deposed  during  the  rigid  Reconstruction 
rule. 

The  family  was  founded  in  North  Carolina  by 
Daniel  Worth,  great-grandfather  of  David  G. 
Worth.  He  came  to  North  Carolina  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  family  had 
been  established  in  New  England  during  the 
seventeenth  century  and  the  name  became  inter- 
related by  marriage  with  many  people  of  prom- 
inence. David  Worth,  father  of  Governor  Worth, 
was  married  in  Massachusetts  to  a  Miss  Gardner. 
She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  in  that  faith  Governor  Worth  and 
his  brothers  and  sisters  were  reared.  Most  of 
them  in  time  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
but  they  always  retained  the  simplicity  of  manner 
and  taste  that  are  characteristic  of  the  Friends. 

David  Gaston  Worth  was  born  at  Asheboro, 
North  Carolina,  December  17,  1831,  and  died  at 
his  home  in  Wilmington  November  21,  1897,  when 
nearly  sixty-six  years  of  age.  His  early  education 
was  acquired  in  his  home  at  Asheboro.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  graduating  as  one  of  the  first  honor  men 
in  the  class  of  1853.  In  college  and  in  after  life 
he  was  associated  with  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


15 


fraternity.  Of  his  student  career  one  of  his  old 
associates,  Col.  A.  M.  Waddell,  has  given  the  fol- 
lowing characterization:  "Quiet,  modest,  manly, 
and  kindly,  he  commanded  the  respect  of  faculty 
and  students  alike.  He  possessed  more  than  ordi- 
nary ability  and  applied  himself  with  diligence 
to  his  studies,  while  he  conscientiously  performed 
every  duty.  He  had  none  of  the  vices  or  bad 
habits  to  which  young  men  are  so  often  inclined, 
although  he  was  full  of  vivacity.  The  University 
never  had  a  student  of  whom  she  could  more  justly 
be  proud,  and  of  late  years  has  had  few  if  any 
more  generous  benefactors."  Among  his  class- 
mates at  the  university  were  Col.  A.  M.  Waddell, 
Col.  John  D.  Taylor,  Col.  K.  11.  Murehison,  Col. 
■William  L.  DeRosset,  Dubrutz  Cutlar  and  "Walker 
Meares. 

After  his  graduation  from  university  Mr.  Worth 
married  Miss  Julia  A.  Stickney.  She  remained  his 
devoted  companion  through  all  the  sunshine  of 
prosperity  and  through  the  shadows  of  suffering 
and  sorrow  that  clouded  the  last  months  of  his 
life.  Three  of  their  children  came  to  maturity: 
Charles  W.  Worth,  who  became  associated  with 
his  father  in  business  and  is  elsewhere  referred  to; 
Dr.  George  C.  Worth,  who  became  a  medical 
missionary  in  China;  and  James  S.  Worth  of 
Wilmington. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Worth  entered  business 
in  his  native  town  of  Asheboro,  and  in  1861  came 
to  Wilmington  as  superintendent  of  the  govern- 
ment salt  works,  a  position  he  held  throughout 
the  war.  At  its  close  he  engaged  in  the  general 
commission  business  with  Mr.  N.  G.  Daniel  under 
the  firm  name  Worth  &  Daniel.  With  the  death 
of  Mr.  Daniel  in  1870  the  firm  became  Worth  & 
Worth.  He  developed  the  business  of  this  firm  to 
preeminent  success  and  to  a  place  where  it  could 
justly  and  easily  rank  with  any  of  the  greatest 
commercial  houses  of  the  South.  More  important 
than  the  volume  of  its  business  and  the  wide  extent 
of  its  trade  relationships  were  the  qualities  of 
justice  and  integrity  which  became  associated  far 
and  wide  as  synonymous  with  the  firm  name. 

Mr.  Worth  served  as  president  of  the  Produce 
Exchange  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
Wilmington,  and  while  he  was  absolutely  free  from 
ambition  for  political  honors,  he  rendered  a  serv- 
ice to  his  city  and  state  far  beyond  the  possibil- 
ities of  any  political  position.  For  several  years 
he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen, 
was  a  member  of  Wilmington  Steam  Fire  Engine 
Company  No.  1,  and  belonged  to  Wilmington  Lodge 
No.  319,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  was  one  of  the  most  liberal 
benefactors  of  the  Wilmington  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association.  Through  his  church,  the 
First  Presbyterian,  he  gave  an  unexampled  devo- 
tion. He  transferred  his  membership  to  the  church 
at  Wilmington  in  1864,  was  elected  a  deacon  in 
December,  1S68,  and  in  November,  1891,  became 
a  ruling  elder. 

In  the  career  of  such  a  man  the  material  achieve- 
ments and  the  positions  he  held  may  be  passed 
over  with  brief  comment.  The  important  thing 
is  to  find  the  real  significance  and  the  meaning  of 
his  life  and  character.  From  out  the  mass  of 
tributes  paid  him  after  his  death  by  a  host  of 
friends  and  associates,  all  men  of  high  position  in 
the  world's  regard,  only  a  brief  quotation  can 
be  made,  and  of  sentences  that  apparently  come 
closest  to  striking  the  keynote  of  his  life. 

In    the    memorial    exercises    conducted    by    the 


Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mr.  Iredell  Meares  said  in 
part : 

' '  The  success  of  Mr.  Worth  was  not  the  success 
of  a  brilliant  hero.  It  was  not  the  success  of 
the  statesman  who  has  dealt  with  great  state  ques- 
tions. It  was  not  the  success  of  the  publicist  who 
has  dealt  with  the  great  problems  of  finance  and 
economics.  He  did  not  essay  to  influence  the  mul- 
titudes. He  exerted  it  over  the  individual  in  the 
conduct  of  his  early  life. 

' '  He  was  successful  as  a  merchant,  through 
honorable  means,  and  accumulated  a  large  fortune, 
but  his  highest  success,  apparently  his  highest  aim 
in  life,  was  the  development  of  an  ennobling  indi- 
vidual manhood. 

"It  is  not  the  admiration  that  the  public  pays 
to  a  great  man  who  had  occupied  great  positions 
and  rendered  great  public  services  with  which  this 
community  today  has  paid  its  respect  to  his  mem- 
ory. It  is  a  sentiment  nearer  and  tenderer  than 
admiration.  It  is  the  appreciation  lovingly  paid  to 
one  whose  universal  kindness  has  been  experienced 
and  recognized  in  this  community  over  a  long 
period  of  years. ' ' 

As  an  estimate  perhaps  the  most  impressive  was 
that  conveyed  by  Doctor  Alderman  in  the  memorial 
services  held  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
A  portion  of  Doctor  Alderman 's  address  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Well  born,  well  reared,  well  endowed,  well 
educated,  David  Gaston  Worth  entered  upon  life 
as  one  fit  and  worthy  of  success.  He  found  his 
work  immediately  in  what  we  are  accustomed  to 
regard,  falsely  enough,  as  the  more  toilsome  and 
more  mechanical  employment  of  trade.  For  over 
a  generation  in  the  city  of  Wilmington  he  gave 
the  strength  of  his  brain,  his  energy,  his  character 
to  the  work  of  his  choice,  only  laying  it  down  under 
the  stress  of  declining  health. 

"It  was  my  fortune  to  know  Mr.  Worth  much 
better  perhaps  than  men  of  my  age  can  usually 
know  men  of  his.  I  knew  him  in  his  home,  so 
clear,  so  just  and  withal  so  tender;  I  knew  him 
in  his  great  business,  zealous,  far-sighted,  upright, 
honest  as  the  day;  I  knew  him  in  his  church, 
humble,  tolerant,  heedful  of  every  just  cry  of  suf- 
fering or  distress ;  I  knew  him  in  the  counsels  of 
this  University,  silent  and  sagacious,  but  with  a 
touch  of  boyish  love  and  sentiment  for  Alma  Mater 
lighting  up,  as  with  a  flame,  the  stern  self  restraint 
of  his  character;  I  knew  him  in  society,  modest, 
approachable,  kindly,  lacking  in  forwardness  but 
instant  in  good  action,  and  impelling  a  wholesome 
respect  and  a  trifle  of  awe  by  reason  of  the  native 
dignity  of  the  man  and  a  feeling  that  he  had  not 
uttered  all  of  himself. 

"Knowing  him  thus  and  having  in  mind  also 
our  great  roll  of  distinguished  men,  I  yet  declare 
to  you  young  gentlemen  that  this  University  has 
nourished  on  her  broad  bosom  no  worthier  son, 
nor  one  who  better  used  the  time  appointed  him 
to  live. 

"The  spell  of  the  world  and  the  glamor  and 
pride  of  it  did  not  fall  across  his  path,  neither  did 
any  fevers  of  ambition  fret  and  waste  his  well 
ordered  days.  Wealth  came  to  him  honestly  won, 
children  grew  up  around  him  worthy  of  his  name, 
friends  multiplied  about  him,  duties  came  with 
power,  and  were  not  shirked. 

' '  Through  the  inevitable  conflict  of  life  upon 
which  we  enter  so  often  full  of  hope  and  belief 
and  faith,  and  out  of  which  we  drop  so  soon  dis- 
illusioned and  weary  and  bitter,  he  had  the  strength 
to  keep  the  first  bloom  of  his  youth   quite  unas- 


16 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


sailed,  and  even  the  power,  at  last,  to  look  with 
ealra,  untroubled  eyes  through  the  awful  mystery 
of  physical  pain  and  anguish  at  the  glorious,  dis- 
tant scene.  And  this  is  why  a  whole  state  has 
watched  with  sympathy  at  the  bedside  of  a  simple 
gentleman  adorning  a  private  station,  as'  a  king 
might  be  proud  to  adorn  his  throne,  and  mourns 
the  loss  of  one  who  illustrated  in  its  highest  form 
the  dignity  and  majesty  of  republican  citizenship. 

' '  The  thing  most  worthy  to  be  learned  from  the 
life  of  our  comrade  is  this — there  is  dignity  and 
even  glory  in  all  upright  life  however  hidden  from 
public  gaze,  and  any  bit  of  good  work  into  which 
heart  and  blood  and  nerve  have  gone  is  by  that 
token  immortal.  If  a  man  will  but  work,  however 
various  or  lowly  that  work  may  be,  whether  upon 
the  bare  canvas,  the  unhewn  stone,  the  human 
mind  or  heart,  or  merely  rough  labor  of  the  hands, 
there  shall  come  a  splendor  into  his  days  and  his 
work  shall  live. 

' '  The  stranger  passing  through  Memorial  Hall 
where  we  have  ranged  our  dead,  is  shown  this 
tablet  and  that,  and  told,  'here  is  the  jurist,  the 
statesman,  the  soldier  or  .the  ruler.' 

' '  The  tablet  bearing  the  name  of  David  Gaston 
Worth  shall  commemorate  a  Christian  gentleman, 
who  lived  the  good  life  and  did  not  ever  fail  in 
his  work,  and  his  fame  shall  vie  with  them  all." 

Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  Sr.,  LL.  D.  In  the  ap- 
plication of  their  talents,  energies  and  industry 
to  the  betterment  of  mankind  and  the  improvement 
of  social  and  economic  conditions,  the  members  of 
the  Battle  family  have  long  been  distinguished 
not  only  in  their  home  state  of  North  Carolina, 
but  throughout  the  South  and  the  entire  nation. 

One  of  this  family  is  Dr.  Kemp  Plummer  Battle, 
Sr.,  known  as  ' '  the  grand  old  man ' '  of  the  State 
University  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  near 
Louisburg,  North  Carolina,  December  19,  1831,  a 
son  of  William  Horn  and  Lucy  Martin  (Plummer) 
Battle.  He  was  graduated  in  the  classical  course 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1849, 
and  in  1852  took  his  Master  of  Arts  degTee.  He 
received  the  honorary  degree  LL.  D.  from  Davidson 
College  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
From  1849  to  1854  Doctor  Battle  was  a  tutor  in 
the  university  and  being  then  admitted  to  the  bar 
conducted  an  active  practice  until  1876. 

Doctor  Battle  is  one  of  the  last  surviving  mem- 
bers of  the  recession  convention  of  North  Carolina 
of  1861.  Prom  1866  to  1868  he  served  as  state 
treasurer.  In  1876  he  gave  up  his  law  practice  to 
become  president  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  held  that  office  until  1891.  From  that 
year  until  1907  he  was  professor  of  history,  and 
the  state  owes  much  to  him  for  his  work  in  original 
historical  research.  He  is  the  author  of  the  ' '  His- 
tory of  the  University  of  North  Carolina"  in  two 
volumes,  covering  the  annals  of  that  institution 
from  1795  to  1868.  Of  the  many  other  writings 
and  historical  monographs  of  which  he  is  author 
or  editor  may  be  mentioned  the  following:  His- 
tory of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina;  His- 
tory of  Raleigh;  Trials  and  Judicial  Proceedings 
of  the  New  Testament;  Life  of  General  Jethro 
Sumner;  Old  Schools  and  Teachers  of  North  Caro- 
lina; Otway  Burns — Privateer  and  Legislator;  and 
Annotator  of  tlie  Series  of  Snrunt  Monographs. 

Doctor  Batt'e  is  now  retired  on  the  Carnegie 
Foundation.  November  28,  1855,  he  married 
Martha  Ann  Battle  of  Edo-ecombe  County,  North 
Carolina.  Doctor  Battle  has  four  sons  who  have 
also  gained  eminent  rank  in   the   various   profes- 


sions. K.  P.  Battle,  Jr.,  is  a  prominent  physician 
of  Raleigh;  Thomas  H.  Battle,  banker  and  cotton 
mill  owner  at  Rocky  Mount,  North  Carolina;  Her- 
bert B.  Battle,  formerly  state  chemist  of  North 
Carolina  and  now  head  of  the  Battle  Chemical 
Laboratory  of  Montgomery,  Alabama;  and  Wil- 
liam James  Battle,  who  has  served  as  dean  and  act- 
ing president  of  the  University  of  Texas  and  now 
professor  of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Cincinnati 
— sons  whose  character  and  worth  are  in  a  fine 
sense  the  continued  achievements  of  their  honored 


Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  Jr.,  M.  D.  The  oldest 
son  of  the  venerable  Dr.  K.  P.  Battle  of  Chapel 
Hill,  former  president  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  Dr.  Kemp  Plummer  Battle,  Jr.,  has  long 
enjoyed  an  enviable  position  of  prominence  in  the 
medical  profession  of  his  native  state.  He  is  a 
specialist  in  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and 
throat,  and  for  thirty  years  has  been  actively 
associated  with  another  great  specialist  of  North 
Carolina,  Dr.  R.  H.  Lewis. 

Doctor  Battle  was  born  at  Raleigh  March  9, 
1859.  With  the  ideals  a,nd  inspiration  that  came 
from  an  ideal  home  life,  he  was  also  given  the 
liberal  advantages  of  the  best  schools  at  home  and 
abroad.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  the  Bing- 
ham School  at  Mebane  under  Col.  William  Bingham 
and  Maj.  Robert  Bingham.  In  1875  he  entered 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  where  he  was 
graduated  A.  B.  in  1879.  Other  men  of  that  grad- 
uating class  who  received  the  approbation  of  the 
world  for  their  good  deeds  were  Governor  F.  D. 
Winston,  Judge  R.  W.  Winston,  Bishop  Strange, 
Judge  J.  S.  Manning,  Dr.  J.  M.  Manning  and  Mr. 
W.  J.  Peele. 

After  leaving  the  university  he  began  the  study 
of  medicine  at  Chapel  Hill  and  in  1881  graduated 
M.  D.  from  the  University  of  Virginia.  In  1882  he 
received  a  similar  degree  from  the  Bellevue  Hos- 
pital Medical  College  of  New  York.  Since  1882 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety. After  graduation  he  served  as  interne  at 
Charity  Hospital  on  Blackwell  's  Island,  New  York, 
and  in  the  Blackwell 's  Island  Lunatic  Asylum,  and 
during  1884-85  was  assistant  surgeon  in  the  United 
States  Marine  Hospital  service,  being  stationed  at 
New  York,  Pittsburgh,  Memphis  and  New  Orleans. 
This  experience  was  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  his  subsequent  career. 

In  1886  Doctor  Battle  began  practice  at  Raleigh 
with  Dr.  E.  H.  Lewis,  and  this  firm  existed  for 
twenty-eight  years.  Then  in  November,  1914,  Dr. 
John  B.  Wright,  one  of  the  prominent  younger 
members  of  the  profession  in  this  state  was  ad- 
mitted to  partnership,  and  the  firm  is  now  Lewis, 
Battle  &  Wright. 

Doctor  Battle  studied  at  the  London  Ophthalmic 
Hospital,  the  London  Throat  Hospital  and  the 
New  York  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  and  has  taken 
many  other  post-graduate  courses.  He  was  honored 
as  president  of  the  Wake  County  Medical  Society 
in  1913,  belongs  to  the  Raleigh  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, and  the  American  Academy  of  Ophthalmology 
and  Laryngology.  He  is  one  of  the  ophthalmolo- 
gists to  the  North  Carolina  State  School  for  the 
Blind,  one  of  the  visiting  oculists  and  aurists  to 
the  Rex  and  St.  Agnes  hospitals  at  Raleigh,  is  local 
oculist  for  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway,  and 
from  1885  to  1914  was  professor  of  physiology 
in  the  Leonard  Medical  School,  and  from  1902  to 
1910  was  professor  of  diseases  of  throat  and  nose 
in  the   medical   department  of  the  University   of 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


17 


North  Carolina.  In  191.'!  Doctor  Battle  was  made 
a  fellow  of  the  American  College  of  Surgeons. 

From  1897  to  1900  Doctor  Battle  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Medical  Examining  Board,  and  in  that 
position  perhaps  did  his  greatest  service  to  the 
state  at  large.  Referring  to  his  work  on  the  board 
one  of  his  colleagues  has  said  that  there  probably 
had  never  served  on  the  Board  of  Medical  Exam- 
iners since  its  organization  in  1859  a  member  more 
painstaking  and  careful  than  Doctor  Battle. 

Doctor  Battle  is  a  Phi  Kappa  Sigma  Fraternity 
man,  belongs  to  the  Raleigh  Country  Club,  and  is 
a  director  of  the  Mechanics  Savings  Bank  of 
Raleigh.  On  February  4,  1890,  he  married  Miss 
Eliza  X.  McKee,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Wil- 
liam H.  McKee,  reference  to  whom  is  made  on 
other  pages. 

Herbert  Bemerton  Battle,  former  chemist  of 
the  North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Health,  but  now 
a  resident  of  Montgomery,  Alabama,  is  a  son  of 
Dr.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  former  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  born  at  Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina, 
May  29,  1862.  was  educated  in  the  university  from 
which  he  received  the  degree  Bachelor  of  Science 
in  1881,  and  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  1887.  From 
1881  to  1887  he  was  assistant  chemist  of  the  North 
Carolina  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  and 
from  1887  to  1897  was  state  chemist  and  director 
in  charge  of  the  North  Carolina  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station.  Doctor  Battle  was  president  of 
the  Southern  Chemical  Company  at  Winston,  North 
Carolina,  in  1897-1901,  and  from  19.02  to  1906  was 
connected  with  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company 
at  Savannah.  Georgia,  and  Montgomery,  Alabama. 
Since  1906  he  has  been  president  of  the  Battle 
Laboratory  Corporation  at  Montgomery,  Alabama. 

His  service  as  chemist  for  the  North  Carolina 
State  Board  of  Health  was  from  1887  to  1897.  He 
was  also  chemist  with  the  North  Carolina  Geologi- 
cal Survey  from  1887  to  1892,  and  was  professor  of 
chemistry  in  the  Leonard  Medical  School  at 
Raleigh  from  1886  to  1897.  He  is  a  fellow  in  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  and  a  member  of  the  American  Chemical 
Society,  and  is  also  widely  known  as  an  author  on 
chemical  subjects.  With  F.  D.  Dancy  he  is  author 
of  "Chemical  Conversion  Tables,"  published  in 
1885,  and  with  W.  J.  Gascoyne  of  "Chemical  Con- 
version Tables"  published  in  1909.  On  November 
25,  1885.  Doctor  Battle  married  Alice  M.  Wilson  of 
Morganton,  North   Carolina. 

William  James  Battle.  Ph.  D.,  dean  of  the 
faculty  of  the  University  of  Texas,  Austin,  is  a 
North  Carolina  man,  one  of  the  distinguished  sons 
of  the  venerable  Dr.  K.  P.  Battle,  who  for  many 
years  was  connected  with  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  as  professor  and  president. 

Born  at  Raleish  November  30,  1870,  William  J. 
Battle  graduated  with  honors  and  the  degree  A.  B. 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1888.  He 
received  a  Master  of  Arts  degTee  from  Harvard 
University  in  1891,  and  a  Ph.  D.  degTee  in  1893, 
holding  a  Thayer  Scholarship  one  year  and  a 
Morgan  Fellowship  two  years. 

For  the  session  of  1889-1890  he  was  instructor 
in  Latin  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and 
was  appointed  tutor  in  Latin  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  in  1893,  but  resigned  to  become  associate 
professor  of  Greek  at  the  University  of  Texas.  This 
position  he  held  till  he  was  made  professor  of 
Greek  in  1898.  From  1908  to  1911  he  was  dean 
Vol.  v— a 


of  the  College  of  Arts,  and  since  1911  has  been  dean 
of  the  faculty.  Besides  holding  these  positions 
he  served  as  acting  president  from  1914  to  1916. 

He  is  a  fellow  of  the  Texas  Academy  of  Science, 
a  member  of  the  American  Philological  Association, 
of  the  Archeological  Institute  of  America,  the 
Hellenic  Society  of  London,  the  Archeological  So- 
ciety of  Athens,  Greece,  the  Texas  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, in  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  executive 
council.  He  belongs  to  the  Zeta  Psi  Fraternity, 
is  a  former  president  of  the  University  Club  of 
Austin  and  a  former  secretary  of  the  Town  and 
Gown  Club. 

Richard  Henry  Battle,  who  died  in  1912,  was 
one  of  North  Carolina 's  most  distinguished 
lawyers.  Members  of  the  Battle  family  that  has  so 
singularly  enriched  the  professional  honors  of 
North  Carolina  he  was  born  at  Louisburg,  North 
Carolina,  December  3,  1835,  son  of  William  Horn 
and  Lucy  Martin  (Plummer)  Battle. 
■  He  was  graduated  A.  B.  and  A.  M.  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  receiving  the  former 
degree  in  1854  and  the  latter  in  1856,  and  in  1858 
received  his  degree  in  the  law  department  of  the 
university  and  in  1895  was  awarded  the  honorary 
title  LL.  D.  Beginning  practice  in  1858  he  was 
clerk  and  master  in  equity  during  1861-62,  but  had 
in  the  meantime  entered  the  Confederate  army 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  He  was  nominated 
for  first  lieutenant  and  afterward  for  captain 
quartermaster,  but  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health 
before  getting  his  commission.  During  1862-65  he 
was  private  secretary  to  Governor  Z.  B.  Vance  and 
also  filled  the  office  of  state  auditor.  After  the  war 
he  practiced  law  at  Raleigh  continuously  until  his 
death.  In  1886  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  North  Carolina  but  declined  that 
office. 

He  was  president  and  attorney  of  the  North 
Carolina  Home  Insurance  Company,  director  and 
attorney  of  the  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Raleigh, 
of  the  Raleigh  Cotton  Mills,  of  the  Neuse  River 
Mill,  was  president  of  the  trustees  of  Rex  Hospital, 
the  Raleigh  Cemetery  Association  and  the  Rainey 
Library.  For  many  years  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  State  Democratic  Committee  and  was  its 
chairman  from  1884  to  1888.  He  took  a  very  prom- 
inent part  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  serving  as  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Convention  in  1889  to  1904. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
North  Carolina  and  was  trustee,  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and 
a  trustee  and  attorney  of  St.  Mary's  School  at 
Raleigh.  He  married  November  28,  1860,  Annie 
Ruffin  Ashe,  who  died  in  1883. 

Lieutenant  General  D.  H.  Hill.  As  one  of 
North  Carolina 's  lieutenant  generals  during  the 
Confederate  war,  Daniel  Harvey  Hill  has  been 
one  of  the  famous  figures  and  personalities  of 
the  state  for  two  generations,  and  his  service 
record  as  a  soldier  and  leader  in  that  mighty 
conflict  is  destined  to  be  read  by  every  succeeding 
generation. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  brief  article  to 
evaluate  his  work  as  a  soldier.  That  is  a  large 
subject  in  itself  and  the  data  and  records  furnish- 
ing such  an  appreciation  are  to  be  found  in  many 
of  the  public  works  on  the  great  war.  Perhaps 
the  most  complete  and  adequate  monograph  on 
the  subject  is  the  "Memorial  Address  on  the  Life 
and  Character  of  Lieutenant  General  D.  H.  Hill" 
prepared  by  Judge  A.  C.  Avery  of  the  Supreme 


18 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Court  of  North  Carolina.  This  was  published 
twenty-five  years  ago.  The  present  object  is  to 
furnish  a  concise  biography  of  General  Hill,  con- 
taining only  a  suggestive  outline  of  his  military 
services. 

He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  His  paternal 
grandfather  William  Hill,  a  native  of  the  north 
of  England,  first  settled  in  Pennsylvania  and 
later  came  south  with  some  of  his  fellow  country- 
men through  the  Valley  of  Virginia  and  western 
North  Carolina  and  settled  in  South  Carolina. 
With  Colonel  Hayne  as  a  partner  he  built  in  1770 
an  iron  foundry  in  York  District.  It  was  the 
only  foundry  south  of  Virginia  where  cannons 
were  cast  for  the  use  of  the  Colonial  armies  in  the 
Eevolution.  William  Hill  served  as  lieutenant 
colonel  of  Sumpter  's  Legion  in  the  Eevolution  and 
fought  in  many  engagements.  Colonel  Hill  was 
wounded  just  before  the  Battle  of  King 's  Moun- 
tain, but  he  went  to  that  field  as  a  volunteer  and 
was  invited  by  the  commanding  officer  to  share 
in  determining  the  plan  of  attack.  After  the  war 
for  twenty  years  he  was  representative  of  his  dis- 
trict in  the  State  Senate  of  South  Carolina.  Two 
of  his  sons  served  as  soldiers  in  the  War  of  1812. 

The  parents  of  General  Hill  were  Solomon  and 
Nancy  (Cabeen)  Hill.  His  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Cabeen,  a  native  Scotchman  whom 
General  Sumpter  called  "the  bravest  man  in  his 
command. ' '  Daniel  Harvey  Hill  was  born  in  the 
York  District  of  South  Carolina  July  21,  1821, 
and  was  only  four  years  old  when  his  father  died. 
He  and  four  other  children  were  reared  to  man- 
hood by  their  pious  and  cultured  mother.  She 
exacted  of  her  sons  the  most  rigid  observance  of 
the  Sabbath.  General  Hill  was  always  devoted  to 
his  religious  duties,  and  in  his  constant  trust  in 
a  higher  power  his  character  was  very  similar  to 
that  of  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson  and  General 
Lee. 

He  early  manifested  a  military  ambition,  and 
though  he  possessed  a  frail  constitution  and  rather 
delicate  health  he  was  accepted  for  entrance  to 
the  West  Point  Military  Academy  in  1838.  He 
was  member  of  a  famous  class,  some  of  his  asso- 
ciates who  afterwards  became  distinguished  in 
the  Confederate  army  being  Generals  Longstreet, 
A.  P.  Stewart,  G.  W.  Smith,  B.  H.  Anderson  and 
Van  Dorn. 

He  graduated  from  West  Point  in  1842.  In 
August,  1845,  he  was  ordered  into  active  service 
for  the  war  with  Mexico  as  a  second  lieutenant. 
He  participated  in  nearly  every  battle  fought  in 
the  commands  of  Scott  and  Taylor,  rose  to  the 
rank  of  first  lieutenant  and  for  gallant  conduct 
at  Contreras  and  Cherubuseo  was  brevetted  cap- 
tain. He  again  distinguished  himself  by  his 
bravery  at  Chapultepec,  winning  for  himself  a 
second  brevet  as  major.  He  was  one  of  the  six 
officers  in  the  entire  army  in  Mexico  who  was 
twice  brevetted  for  meritorious  service  upon  the 
field.  Later  he  was  one  of  the  two  soldiers  of 
South  Carolina  awarded  swords  in  pursuance  of 
an  act  of  the  State  Legislature,  providing  such 
honors  for  the  bravest  of  the  soldiers  in  the  war 
with  Mexico. 

At  the  end  of  the  Mexican  war  Major  Hill 
resigned  his  place  in  the  army  and  became  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  in  Washington  College  at 
Lexington,  Virginia.  Six  years  later  he  assumed 
the  same  professorship  in  Davidson  College  in 
North  Carolina,  and  was  connected  with  that 
institution  five  years.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
men  in  the  South  not  only  to  foresee  but  to  take 


action  in  anticipation  of  the  inevitable  conflict 
between  the  North  and  the  South.  Iu  these 
modern  times  the  people  of  America  have  a  keen 
understanding  of  what  is  meant  by  "military 
preparedness. ' '  General  Hill  in  his  time  exempli- 
fied that  idea  and  principle  in  the  highest  degree. 
In  1859  he  gave  up  his  congenial  duties  at  David- 
son College  to  become  commandant  and  manager 
of  the  Military  Institute  at  Charlotte.  In  the 
spring  of  1861  Governor  Ellis  invited  him  as  a 
trained  soldier  and  veteran  officer  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  citizen  soldiery  of  North  Carolina 
at  Ealeigh  and  he  is  distinguished  as  command- 
ing the  first  camp  of  instruction  in  North  Caro- 
lina preparatory  to  the  war  between  the  states. 
In  passing  it  should  be  mentioned  that  General 
Hill  was  a  keen  judge  of  personal  military 
efficiency,  and  he  designated  and  recommended  for 
promotion  and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  out 
a  number  of  men  whose  names  the  Confederacy 
will  always  honor  as  among  its  most  distinguished 
officers. 

After  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  he  first  went 
into  action  at  the  battle  of  Bethel  with  the  rank 
of  colonel.  After  this  battle  he  was  issued  a  com- 
mission as  brigadier  general  by  Governor  Ellis, 
but  the  appointment  was  delayed  until  Septem- 
ber, 1861.  During  the  following  weeks  he  was 
assigned  the  command  of  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina  with  the  duty,  as  far  as  possible,  of  con- 
structing fortifications  wherever  necessary.  He 
brought  all  his  energies  to  bear  upon  this  work, 
but  early  in  December,  1861,  was  ordered  into 
the  army  of  -Northern  Virginia  under  General 
Johnston.  A  few  weeks  later  he  was  promoted 
to  major  general,  and  during  the  year  1862  he 
was  one  of  the  division  commanders  in  the 
successive  battles  of  Williamsburg,  Seven  Pines, 
and  in  the  Seven  Days  battle  around  Mechanics- 
ville,  Gaines  Mill  and  Malvern  Hill.  He  shared 
with  his  division  in  the  hard  fighting  of  the 
Maryland  Campaign  and  at  South  Mountain, 
Sharpsburg  and  through  all  the  tremendous  and 
almost  constant  fighting  in  which  these  battles 
were  central  points  Major  General  Hill  and  his 
men  were  almost  constantly  in  posts  of  danger, 
stubbornly  resisting  the  onslaught  of  the  foe  or 
brilliantly  forcing  some  strategic  point  of  the  line. 
In  February,  1863,  he  was  at  the  request  of 
Governor  Vance,  detached  for  a  time  from  his 
division  to  assume  command  in  the  State  of  North 
Carolina.  From  this  state  he  was  recalled  a.  few 
weeks  later  to  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  was  put 
in  command  of  the  department  extending  from 
the  James  to  the  Cape  Fear.  He  was  in  command 
of  the  troops  left  to  defend  Bichmond  when  Gen- 
eral Lee  invaded  Pennsylvania. 

In  1863  President  Davis  informed  General  Hill 
that  he  was  to  be  appointed  a  lieutenant  general 
and  was  ordered  to  report  to  the  western  army. 
He  was  one  of  the  commanders  under  Bragg  at 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  as  a  result  of  the 
unfortunate  reverses  that  befell  the  Confederate 
arms  in  that  campaign  General  Hill  reluctantly 
subscribed  his  name  with  those  of  other  generals 
to  the  petition  for  Bragg 's  removal  from  the 
office  of  commanding  general  of  the  western  army. 
President  Davis  came  to  believe  that  General 
Hill  was  the  originator  of  this  plan,  and  visited 
him  with  so  much  ill  favor  that  General  Hill  was 
practically  deprived  of  any  important  campaign 
until  the  last  months  of  the  war.  President 
Davis  did  not  send  the  name  of  General  Hill  for 
confirmation   as  lieutenant  general  and  the  latter 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


19 


was  not  reinstated  in  command  of  his  corps  until 
Sherman's  forces  had  begun  the  invasion  of  the 
Carolinas.  He  was  assigned  the  duty  of  impeding, 
with  the  remnant  of  the  grand  Army  of  Tennessee, 
the  advance  of  the  victorious  hosts  of  Sherman 
and  disputed  that  advance  until  "it  was  useless  to 
contend  further.  As  one  biographer  states: 
' '  Hill 's  reputation  as  a  soldier  depends  in  no  wise 
upon  successful  running.  This  final  retreat  was 
the  first  and  last  in  which  he  took  a  leading  part. ' ' 

After  the  war  General  Hill  devoted  himself  to 
journalism  and  teaching.  He  was  editor  of  The 
Land  We  Love  and  subsequently  of  The  Southern 
Home  and  through  these  publications  he  did  much 
to  defend  the  dignity  and  reputation  of  the  heroes 
and  leaders  of  the  Lost  Cause.  His  editorials 
and  his  opinions  upon  a  great  variety  of  subjects 
are  characterized  by  terse  and  clear  language  as 
a  result  of  his  habits  of  thought  and  study.  He 
also  wrote  two  religious  works. 

To  conclude  this  sketch  should  be  quoted  the 
last  two  paragraphs  of  Judge  Avery's  Memorial 
Address: 

' '  Unmoved  in  the  presence  of  danger,  schooled 
to  hide  his  emotion  for  suffering  in  the  critical 
time  of  battle,  and  forced  by  a  sense  of  duty  to 
show  his  bitter  scorn  for  cowardice  and  treachery, 
it  was  the  exclusive  privilege  of  his  family,  his 
staff  and  his  closest  friends  to  fathom  the  depths 
of  his  true  nature.  The  soldiers  who  saw  him  on 
camp  or  field  could  as  little  conceive  of  the  humble 
Christian  who,  in  the  long  hours  of  the  night, 
pleaded  with  his  God  to  spare  their  lives  and  save 
their  souls,  as  they  could  of  the  affectionate  father, 
the  loving  husband,  the  sympathizing  friend,  and 
the  bountiful  benefactor  of  the  poor  and  helpless, 
known  only  to  the  favored  few.  A  writer  who  in 
his  last  days  was  admitted  to  Jthe  inner  circle  of 
his  friends,  has  so  beautifully  expressed  his  idea 
of  his  true  character  that  I  cannot  do  better 
than  reproduce  it  as  not  an  overdrawn  picture 
from  the  standpoint  of  one  who  served  on  his 
staff,  had  free  access  to  his  home  circle,  and 
observed  and  studied  his  motives  and  conduct: 

' '  '  Fancy  a  man  in  whom  the  grim  determina- 
tion of  a  veteran  warrior  is  united  to  a  gentle 
tenderness  of  manner  which  would  not  be  inappro- 
priate to  the  most  womanly  of  women ;  affix  a 
pair  of  eyes  that  possess  the  most  indisputably 
honest  and  kindly  expression;  animate  him  with 
a  mind  clear,  deep  and  comprehensive,  and  imbued 
with  a  humor  as  rich  as  it  is  deep  and  effective; 
infuse  man  and  mind  with  a  soul  which  in  its 
lofty  views  compels  subordination  of  the  material 
to  the  spiritual,  and  holds  a  supreme  trust  in  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Almighty — is  zealous 
in  the  discharge  of  duty  and  looks  with  scorn  on 
all  that  is  mean  and  sinful.  Add  to  all  these  a 
carriage  that  is  indomitable,  and  a  love  of  truth 
and  honor  which  is  sublime,  and  you  have  the 
earthly  embodiment  of  D.  H.  Hill !  '  " 
■  General  Hill  married  November  2,  1852, 
Isabella  Morrison,  oldest,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr. 
B.  H.  Morrison.  Her  grandfather-  General 
Joseph  Graham  was  a  distinguished  soldier  of  the 
Revolution  and  father  of  Governor  William  A. 
Graham. 

Daniel  Harvey  Hill,  of  Raleigh,  formerly 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  State  College 
of  Agriculture  and  Engineering,  is  sprung  from 
a.  family  of  educators  and  writers.  His  father 
was  president  of  the  University  of  Arkansas  and 
his   grandfather    was    president    of   the   Davidson 


College.  Doctor  Hill  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
State  College  in  July,  1916,  in  order  to  write 
North  Carolina's  Confederate  Military  History. 
The  volumes  on  which  he  is  now  engaged  will  give 
the  social  as  well  as  the  military  history  of  North 
Carolina  during  the  Civil  War.  The  work  is 
being  done  on  a  foundation  endowed  by  Mr. 
Robert  H.  Ricks,  of  Rocky  Mouut.  The  con- 
dition of  Mr.  Ricks'  endowment  of  the  Founda- 
tion through  the  North  Carolina  Confederate 
Veterans'  Association  was  that  Dr.  Hill  could  be 
secured  to  prepare  these  memorial  volumes.  Under 
these  circumstances  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  resign 
from  an  institution  with  which  he  had  been  con- 
nected for  twenty-seven  years  and  devote  his 
remaining  years  to  the  history  of  his  people  dur- 
ing the  most  trying  episode  in  their  existence. 

Doctor  Hill  was  born  at  Davidson  College  in 
1859.  He  is  a  son  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Daniel  Harvey 
Hill,  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  a  great-grand- 
son of  Col.  William  Hill  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 
His  mother,  Isabella  Morris  Hill,  was  a  daughter 
of  Rev.  R.  H.  Morrison  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Gen.  Joseph  Graham  of  the  Revolution.  Doctor 
Hill  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Military 
Institute  at  Charlotte  and  at  Horner  and  Grave's 
Military  Academy  at  Hillsboro.  In  1880  he  was 
graduated  from  Davidson  College.  In  1885  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  on  him, 
and  in  1905  the  degree  of  Lit.  D.  by  the  same 
institution.  In  1910  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws. 

From  1880  to  1889  he  was  professor  of  Eng- 
lish in  the  Georgia  Military  and  Agricultural 
College  at  Milledgeville.  In  1889  he  was  called 
to  the  Chair  of  English  in  the  North  Carolina 
College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts,  and 
held  that  position  until  1908,  when  he  was  elected 
president  to  succeed  Pres.  George  T.  Winston. 
He  served  as  president  until  1916,  when  he  retired 
to  devote  his  life  to  historical  work. 

For  years  Doctor  Hill  has  been  employing  his 
talents  for  research  and  his  literary  ability  in 
preserving  the  history  of  his  state.  He  is  the 
author  of  "North  Carolina  Troops  in  the  Civil 
War,"  published  in  1899;  "Greene's  Retreat," 
a  booklet  issued  in  1901;  "Young  People's  His- 
tory of  North  Carolina,"  published  in  1907.  In 
collaboration  with  two  of  his  associates  he  aided 
in  1903  in  the  preparation  of  ' '  Agriculture  for 
Beginners, ' '  a  widely  used  text-book,  and  with 
the  same  associates  edited  the  "Hill  Readers," 
a  series  of  five  volumes,  published  in  1906.  Many 
other  of  his  articles  on  historical  and  literary 
subjects  have  been  printed  in  magazines  and 
pamphlets. 

Having  an  industrious  temperament  and  a 
versatile  mind,  Doctor  Hill  has  never  been  content 
to  spend  all  his  time  in  his  study  or  in  the  shadow 
of  college  walls.  He  has  been  an  active  partici- 
pant in  many  forms  of  state  and  national  life. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  State  Literary 
and  Historical  Association  and  of  the  Southern 
Educational  Association.  He  was  president  of 
the  State  Teachers '  Assembly  in  1909,  of  the 
State  Forestry  Association  in  1910,  of  the  State 
Folk  Lore  Society  in  1916.  For  some  years  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  Association  of  Agricultural  colleges. 
In  1907  Governor  Glenn  appointed  him  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission.  At 
the  opening  of  the  great  European  war  he 
accepted  the  Chairmanship  of  the  North  Carolina 


20 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Council     of     Defense,     and     has     organized     and 
developed  that  useful  body  of  zealous  workers. 

In  July  1885,  he  married  Pauline  White, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  G.  White  of  Milledge- 
ville,  Georgia.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Hill  have  five 
children,  namely,  Pauline,  Daniel  Harvey,  Jr., 
Elizabeth,  Samuel  White,  and  Randolph. 

Alexander.  Eodntree  Foushee.  The  founding 
and  maintaining  of  large  business  enterprises 
which  have  entered  into  and  been  a  part  of  the 
life  of  a  community,  are  achievements  in  which 
any  man  may  take  a  measure  of  pride  as  years 
pass  by,  whatever  else  he  may  worthily  have  accom- 
plished. One  who  has  had  much  to  do  with  the 
important  business  interests  of  Roxboro  for  many 
years,  is  Alexander  Rountree  Foushee,  who  is 
president  of  the  Peoples  Bank  of  this  city. 

Alexander  Rountree  Foushee  was  born  March 
31,  1839,  in  Person  County,  North  Carolina,  prob- 
ably of  Revolutionary  stock,  and  certainly  of  stable 
and  dependable  ancestral  lines.  His  parents  were 
Adnah  Campbell  and  Frances  (Rountree)  Foushee. 
His  father  in  the  old  days,  was  a  farmer  and  a 
manufacturer  of  furniture.  He  reared  his  family 
in  comparative  comfort  and  his  children  were  set 
an   example  of  industry  and  uprightness. 

When  Alexander  R.  Foushee  was  a  boy,  the 
private  tutor  and  the  private  schools  were  general 
educational  features  in  the  South  rather  more  fre- 
quently perhaps  at  that  time  than  in  the  North, 
where  the  public  school  system  was  a  little  earlier 
inaugurated,  but  after  his  preliminary  training 
was  over,  the  youth  attended  an  academy  at  Lees- 
burg.  A  natural  inclination  toward  a  business 
life  led  to  his  becoming  a  clerk  in  a  general  store 
and  he  was  learning  the  mercantile  business  at 
the  time  the  Civil  war  became  a  fact.  He  entered 
the  Confederate  army  and  because  of  his  clerk- 
ing experience,  was  detailed  clerk  in  the  office  of 
Col.  Peter  Matille,  at  Raleigh  and  continued  as 
military  clerk  until  the  end  of  the  war,  when  he 
returned  to  private  life. 

In  1865  Mr.  Foushee  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Roxboro  and  for  thirty-five  years  was 
the  leading  merchant  here,  carrying  a  heavy  stock 
and  supplying  merchandise  to  a  wide  territory. 
He  did  not  confine  his  energies,  however,  to  one 
line,  of  activity,  but  interested  himself  in  various 
directions  and  gave  substantial  encouragement  to 
many  enterprises  that  have  since  become  prosper- 
ous. Mr.  Foushee  carried  on  farming  for  many 
years,  operated  a  tannery  and  also  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  tobacco  for  the  market,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  capitalists  to  recognize  the  expedi- 
ency of  starting  what  has  become  the  great  cotton 
mill  industry.  At  present  he  is  vice  president  of 
the  Roxboro  Cotton  Mill,  and  since.  1915,  has  been 
president  of  the  Peoples  Bank.  While  his  busi- 
ness interests  have  often  been  absorbing,  Mr. 
Foushee  has  not  forgotten  the  responsible  position 
in  which  a  capitalist  stands  in  relation  to  his  com- 
munity and  fellow  citizens,  and  his  liberality  to 
worthy  causes  has  many  times  been  shown.  He 
has  acceptably  filled  positions  of  public  trust,  serv- 
ing for  many  years  as  a  magistrate,  also  one  term 
as  county  treasurer,  and  was  county  commissioner 
two  years  and  trustee  of  Wake  Forest  College 
many  years. 

Mr.  Foushee  was  married  first  on  January  5, 
1869,  to  Miss  Bettie  Wilkerson,  of  Person  County, 
who  was  survived  by  three  sons:  Judge  Howard 
Alexander,  deceased,  mentioned  on  other  pages; 
William   Linwood   of  Durham,   also   mentioned  on 


other  pages,  who  is  a  practicing  attorney;  and 
James  Louis,  who  died  while  preparing  for  a 
medical  career. 

The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Foushee  took  place 
on  July  17,  1906,  to  Miss  Alice  M.  Tucker,  who 
belongs  to  a  rather  noted  old  family  of  Charlotte 
County,  Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foushee  are 
members  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church.  For 
many  years  he  was  identified  with  the  Masonic 
Fraternity  at  Roxboro  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  chapter  at  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina. 

Howard  Alexander  Foushee  was  born  at  Rox- 
boro, Person .  County,  North  Carolina,  May  13, 
1870,  and  died  at  Durham  January  31,  1916,  in  his 
forty-sixth  year.  Death  came  to  him  early.  But 
few  men  at  any  age  are  able  to  leave  behind  them 
sucli  clear-cut  and  distinctive  records  of  undoubted 
high  service,  a  living  under  the  highest  ideals,  and 
finished  and  perfected  achievements.  A  host  of 
friends,  leaders  of  the  bench  and  bar,  the  public 
press,  the  pulpit,  all  bore  tribute  to  his  life,  and 
to  describe  his  career  and  furnish  a  just  and 
adequate  appreciation  of  the  manner  of  man  he 
was  is  a  task  limited  only  by  the  handicap  of 
space  and  involving  a  selection  of  the  more 
pertinent  things  that  have  been  written  and 
spoken. 

He  was  well  described  as  one  of  the  gentlest,  one 
of  the  strongest,  one  of  the  purest  of  men,  and 
the  facts  which  bear  out  that  testimony  are  per- 
haps most  succinctly  and  fittingly  stated  by  James 
S.  Manning  of  Raleigh,  former  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  North  Carolina,  and  at  one  time 
a  law  partner  of  Judge  Foushee.  Judge  Manning 
made  the  memorial  address  to  Mr.  Foushee  at  the 
meeting  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association, 
and  from  the  minutes  of  that  association  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  are  largely  taken. 

The  oldest  son  of  Alexander  R.  and  Elizabeth 
Foushee,  he  was  reared  in  his  native  town  of  Rox- 
boro, where  he  attended  the  public  schools  and 
later  Henderson  Academy.  In  1885  he  entered 
Wake  Forest  College,  and  was  graduated  as  val- 
edictorian of  his  class  at  the  commencement  of 
1889,  having  attained  the  Master  of  Arts  degree  in 
four  years.  He  taught  school  as  so  many  lawyers 
have  done  to  test  the  accuracy  of  their  scholarship, 
to  have  the  time  to  digest  more  thoroughly  their 
own  learning,  to  have  time  to  read  and  think,  to 
study  character  as  it  is  manifested  and  developed  in 
children  and  to  earn  a  livelihood.  Judge  Foushee 
taught  in  Selma,  Durham,  Charlotte  and  in  Mur- 
freesboro,  beginning  the  study  of  law  in  the  last 
named  place  under  Judge  B.  B.  Winborne.  He 
completed  his  law  course  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  the  summer  of  1893  and  was 
licensed  to  practice  at  the  fall  term  of  that  year. 
About  November  1,  1893,  he  entered  the  law  of- 
fice of  J.  S.  Manning  at  Durham  and  the  partner- 
ship of  Manning  &  Foushee  was  then  formed, 
which  continued  until  June,  1909,  when  the  senior 
member  was  appointed  to  the  Supreme  Court 
bench  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Foushee  represented  Durham  County  in  the 
Legislature  of  1899,  and  was  a  senator  from  the 
Durham  District  in  1901  and  1905.  Upon  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Biggs  as  the  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  that  district,  Judge  Foushee 
was  appointed  his  successor  on  September  11,  1911, 
but  was  compelled  on  account  of  ill  health  to 
resign  on  September  21,  1913.  For  several  years 
Judge  Foushee  was  the  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Executive  Committee  of  Durham,  and  under 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


21 


his  careful,  wise  and  efficient  leadership  the  demo- 
cratic party  did  not  fail  to  carry  tie  county; 
and  it  has  since  been  continuously  democratic. 
Judge  Foushee  was  an  organizer  of  great  ability; 
he  was  painstaking,  active,  persistent  and  wise. 
He  took  no  chances  and  wasted  no  opportunity  to 
strengthen  his  party.  He  knew  the  people  of  his 
county  well  and  they  knew  and  trusted  him.  A 
man  of  the  highest  character,  of  unyielding  in- 
tegrity, of  the  highest  sense  of  honor,  of  clean 
life,  of  splendid  common  sense,  he  made  an  ideal 
leader,  implicitly  trusted  by  his  fellows. 

As  a  lawyer  he  was  careful,  studious,  wise  in 
counsel,  addressing  his  thought  and  research  to 
the  main  questions  involved.  As  a  man  he  was 
of  the  strictest  integrity,  gentle,  considerate, 
sincere,  sympathetic,  always  ready  to  advise  and 
counsel  his  younger  brethren.  As  a  citizen  he 
possessed  strong  and  well  considered  opinions, 
always  advocating  those  measures  which  made  for 
the  uplift  and  betterment  of  his  community.  When 
his  own  judgment  and  conscience  approved  a 
measure,  he  became  its  fearless  advocate,  but 
while  fearless  in  its  advocacy  he  was  neither  rash 
nor  abusive  of  those  who  might  differ  from  him. 
His  nature  was  too  gentle  and  his  wisdom  too 
broad,  to  permit  him  to  indulge  in  abuse  as  the 
means  to  strengthen  a  righteous  and  just  cause. 
As  a  friend  he  was  loyal  and  devoted,  no  under- 
taking was  too  great  for  him  to  attempt  for  his 
friends,  but  he  was  withal  frank  and  candid. 

As  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  he  was  dig- 
nified, impartial,  courteous,  deeply  conscientious  in 
his  efforts  to  discharge  his  duties  in  such  a  way 
as  to  have  the  approval  of  his  judgment  and  his 
conscience,  and  in  such  a  way  as  accorded  with 
his  conception  of  how  should  be  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  most  important  and  useful  office 
in  our  system  of  Government.  Of  his  service  on 
the  bench  I  quote  the  language  of  R.  H.  Sykes  of 
the  Durham  bar  in  his  address  at  the  memorial 
ceremony  of  the  Durham  lawyers:  "In  the  two 
years  during  which  Judge  Foushee  presided  over 
our  Superior  Court  he  visited  many  counties  of 
the  state  and  from  every  section  the  judgment  of 
those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  was  that  in 
temperament,  character,  ability  and  industry,  and 
with  all  the  qualities  that  go  with  the  making  of 
a  judge  of  this  honorable  court,  he  was  ideally 
endowed.  To  the  lawyers  practicing  before  him 
he  was  courteous  and  affable,  firm  and  resolute  in 
his  judgment ;  to  the  court  officials,  witnesses  and 
litigants  he  was  agreeable  and  sociable.  And  to 
all  classes  he  was  the  same  straightforward,  high- 
minded  Christian  gentleman  that  he  had  been  dur- 
ing all  the  previous  years  of  his  life.  Elevation 
to  high  and  responsible  public  office  did  not  cor- 
rode the  pure  gold  of  his  nature,  nor  affect  him 
with  those  vanities  which  under  similar  conditions 
so  often  betoken  the  littleness  of  human  nature. 
His  court  was  one  of  dignity  without  austerity;  of 
accomplishment  without  bluster,  and  of  justness 
without   harshness." 

"Having  known  Judge  Foushee  intimately  for 
many  years,"  says  Judge  Manning,  "I  can  say 
that  he  was  the  most  dependable  man  I  have  ever 
known — dependable  in  judgment,  in  friendship,  in 
character,  in  integrity,  in  his  common  sense  and 
in  the  correctness  of  his  conclusions  and  in  his 
convictions.  His  life  was  so  well  spent  and  he  so 
lived  that  when  'his  summons  came  to  join  the 
innumerable  caravan'  it  found  him  ready  with 
the  simple  faith  and  assured  confidence  of  an 
earnest   and   devoted   Christian." 


To  the  words  of  Judge  Manning,  charged  with 
fullness  of  meaning  and  appreciation,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  add  from  the  numerous  other  tributes 
at  hand  anything  that  would  give  a  more  adequate 
estimate  of  the  iife  and  services  of  Judge  Foushee. 
The  one  other  quotation  permissable  is  from  the 
Raleigh  News  and  Observer,  which  contained  the 
following  editorial : 

' '  The  early  days  of  a  man 's  life  are  the  days 
which  tell  in  the  after  years.  From  that  reason 
it  could  but  be  expected  that  Howard  Alexander 
Foushee  would  prove  a  man  of  the  staunch  and 
true  kind.  That  was  the  influence  of  the  home 
surroundings  of  young  Foushee  in  the  days  in 
which  he  grew  to  manhood  in  Roxboro.  Straight- 
forwardness and  honesty  have  ever  been  marked  in 
the  life  of  the  sons  of  Alexander  R.  Foushee. 

"And  so  former  Judge  Howard  Foushee  passes 
into  the  Beyond,  leaving  a  high  name  as  a  heritage 
for  his  children.  Forty-six  years  God  gave  him, 
and  in  those  forty-six  years  he  rendered  good  ac- 
count of  himself  in  his  profession,  as  a  citizen, 
and  in  his  home  life.  A  Wake  Forest  graduate, 
the  valedictorian  of  his  class,  a  graduate  in  law 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  he  took  high 
place  at  the  bar  in  Durham,  where  he  located 
after  teaching  school  for  a  while.  His  ability  and 
devotion  to  principle  recognized,  he  became  the 
democratic  chairman  in  Durham  County,  repre- 
sented it  in  both  the  house  and  senate,  making 
reputation  of  the  best  as  a  legislator.  Later  as 
a  Superior  Court  judge  he  added  to  his  reputation, 
winning  encomiums  because  of  his  conduct  of  the 
courts,  the  ability  with  which  he  presided. 

' '  Howard  Foushee  was  of  the  best  type  of  the 
young  manhood  of  the  state.  To  know  him  was 
to  esteem  him  and  the  great  number  of  friends 
whom  he  won  and  held  found  in  him  a  man  of 
the  worthy  kind,  of  high  ideals,  and  of  faithful 
service.  There  will  be  deep  grief  among  all  who 
knew  him  that  he  has  been  called  to  answer  the 
final  summons. ' ' 

April  13,  1904,  Judge  Foushee  married  Miss 
Annie  Wall,  only  daughter  of  Hon.  Henry  Clay 
Wall  of  Rockingham.  Surviving  the  honored  hus- 
band and  father  are  Mrs.  Foushee  and  three  chil- 
dren, Annie  Wall,  Frances  Leak,  and  Alexander 
Foushee. 

William  Linwood  Foushee,  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  members  of  the  Durham  bar,  represents 
a  family  with  steadfast  ideals  of  honor,  integrity, 
and  the  polish  and  culture  of  the  old  and  the 
new  South. 

He  was  born  at  Roxboro,  Person  County,  North 
Carolina,  a  son  of  Alexander  Rountree  and  Eliza- 
beth (Wilkerson)  Foushee.  His  father  was  a 
merchant  and  farmer,  and  not  only  was  the  tamily 
position  a  most  creditable  one  in  the  economic  af- 
fairs of  Roxboro  but  the  home  associations  were 
such  as  to  afford  an  ideal  environment  in  which 
young  men  might  grow  up  and  prepare  for  worthy 
achievement  in  the  world.  Mr.  Foushee  was  the 
second  of  three  brothers.  The  oldest  was  the  late 
Judge  Howard  A.  Foushee,  concerning  whom  an 
extended  sketch  appears  on  other  pages.  The 
other  and  youngest  brother,  James  L.  Foushee, 
died  in  1906. 

William  L.  Foushee  was  educated  in  the  Rox- 
boro schools,  in  Wake  Forest  College,  and  in  1900 
received  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  from  Johns  Hopkins 
University  .at  Baltimore,  and  brings,  therefore, 
scholarship  to  his  work  in  the  legal  profession. 
Before  taking  up  the  law  he  spent  a  number  of 


22 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


years  in  college  work,  having  the  Chair  of  Latin 
for  one  year  in  Mercer  University  at  Macon, 
Georgia,  and  for  eight  years  was  a  member  of 
the  faculty  of  Richmond  College  in  Virginia.  In 
the  meantime  he  studied  law  at  Eichmond  College 
and  later  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He 
was  licensed  to  practice  law  in  1909,  and  since 
then  has  been  in  general  practice  at  Durham,  being 
an  associate  of  his  brother  Howard  until  the  latter 
went  on  the  bench.  His  interest  extends  also  to 
civic  and  social  activities  of  the  city  in  which  he 
lives;  he  is  a  director  of  the  Durham  Traction 
Company,  president  of  the  Durham  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  director  of  the  Young  Men 's  Christian 
Association,  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  and 
American  Bar  Associations,  and  belongs  to  the 
Country  Club  and  the  Commonwealth  Club  of  Dur- 
ham. 

William  Thomas  Wilson,  a  well  known  and 
prominent  lawyer  of  Winston-Salem,  represents  the 
sixth  consecutive  generation  of  the  Wilson  family 
in  North  Carolina.  An  old  Colonial  family,  it  has 
furnished  a  large  number  of  worthy  men.  and 
women  to  the  useful  service  of  the  state  whether 
in  private  or  public  capacity. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  North  Carolina 
was  William  Wilson,  a  native  of  Scotland.  He 
emigrated  to  the  American  colonies  in  1720,  locat- 
ing in  Perquimans  County,  in  what  is  now  the 
State  of  North  Carolina.  He  possessed  all  the 
rectitude  and  thrift  of  the  typical  Scotchman,  and 
did  his  task  as  a  pioneer  thoroughly.  Securing  a 
tract  of  land,  he  improved  a  plantation,  and  spent 
the  rest  of  his  days  in  Perquimans  County. 

His  son,  Thomas  Wilson,  was  a  native  of  Per- 
quimans County  and  spent  all  his  life  there.  The 
Christian  name  Thomas  has  been  a  characteristic 
in  practically  all  the  successive  generations  of  the 
family.  This  Thomas  Wilson,  of  the  second  gen- 
eration, was  married  about  1770  to  Elizabeth 
Newby.  Both  were  faithful  members  of  the 
Quaker  Church. 

Thomas  Wilson,  of  the  third  generation,  grew  up 
on  the  plantation  in  Perquimans  County  and  from 
there  moved  to  the  western  part  of  the  state  to 
Stokes  County.  He  bought  land  west  of  Ker- 
nersville  but  several  years  later  moved  to  Salem 
and  leased  the  community  tavern  known  as  the  Old 
Salem  Tavern,  which  was  operated  under  his 
supervision  as  a  landlord  for  some  years.  This 
early  pioneer  of  Forsyth  County  was  born  in  1783. 
Though  not  a  member  of  the  Moravian  Church  his 
remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  Moravian  grave- 
yard. He  married  Elizabeth  Johnston,  who  died 
when  nearly  ninety  years  of  age  and  was  laid  to 
rest  in  the  Winston  Cemetery. 

The  City  of  Winston  pays  special  honor  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  Thomas  Johnston  Wilson  of 
the  fourth  North  Carolina  generation  of  the 
family.  Thomas  Johnston  Wilson  was  born  on  a 
plantation  near  Kernersville,  in  what  was  then 
Stokes  but  is  now  Forsyth  County,  in  1815.  He 
received  most  of  his  early  training  in  the  Clem- 
monsville  Academy,  and  studied  law  with  George 
C.  Mendenhall  at  Greensboro.  He  was  licensed  to 
practice  in  1840.  He  soon  afterwards  settled  on 
the  present  site  of  Winston.  There  he  had  the 
distinction  of  erecting  the  first  house.  That  house 
was  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Main  and  Second 
streets.  On  the  building  that  now  occupies  the 
site   is   attached   a   bronze   tablet   commemorating 


the  fact  that  here  was  the  first  building  erected 
in  Winston  and  also  that  its  builder  was  the  lawyer 
and  citizen  whose  name  has  so  many  prominent 
associations.  Thomas  J.  Wilson  opened  an  office 
for  practice  at  Salem,  and  continued  a  member 
of  the  Forsyth  County  bar  for  fully  half  a  cen- 
tury. He  died  in  1900  at  the  age  of  eighty-five. 
His  wife,  whose  name  was  Julia  E.  Lindsay  was 
a  native  of  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina, 
died  when  about  sixty-four.  Thomas  J.  Wilson 
was  always  prominent  in  public  affairs.  He  served 
as  county  solicitor  for  Davidson  and  Stokea 
County,  and  when  Forsyth  County  was  organized 
he  filled  the  same  position  for  that  county.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  called  to  vote 
upon  the  question  of  secession  at  the  beginning  of 
tne  war.  His  personal  views  were  against  seces- 
sion, and  he  voted  that  the  matter  should  be 
referred  to  the  people,  but  was  overruled  by  a 
majority  of  the  convention  and  afterwards  he 
signed  his  name  to  the  articles  of  secession.  In 
1874,  after  he  had  b'  ?n  in  practice  for  more  than 
a  generation,  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Eighth 
Judicial  District,  and  served  six  months.  In  1876 
he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  for  several 
terms  was  mayor  of  Winston.  Among  other 
things  he  deserves  to  be  remembered  as  one  of 
the  founders  of  Presbyterianism  in  Winston.  He 
organized  the  first  Presbyterian  Church  in  1860 
and  donated  the  land  on  which  the  church  edifice 
now  stands.  For  many  years  he  was  a  ruling  elder 
in  the  congregation.  He  and  his  wife  reared  three 
children:     Thomas  A.,  Josephine  E.  and  Edgar  H. 

Edgar  H.  Wilson,  of  the  fifth  generation  of  the 
family,  was  born  in  Winston  and  was  an  active 
business  man  for  many  years  uitil  his  death  in 
1915  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven.  He  served  several 
years  as  treasurer  of  the  City  of  Winston  and  four 
years  as  postmaster.  For  about  twenty  years  he 
was  manager  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company. 
Edgar  H.  Wilson  married  Lula  A.  Champion,  who 
was  born  in  Granville  County,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  Charles  W.  and  Edna  (Thompson) 
Champion.  Her  father,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, was  a  planter  in  that  section  of  Granville 
County  which  is  now  Vance  County.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  war  he  went  away  as  captain  of  a 
cavalry  company  in  the  Confederate  army  and  was 
attached  to  the  famous  Pickett's  Brigade.  He 
was  killed  in  the  memorable  charge  of  that  brigade 
at  Gettysburg.  Mrs.  Edgur  H.  Wilson  is  still  liv- 
ing at  Winston.  Her  five  children  were:  William 
T.,  Edna  E.,  Henry  L.,  Elsie  T.,  and  Elizabeth. 

William  Thomas  Wilson,  whose  line  of  ancestry 
has  thus  been  briefly  traded,  was  born  at  Winston- 
Salem  May  10,  1884.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Winston,  the  Salem  Boys'  School  and 
then  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
where  he  took  the  course  of  the  law  department 
and  was  graduated  in  1905.  Since  then  he  has 
been  in  active  practice  at  Winston  and  has 
acquired  a  reputation  as  a  skillful  lawyer  and 
gained  much  prominence  in  the  bar  and  in  the 
ranks  of  public  spirited  citizens. 

In  1909  he  married  Miss  Alice  Franklin.  She 
was  born  in  Winston,  daughter  of  Walter  E.  and 
Alice  (Bawls)  Franklin,  both  natives  of  Virginia. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  three  children :  William 
T.,  Jr.,  Thomas  J.  and  Franklin.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  West  End  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Mr.  Wilson  belongs  to  Twin  City  Camp 
No.  27,  Woodmen  of  the  World. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


23 


Joseph  Conrad  Watkins,  D.  D.  S.  Of  the  va- 
rious professions  to  which  men  of  talent,  ability 
and  broad  mental  capacity  are  devoting  their  lives, 
not  one  is  of  more  importance  and  practical  value 
to  mankind  than  that  of  dental  surgery,  a  fact 
that  each  year  is  becoming  more  and  more  widely 
recognized.  Realizing  the  pressing  need  of  more 
scientific  methods  in  the  care  of  teeth,  Joseph  C. 
Watkins,  D.  D.  S.,  of  Winston-Salem,  one  of  the 
foremost  dentists,  not  only  of  his  city,  county, 
and  state,  but  of  the  United  States,  is  giving  his 
entire  attention  to  his  profession,  and  through  con- 
stant study  and  experiment  is  contributing  ma- 
terially toward  the  perfecting  of  dentistry  as  mod- 
ernly  practiced.  A  son  of  Dr.  Charles  J.  Watkins, 
he  was  born  in  Yadkin  County,  North  Carolina, 
November  27,  1873,  of  pioneer  ancestry.  His 
great -grandfather,  Joseph  Watkins,  a  Virginian  by 
birth,  came  to  North  Carolina  when  young,  and 
having  purchased  land  in  Guilford  County,  was 
there  engaged  in  farming  until  his  death,  in  1810. 

Abel  Watkins,  the  doctor's  grandfather,  was 
born  in  Guilford  County,  and  there  grew  to  man- 
hood. He,  too,  made  farming  his  life  work,  and 
having  settled  in  Forsyth  County,  near  Kerners- 
ville,  was  there  employed  in  agricultural  pursuits 
until  his  death,  in  1872.  He  married  Hannah 
Teague,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Teague,  of  Davidson 
County,  and  to  them  eleven  children  were  born. 

Charles  J.  Watkins  was  born  on  the  home  farm, 
near  Kernersville,  August  4,  1836,  and  began  his 
education  in  the  district  schools.  Later,  after  at- 
tending Smith  Grove  Academy,  he  taught  school 
in  Forsyth,  Davie  and  Davidson  counties.  Abandon- 
ing the  teacher 's  desk  in  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Sixteenth  North  Carolina  Battalion, 
and  was  made  first  sergeant  of  his  company,  later 
being  promoted  to  brigade  forage  sergeant,  and 
continuing  as  such'  to  the  close  of  the  conflict. 
In  1S66,  he  entered  the  Old  Pennsylvania  Dental 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  fall 
of  1S68.  Beginning  the  practice  of  dentistry  in 
Kernersville,  he  remained  there  until  1873,  when 
he  removed  to  Salem,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
leading  dentists  during  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
his  death  occurring  there  June  14,  1900. 

Dr.  Charles  J.  Watkins  married,  in  1873,  Flora 
C.  Conrad.  She  was  born  in  Yadkin  County,  a 
daughter  of  John  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Stauber) 
Conrad,  and  granddaughter  of  John  and  Catherine 
(Romig)  Conrad,  whose  ancestors  emigrated  from 
Germany  to  this  country,  and  settled  as  pioneers 
in  North  Carolina.  Her  father  was  a  successful 
agriculturist  of  Yadkin  County,  and  at  his  death 
his  body  was  interred  beside  that  of  his  wife  in 
the  family  burying  ground,  on  the  home  plantation. 
Although  Mr.  Conrad  was  an  extensive  holder  of 
slaves,  he  never  sold  but  two,  and  they  were  in- 
corrigible. 

Dr.  Charles  J.  Watkins  was  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Dental  So- 
ciety, and  served  as  a  member  of  its  examining 
board.  He  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  in  which  he  served  as  a  deacon  for 
dnnny  years,  and  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in 
the  building  of  both  the  old  and  the  new  church 
edifices  of  that  denomination.  He  was  an  earnest 
advocate  of  temperance,  even  at  a  time  when 
many  in  favor  of  that  movement  hesitated  to  admit 
their  interest  in  the  cause.  He  and  his  good 
wife,  who  now  resides  in  Winston,  on  Main  Street, 
reared  three  children,  namely:  Josenh  Conrad; 
William    Henry;     and    Alice    Elizabeth,    wife    of 


Talcott  N.  Brewer,  of  Raleigh,  North  Carolina, 
William  Henry  is  proprietor  of  a  large  book  and 
stationery  store  in  Winston-Salem,  and  his  daugh- 
ter, Mildred  Elizabeth,  is  a  pupil  in  Meredith  Col- 
lege, at  Raleigh. 

After  his  graduation  from  the  Boys'  School  in 
Salem,  Joseph  Conrad  Watkins  entered  Wake 
Forest  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1897.  In  the  meantime,  with 
characteristic  ambition,  he  had  taken,  in  the  same 
institution,  the  full  course  in  law,  and  was  grad- 
uated with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  In  addition  to 
completing  both  the  literary  and  the  law  course 
during  the  four  years  he  was  in  that  institution, 
Mr.  Watkins  was  assistant  teacher  of  chemistry.  In 
February,  1897,  going  before  the  Supreme  Court 
for  examination,  he  obtained  a  license  to  practice 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  being  introduced 
in  Winston-Salem  by  Hon.  J.  C.  Buxton. 

From  early  childhood,  Doctor  Watkins  had  been 
actively  interested  in  his  father 's  dental  work,  be- 
coming familiar  with  its  details  in  the  office,  and 
even  though  he  had  begun  the  practice  of  law,  he 
concluded  to  follow  the  profession  in  which  his 
father  was  engaged.  With  that  purpose  in  view, 
he  entered  the  dental  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Maryland,  in  Baltimore,  in  1898,  and  was 
there  graduated  in  May,  1900.  Being  licensed  to 
practice  dentistry  in  North  Carolina,  he  became 
associated  with  his  father,  who  was  then  critically 
ill,  and  who  died  two  weeks  later. 

Soon  after  entering  upon  his  professional  career, 
Doctor  Watkins  joined  the  North  Carolina  Dental 
Society,  and  has  continued  an  active  and  valued 
member  since,  having  served  in  various  official  posi- 
tions, including  that  of  president.  He  is  also  an 
active  member  of  the  local  and  district  societies, 
and  is  a  charter  member,  and  ex-president  of  the 
Winston  Dental  Society.  In  1902  the  doctor  joined 
the  National  Dental  Association,  of  which  he  has 
since  been  an  active  member,  and  was  an  active 
member  of  the  southern  branch  of  that  organiza- 
tion during  its  existence. 

Doctor  Watkins  has  several  times  given  clinics 
at  both  the  state  and  national  meetings.  He  gave 
one  at  the  Jamestown  Dental  Congress,  and  was 
on  the  program  for  a  clinic  in  prophylaxis  at  the 
dental  congress  held  in  San  Francisco,  but  was 
prevented  from  attending  by  serious  illness  in  his 
family.  The  doctor  wrote  an  interesting  article 
giving  the  result  of  his  experiments  with  blue 
light  in  dental  work.  In  commenting  on  an  article 
written  by  Doctor  Watkins,  and  printed  in  the 
' '  Dental  Cosmos, ' '  the  Scientific  American  gave 
the  doctor  credit  for  having  been  the  first  to  dis- 
cover, and  give  to  the  world,  the  "Blue  Light" 
treatment  in  dentistry. 

Among  the  more  important  of  the  papers  which 
the  doctor  has  written,  was  the  one  read  before 
the  North  Carolina  Dental  Society,  at  Moorehead 
City,  in  1904,  entitled  "After  Porcelain,  What?" 
In  that  paper,  he  treated  dental  science  from  its 
cradle  up  to  porcelain  filling,  which  marks  the 
latest  touch  in  dental  art  and  science.  He  said 
"We  must  progress,  and  the  next  step  must  be 
prevention. ' '  That  a  well  developed  tooth,  kept 
perfectly  clean,  will  not  decay,  was  the  keynote 
of  his  carefully  and  intelligently  prepared  paper. 
The  doctor  suggested  that  each  dentist  should  as- 
sume charge,  dental  charge,  of  five  or  six  infants 
each  year,  from  the  beginning  keeping  their  teeth 
clean,  and  watch  results.  He  also  insisted  that 
sterilization   of  all   dental  instruments   was   abso- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


lutely  neeessary.  The  doctor  now  has  in  his  care 
several  hundred  persons  whose  teeth  are  absolutely 
perfect. 

Later,  after  having  been  a  guest  at  the  home,  in 
Philadelphia,  of  Dr.  D.  D.  Smith,  a  dentist  of 
national  repute,  Doctor  Watkins  wrote  an  article 
on  ' '  Prophylaxis, ' '  and  read  it  before  the  same 
society.  Doctor  Watkins,  like  Doctor  Smith,  of 
whom  he  is  a  disciple,  is  a  strong  advocate  of  oral 
prophylaxis.  In  his  actual  practice,  Doctor  Wat- 
kins insists  that  his  patients  shall  come  to  him 
each  month  for  a  systematic  polishing  of  their 
teeth,  which  practically  prevents  decay.  During 
the  last  few  years,  the  doctor  has  given  much  at- 
tention to  the  treatment  of  pyorrhea,  or  Riggs 
disease,  and  to  the  treatment  of  oral  abscesses, 
which  he  contends  contribute  largely  to  many  of 
the  diseases  to  which  human  flesh  is  heir.  In  diag- 
nosing these  conditions,  the  X-ray  is  used.  The 
removal  of  diseased  bones,  directed  by  the  X-ray, 
often  enables  nature  to  overcome  conditions  seem- 
ingly  chronic. 

Doctor  Watkins  married,  June  24,  1903,  Irene 
Montague.  She  was  born  in  Winston-Salem,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Seth  J.  and  Ella  (Starbuck) 
Montague.  Five  children  have  blessed  the  union 
of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Watkins,  namely:  Joseph  Con- 
rad, Jr.;  Richard  Montague;  Mary  Elizabeth,  who 
died  in  infancy;  William  Henry;  and  Eleanor 
Starbuck. 

Fraternally  Doctor  Watkins  is  a  member  of 
Winston  Lodge  No.  167,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Order  of  Masons;  of  Winston  Chapter  No. 
24,  Eoyal  Arch  Masons;  of  Piedmont  Commandery 
No.  6,  Knights  Templar;  of  Salem  Lodge  No.  14, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics;  of 
Salem  Lodge  No.  56,  Knights  of  Pythias;  and  of 
Twin  City  "Tribe  No.  27,  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  of  which  he  has  been  a  deacon  since  1901. 

Samuel  Simpson  Nash,  of  Tarboro,  was  one  of 
the  youngest  volunteers  to  serve  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  and  since  the  war  has  pursued  a  very  active 
business  career  and  has  enjoyed  many  distinctions 
of  civic  and  private  life. 

He  was  born  at  Hillsboro  April  23,  1848,  a  son 
of  Henry  K  and  Mary  (Simpson)  Nash.  As  a 
boy  he  was  educated  in  private  schools  and  was 
only  sixteen  toward  the  close  of  the  war  when  he 
enlisted  in  Company  G  of  the  Twenty-Seventh 
North  Carolina  Infantry.  Later  he  was  captured 
at  Petersburg  and  made  a  prisoner  and  was  thus 
held  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  The  war  over, 
he  found  work  as  clerk  at  Wilmington  with  the 
Wilmington  and  Manchester  Railway,  and  after 
that  for  several  years  was  employed  in  various 
stores  and  mercantile  houses. 

At  Tarboro  Mr.  Nash  conducted  one  of  the 
leading  mercantile  establishments  from  1872  to 
1891,  and  after  that  for  twenty  years  was  a  prom- 
inent cotton  buyer.  Since  1911  he  has  been  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Edgecombe  Homestead 
and  Loan  Association.  He  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  graded  school  board  since  its  organiza- 
tion, was  for  four  years  treasurer  of  Edgecombe 
County,  and  has  always  been  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  he  has  served  as 
vestryman  forty  years  and  for  a  period  of  thirty 
years  conducted  as  superintendent  several  Sunday 
schools  in  the  country  districts. 

April  23,  1878,  he  married  Annie  Gray  Cheshire, 
of  Tarboro.  Her  parents  were  Rev.  Joseph  Blount 
and  Elizabeth    (Parker)    Cheshire.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 


Nash  have  six  children :  Joseph  C. ;  Elizabeth,, 
wife  of  Henry  Johnston,  attorney  and  farmer  of 
Tarboro;  Arabella  Parker,  wife  of  Judge  Albert 
L.  Cox,  of  Raleigh;  Annie  Gray,  widow  of  Allen 
Jones  Ruffin;  Samuel  Simpson,  Jr.,  who  was  in 
the  banking  business  and  is  now  in  the  United 
States  army  in  France,  being  First  Lieutenant  of 
Co.  M.  Three  Hundred  and  Seventh  Infantry;  and 
Pembroke,  still  at  home  in  Tarboro. 

Jude  Palmer  is  a  lawyer  at  Winston-Salem. 
He  is  an  alumni  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, a  man  of  thorough  education,  and  has  shown 
much  ability  and  skill  in  his  profession.  He  also 
represents  in  direct  line  of  descent  one  of  the  very 
old  and  prominent  families  of  North  Carolina. 

He  stands  in  the  sixth  generation  from  the 
founder  of  the  name  in  this  colony.  His  American 
progenitor  was  Robert  Palmer,  a  native  of  County 
Kent,  England.  He  waB  liberally  educated  and 
was  prepared  for  the  Government  service.  He 
was  sent  to  America  as  Lord  Surveyor  of  the 
Colony  of  North  Carolina.  Among  other  services 
he  and  his  son  William  were  instrumental  in  build- 
ing the  first  church  erected  in  the  colony  at 
Bath,  North  Carolina.  A  tablet  in  the  old  church 
perpetuates  his  memory.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
Governor  Dobbs  council. 

William  Palmer,  of  the  second  generation,  served 
as  a  colonel  in  the  Colonial  Guards. 

Robert  Palmer  of  the  third  generation,  was 
born  at  Bath  in  Beaufort  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  was  sent  abroad  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion. He  was  a  student  in  England  at  Cambridge 
when  the  Revolutionary  war  broke  out.  Though 
he  desired  to  return  to  his  native  colony,  he  was 
prevented  and  remained  almost  a  prisoner  in 
England  until  the  war  was  over.  On  returning  to 
America  he  removed  to  Montgomery  County, 
North  Carolina,  wihere  hps  grandfather  had 
obtained  a  large  land  grant.  From  there  he  came 
to  the  Deep  River  country  in  Lee  County,  where 
there  was  another  large  family  grant.  With 
slave  labor  Robert  Palmer  improved  a  large 
estate,  and  lived  there  until  his  death.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Aulston,  whose  family  name  is 
frequently  spelled  Allston.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  buried  in  the  Palmer  Cemetery  near  Sanford 
in  Lee  County. 

Orren  A.  Palmer,  of  the  fourth  American  gen- 
eration, and  grandfather  of  Jude  Palmer,  was 
born  near  Sanford  in  Lee  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  inherited  upwards  of  3,000  acres  of  land,  in 
Randolph  County.  He  developed  that  as  a  large 
plantation  and  continued  its  management  until 
his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  was  Sylvinia  Staley.  She  was 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  came  to  America  with 
her  parents,  who  settled  in  Randolph  County.  She 
died  at  the  age  sixty-five  years,  having  reared 
eight  sons.  Four  of  them,  John,  Norman,  Alex- 
ander and  Orren  Dates  saw  active  service  in  the 
Confederate  Army.  John  met  his  death  in  the 
three  days'  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

Orren  Dates  Palmer,  who  was  born  in  Lee 
County,  was  but  seventeen  years  of  age  and 
weighed  only  eighty  pounds  when  he  enlisted  and 
joined  the  Junior  Reserves.  With  his  command 
he  went  to  Fort  Fisher  and  soon  after  his  arrival 
was  detailed  for  service  in  the  hospital.  A  few 
weeks  before  the  close  of  the  war  he  joined 
Wheeler's  Cavalry,  and  though  not  enrolled  as  a 
member    remained    with   that    organization   in    its- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


25 


various  movements  and  was  surrendered  with  that 
command. 

When  the  war  was  over  he  sought  the  quiet  voca- 
tion of  agriculture  on  a  place  of  500  acres  in  the 
Deep  River  Grant.  He  adapted  himself  to  the  new 
conditions  imposed  by  the  war,  proved  successful, 
and  subsequently  bought  2,000  acres  of  land. 
After  his  marriage  he  built  and  re-weatherboarded 
a  large  colonial  log  house,  which  with  subsequent 
additions  and  improvements  makes  an  exceedingly 
comfortable  home  and  there  he  still  resides. 
Orren  Dates  Palmer  married  Mattie  Edwards 
Farrer.  She  was  born  near  Jonesboro  in  Lee 
Countv,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of  Gaston  and 
Eliza"  (Whitfield)  Farrer.  Eliza  Whitfield  was 
the  daughter  of  the  famous  preacher  Whitfield. 
Orren  D.  Palmer  and  wife  have  reared  seven 
children:  Jude,  Rebecca,  Dora,  Augustus,  Sabra, 
Eliza  Whitfield,  and  Phoebe. 

Of  such  an  ancestry  any  man  may  well  be 
proud.  It  is  an  inspiration  to  personal  achieve- 
ment, and  Jude  Palmer  has  not  been  unconscious 
of  the  traits  and  character  of  his  forefathers  and 
has  exerted  himself  to  the  best  of  his  ability  to 
realize  in  his  own  career  what  might  have  been 
expected  of  him  through  earlier  members  of  the 
family.  He  was  born  on  his  father 's  plantation 
near  Sanford  in  Lee  County,  July  10,  1882. 

His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  rural 
schools  and  he  was  also  a  student  at  Milford  Col- 
lege. In  1903  he  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  remained  five  years  in  the 
literary  and  law  departments  and  completed  the 
law  course  there.  On  being  admitted  to  the  bar 
he  first  located  at  Pittstown,  two  years  later 
went  to  Greensboro,  and  in  1907  came  to  Winston- 
Salem.  Here  he  has  practiced  with  growing 
ability  and  success  to  the  present  time. 

In  February,  1910,  Mr.  Palmer  married  Bessie 
Estell  Reich.  She  was  born  at  Salem,  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  Reich.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer  have  two 
children:  Helen  and  Orren  Dates.  Mr.  Palmer 
was  reared  in  the  Episcopal  faith  and  is  now  a 
teacher  in  the  church  Sunday  school.  Mrs. 
Palmer  is  a  member  of  the  Home  Moravian  Church. 
Mr.  Palmer  is  a  member  of  the  Merchants  and 
Manufacturers  Club  of  Greensboro  and  belongs  to 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Jerome  B.  Flora.  One  of  the  men  of  enter- 
prise and  stable  character  who  had  much  to  do 
with  the  upbuilding  of  modern  Elizabeth  City 
was  the  late  Jerome  B.  Flora,  for  many  years 
a  leading  merchant  here  and  the  founder  of  the 
present  wholesale  grocery  house  that  perpetuates 
his  name  and  is  conducted  by  his  sons.  Not  only 
was  Mr.  Flora  a  shrewd,  keen  business  man,  with 
the  foresight  that  discovered  opportunities  for 
investment  and  the  good  judgment  that  made 
these  unfailingly  profitable,  but  he  possessed  that 
broad  spirit  of  enterprise  that  aroused  others 
and  led  them  to  co-operate  with  him  in  bringing 
ahout  many  progressive  movements  that  set  the 
business  tide  in  the  direction  of  commercial  pros- 
perity. 

Jerome  B.  Flora  -was  born  in  Currituck  Coun- 
ty, North  Carolina,  and  died  at  his  home  in 
Elizabeth  City  on  June  15,  1914.  His  early 
years  were  spent  on  a  farm  hut  the  commercial 
instinct  in  him  was  strong  and  while  yet  a  young 
man  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
Shjloh,  North  Carolina.  The  misfortune  that  he 
met  with  there,  in  losing  his  store   and   stock  by 


fire,  proved  fortunate  for  Elizabeth  City,  to  which 
place  he  came  in  1874  and  established  himself 
in  business  on  the  corner  of  Water  and  Fearing 
Streets,  where  he  continued  until  1877,  when  he 
sold  to  other  parties  and  moved  to  Norfolk,  Vir- 
ginia. Mr.  Flora  was  engaged  in  business  at 
Norfolk  until  1883,  and  then  returned  to  Eliza- 
beth City,  which  remained  his  home  during  the 
liest  of  his  busy  and  useful  life.  He  invested  in 
property,  all  of  which  he  improved  with  fine, 
substantial  buildings,  erecting  several  of  the  hand- 
some business  blocks  that  are  a  credit  to  Eliza- 
beth City  and  included  in  his  building  operations 
the  construction  of  his  own  big  wholesale  house, 
one  of  the  largest  wholehouse  grocery  houses  in 
Eastern    North    Carolina. 

Mr.  Flora  amassed  a  large  fortune  and  was 
officially  or  otherwise  connected  with  some  of 
the  city  's  most  important  interests.  He  was  pres- 
ident of  the  Savings  Bank,  and  was  vice  president 
of  the  Elizabeth  City  Hosiery  Mills,  one  of  the 
very  successful  industries  of  this  section.  He 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  churches  and  schools 
and  all  worthy  enterprises  aroused  his  interest 
and  gained  his  support.  He  was  essentially  a 
business  man  and  political  honors  did  not  par- 
ticularly appeal  to  him.  In  his  death  Elizabeth 
City  lost  one  of  her  most  able  business  men  and 
most    honorable    and    upright    citizens. 

Mr.  Flora  was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Ida 
Albertson,  and  second  to  Miss  Allie  Albertson. 
His  five  children  survive,  namely:  two  daughters, 
Mrs.  S.  H.  Johnson  and  Alice  Virginia,  and  three 
sons,  Jerome  B.,  Jr.,  and  Edward,  who  are  now  in 
the  United  States  Army  with  the  Three  Hundred 
and  Fifth  Sanitary  Train,  Three  Hundred  and 
Seventeenth  Ambulance  Company,  and  Howard, 
also  in  the  United  States  Army  with  the  Three 
Hundred  and  Fifth  Sanitary  Train,  Three  Hun 
dred    and    Twentieth    Ambulance   Company. 

Emmett  C.  Willis.  Noteworthy  among  the 
active  and  successful  attorneys  of  Wilkes  County 
is  Emmett  C.  Willis,  of  North  Wilkesboro,  who 
possesses  an  excellent  knowledge  of  law,  and 
through  his  legal  skill  has  won  for  himself  an 
assured  position  at  .the  bar.  A  native  of  Stokes 
County,  North  Carolina,  he  was  born  in  Meadows 
Township  October  29,  1878,  the  descendant  of  an 
old  Virginian  family,  his  father,  William  E.  Willis, 
and  his  grandfather,  Joseph  Willis,  having  been 
born  in  Halifax  County,  Virginia. 

Joseph  Willis  followed  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith 
and  wagon  ironer  in  Virginia  until  1848.  In  that 
years  he  came  with  his  family  to  North  Carolina, 
and  having  located  in  Stokes  County  established  a 
smithy  in  Sauraton  Township.  An  expert  work- 
man, he  soon  secured  a  liberal  patronage,  and 
being  an  equally  good  financier  he  acquired  con- 
siderable property,  at  his  death  in  1881  leaving  a 
valuable  estate.  He  married  a  Miss  Chaney,  who 
was  horn  in  Virginia,  and  died  in  Stokes  County. 

Born  in  1837,  William  E.  Willis  was  but  a 
school  boy  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this 
state.  He  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  after  attaining  his  majority  he  received  from 
his  father  as  a  gift  a  deed  to  quite  a  tract  of  land. 
He  subsequently  bought  adjoining  pieces  of  land 
in  Meadows  Towmship,  and  is  still  living  on  the 
farm  which  he  has  highly  developed  and  improved. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Julia  Hughart, 
was  born  in  Greenbrier  County,  Virginia,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  H.  and  Martha  (Valentine)  Hug- 
hart.      Five   children    were    born    of    their    union. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


as  follows:  Joseph  H.,  William  E.,  Arthur  N., 
Emmett  C,  and  Ernest  V. 

After  completing  the  course  of  study  in  the 
public  schools,  Emmett  C.  Willis  attended  both 
the  Germantown  and  the  Kernesville  academies. 
Then  seeking  a  congenial  occupation,  he  began 
life  on  his  own  account  as  a  teacher  at  Salem 
Chapel,  Forsyth  County.  His  experience  in  that 
line  being  pleasant  and  satisfactory,  he  subse- 
quently taught  in  Winston,  Edenton,  Southport, 
Kingston  and  North  Wilkesboro.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Willis  took  up  the  study  of  law,  and 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  February,  1912, 
opened  an  office  in  North  Wilkesboro,  where  he  is 
already  enjoying  a  large  and  quite  remunerative 
practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Legal  Advisory 
Board  of  Wilkes  County  and  Government  appeal 
agent  of  the  same  county. 

Mr.  Willis  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary 
E.  Ellis  on  December  29,  1909.  She  was  born  in 
Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam F.  and  Lura  (Wood)  Ellis.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Willis  are  the  parents  of  two  bright  and 
interesting  children,  Elizabeth  and  Emmett  C,  Jr. 
Religiously  Mr.  Willis  belongs  to  the  Disciples 
Church,  while  Mrs.  Willis  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Willis  is  a  member  of  Wilkesboro  Lodge  No. 
23,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of 
Rathburn  Lodge  No.  97,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

William  Andrew  Hunt.  To  describe  the  inter- 
ests and  activities  of  Mr.  Hunt  is  almost  equival- 
ent to  giving  a  directory  of  the  important  business 
institutions  and  organizations  to  promote  the  civic 
and  general  welfare  of  Henderson.  In  a  very  im- 
portant degree  he  measures  up  to  the  full  sig- 
nificance of  the  phrase  man  of  affairs. 

He  was  born  at  Lexington  in  Davidson  County, 
North  Carolina,  January  28,  1872,  son  of  William 
Henley  and  Lettie  Julia  (Conrad)  Hunt.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  merchant.  The  son  was  educated  in 
the  Lexington  High  School,  in  the  Lexington  Acad- 
emy with  the  class  of  1890,  and  from  that  forth- 
with began  his  business  career  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een. Two  years  he  spent  as  clerk  in  the  bank  at 
Lexington,  and  after  was  bookkeeper  in  the  Peo- 
ples National  Bank  of  Winston-Salem  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1893. 

At  the  latter  date  he  transferred  his  home  and 
interests  to  Henderson,  where  he  came  to  accept 
the  post  of  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Henderson. 
Two  years  later  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  brought 
about  the  merger  of  the  Bank  of  Henderson  with 
the  Citizens  Bank  in  1895.  He  was  elected  first 
cashier  of  the  consolidated  institution,  and  has 
filled  that  post  continuously  to  the  present  time. 
Mr.  Hunt  is  widely  known  among  North  Carolina 
bankers,  and  was  a  charter  member  at  the  organ- 
ization of  the  North  Carolina  Bankers'  Associa- 
tion July  24,  1897.  He  has  served  as  a  member 
of  its  executive  committee  and  since  1905  has  been 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

Since  1905  he  has  been  entrusted  with  the  re- 
sponsibility of  handling  the  city  finances  of  Hen- 
derson. At  the  same  date  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council  and  filled  that  post  twelve 
years.  He  organized  and  since  1912  has  been 
president  of  the  Home  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion, is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Carolina 
Buggy  Manufacturing  Company,  was  an  organizer 
and  has  since  been  treasurer  of  the  Henderson  Hos- 
iery Mills,  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  has  since 
been  a  director  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.    Mr. 


Hunt  is  a  deacon  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
is  a  Knights  Templar  Mason,  past  chancellor  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  a  member  of  Temple 
No.  73,  Knights  of  Khorassan.  October  24,  1894, 
he  married  Miss  Hallie  Wesley  Young,  of  Oxford, 
North  Carolina,  daughter  of  Dr.  Peter  Wesley  and 
Jane  (Cooper)  Young.  They  have  two  children, 
Mary  Young  and  William  Andrew,  Jr. 

Edmond  Alexander  Hawes,  Sr.,  a  wealthy  and 
prominent  manufacturer  and  capitalist  at  Atkin- 
son, has  sustained  a  large  and  prominent  role  in 
business  affairs  and  in  the  good  citizenship  of 
North  Carolina  for  upwards  of  half  a  century. 

The  Hawes  family  of  New  England  and  its  off- 
shoot the  Hawes  family  of  Eastern  North  Carolina 
are  descended  from  Edmond  Hawes  of  Yarmouth, 
Massachusetts,  who  came  to  America  from  Eng- 
land in  1635.  The  North  Carolina  Hawes  family  is 
one  of  the  oldest  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state. 
They  represent  an  ancestry  that  is  a  commingling 
of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  English.  The  founder  of 
the  family  in  this  state  settled  at  Smithville,  now 
Southport,  in  Brunswick  County. 

Dr.  John  R.  Hawes,  father  of  the  Atkinson  busi- 
ness man,  established  a  plantation  in  Pender 
County  near  Atkinson,  but  throughout  his  long 
life  was  a  practicing  physician  and  looked  after  the 
health  and  welfare  of  a  large  community  through- 
out that  part  of  the  country.  He  was  a  man  of 
special  prominence  and  influence  due  to  his  pro- 
fession and  his  fine  character.  In  the  war  between 
the  states  he  was  captain  of  Company  E  in  the 
Eighteenth  North  Carolina  Infantry.  Company  E 
was  recruited  at  Mill  Creek,  New  Hanover  County, 
now  Pender  County,  and  was  sent  to  Camp  Dudley, 
which  was  located  in  the  southern  part  of  Wil- 
mington near  the  old  Kidder  mills.  He  also  repre- 
sented New  Hanover  County  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1866-67.  Doctor  Hawes  married  Miss 
Martha  A.  Black,  a  close  relative  of  General  Lil- 
lington  of  Revolutionary  fame.  She  was  reared 
and  spent  part  of  her  life  at  Lillington  Hall,  the 
noted  plantation  of  the  Lillington  family  on  the 
Northeast  Biver  in  New  Hanover  County. 

Edmond  Alexander  Hawes,  Sr.,  was  born  at  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina,  in  New  Hanover  County, 
February  6,  1849.  He  received  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  what  was  then  New  Han- 
over County  and  also  attended  Trinity  College. 
Early  in  life  he  took  up  farming  in  Pender 
County,  and  has  gradually  expanded  the  scope  of 
his  interests  to  include  many  of  the  prominent 
business  affairs  of  that  vicinity.  In  1912  he  be- 
came one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bank  of  Atkin- 
son, of  which  he  has  since  been  president.  He  also 
helped  organize  and  is  president  of  the  Atkinson 
Hosiery  Mill  and  the  Pender  Telephone  Company. 
For  forty  consecutive  years  he  has  been  honored 
with  the  responsibilities  of  justice  of  the  peace 
in  his  community. 

June  1,  1875,  Mr.  Hawes  married  Virginia  E. 
Russ,  daughter  of  the  late  J.  W.  and  Margaret 
A.  (Simpson)  Russ,  of  Bladen  County.  Her  father 
was  a  prominent  planter  who  represented  his 
county  in  both  houses  of  the  Great  Assembly.  Mrs. 
Hawes  was  the  sixth  child  in  a  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren. Two  of  her  brothers,  Dr.  Simpson  Russ  and 
W.  H.  Russ,  did  valiant  service  with  the  Con- 
federate Army  in  the  war  between  the  states. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hawes  became  the  parents  of 
eight  children.  One  of  their  sons,  Homer  Haas, 
died  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  Of  those  living  John 
Robert  is   a  successful  farmer  and  business  Irian 


SB      f1 

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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


27 


of  Pender  County  and  is  general  manager  of  the 
Pender  County  Telephone  Company.  Martha  A. 
and  Margaret  are  both  at  home  with  their  parents, 
while  Edmond  A.,  Jr.,  is  mentioned  elsewhere.  Dr. 
Stephen  J.  has  for  some  years  been  a  physician  at 
Dover,  North  Carolina,  but  is  now  stationed  at  Port 
Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
in  the  United  States  Army.  Virginia  Ely  married 
Dr.  J.  T.  Hoggart,  of  Atkinson,  Pender  County. 
Doctor  Hoggart  is  also  with  the  National  Army, 
a  lieutenant  stationed  at  Oglethorpe.  The  youngest 
of  the  family,  Katherine  J.,  is  still  at  home  with 
her  parents. 

Edmond  Alexander  Hawes  Jr.,  for  a  man  of 
his  years  has  played  a  most  prominent  part  both 
in  business  and  public  life  in  North  Carolina. 
The  honors  and  responsibilities  of  statesmanship 
came  to  him  as  soon  as  he  had  attained  his  ma- 
jority and  for  several  terms  he  did  some  splen- 
did and  able  work  in  the  Legislature.  His  home 
and  business  center  is  at  Atkinson  in  Pender 
County,  where  he  is  an  important  factor  in  many 
of   the   varied  activities   of   that  community. 

A  son  of  Edmond  Alexander  Hawes,  Sr.,  and 
member  of  the  prominent  family  elsewhere  re- 
ferred to,  Mr.  Hawes  was  born  in  Pender  County 
near  Atkinson  in  1884,  was  reared  on  the  old 
home  place,  was  educated  in  Whitsett  Institute 
and  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  graduat- 
ing from  the  university  in  1903.  He  had  just 
reached  his  twenty-first  year  when  in  1904  he  was 
elected  to  represent  Pender  County  in  the  Lower 
House  of  the  General  Assembly.  He  served  ac- 
tively in  the  session  of  1905,  and  in  1906  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Senate  and  was  iden- 
tified with  the  sessions  of  1907  and  1909.  In 
1910  he  was  returned  to  the  State  Senate  and  his 
name  is  identified  with  some  of  the  important 
legislation  of  the  session  of  1911.  He  served 
on  various  important  committees  and  was  a  close 
student  of  the  entire  legislative  program.  Peo- 
ple generally  identify  his  service  in  particular 
with  the  Pender  County  Stock  Law,  which  was 
enacted  under  his  energetic  leadership.  This  is 
a  progressive  measure  which  though  bitterly  op- 
posed at  the  time  by  some  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
is  generally  reeognized  by  all  to  be  the  only  rule 
of  action  for  a  progressive  and  enlightened  com- 
munity. 

In  business  affairs  Mr.  Hawes  is  a  merchant, 
bank  director  and  manufacturer,  and  is  associ- 
ated with  his  father  in  various  industrial  and 
commercial  enterprises.  A  number  of  years  ago 
he  established  the  mercantile  business  at  Atkinson, 
and  is  also  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Atkinson 
of  which  his  father  is  president,  and  is  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  New  Atkinson  Hosiery  Mills, 
which  began  operations  in  the  summer  of  1918  for 
the  manufacture  of  hosiery.  This  is  an  impor- 
tant industry  for  the  little  city.  With  his  fa- 
ther Mr.  Hawes  is  owner  of  several  thousand  acres 
of  valuable  timber  and  agricultural  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  Atkinson. 

Julian  Smith  Mann.  Lawyer,  plantation 
owner,  public  official,  Julian  Smith  Mann  rep- 
resents one  of  the  old  and  prominent  families 
of  North  Carolina,  and  through  his  own  career 
has  impressed  himself  influentially  upon  his  native 
state.  He  is  now  serving  as  superintendent  of 
state  prisons,  and  in  1916  became  a  candidate 
for   state   treasurer. 

His  home  district  is  the  old  County  of  Hyde, 


from  which  locality  he  was  first  promoted  into 
politics,  and  where  for  a  number  of  years  he 
served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Committee. 
He  was  born  there  August  15,  1863,  and  is  a  son 
of  Edward  L.  and  Mary  M.  (Gibbs)  Mann.  His 
father  was  a  prominent  planter,  was  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Secession  Convention,  and 
served  both  in  the  Lower  House  and  Senate  of 
the  Legislature.  Both  parents  were  natives  of 
Hyde   County. 

Julian  Smith  Mann  was  educated  in  Horner 's 
School  at  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  and  in  the 
State  University,  where  he  graduated  in  1885  in 
the  literary  course.  He  continued  his  studies  in 
the  law  department,  and  in  18S7  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  Mr.  Mann  practiced  a  few  years 
at  Newbern,  and  had  soon  surrounded  himself 
with  an  influential  clientele.  At  the  death  of 
his  father,  however,  he  returned  to  take  active 
charge  of  the  plantations,  and  to  their  manage- 
ment has  devoted  nis  business  energies  ever  since. 

In  1891  Hyde  County  sent  him  to  the  Legis- 
lature. That  was  his  first  term  in  state  politics. 
In  the  following  session  he  performed  a  notable 
service  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina  by  in- 
troducing and  securing  the  passage  of  the  bill 
for  the  protection  of  oyster  fishermen  in  North 
Carolina.  As  a  result  of  this  measure  the  foreign 
fishermen  were  driven  away  from  the  oyster  beds 
along  the  North  Carolina  coast,  but  it  required 
a  quota  of  state  troops  to  accomplish  this,  and 
since  then  the  oyster  industry  has  been  conducted 
by  and  for  North  Carolina  people.  In  the  mean- 
time the  beneficial  effects  of  the  bill  have  proved 
apparent  in  the  immense  growth  of  the  oyster 
fisheries.  He  wa3  also  active  in  securing  the 
passage  of  the  measure  providing  for  the  Shell 
Fish  Commission,  and  Governor  Elias  Carr  ap- 
pointed him  chief  commissioner  of  that  depart- 
ment. 

In  1900  Mr.  Mann  was  again  elected  to  the 
Legislature  for  the  session  of  1901.  Governor 
Ayeock  appointed  him  a  director  of  the  state 
prison,  and  at  the  special  request  of  the  governor 
the  board  of  directors  elected  him  superintendent 
of  the  state  penal  institution,  and  as  such  he 
served  through  Ayeock 's  administration  and  was 
again  appointed  by  Governor  Glenn.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  second  term  in  1909  he  returned 
to  Hyde  County,  and  was  busied  with  his  plan- 
tation until  1913,  when  at  the  request  of  Gov- 
ernor Locke  Craig  he  was  again  made  super- 
intendent of  state  prisons.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
executive  ability,  a  thorough  organizer,  and  the 
state  penientiary  system  has  correspondingly 
benefited  by  his  administration.  Mr.  Mann  is  a 
member  of  the  Capitol  Club  at  Ealeigh,  is  a 
Mason,  and  belongs  to  the  college  fraternity 
Kappa  Alpha. 

On  March  18,  1895,  he  married  Emma  F. 
Bonner,  of  Hyde  County  North  Carolina,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  "William  V.  Bonner.  To  their  union 
have  been  born  five  children:  Edith  M.,  Edna  E., 
Margaret   E.,    Julian    E.    and    Edward    Bonner. 

Col.  Luther  Graves  Watch.  Distinguished 
not  only  as  a  native-born  citizen  of  Surry  County, 
but  as  a  direct  ,  descendant  of  two  of  the  oldest 
and  best-known  families  of  North  Carolina,  those 
of  Franklin  and  Graves,  Col.  Luther  Graves 
Waugh,  of  Dobson,  a  man  of  unquestioned  integ- 
rity and  ability,  is  eminently  deserving  of  repre- 
sentation in  a  work  of  this  character.  A  son  of 
Harrison  M.  Waugh,  he  was.  born  on  a  farm  three 


28 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


miles  from  Mount  Airy  June  3,  1847.  His  grand- 
father, James  Waugh,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
migrated  from  that  state  to  Kentucky,  becoming 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Nicholas  County, 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

Harrison  M.  Waugh  was  born  November  7, 
1804,  in  Nicholas  County;  Kentucky,  and  was 
there  bred  and  educated.  Coming  to  Surry  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  early  manhood,  he  first  located 
in  Waughtown,  from  there  removing  to  Mount 
Airy  where  he  embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits.  He 
afterward  lived  for  a  while  in  Rockford,  but  spent 
the  closing  years  of  his  life  in  Dobson,  passing 
away  November  11,  1882.  He  was  three  times 
married,  his  first  wife  having  been  a  Miss  Waugh, 
of  Waughtown.  The  maiden  name  of  his  second 
wife  was  Mary  Ursula  Graves.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Solomon  and  Mary  (Franklin)  Graves,  and 
on  the  paternal  side  was  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Thomas  Graves,  who  emigrated  from  England  to 
America  in  1607,  and  settled  in  Virginia,  while 
on  the  maternal  side  she  was  of  equally  honored 
ancestry,  having  been  a  granddaughter  of  Gover- 
nor Jesse  Franklin.  She  died  in  Rockford,  Surry 
County,  in  1852,  leaving  but  one  child,  Luther 
Graves  Waugh,  the  special  subject  of  this  brief 
sketch.  By  his  first  marriage  Harrison  M.  Waugh 
had  four  children,  James,  Samuel,  Susan  and  Vic- 
toria. By  his  union  with  Nancy  Axson,  his  third 
wife,  five  children  were  born,  Lulu,  Jessie,  Cora, 
Stella  and  John. 

Scholarly  in  his  tastes  and  ambitions,  Luther 
G.  Waugh  attended  first  the  public  schools  of  Dob- 
son  and  later  completed  his  studies  at  Emory  and 
Henry   College   in   Emory,   Virginia.     In   August, 

1864,  a  youth  of  scarce  seventeen  summers,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  B,  Second  Battalion,  and 
went  with  his  command  to  Virginia.  Continuing 
with  his  regiment,  he  took  an  active  part  in  vari- 
ous engagements,  and  on  February  7,  1865,  at 
the  battle  of  Hatcher 's  Run,  was  captured  by  the 
enemy.  Being  taken  to  Point  Lookout,  he  was 
there   confined  as   a  prisoner   of   war  until  June, 

1865,  when  he  was  paroled.  Returning  to  North 
Carolina,  Colonel  Waugh  became  actively  inter- 
ested in  the  development  of  the  agricultural  re- 
sources of  Surry  County,  and  is  now  the  owner 
of  two  valuable  farms,  one  that  adjoins  Dobson 
containing  240  acres,  and  one  in  Fisher  River 
Valley   containing    100   acres. 

A  steadfast  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the 
democratic  party,  Colonel  Waugh  has  always  taken 
much  interest  in  public  affairs  and  has  represented 
Surry  County  in  the  State  Legislature.  Religiously 
he  remains  true  to  the  faith  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  was  reared. 

William  Alexander  Cooper.  To  build  up  an 
important  business,  to  maintain  the  standards  of 
business  integrity  and  civic  public  spirit  through- 
out a  long  period  of  years,  to  ally  oneself  with 
every  undertaking  for  the  moral,  religious  and 
community  welfare,  is  the  kind  of  achievement 
which  will  always  attract  the  energies  of  the  best 
men,  and  it  is  by  such  standards  that  the  life  of 
William    Alexander  Cooper  can  be  measured. 

He  was  born  at  Clemmonsville,  Forsyth  County, 
North  Carolina,  May  22,  1868,  a  son  of  Thomas 
Dabney  and  Sarah  (Wommaek)  Cooper.  His  par- 
ents are  both  deceased.  He  was  reared  in  a  home 
not  without  its  refining  influences  and  with  incen- 
tive to  character  development,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  had  no  luxuries,  was  able  to  attend  school 
only    in    such   institutions   as    were    maintained    in 


his  home  locality,  and  found  it  expedient  at  an 
early  age  to  get  out  in  the  world  and  make  his 
own  opportunity.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went 
to  Winston,  and  served  a  four  years '  apprentice- 
ship in  the  marble  and  granite  business,  and  his 
expert  efficiency  in  that  trade  has  been  the  founda- 
tion on  which  his  business  career  has  been  built  up. 
At  the  close  of  his  apprenticeship  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  Frank  Cook, 
and  they  bought  out  the  establishment  of  his 
former  employer.  The  firm  remained  at  Winston- 
Salem  six  years.  Then  in  1894  Mr.  Cooper  and 
his  brothers,  T.  R.  and  G.  W.  Cooper,  moved  to 
Raleigh  and  bought  the  Raleigh  Marble  Works. 
The  business  has  been  conducted  under  the  name 
of  Cooper  Brothers  and  later  of  Cooper  Monu- 
ment Company.  This  is  one  of  the  most  complete 
and  extensive  monument  establishments  in  North 
Carolina.  Their  business  headquarters  are  on 
West  Martin  Street  near  the  Union  Station  in 
Raleigh.  Long  experience,  continued  growth  of 
capital  and  resources,  have  brought  the  equipment 
of  this  firm  to  the  highest  point  of  efficiency.  The 
firm  has  long  employed  some  of  the  ablest  artists 
in  the  stone  cutting  trade,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  plant  has  been  equipped  throughout  with  me- 
chanical processes  so  that  practically  every  phase 
of  the  work,  the  cutting,  carving,  polishing,  let- 
tering and  boxing  of  monuments  is  done  by  ma- 
chinery. The  business  of  the  firm  long  since  ex- 
ceeded local  limitations.  There  is  one  fine  example 
of  the  Cooper  Monument  Company  in  the  City  of 
Washington.  This  is  the  monument  to  John  Car- 
roll, first  bishop  of  Baltimore,  made  out  of  North 
Carolina  stone  and  standing  in  one  of  the  public 
parks  of  the  nation 's  capital.  The  statute  of 
Governor  Z.  B.  Vance  in  Capitol  Square  at  Raleigh 
is  another  example  of  their  workmanship,  and 
there  are  many  statues  of  individuals,  Confederate 
monuments,  and  other  similar  work  to  be  found 
practically  all  over  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

On  January  6,  1909,  Mr.  Cooper  celebrated  his 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  his  business  career. 
He  received  many  tributes  from  his  fellow  business 
men  and  also  one  in  the  form  of  a  letter  couched 
in  terms  of  congratulation  and  of  reference  to  the 
high  standing  of  his  business  and  his  own  personal 
integrity,  from  Governor  R.  B.  Glenn,  who  also 
came  from  Forsyth  County. 

Besides  his  position  as  president  of  the  Cooper 
Monument  Company,  Mr.  Cooper  is  also  president 
of  the  Granita  Company,  and  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  is  a  director  in  the  Anchor  Trust  Com- 
pany of  Raleigh. 

A  thorough  public  spirit  and  broad  and  active 
interest  in  every  movement  for  the  betterment  of 
his  home  city  have  gone  hand  in  hand  with  Mr. 
Cooper's  progress  as  a  business  man.  He  served 
three  terms  as  an  alderman  of  Raleigh  from  the 
Third  Ward.  It  is  said  that  he  was  the  most 
efficient  chairman  of  the  street  committee  who  ever 
occupied  that  office.  On  account  of  the  demands 
of  his  private  business  he  tried  to  be  relieved  of 
his  responsibilities  as  an  alderman  at  the  close 
of  his  second  term  in  1909,  but  his  constituents 
refused  to  be  without  his  public  service,  and  he 
was  nominated  unanimously  and  re-elected.  Of 
his  civic  work  perhaps  the  most  important  was 
his  leadership  and  effective  influence  in  behalf  of 
the  paving  of  Raleigh 's  principal  streets  with 
asphalt.  Such  pavement  was  the  first  to  be  laid 
in  the  state  and  as  much  as  anything  else  they 
have  served  to  keep  Raleigh  in  the  front  of  pro- 
gressive American  municipalities. 


(s\j \/r. JVcvisi<i4  g*J4 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


29 


Church,  fraternal  organizations,  philanthropic 
institutions  and  other  movements  have  all  bene- 
fited from  Mr.  Cooper 's  active  relationship.  He 
has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Raleigh  Baptist 
Tabernacle,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  enlarg- 
ing and  remodeling  of  the  church  edifice  a  few 
years  ago.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  State 
Mission  Board,  and  has  been  especially  liberal  of 
his  time  and  means  in  support  of  the  Baptist 
Orphanage  at  Thomasville.  He  originated  the  an- 
nual festive  occasion  at  the  orphanage  known  as 
Cooper  Carnival,  which  is  a  time  of  rejoicing  to 
the  many  children  who  recognize  that  institution 
as  their  only  home.  Mr.  Cooper  is  also  a  trustee 
of  Rex  Hospital  at  Raleigh,  one  of  the  best 
equipped  and  best  managed  institutions  of  its  kind 
in  the  state.  He  is  a  Knights  Templar  Mason 
and  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  charities, 
of  the  Law  and  Order  League,  of  the  board  of 
health,  the  Good  Health  League,  and  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Raleigh  Y.  M.  C.  A.  In  1916  he  was  state 
councillor  of  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics.  He  made  his  year  in  that  office  not- 
able. Addressing  all  the  councils  of  the  state  he 
called  for  a  general  observance  of  April  7,  1916, 
as  ' '  Service  Day ' '  when  as  local  bodies  or  in- 
dividuals all  members  would  assume  some  special 
service  of  good  to  the  sick  or  burdened  or  to  im- 
proving the  conditions  of  community.  In  Wake 
County  every  country  schoolhouse  received  a  fresh 
coat  of  paint.  Results  throughout  the  state  were 
so  gratifying  that  ' '  Service  Day ' '  has  been 
adopted  as  a  feature  of  the  annual  program  of  the 
order  all  over  the  United  States. 

DeWitt  Hakmon,  now  serving  as  county  engi- 
neer of  Forsyth  County  in  his  sixth  year,  is  a 
successful  business  man  at  Kernersville  and  is  one 
of  the  well  known  figures  in  the  public  life  of  his 
native  county.  Mr.  Harmon  for  many  years  was 
engaged  in  railroad  engineering,  and  therefore 
brings  a  vast  amount  of  training  and  experience 
to  his  present  official  position. 

Mr.  Harmon  is  a  native  of  Kernersville.  His 
grandfather,  Appollus  Harmon,  was  born  in  Suf- 
field,  Connecticut,  of  colonial  ancestry.  He  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  state,  but  when 
a  young  man  came  to  North  Carolina  and  at 
Kernersville  met  and  married  Salome  Kerner.  Sev- 
eral years  later  they  went  back  to  Connecticut, 
but  eventually  returned,  to  Kernersville,  where 
Appollus  Harmon  located  on  land  inherited  by  his 
wife.  He  was  there  engaged  in  farming  and 
remained  a  resident  until  his  death  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven.  His  wife,  Salome  Kerner,  was  the 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Christina  (Cosner)  Kerner. 
Excepting  for  the  few  years  she  lived  in  Con- 
necticut she  was  a  life  long  resident  of  Kerners- 
ville. 

Julius  Sheldon  Harmon,  father  of  DeWitt,  was 
born  at  Kernersville  in  1824.  Part  of  his  early 
education  was  acquired  in  Connecticut,  and  at 
an  early  age  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  trade 
of  millwright.  He  inherited  studious  tastes,  was 
a  great  reader,  and  though  he  had  little  opportu- 
nity for  formal  schooling  he  acquired  a  very 
thorough  education.  For  a  time  he  taught  school. 
Besides  teaching  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  mill- 
wright and  also  did  surveying.  His  home  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  at  Kernersville,  where 
he  died  in  1891.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife 
was  Antoinette  Kerner,  daughter  of  Phillip 
Kerner.      Their    four   children    were    Cora,    Delia, 


DeWitt  and  Tilla  E.  The  first  two  are  now 
deceased.  Tilla  is  a  graduate  of  Salem  College 
and  is  a  successful  music  teacher.  She  and  her 
brother  now  occupy  the  old  homestead  at  Kerners- 
ville. 

DeWitt  Harmon  had  the  advantages  of  the 
grammar  and  high  schools  of  Kernersville,  and  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  had  qualified  as  a  teacher. 
His  first  term  was  taught  in  the  Pine  Grove 
School  in  Kernersville  Township.  After  two  years 
as  clerk  with  the  general  merchandise  firm  of 
Beard  &  Roberts  at  Kernersville  he  was  offered 
a  position  in  the  Moravian  School  at  Nazareth, 
Pennsylvania,  and  he  taught  there  three  terms. 
Resigning  he  took  up  an  active  outside  work  more 
to  his  liking  and  became  identified  with  the  engi- 
neering corps  during  the  construction  of  the  Rich- 
mond &  Danville  Railroad.  He  began  as  a  chain 
and  stake  bearer,  and  having  much  ability  at 
mathematics  and  being  eager  for  advancement  he 
was  promoted  until  he  became  assistant  to  the  engi- 
neer of  the  maintenance  department  of  the  road. 
Many  responsibilities  were  given  to  him  in  the 
engineering  work.  For  five  years  Mr.  Harmon  had 
his  headquarters  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina.  He 
was  then  assigned  to  the  Georgia  department,  with 
headquarters  at  Savannah,  and  remained  there 
until  1891. 

On  the  death  of  his  father  he  resigned  from  the 
railroad  and  returned  home.  He  had  in  the  mean- 
time acquired  an  interest  in  a  flouring  mill  near 
Kernersville,  and  1897  he  erected  the  Kernersville 
Roller  Mills,  equipped  with  all  the  modern 
machinery  and  facilities  for  the  manufacture  of 
high  grade  patent  flour.  That  is  one  of  the  chief 
industries  of  that  part  of  Forsyth  County,  and 
Mr.  Harmon  still  operates  the  plant. 

His  public  spirit  has  led  him  into  active  con- 
nection with  public  affairs.  For  several  years  he 
served  as  one  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
Kernersville  and  also  on  the  local  School  Board. 
He  was  a  member  of  that  board  when  the  fine 
schoolhouse  was  erected.  In  1912,  by  act  of  the 
Legislature,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Highway  Commissioners  of  Forsyth 
County,  and  in  that  position  his  training  as  an 
engineer  has  given  him  much  influence  and  has 
enabled  him  to  serve  the  community  with  a 
thorough  professional  skill.  Since  he  became  a 
member  of  the  board  many  improvements  have 
been  made  on  the  roads  and  several  bridges  built. 
For  four  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners,  and  in  that  time  several 
miles  of  macadam  road  and  the  County  Home  was 
built. 

Albion  Dunn,  mayor  of  Greenville  and  a  prom- 
inent lawyer  of  that  city,  was  first  elected  to 
the  office  in  1915  and  for  a  second  term  in  1917. 

The  administration  of  Mayor  Dunn  will  always 
be  a  memorable  one  in  the  matter  of  municipal 
advancement  and  improvement  of  Greenville. 
Practically  all  the  paving  of  the  city  in  perma- 
nent form  has  been  accomplished  during  his  ad- 
ministration. During  his  first  term  89,000  square 
yards  were  laid  and  40,000  yards  were  put  down 
In  1917,  giving  the  city  now  a  total  of  129,000 
square  yards  of  durable  pavement.  In  one  twelve 
month  period  four  miles  of  sidewalks  were  con- 
structed. Gas  mains  have  been  extended  all  over 
the  city  and  $100,000  were  authorized  for  the 
construction  and  improvement  of  water  and  light 
plant.      Since    he    became    mayor    Mr.    Dunn    has 


30 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


performed  all  the  services  of  city  attorney  free 
of  charge.  That  was  one  of  the  chief  savings 
effected,  in  obviating  attorneys'  costs  and  fees 
upon  paving  work. 

Mr.  Dunn  is  one  of  the  younger  men  of  North 
Carolina,  but  his  public  spirit  and  his  eonscientiou 
devotion  to  the  public  welfare  might  well  be 
copied  and  emulated  by  all  municipal  officers.  He 
was  born  at  Scotland  Neck,  North  Carolina,  June  2, 
1883,  a  son  of  William  Arrington  and  Kate  (Speed) 
Dunn.  His  father  was  also  an  attorney.  The  son 
was  educated  in  private  schools,  attended  the  liter- 
ary department  of  Wake  Forest  College  for  four 
years  from  1898  to  1902,  taking  his  A.  B.  degree  in 
1902,  and  in  February,  1904,  graduated  from  the 
law  department.  He  was  not  yet  twenty-one 
when  he  graduated  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  began  practice  in  1904.  He  practiced  at 
Scotland  Neck  from  1905  to  1910,  and  since  then 
has  been  handling  a  large  general  practice  at 
Greenville,  and  has  an  excellent  clientele.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  and  American 
Bar  Associations,  is  former  president  of  the 
Carolina  Club,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  Active  in  the  Baptist  Church  he 
teaches    the    Baraca   Class. 

January  9,  1907,  Mr.  Dunn  married  Miss  Grace 
Gallaway,  of  Mount  Airy,  North  Carolina.  She 
died  March  19,  1907.  On  December  30,  1909, 
he  married  Miss  Irma  Cobb,  of  Greenville.  They 
have  one  son,  Albion,  Jr.,  born  December  2, 
1910. 

i 

Richard  C.  Freeman  is  an  attorney  at  Dobson, 
and  has  practiced  since  1899  in  Surry  County.  Be- 
sides his  law  business  various  official  positions 
have  been  conferred  upon  him  and  he  is  the  pres- 
ent  postmaster   of  Dobson. 

Mr.  Freeman  was  born  January  19,  1867,  and 
is  closely  connected  with  one  of  the  earliest  fami- 
lies of  Western  North  Carolina.  His  remote  Ameri- 
can ancestry  goes  back  to  Samuel  Freeman,  who 
was  born  in  England  and  of  English  parentage, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Surry  County. 
Securing  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  Yadkin  River 
Valley  he  improved  them  and  cultivated  a  large 
acreage  with  the  aid  of  his  slaves.  He  lived  there 
until  his  death  and  his  will  was  probated  in  1796. 

His  son  Aaron  Freeman,  great-grandfather  of 
the  Dobson  lawyer,  was  born  on  the  present  site 
of  Siloam  on  the  Yadkin  River.  He  removed  to 
Fish  River  and  became  owner  of  upwards  of  1,500 
acres  of  land  in  that  vicinity.  This  extensive 
plantation  he  operated  with  the  aid  of  slaves  and 
lived  there  until  his  death. 

A  portion  of  this  generous  estate  in  the  Fish 
River  Valley  was  inherited  by  his  son  Alexander 
Freeman,  who  was  born  near  Dobson.  His  life 's 
activities  were  consumed  in  farming  and  he  was 
one  of  the  substantial  men  of  that  locality.  He 
married  Sally  Mosely,  a  daughter  of  Henry  A. 
Mosely,  who  married  a  Miss  Shore.  The  Mosely 
and  Shore  families  were  pioneers  in  Yadkin 
county.  Alexander  Freeman  and  wife  both  lived 
to  a  good  old  age.  Their  five  sons  were  named 
West,  Hawkins,  Henry,  Samuel  and  Nicholas. 
Nicholas  was  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army. 

Samuel  A.  Freeman,  father  of  Richard  C,  was 
born  on  the  farm  two  miles  northwest  of  Dob- 
son, September  3,  1842.  He  inherited  some  of 
his  father's  estate,  but  most  of  his  brief  life  was 
taken  up  with  official  work.  He  was  appointed 
deputy  sheriff  and  to  better  perform  the  duties  of 
that  office  he  removed  to  Dobson.     He  served  both 


as  deputy  sheriff  and  deputy  clerk  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-three. 

Samuel  A.  Freeman  married  Susan  E.  Waugh,  a 
member  of  the  notable  family  that  gave  the  name 
to  the  present  suburban  town  of  Winston-Salem. 
She  was  born  at  Waughtown,  a  daughter  of  Har- 
rison M.  and  Mary  Waugh.  Harrison  Waugh  was 
a  son  of  Samuel  Waugh,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  father  of  Samuel  Waugh  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
ancestry  and  came  from  England  to  America,  lo- 
cating in  Pennsylvania.  From  that  state  Samuel 
Waugh  moved  to  Carlisle,  Kentucky,  and  lived 
there  until  his  death.  Harrison  Waugh  came  from 
Kentucky  to  North  Carolina.  He  married  for  his 
first  wife  Mary  Waugh,  who  was  born  at  Waugh- 
town, daughter  of  James  Waugh,  who  was  a 
brother  of  Samuel  Waugh.  James  Waugh  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  had  come  to  North  Caro- 
lina and  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  including 
the  present  site  of  Waughtown.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Robinet.  Mrs.  Samuel  A.  Freeman  survived 
her  husband  and  was  eighty-two  years  of  age  on 
March  22,  1918.  Her  family  consisted  of  tw.o  sons 
and  one  daughter,  Richard  C,  Luther  W.,  and 
Sallie,  widow  of  Dr.  Walter  C.  Folger. 

Richard  C.  Freeman  prepared  for  college  at 
Columbia,  Missouri,  but  studied  law  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  in  1898-99  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  latter  year.  He  forth- 
with opened  an  office  at  Dobson  and  has  been  a 
resourceful  and  capable  member  of  the  local  bar 
ever  since.  He  is  also  interested  in  agriculture, 
having  two  farms  operated  by  tenants.  He  also 
owns  considerable  real  estate  at  Dobson. 

In  1894  Mr.  Freeman  married  Maude  Folger, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Milton  Y.  and  Elizabeth  Folger. 
Ten  children  have  been  reared  in  their  household, 
named  Margaret,  Rachel,  Richard  C,  Jr.,  Susan 
E.,  James  N.,  Alton  Brooks,  Clara,  Franklin  E., 
William  B.  and  Lucile  V.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Freeman 
are  active  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  and  are  rearing  their  children  in 
the  same  faith. 

Politically  Mr.  Freeman  cast  his  first  presiden- 
tial vote  for  Grover  Cleveland.  He  has  been  a  con- 
sistent supporter  of  the  democratic  party  and  has 
been  very  useful  in  keeping  up  the  party  strength 
in  Surry  County.  During  Cleveland's  administra- 
tion he  served  as  deputy  United  States  marshal. 
Since  reaching  his  majority  Mr.  Freeman  has  at- 
tended nearly  all  the  state  conventions  as  a  dele- 
gate and  many  of  the  district  and  county  con- 
ventions. He  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
mayor  elected  at  Dobson,  has  served  several  years 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  is  the  pres- 
ent postmaster.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

J.  Worth  Elliott  is  a  member  of  the  firm 
Elliott  Building  Company  with  headquarters  at 
Hickory  in  Catawba  County,  and  with  his  firm  has 
handled  some  of  the  most  extensive  contracts  for 
railroad  and  other  heavy  construction  enterprise 
within  recent  years. 

Mr.  Elliott  was  born  in  Iredell  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  February,  1S56,  son  of  H.  Frank  and 
Catherine  (Alexander)  Elliott.  The  Elliotts  are 
a  family  of  builders.  H.  Frank  Elliott  during 
the  four  years  of  war  between  the  states  served 
the  Confederacy  as  an  expert  mechanic  and  builder 
in  the  Confederate  navy  yards  at  Selma,  Alabama. 
Afterwards  he  was  a  contractor  and  builder  for 
many  years. 

J.    Worth    Elliott    practically    grew   up    in    the 


L/w  ffl  i^o^&^Jl^  t 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


31 


atmosphere  of  building  construction,  and  has  fol- 
lowed that  line  continuously  since  early  youth. 
He  is  a  second  cousin  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Elliott,  presi- 
dent of  the  Elliott  Building  Company  of  Hickory. 
These  relatives  came  to  Hickory  together  in  1885, 
and  have  ever  since  been  closely  associated  in 
business  affairs.  They  have  developed  one  of  the 
largest  contracting  organizations  in  the  South. 
Their  company  handles  and  employs  great  num- 
bers of  workmen,  and  have  furnished  the  capital, 
the  organization,  and  skilled  supervision  for  some 
of  the  largest  construction  enterprises  in  North 
Carolina  and  other  states.  Their  specialty  has 
been  the  erection  of  buildings  for  railroad  com- 
panies, such  as  depots,  and  J.  Worth  Elliott  is 
vice  president  of  the  Elliott  Building  Company. 

While  the  little  City  of  Hickory  owes  much  in 
a  material  way  to  the  enterprise  of  J.  Worth 
Elliott  it  looks  upon  him  and  Mrs.  Elliott  jointly 
as  responsible  for  many  of  those  substantial  bene- 
fits that  can  not  be  measured  by  material  standards 
alone.  Mrs.  Elliott  is  one  of  the  highly  cultured 
and  enterprising  members  of  Hickory  society  and 
a  mover  and  worker  in  everything  that  means  bet- 
ter schools,  and  a  better  moral  and  spiritual  atmos- 
phere for  the  town.  Mrs.  Elliott  before  her  mar- 
riage was  Miss  Lillie  Moss  Burns.  She  was  born 
at  Asheboro,  Randolph  County,  daughter  of  B.  B. 
and  Fannie  (Moss)  Burns,  and  granddaughter  of 
Dr.  James  Moss.  Both  the  Moss  and  Burns  fam- 
ilies have  long  been  prominent  in  Randolph  County. 
Mrs.  Elliott  was  educated  at  Archedale,  Randolph 
County,  and  in  Guilford  College  in  Guilford  County. 

A  paragraph  or  two  from  the  editorial  columns 
of  a  local  paper  indicates  one  direction  in  which 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott's  public  spirit  has  gone. 
' '  The  gift  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  Worth  Elliott  of  a 
free  site  for  the  Carnegie  public  library  will  fur- 
ther endear  this  generous  couple  to  the  people  of 
Hickory.  They  have  no  real  estate  to  sell  that 
would  benefit  from  the  location  of  the  library; 
they  were  actuated  solely  by  a  desire  to  serve  this 
community  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  Mrs. 
Elliott  as  president  of  the  Community  Club  and 
as  president  of  the  Library  Association,  has  ren- 
dered services  to  this  community  that  cannot  be 
measured  in  dollars  and  cents.  Wherever  there  has 
been  a  need,  Mrs.  Elliott  supported  by  her  husband, 
has  been  present  with  her  energy  and  enthusiasm. 
The  lot  donated  by  this  generous  couple  is  just 
west  of  their  beautiful  home  on  Fifteenth  street. 
It  will  have  a  frontage  of  fifty  feet  and  will  extend 
back  as  far  as  necessary." 

It  was  in  June,  1917,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott 
donated  this  lot  for  the  use  of  the  Carnegie  Li- 
brary. The  Carnegie  Library  Commission  had  do- 
nated something  more  than  $11,000  for  the  erection 
of  a  library  building  and  construction  of  the 
building  was  begun  in  1917.  The  donation  from 
the  Carnegie  fund  came  following  a  special  elec- 
tion in  March,  1917,  at  which  a  tax  was  voted 
by  the  citizens  for  the  permanent  maintenance  of 
the  library. 

It  is  only  giving  credit  where  credit  is  due  to 
say  that  Mrs.  Elliott  was  largely  responsible  for 
the  idea  and  plan  and  for  the  carrying  out  of 
the  plan  by  which  Hickory  is  to  receive  this  mod- 
ern institution  of  a  Carnegie  Library.  She  did 
much  of  the  personal  work  connected  with  securing 
the  petition  for  the  special  election,  and  worked 
most  industriously  to  have  the  issue  presented  prop- 
erly to  the  people  and  get  their  support  to  the 
cause. 

The  library  is  essentially  an  institution  of  edu- 


cation, and  it  is  with  the  educational  needs  of 
Hickory  that  Mrs.  Elliott  has  been  most  en- 
thusiastically and  devotedly  identified  in  all  the 
years.  She  was  organizer  and  is  president  of  the 
Community  Club,  and  one  of  the  chief  objects  of 
this  club  is  to  foster  the  interests  of  the  public 
school  system.  One  of  the  first  objects  accom- 
plished by  the  club  was  to  raise  $500  a  year  to  em- 
ploy a  domestic  science  teacher  for  the  schools. 

Aleert  Sidney  Williams.  Though  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  Albert  Sidney  Williams  first  prac- 
ticed law  in  New  York  State,  and  he  was  actively 
connected  with  the  bar  of  that  state  for  some  four 
or  five  years.  Since  1908  he  has  applied  himself 
to  the  general  practice  of  law  at  Wilmington,  and 
has  a  reputation  of  a  sound,  able  counsellor  and 
efficient  trial  lawyer  throughout  that  judicial  dis- 
trict. 

He  was  born  at  Manchester,  Cumberland  County, 
North  Carolina,  August  2,  1869,  son  of  George  W. 
and  Kate  A.  (Murchison)  Williams.  His  father 
was  a  wholesale  merchant,  and  gave  his  son  the 
most  liberal  advantages  preparatory  to  his  pro- 
fessional career. 

He  attended  private  schools,  the  Bingham  Mili- 
tary School,  was  a  student  in  the  academic  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  1887-88, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1889  entered  the  University  of 
Virginia  but  returning  to  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  the  fall  of  1890  and  remaining  in  the 
law  department  until  1891.  He  studied  at  Colum- 
bia University  in  New  York,  and  in  1895  graduated 
LL.  B.  from  the  University  of  New  York.  He  was 
licensed  to  practice  in  New  York  State  in  1894,  and 
continued  his  work  as  a  lawyer  there  until  1899.  He 
then  removed  to  Wilmington,  where  he  has  since 
been  busied  by  various  interests  and  responsibil- 
ities. 

Mr.  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  American  Bar  associations,  of  the 
Cape  Fear  Club,  the  Cape  Fear  Country  Club,  the 
Carolina  Yacht  Club,  is  a  Knights  Templar  Mason 
and  Shriner,  and  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  and  the 
Sigma  Alpha  Epsilon  college  fraternity. 

November  27,  1912,  he  married  Elliott  E.  Emer- 
son, of  Wilmington,  daughter  of  Thomas  M.  Emer- 
son. 

Nathaniel  Jacobi.  There  are  few  names  to 
which  the  people  of  Wilmington  may  accord  honor 
justly  won  or  .  remember  with  more  reverence 
than  that  of  the  late  Nathaniel  Jacobi,  for  few 
men  have  left  behind  a  richer  heritage  in  the 
fruits  of  a  noble  life.  Capably  building  and 
fostering  great  business  enterprises  was  one  ex- 
pression only  of  his  varied  nature.  He  believed 
in  the  better  and  higher  things  of  life  and  was 
ever  actively  concerned  in  charitable  and  humane 
movements,  and  his  achievements  in  business,  con- 
spicuous as  they  were,  would  seem  small  if  placed 
in  the  balance  with  the  sum  of  his  philanthropies, 
his  charities,  his  wide  spread  benefactions.  The 
enduring  influence  of  the  life  of  a  man  like 
Nathaniel  Jacobi  may  not  be  fitly  described  in 
ordinary  language,  but  a  community  that  has 
been   so   enriched  may  well   be   envied. 

Nathaniel  Jacobi  was  born  January  21,  1828, 
in  the  City  of  London,  England.  His  parents 
were  Wolf  and  Priscilla  Rebecca  Jacobi.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  on  one  of  the  slow 
sailing  vessels  of  that  time  and  settled  at  Charles- 
ton,   South    Carolina,    in    1832,    when    Nathaniel 


32 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


was  four  years  old.  There  he  spent  boyhood, 
youth  and  early  manhood,  acquiring  an  education 
and  making  personal  and  business  friends.  When 
the  war  between  the  states  was  precipitated  he 
entered  the  Confederate  service  and  became  chief 
clerk  in  the  quartermaster's  department  under 
command  of  Major  Styron.  Near  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  sent  on  a  military  mission  to 
Wilmington,  and  the  city  and  its  people  made  so 
favorable  an  impression  on  him  that  after  peace 
was  restored  he  returned  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence here.  In  1869  he  purchased  the  hardware 
business  of  James  Wilson,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1856,  and  incorporated  the  same  as  the 
N.  Jacobi  Company  and  continued  to  be  identi- 
fied with  it  until  the  close  of  his  life.  Mr.  Jacobi 
died   November   5,  1907. 

Mr.  Jacobi  was  married  August  31,  1865,  to 
Miss  Rosalia  Beuthner,  who  died  at  Wilmington, 
January  3,  1900.  To  this  marriage  two  sons 
were  born:    Marcus  W.   and  Joseph  N. 

In  the  financial  field  Mr.  Jacobi  was  well 
known  and  for  years  he  served  on  the  directing 
board  of  the  Merchison  National  Bank.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  and  was  vice  president  of 
the  Temple  of  Israel.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Mechanics'  Home  Association  and 
its  only  president,  death  ending  his  term  of  service. 

On  April '14,  1852,  Mr.  Jacobi  was  made  an 
Odd  Fellow  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and 
throughout  his  whole  subsequent  life  the  inter- 
ests of  that  order  were  cherished  and  promoted 
by  him.  He  was  known  in  North  Carolina  as  the 
father  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Orphans'  Home  at 
Goldsboro,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  builders  and  for  many  years  served 
on  its  board  of  trustees.  In  recognition  of  his 
great  service  to  the  order  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows  of  North  Carolina  erected  the  Na- 
thaniel Jacobi  Memorial  Building,  which  is  a 
masnificent   structure  that  cost   $85,000. 

Marcus  W.  Jacobi,  the  elder  of  the  two  sons 
of  the  late  Nathaniel  Jacobi,  was  born  at  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina,  August  15,  1867.  After 
completing  his  educational  course  in  the  Tileston 
and  Bine-ham  schools,  in  1883  he  became  clerk 
for  his  father  and  developed  such  business  capabil- 
ity that  in  1888  he  was  admitted  to  partnership, 
and  in  1907  became  president  of  the  N.  Jacobi 
Hardware    Company. 

On  January  24,  1901,  Mr.  Jacobi  was  married 
to  Miss  Blanche  B.  David,  of  Wilmington,  who 
is  a  daughter  of  A.  David,  a  well  known  merchant 
of  this  city.  They  have  two  sons,  David  and 
Nathan,   and    one    daughter,   Bosalie. 

Marcus  W.  Jacobi  is  one  of  the  stable  and 
representative  men  of  Wilmington,  and  it  would 
be  a.  task  to  even  mention  all  the  civic  services 
he_  has  performed,  all  of  which  have  been  bene- 
ficial. He  has  been  particularly  prominent  in 
promoting  the  objects  and  undertakings  of  the 
Wilmington  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  served  as 
its  president  in  1900,  1901  and  1902  and  was 
elected  to  the  same  office  in  1916.  As  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Water  and  Sewerage  Commission  his 
best  efforts  were  directed  toward  securinsr  the 
public  utilities  and  the  city  is  largely  indebted 
to  him  for  its  excellent  water  and  sewer  systems. 
He  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Murchison 
National  Bank  and  also  of  the  Delgado  Cotton 
Mills.  He  belongs  to  the  Hebrew  congregation, 
of  which  he  is  vice  president,  and  in  May.  1910, 
was  elected  president  of  the  great  Hebrew  organ- 
ization,   the   B'Nai    B'Rith.      Fraternally   he    is    a 


Mason  and  an  Odd  Fellow.  It  is  in  the  latter 
organization  that  Mr.  Jacobi  is  so  widely  known. 
In  February,  1889,  he  became  a  member  of  Cape 
Fear  Lodge  No.  2,  and  progressed  until  by  1898 
he  was  grand  warden,  was  made  deputy  grand 
master  in  1899,  and  grand  master  in  1900.  On 
numerous  occasions  he  has  been  a  representative 
to   the   Sovereign   Grand  Lodge. 

Since  1907  Mr.  Jacobi  has  been  chairman  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Odd  Fellows '  Orphans ' 
Home  at  Goldsboro,  in  which  his  father  was  so 
long  and  deeply  interested,  and  he  likewise  is 
concerned  in  its  weLare.  Other  benevolent  ob- 
jects also  claim  his  attention  and  he  is  always 
ready  to  investigate  and  if  possible  co-operate 
with  others  in  humanitarian  movements,  whether 
in  this  city  or  section  or  in  others  much  farther 
away. 

When  the  memorial  above  mentioned  was  erected 
to  his  father  by  the  Odd  Fellows  the  order  sought 
to  honor  him  by  electing  him  chairman  of  the 
building  committee. 

Joseph  N.  Jacobi  was  born  July  5,  1870, 
and  died  February  1,  1918.  He  was  a  man  of 
unusual  ability,  most  attractive  personality  and 
highest  integrity.  Cnaritable  and  public  spirited. 
He  loved  his  home  state  and  city  and  during  the 
period  of  over  thirty  years  that  he  was  connected 
with  the  N.  Jacobi  Hardware  Company  as  sales- 
man and  partner  there  was  no  one  more  highly 
regarded  among  those  who  knew  him.  He  left 
a  wife,  who  was  Miss  Helen  Bruswanger  of  Rich- 
mond,  Virginia,   and   a   daughter,   Bertha   Jacobi. 

Joseph  Melville  Broughton,  Jr.  Honors  and 
positions  that  are  synonymous  with  great  and  im- 
portant service  seldom  come  to  so  young  a  man 
as  Joseph  Melville  Broughton,  Jr.,  of  Raleigh.  He 
was  born  in  Raleigh  November  17,  1888,  and  is  a 
son  of  Joseph  Melville  and  Sallie  A.  (Harris) 
Broughton,  his  father  a  well  known  real  estate 
man. 

Not  yet  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  Mr.  Brough- 
ton has  well  deserved  the  two  prominent  distinc- 
tions associated  with  his  name.  One  of  them  is  as 
chairman  of  the  Wake  County  Democratic  Execu- 
tive Committee.  The  democratic  organization  of 
the  county  could  not  have  selected  a  more  progres- 
sive and  enthusiastic  leader,  and  the  work  he  has 
done  has  more  than  justified  his  choice.  Mr. 
Broughton  was  also  given  the  honor  of  being  the 
youngest  Sunday  school  superintendent  of  North 
Carolina.  He  presides  over  the  Sunday  school  of 
the  Baptist  Tabernacle  Church  of  Raleigh,  and 
that  is  the  largest  Sunday  school  in  the  state  and 
the  second  largest  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Broughton  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  in  the  Raleigh  Male  Academy  and  at  Waie 
Forest  College.  He  graduated  A.  B.  with  the  class 
of  1910.  Mention  should  be  made  among  his  stu- 
dent activities  of  the  fact  that  he  was  editor  of 
the  college  paper,  the  Wake  Forest  Student,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  college  football  team. 

For  two  years  following  his  graduation  he  was 
principal  of  the  Bunn  High  School.  During  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1912  he  was  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  the  Winston-Salem  Journal,  and  dur- 
ing that  time  served  as  secretary  of  the  Forsyth 
County  Democratic   Executive  Committee. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  studied  and  had  been 
licensed  to  practice  law.  After  a  special  course 
in  the  Harvard  Law  School  in  1913  he  returned  to 
North  Carolina,  but  instead  of  taking  up  practice 
he  served  from  June,  1913,  to  June,  1914,  as  act- 


a 


clcluOZ^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


33 


ing  superintendent  of  schools  during  the  absence 
of  superintendent  of  instruction  Mr.  Judd.  For 
the  past  four  years  he  has  devoted  himself  to  a 
general  civil  practice,  and  has  already  made  a 
reputation  and  name  for  himself  as  a  member  of 
the  bar.  . 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Wake  County  and  North 
Carolina  Bar  associations  and  is  serving  as  re- 
corder of  the  Recorder  's  Court  of  Zebulon  in  Lit- 
tle River  Township;  also  of  the  courts  at  Fuquay 
Springs  and  Apex.  He  is  the  North  Carolina  mem- 
ber of  the  Interntional  Sunday  School  Executive 
Committee  and  is  one  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Mr.  Broughton  is  also  president 
of  the  Raleigh  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Fraternally 
he  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  Order  and  with 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 
His  favorite  sports  and  diversions  are  fishing  and 
hunting. 

Nathaniel  Edmund  Gkeen  entered  the  tobacco 
business  in  a  humble  and  unimportant  role  in  his 
native  State  of  Virginia,  and  has  been  successively! 
advanced  until  he  is  now  manager  of  a  large 
department  of  the  American  Tobacco  Company 
at  Durham. 

Mr.  Green  was  born  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
March  7,  1863,  a  son  of  Samuel  S.  and  Lucy  A. 
(Boaz)  Green.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Chesterfield,  Virginia,  and  then  learned  the 
stone  business  with  his  father,  a  practical  quarry- 
man.  However,  his  tastes  led  him  into  a  different 
occupation  and  in  1884  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  entered  the  tobacco  business  at  Richmond.  He 
became  foreman  of  a  local  tobacco  factory,  and 
then  for  a  number  of  years  was  assistant  factory 
manager  of  the  American  Tobacco  Company. 
Upon"the  dissolution  of  this  company  in  1912  he 
was  appointed  manager  of  the  Blackwell  Durham 
branch  of  the  company,  his  present  office.  Mr. 
Green  has  lived  at  Durham  since  1901,  and  for 
a  numbet  of  years  was  manager  of  the  export 
cigarette  department  of  the  business. 

He  is  well  known  in  business  and  social  circles, 
a  member  of  the  Commonwealth  Club,  deacon  and 
treasurer  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  has  served 
as  director  of  the  T.  M.  C.  A',  and  is  a  director 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

On  April  15,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Emma  E. 
Latham  of  Stafford  County,  Virginia.  They  have 
a  large  family  of  children  named  Nancy 
Amourette,  Frances  Hawthorne,  Nathaniel  Ed- 
mund Jr.,  Virginia.  Lee,  Southgate  Jones,  Philip 
Latham,  Mary  Lucy,  Doris  Hawthorne  and  Wel- 
ford  Early. 

Ovten  Alexander  Waddell.  It  is  not  possible 
to  interpret  and  justify  the  careers  of  men  how- 
ever successful  without  understanding  the  guiding 
principle  and  motive  of  all  their  work  and  activ- 
ities. To  say  that  Owen  Alexander  Waddell 
twenty  years  or  so  ago  was  an  exceedingly  poor 
man  in  financial  circumstances  and  that  by  work, 
self-sacrifice,  and  constant  planning  he  has  become 
the  leading  man  of  affairs  at  Manchester  in  Cum- 
berland County,  where  his  interests  are  those  of  a 
merchant,  planter,  lumber  manufacturer,  is  to  state 
in  brief  a  praiseworthy  achievement,  but  after  all 
lacking  that  fundamental  quality  and  element 
which  casts  a  really  romantic  and  splendid  atmos- 
phere  over   it  all. 

Mr.  Waddell  comes  of  a  prominent  old  family  of 
North  Carolina,  but  like  thousands  of  others  its 
fortunes  were  swept  away  in  the  storm  and  stress 

Vol.  V— 3 


of  the  Civil  war,  and  there  was  practically  nothing 
left  of  the  ancestral  estate.  Owen  A.  Waddell 
therefore  began  life  absolutely  even  with  the  world, 
having  no  property,  though  with  an  exceedingly 
creditable  name  to  live  up  to.  Even  then  it  was 
his  determination  to  achieve  something  for  him- 
self and  this  done,  to  work  steadily  so  far  as  was 
possible  and  desirable  to  rehabilitate  and  restore 
the  former  prosperity,  success  and  high  standing 
of  his  family  of  earlier  generations.  This  was  a 
big  undertaking,  but  he  would  not  have  been  sat- 
isfied to  achieve  it  by  any  other  means  than 
through  his  own  efforts.  And  in  that  achieving 
he  resolved  and  has  adhered  to  the  policy  of  main- 
taining the  same  high  standard  of  honor  and 
rectitude  by  which  his  forefathers  lived  their 
worthy  and  successful  lives.  Such  has  been  the 
guiding  purpose  of  his  life  and  few  men  have  con- 
ceived a  worthier  ambition  and  few  through  greater 
difficulties  and  over  more  obstacles  have  advanced 
steadily  toward  fulfillment. 

Mr.  Waddell  was  born  at  Swann  Station  in  that 
portion  of  Moore  County  that  is  now  Lee  County 
on  June  25,  1868.  His  parents  were  Alexander 
and  Lucy  (Swann)  Waddell.  The  Waddells  are 
of  English  ancestry.  Some  of  them  were  among 
the  first  planters  from  England  to  settle  on  the 
Cape  Fear  River  in  North  Carolina.  Their  history 
is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  many  of  the 
noted  families  of  this  historic  and  romantic  region. 
Waddell's  Ferry  on  the  Cape  Fear  in  Bladen 
County  was  the  seat  of  one  branch  of  the  Waddell 
family  during  revolutionary  and  ante-bellum  days. 

The  branch  of  the  family  now  under  considera- 
tion had  its  original  seat  in  Chatham  County  at 
Pittsboro,  which  was  the  home  of  Maurice  Q. 
Waddell,  grandfather  of  Owen  A.  Alexander  Wad- 
dell, the  latter 's  father,  was  a  cousin  to  Col.  Alfred 
M.  Waddell,  who  served  two  terms  in  Congress, 
was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  state  in  his 
time,  and  long  had  his  home  at  Wilmington,  a 
city  which  he  served  as  mayor.  Alexander  Wad- 
dell before  the  war  was  a  rice  planter  in  Bruns- 
wick County,  not  far  from  Wilmington.  His  fam- 
ily maintained  a  summer  home  at  Swann  Station 
in  Moore  County,  now  Lee  County,  and  his  rice 
plantation  having  been  devastated  and  destroyed 
by  the  Federal  armies  he  retired  to  Swann  Station 
to  live  after  the  war,  and  made  that  his  home  until 
his  death  in  1910. 

Alexander  Waddell  married  Lucy  Swann,  whose 
father,  John  Swann,  was  a  Cape  Fear  planter  and 
his  summer  home  in  Moore  County  was  named  in 
his  honor,  Swann  Station.  The  Swanns  are  also 
of  English  origin  and  many  of  the  name  ha^e 
been  extensive  planters  and  slave  owners  in  North 
Carolina.  John  Swann  married  Frances  Margaret 
Waddell. 

Owen  Alexander  Waddell  even  as  a  boy  faced 
courageously  the  stern  realities  of  life  apd  came 
to  realize  how  difficult  sometime  is  the  solution 
of  the  simplest  problems  of  daily  existence.  For- 
tunately for  him,  together  with  the  creditable  am- 
bition that  stimulated  him,  his  marriage  more  than 
doubled  his  own  capacity  and  brought  him  not 
only  a  wife  but  a  business  associate  and  an  ad- 
viser who  has  never  failed  him  through  all  the 
critical  times  they  have  experienced.  Mrs.  Wad- 
dell proved  not  only  the  ideal  housewife,  diligent 
at  her  business,  but  was  equally  proficient  and  in- 
valuable to  him  in  the  store  and  other  business 
,  enterprises  which  they  carried  on  jointly,  and  she 
willingly  shared  the  sacrifices  of  early  years  which 


34 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


have  enabled  them  to  achieve  their  mutual  ambi- 
tions and  gain  a  name  and  place  in  the  world  for 
themselves  and  their  children. 

In  1898  Mr.  Waddell  located  at  Manchester  in 
Cumberland  County.  He  accepted  the  position  of 
station  agent  for  the  railroad  at  this  small  village 
at  a  salary  of  $27  a  month.  Those  were  hard 
times,  as  all  who  went  through  the  decade  of  the 
'90s  without  a  surplus  fortune  to  draw  upon  will 
readily  remember.  The  duties  of  station  agent 
were  not  exceedingly  onerous  and  Mr.  Waddell 
established  a  small  store.  Mrs.  Waddell  did  much 
of  the  merchandising  for  the  first  year  or  so.  By 
hard  work,  patience  and  contriving,  in  the  face 
of  discouraging  circumstances  and  numerous  set- 
backs, they  went  steadily  ahead  with  their  busi- 
ness and  the  fruit  of  it  all  after  nearly  twenty 
years  is  a  prosperous  mercantile  establishment, 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  satisfactory  in  its 
profits  in  Cumberland  County.  By  making  sacri- 
fices of  present  comforts,  Mr.  Waddell  managed 
each  year  to  invest  some  of  his  returns  in  land,  and 
now  he  owns  about  3,000  acres  at  Manchester. 
This  land  is  increasing  in  value  every  year.  Be- 
sides his  mercantile  business  he  conducts  farming 
on  an  extensive  scale  and  is  also  a  lumber  manu- 
facturer. Any  business  man  might  well  envy  the 
credit  he  now  enjoys  in  the  commercial  world. 
Mr.  Waddell  has  and  will  invest  all  his  savings  in 
Liberty  Bonds  and  War  Stamps,  having  already 
invested  big  sums. 

Mr.  Waddell  married  Miss  Catherine  Mason. 
She  was  born  near  Winsboro,  South  Carolina, 
daughter  of  A.  W.  and  Winifred  (Pipkin)  Mason. 
Her  father,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  gained 
distinction  in  the  field  of  education.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  South  Carolina,  and 
in  the  ea^ly  '70s  moved  to  Florida,  where  he 
founded  and  for  several  years  was  president  of 
Jefferson  College  at  Montieello.  His  own  children 
were  educated  under  his  direction,  and  his  home 
was  a  center  of  culture  and  refinement  and  all  the 
social  graces.  His  sister,  Catherine  Mason,  for 
whom  Mrs.  Waddell  was  named,  became  the  mother 
of  Bishop  Kilgo,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
divines  of  the  South.  Mrs.  Waddell 's  mother  was 
a  North  Carolinian  by  birth,  member  of  a  prom- 
inent family  in  Duplin  County.  One  of  her  uncles 
was  Col.  Calvin  Davis,  of  that  county.  Mrs.  Wad- 
dell grew  up  and  was  educated  in  the  Florida 
home  of  her  father,  but  she  was  married  at  Man- 
chester. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waddell  count  their  material  suc- 
cess and  achievements  as  naught  compared  with 
the  satisfaction  and  pride  they  find  in  their  house- 
hold of  six  lovely  daughters,  all  noted  for  their 
charm  and  intelligence.  These  daughters  are 
named  Elizabeth  Nash,  Katherine  Mason,  Wini- 
fred Davis,  Mildred  Moore,  Rebecca  Wyrich  and 
Frances  Margaret  Swann  Waddell.  The  middle 
name  in  each  case  indicates  ancestral  names  on 
both  sides.  The  two  oldest  daughters,  Elizabeth 
and  Katherine,  are  students  in  St.  Mary's  College 
at  Raleigh.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waddell  and  their  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
the  Covenant. 

Hon.  David  Schenck.  One  of  North  Carolina's 
most  interesting  monuments  was  erected  not  for 
conspicuous  deeds  of  valor  in  the  field  of  battle, 
but  for  services  rendered  through  years  of  in- 
defatigable and  scholarly  labor  in  uncovering  and 
building  up  with  the  weight  of  historical  authority' 


and  perpetuating  for  all  time  to  come  deeds  and 
sacrifices  made  by  North  Carolinians  to  the  cause 
of  the  Revolution  and  which  by  neglect  were  in 
a  fair  way  to  lose  their  relative  importance  in 
American  history.  The  man  thus  distinctively 
honored  as  a  historian  was  the  late  Judge  David 
Schenck,  whose  monument  stands  on  the  Guilford 
battle  ground,  where  it  was  unveiled  July  4, 
1904. 

While  his  name  will  always  have  appropriate 
rank  with  the  North  Carolina  historians  of  the 
last  century,  David  Schenck 's  historical  labors 
were  pursued  largely  as  an  incident  to  a  busy 
life  as  a  lawyer,  and  in  that  field  and  profession 
he  demonstrated  abilities  that  easily  rani  him 
among  the  noblest  and  ablest  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina  bar. 

It  is  appropriate  to  presage  this  article  with 
some  account  of  his  ancestors  and  family  relation- 
ships. He  was  descended  from  the  Scheneks  who 
first  settled  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  This 
branch  of  the  Scheneks  was  found  in  that  sec- 
tion of  Pennsylvania  in  the  early  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  were  descendants  of  Swiss 
Mennonites,  who  in  earlier  generations  had  suf- 
fered religious  persecution  and  in  the  simplicity 
of  their  worship  and  creed  were  closely  allied 
with  the  English  Quakers.  It  was  largely  because 
of  this  similiarity  of  faith  that  they  were  invited 
by  William  Penn  to  help  colonize  Pennsylvania. 
The  American  progenitor  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina branch  of  the  family  was  Michael  Schenck, 
who  is  first  mentioned  in  the  colonial  records  iu 
1717  and  who  was  given  the  right  of  English 
citizenship  in  1729. 

The  head  of  the  next  generation  was  also 
Michael  Schenck,  who  was  born  February  28, 
1737,  and  died  September  22,  1811.  His  name  ap- 
pears on  a  revolutionary  committee  of  safety 
from  Lancaster  County  in  1775,  from  which  fact 
it  was  evident  that  though  a  Mennonite  he  was 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  war  to  safeguard 
the   liberties    of   the   colonists. 

Michael  Schenck,  third,  was  born  in  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania,  February  15,  1771,  and  died 
at  Lincolnton,  North  Carolina,  March  6,  1849.. 
This  was  the  grandfather  of  Hon.  David  Schenck. 
A  spirit  of  adventure  led  him  to  migrate  with 
other  colonists  from  Lancaster  to  Lincolnton  about 
1790.  He  became  a  merchant  at  Lincolnton.  His 
goods  were  purchased  at  Lancaster  and  Philadel- 
phia and  were  brought  from  there  in  wagons 
and  were  paid  for  in  large  part  by  cattle  driven 
from  Lincolnton  to  those  places.  He  married 
May  11,  1801,  Barbara  Warliek,  daughter  of 
Daniel  Warliek,  who,  according  to  family  tradi- 
tion, joined  a  military  expedition  against  the 
Indians   and   was   killed   on   the   Ohio   frontier. 

About  the  year  1813  Michael  Schenck,  third, 
erected  the  first  cotton  factory  south  of  the 
Potomac  River.  It  ran  by  water  power  and 
was  on  a  small  creek,  one  and  a  half  miles  east 
of  the  Village  of  Lincolnton.  Some  of  the  ma- 
chinery was  purchased  in  Rhode  Island,  but  por- 
tions were  made  by  his  wife 's  brother,  an  inge- 
nious and  skilled  worker  in  iron.  The  factory 
though  small  and  unpretentious  proved  a  practical 
venture,  and  in  1819  Michael  Schenck  was  joined 
by  John  Hoke  and  Dr.  James  Bivings,  and  with 
increased  capital  they  erected  the  Lincoln  cotton 
factory,  which  was  also  one  of  the  pioneer  cotton 
factories  of  the  state  and  was  continued  in  oper- 
ation   until   war   times,   when    it    was    burned. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


35 


Michael  Schenek,  third,  on  coming  south  became 
a  member  of  the  Dutch  Lutheran  Church  at  Lin- 
colnton,  there  being  no  Mennonite  Church  there. 
Later  he  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  whose 
discipline  and  faith  were  more  congenial  to  his 
mind  and  habits.  He  was  much  opposed  to  the 
use  of  intoxicating  drinks  and  the  breach  of  the 
Sabbath.  His  wife,  Barbara  Warliek,  died  Au- 
gust 23,  1815.  They  had  seven  children:  Henry, 
Elizabeth,  John,  David  W.,  Catherine,  Lavinia  and 
Barbara. 

Dr.  David  Warliek  Schenek  was  born  at  i^in- 
colnton  February  3,  1809,  and  died  at  the  home 
of  his  son  David  in  that  town  December  26, 
1861.  He.  received  a  classical  ducation  in  the 
Academy  at  Lincolnton,  a  school  in  those  days 
widely  known  and  drawing  students  from  two 
states.  He  became  a  student  of  medicine  under 
Dr.  James  Bivings,  who  for  a  long  time  was  the 
leading  physician  in  that  section.  In  October, 
1828,  he  entered  Jefferson  Medical  College  at 
Philadelphia,  one  of  the  first  students  of  that 
great  institution.  After  completing  his  course 
of  lectures  he  practiced  at  Eutherfordton,  North 
Carolina,  and  in  1832  became  a  resident  of  the 
town  of  Lincolnton.  He  was  a  close  student 
and  became  learned  in  his  profession  and  was 
a  surgeon  of  fine  reputation.  His  reading  was 
extensive  in  politics  and  theology  and  he  was 
fond  of  discussing  both  of  these  subjects.  He 
was  an  ardent  and  zealous  whig,  ca-rying  the 
proverbial  bandana  handkerchief,  and  was  second 
to  no  one  in  his  devotion  to  Henry  Clay  and 
his  principles.  He  never  voted  anything  but  the 
whig  ticket  until  1860,  when  he  voted  for  the 
candidates  of  the  constitutional  party.  Doctor 
Schenek  is  described  as  a  man  singularly  free 
from  vices,  abhorring  intoxicating  drinks,  using 
no  profane  language  ,and  scrupulously  1  onest  in 
all  his  dealings.  He  was  a  Methodist.  After  a 
critical  siege  of  typhoid  fever  in  1852  he  was 
practically    an    invalid   until    his    death. 

Doctor  Schenek  married  Rebecca  Susan  Bevens 
November  8,  1832.  She  died  October  21,  1837, 
and  of  her  four  children  the  last  two  died  in 
infancy.  The  other  two  were  Barbara  Elizabeth 
and  David  Schenek.  Bebeeca  Susan  Bevens,  mo- 
ther of  David  Schenek,  was  born  in  Chester 
County,  South  Carolina,  May  7,  1811,  daughter 
of  Simeon  and  Eliza  (Folker)  Bevens.  Eliza 
Folker  was  a  daughter  of  James  C.  Folker,  who 
was  a  captain  in  the  English  navy  and  after- 
wards settled  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The 
mother  of  David  Schenek  is  described  as  a  woman 
of  delicate  physique,  possessing  fine  musical  talent 
and  often  led  the  tunes  in  the  Methodist  Church. 
Her  temperament  was  sweet  and  unselfish  and 
she  had  many   warm    friends. 

The  life  and  character  of  David  Schenek  can 
best  be  told  by  some  extracts  from  the  memorial 
address  delivered  by  Hon.  James  E.  Shepherd, 
late  chief  justice  of  North  Carolina,  in  1904,  at 
the  unveiling  of  the  monument  on  Guilford  battle 
ground  above  referred  to: 

' '  Descended  from  Swiss  ancestors  who  were 
exiled  because  of  their  undaunted  adherence  to 
the  principles  of  religious  freedom,  David  Schenek 
was  born  in  Lincolnton,  No<th  Carolina,  March 
24,  1835.  He  was  educated  at  the  High  School 
of  Silas  C.  Lindsay,  an  eminent  scholar,  studied 
law  with  Hon.  Haywood  C.  Guion,  and  graduated 
at  the  law  school  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson.  He 
began  the  practice  of  law  in  1857  and  his  prom- 
ising abilities  were  almost  immediately  recognized 


by  the  County  of  Gaston,  where  he  had  settled, 
which  made  him  its  solicitor  in  the  following 
year.  Returning  to  Lincoln  County  in  186"1,  he 
was  made  its  solicitor  and  in  1861  was  elected 
to  the  State  Convention  to  fill  the  vacancy  oc- 
casioned by  the  election  of  Hon.  William  Landor 
to  Congress.  This,  considering  his  years  (he 
was  the  youngest  member  of  that  body),  was  a 
great  honor  and  indicates  the  high  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  people  of  his  native 
county.  So  distinguished  were  his  abilities  that 
in  1874  he  was  nominated  and  elected  Superior 
Court  Judge  of  the  Ninth  Judicial  District.  In 
1875  the  Constitution  was  amended  so  as  to  re-  , 
quire  the  judges  to  rotate,  and  in  this,  way  the 
whole  state  became  familiar  with  his  high  judicial 
qualities.  He  was  universally  regarded  as  a  man 
of  massive  intellect  and  judicial  attainments.  The 
demands  of  a  large  family  compelled  him  to 
resign,  and  in  1881  he  became  general  counsel 
of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  Railroad  system. 
While  in  this  position  he  was  tendered  the  ap- 
pointment of  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  this  state  by  Governor  Jarvis,  which  he 
declined.  These  honors,  together  with  the  degree 
of  LL.  D.  conferred  by  the  State  University  in 
1878,  and  honorary  membership  in  various  his- 
torical societies  throughout  the  Union,  were  most 
richly  deserved.  As  a  lawyer  I  will  say  that  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  our  judicial  reports  are  not  en- 
riched by  his  learning  and  remarkable  powers  of 
clear    exposition    and    vigorous,    logical    reasoning. 

"He  removed  to  Greensboro  in  1882,  where  he 
continued  to  reside  until  the  end  of  his  useful 
life.  Although  as  general  counsel  of  a  great 
railway  system  there  were  imposed  upon  him 
the  most  weighty  responsibilities,  he  neither  for- 
got nor  neglected  his  duties  as  a  citizen  of  his 
adopted  city  or  as  a  citizen  of  North  Carolina. 
In  his  new  home  he  became  a  leader  in  all  that 
tended  to  its  moral  elevation  and  material  prog- 
ress. He  consented  to  serve  as  a  city  commissioner, 
and  it  is  said  that  his  untiring  zeal  and  good 
judgment  laid  the  foundation  of  the  splendid 
school  system  of  the  now  rising  City  of  Greens- 
boro and  its  many  improvements.  Upon  the  con- 
clusion of  his  service  as  commissioner  the  leading 
paper  in  the  city,  voicing  the  sentiments  of  its 
people,  said: 

' '  '  The  beautiful  City  of  Greensboro  of  to- 
day— the  paved  streets  and  sidewalks,  the  fine 
public  schools,  the  superb  fire  department,  the 
beautiful  cemetery,  the  waterworks  and  electric 
lights,  and  the  progressive  spirit  and  public  energy 
of  our  citizens  are  as  much  the  fruit  of  the  men- 
tal and  physical  labors  of  Judge  Schenek  and  the 
result  of  his  tireless  energy  and  force  of  char- 
acter as  are  all  the  evidences  of  industry  and 
devotion  shown  by  the  restoration  of  the  Guilford 
battle  gTound.  Before  these  things  came  under 
his  controlling  influence  we  had  a  town  noted 
for  inertness  and  lack  of  public  improvements, 
and  Guilford  Battleground  and  its  illustrious  dead 
had  about  passed  out  of  tradition  and  local  recol- 
lection. The  unselfishness  and  public  pride  thus 
exhibited  are  so  rarely  seen  that  our  people  should 
be  reminded  of  them,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
to  attempt  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  emulation. ' 

"What  a  proud  summary  is  this  of  the  mod- 
est and  unselfish  labors  of  one  great  public  spir- 
ited citizen.  His  public  spirit  was  not  confined 
to  the  limits  of  his  adopted  home.  It  was  as 
broad  as  the  state  itself,  and  was  devoted  also 
to    the    vindication    of    North    Carolina    and    her 


36 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  book 
'North  Carolina— 1780- '81 '  is  the  result  of  long, 
patient .  self-sacrificing  labor  and  research.  '  The 
neglected  though  admitted  war  time  glory  of 
North  Carolina  in  her  achievements  at  Cowpens 
and  King's  Mountain  is  luminous  from  the  touch 
of  his  pen.  Guilford  is  transferred  from  an  ob- 
scure disgrace  to  its  rightful  rank  as  a  splen- 
did victory  in  result,'  the  conduct  of  the  militia 
vindicated,  and  the  claim  established  that  North 
Carolina  riflemen  from  Wilkes,  Surry,  Stokes, 
Forsyth  and  Guilford  'w~re  the  very  last  sol- 
diers to  leave  this  field  of  battle.'  *  *  *  Is 
,  it  too  much  to  say  that  but  for  the  labors  of  Judge 
Schenck  this  battle  would  have  been  considered 
by  many  a  reproach,  instead  of  a  pride  to  North 
Carolina?  A  man  who  by  untiring  labor  and 
unselfish  devotion  has  reversed  such  an  errone- 
ous but  common  verdict  so  deeply  affecting  the 
honor  of  his  state  in  what  is  regarded  as  the 
great  pivotal  event  in  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
world's  struggles  for  independence,  is  a  patriot 
deserving  not  only  this  monument  but  a  lofty 
and'  enduring  place  in  the  history  of  North  Car- 
olina. ' ' 

During  the  early  months  of  the  Civil  war  Da- 
vid Schenck  was  commissioned  a  captain  in  the 
commissary  department,  C.  S.  A.,  and  was  later 
appointed  Confederate  States  Receiver,  in  which 
capacity  he  collected  large  sums  of  money  for  the 
Confederate  Government. 

After  the  death  of  Judge  Schenck  the  Battle- 
ground Company  adopted  resolutions  commemo- 
rating "its  distinguished  and  beloved  president 
who  was  its  originator  and  creator,  to  whose  ac- 
tive brain,  tireless  energy  and  ardent  patriotism 
this  company  is  largely  indebted  for  the  grand 
work  already  accomplished  in  vindicating  the 
truth  of  history  and  the  fair  name  of  North  Car- 
olina, and  in  reclaiming  and  perpetuating  the 
historic  spot  on  which  was  fought  the  pivotal  bat- 
tle of  the  great  revolution. ' '  And  it  was  in  pur- 
suance of  its  resolution  ' '  to  proclaim  itself  the 
crowning  work  of  his  busy  life  and  an  enduring 
monument  to  his  memory"  that  the  monument 
to  Judge  Schenck  was  erected  on  the  battle- 
ground. The  Legislature  of  1911  passed  a  reso- 
lution to  the  effect  that  "the  State  of  North  Car- 
olina, through  its  General  Assembly,  give  public 
acknowledgment  of  its  debt  of  gratitude  for  the 
public  services ' '  of  the  late  David  Schenck  in 
connection  with  the  preservation  of  the  Guilford 
Court  House   Battle   Ground. 

After  many  years  of  declining  health  Judge 
Schenck,  on  the  26th  day  of  August,  1902,  passed 
through  the  dark  and  silent  valley  to  the  shining 
heights  beyond.  The  whole  state  mourned  his 
loss,  and  many  were  the  eulogies  pronounced  upon 
his  life  and  character  by  the  press  and  the  bar. 
In  these  he  is  declared  to  be  an  eminent  lawyer, 
an  able  jurist,  a  patriotic  citizen,  a  de- 
voted husband  and  parent  and,  more  than  all,  a 
sincere  Christian.  He  was  a  close  and  constant 
student  of  the  Scriptures,  a  man  of  deep  religious 
convictions,  and  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church.  His  funeral  was  conducted  by  his 
friend  of  many  years,  the  Right  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Cheshire,  bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

On  August  25,  1859,  David  Schenck  married 
Sallie  Wilfong  Ramseur,  who  survives  him.  She 
was  born  at  Lincolnton  April  11,  1841,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  A.  and  Lucy  Mayfield  (Dodson) 
Ramseur.  Her  grandfather,  David  Ramseur,  a 
prominent  early  day  merchant  of  Lincolnton,  was 


born  August  4,  1775,  and  died  February  23, 
1842.  David  Ramseur  married  July  19,  1805, 
Sallie  Wilfong,  who  was  born  June  30,  1788, 
daughter  of  John  Wilfong,  a  historic  character  of 
North  Carolina.  John  Wilfong  was  born  April  8, 
1762,  and  died  June  18,  1838.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolution  and  fought  with  the  North  Car- 
olina troops  in  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs  and 
was  wounded  at  King's  Mountain.  Jacob  A.  Ram- 
seur, father  of  Mrs.  David  Schenck,  was  born  at 
Lincolnton  January  1,  1808,  and  was  a  merchant 
and  cotton  manufacturer  at  Lincolnton.  He  died 
January  7,  1880.  Among  his  children  was  Major- 
General  Stephen  Dodson  Ramseur,  C.  S.  A.,  who 
graduated  from  the  West  Point  Military  Acad- 
emy in  1860,  became  a  distinguished  officer  of 
the  Confederate  Army,  and  finally  gave  his  life 
for  his  native  Southland  at  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek  October  19,  1864. 

The  children  of  David  and  Sallie  Wilfong  (Ram- 
seur) Schenck  were:  Dodson  Ramseur,  Lucy,  Wel- 
don  Edwards,  Rebecca  Bevens,  David,  Jr.,  John 
Richardson,  James  Simpson,  Michael  and  Paul 
Wilfong. 

Michael  Schenck.  Now  barely  in  the  full  tide 
of  his  activities,  Michael  Schenck  has  yet  achieved 
a  dignity  and  success  in  the  law  and  in  affairs 
which  justifies  his  inheritance  of  one  of  the  most 
honored   names   in    North    Carolina. 

Mr.  Schenck  was  born  in  Lincoln  County,  North 
Carolina,  December  11,  1876,  and  is  a  son  of 
David  and  Sallie  Wilfong  (Ramseur)  Schenck. 
A  separate  article  is  reserved  for  an  account  of 
his  distinguished  father  and  the  family  relation- 
ship. Michael  Schenck  was  educated  in  the  high 
school  of  Greensboro,  was  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1897  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
had  several  years  of  interesting  business  and 
clerical  experience  before  he  took  up  the  law.  He 
ivas  a  clerk  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railway  in  Wilmington,  North  Car- 
olina, during  which  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Wilmington  Light  Infantry  and  participated  with 
that  organization  in  the  famous  riot  in  that  city 
in  1898.  He  spent  three  years  in  the  Insular 
Civil  Service  of  the  United  States  on  the  Island 
of  Cuba  during  the  American  occupation.  Re- 
turning to  North  Carolina  he  entered  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  August,  1903. 

In  1905  Mr.  Schenck  moved  to  Hendersonville, 
where  he  has  since  been  accorded  a  gratifying 
clientage  as  a  general  practitioner.  In  1913  Gov- 
ernor Locke  Craig  appointed  him  solicitor  of  the 
Eighteenth  Judicial  District  and  he  was  elected 
to  that  office  in  November,  1914.  Actuated  by  a 
desire  to  serve  his  country  in  the  time  of  crisis, 
he  resigned  his  office  as  state  solicitor  on  the  21st 
of  September,  1918,  and  gave  up  his  practice, 
to  accept  a  commission  in  the  United  States  Army 
as  major  in  the  judge  advocate  general 's  depart- 
ment and  is  now  acting  in  that  capacity. 

Mr.  Schenck  is  chairman  of  the  membership 
committee  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Associa- 
tion. He  served  as  mayor  of  Hendersonville  two 
years,  1907-09,  and  was  city  attorney  1909-10. 
He  is  junior  warden  of  St.  James  Episcopal 
Church    at    Hendersonville. 

November  15,  1909,  Mr.  Schenck  married  Miss 
Rose  Few,  of  Hendersonville,  North  Carolina,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Columbus  Few,  and  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  William  and  James  Few  distinguished 
in  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  in  America's  strug- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


37 


gle  for  independence.  They  have  a  son,  Michael, 
Jr.,  born  Kovember  8,  1910,  and  an  infant  daugh- 
ter, Rosemary  Raniseur,  born  June  15,  1918. 

Eichabd  Smith  Busbee.  On  leaving  North 
Carolina  University  in  1898  with  the  well  earned 
degree  A.  B.,  Richard  Smith  Busbee  took  up  the 
first  insurance  business,  and  soon  earned  a  note- 
worthy position  in  that  field.  Since  1910  he  has 
been  secretary  of  the  Atlantic  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany, and  has  his  headquarters  in  the  city  of 
Raleigh. 

Mr.  Busbee  was  born  in  Raleigh  April  18,  1878, 
a  son  of  Fabius  Haywood  and  Sallie  (Smith)  Bus- 
bee. His  father  for  many  years  was  actively  con- 
nected with  the  Raleigh  bar. 

Mr.  Busbee  is  a  live  and  public  spirited  citizen 
as  well  as  a  successful  young  business  man,  and 
is  president  of  the  Raleigh  Rotary  Club,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Country  Club,  the  Capital  Club  and  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  belongs  to  the  Masonic 
Order. 

On  November  19,  1902.  he  married  Miss  Mar- 
garet Simons  Clarkson,  of  Charlotte,  North  Caro- 
lina, They  are  the  parents  of  two  children: 
Simons  Clarkson  and  Sarah  Hall. 

I 

PAtx  R.  Gwyx.  Distinguished  not  only  for  his 
high  standing  as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  but  for  the 
honored  ancestry  from  which  he  traces  his  descent, 
Paul  R.  Gwyn,  of  Elkin,  Surry  County,  is  eminently 
deserving  of  representation  in  a  work  of  this  char- 
acter. A  native  of  Elkin,  he  comes  of  pioneer 
stock,  being  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  generation 
from  James  Gwyn,  the  founder  of  the  Gwyn  family 
of  North  Carolina,  his  record  being  thus  traced: 
James,  Richard,  Richard  Rand,  Charles  Hunt,  and 
Paul  R, 

James  Gwyn  was  lineally  descended  from  the 
immigrant  ancestor,  who  came  from  Wales  to  this 
country  as  early  as  1610,  settling  in  Virginia, 
which  was  the  home  of  his  descendants  for  several 
generations.  Born  in  Brunswick  County,  Virginia, 
he  married  Martha  Lenoir,  whose  father,  Thomas 
Lenoir,  fought  with  the  Colonists  in  their  struggle 
for  liberty,  and  later  came  to  North  Carolina,  be- 
coming a  pioneer  of  Wilkes  County. 

Richard  Gwyn  was  born  in  "Wilkes  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  during  his  years  of  activity  was 
prominently  associated  with  the  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  county,  owning 
large  tracts  of  land,  and  not  only  carried  on 
general  farming  on  an  extensive  scale,  but  operated 
a  grist  mill  and  a  cotton  mill.  The  maiden  name 
of  his  wife  was  Elizabeth  Hunt. 

Richard  Rand  Gwyn,  the  second  child  of  the 
parental  household  in  succession  of  birth,  assisted 
his  father  when  young  both  in  the  mill  and  on 
the  home  farm,  being  reared  to  habits  of  industry. 
He  developed  an  aptitude  for  business  when  young 
and  for  a  number  of  years,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  Thomas  L.  Gwyn,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Alexander  Chatham,  he  owned  and  operated  the 
Elkin  Cotton  Mill.  He  married  Mary  Dickenson, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Julia  (Thurman)  Dick- 
enson, of  Grayson  County,  Virginia,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Martin  and  Mary  (Bourne)  Dicken- 
son, life-Ions:  residents  of  Virginia. 

Charles  Hunt  Gwyn  received  excellent  educa- 
tional advantages,  completing  his  studies  at  Trin- 
ity College.  Not  caring  to  adopt  a  profession,  he 
was  for  several  years  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits.   Subsequently  entering  the  hotel  business,  he 


continued  in  it  until  his  death,  in  1914.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife,  the  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  brief  sketch,  was  Elizabeth  Perkins. 
She  was  born  in  Ashe  County,  North  Carolina,  a 
daughter  of  Johnson  Perkins.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father, Stephen  Perkins,  migrated  from  Tennessee 
to  Ashe  County,  North  Carolina,  where  he  bought 
land  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising. 
There  both  he  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Susan  Smith,  spent  the  remainder  of  their 
days.  Johnson  Perkins,  a  native  of  Johnson 
County,  Tennessee,  inherited  the  home  farm  in 
Ashe  County,  this  state,  and  became  one  of  the 
foremost  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of  Western 
North  Carolina,  operating  his  land  with  the  as- 
sistance of  slaves,  and  raising  only  high  grade 
cattle  and  fine  horses.  He  died  on  his  farm  at 
the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Catherine  Johnson,  survived  him,  attain- 
ing the  venerable  age  of  four  score  years.  She 
was  the  mother  of  seven  children,  namely:  James, 
Mary,  William,  Martha,  Winfield,  Jennie,  and 
Elizabeth,  who  married  Charles  Hunt  Gwyn. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Perkins)  Gwyn  was  educated 
at  Sullins  College,  in  Bristol,  Tennessee,  and  soon 
after  her  graduation  from  that  institution  married 
Mr.  C.  H.  Gwyn.  A  woman  of  culture  and  much 
ability,  she  has  presided  for  the  past  thirty-five 
years  at  Elk  Inn,  the  leading  hotel  of  Elkin, 
Surry  County,  and  is  known  to  the  traveling  pub- 
lic as  a  most  popular  and  hospitable  hostess.  She 
has  reared  four  children,  namely :  Grace,  Susie, 
Paul  R.,  and  Nell.  Grace,  wife  of  Alexander 
Chatham,  Jr.,  has  three  children,  Charles  Gwyn, 
Frances  Gwyn,  and  Hugh  Alexander.  Susie  mar- 
ried Raymond  Chatham,  and  has  two  children, 
Raymond  Hunt  and  Richard   Gwyn. 

Paul  R.  Gwyn  attended  first  the  Elkin  schools, 
later  continuing  his  studies  at  Bingham  Academy, 
in  Bebane,  North  Carolina.  As  a  young  man 
he  became  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Chatham 
Manufacturing  Company,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year 
was  forced  to  resign  the  position  on  account  of 
ill  health.  Subsequently  Mr.  Gwyn  accepted  a 
position  with  the  Elkin  and  Alleghany  Railroad 
Company,  with  which  he  has  since  been  associated, 
at  the  present  time  occupying  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  general  passenger  and  freight  agent. 

Hox.  Isaac  Melsox  Meekins.  Unquestionably 
in  every  prosperous  community  there  are  to  be 
found  men  of  natural  force  who,  by  reason  of 
their  inherent  abilities,  by  the  use  of  their  brains 
and  the  soundness  of  their  judgment,  attain  dis- 
tinction and  acquire  authority.  They  are  men  who 
industriously  work  for  an  end  and  in  helping 
themselves  add  to  the  sum  of  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  those  about  them.  They  are  the  dependence 
of  the  whole  social  fabric.  They  may  be  men  of 
versatile  gifts  in  many  directions,  but  it  is  in  their 
soundness,  their  vitality,  their  steadiness,  that  they 
are  sxieh  important  factors  in  the  world's  work. 
Of  the  men  of  Pasquotank  County  who  have  at- 
tained eminence  and  influence  few  are  better 
known  to  the  public  than  Col.  Isaac  Melson  Meek- 
ins.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  state 
bar,  a  business  man  with  important  and  substantial 
interests,  a  farmer  whose  broad  acres  respond 
prosperously  and  bountifully  to  his  skilled  agri- 
cultural operations,  and  an  orator  whose  fame 
reaches  all  over  the  country.  Being  all  these 
things,  he  is  also  a  man  whose  soundness  and 
steadiness   have   been   used  not   only  to   his   own 


38 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


advantage,  but  to  the  betterment  and  progress  of 
his  home  county  of  Pasquotank  and  his  home  com- 
munity of  Elizabeth  City. 

Isaac  Melson  Meekins  was  born  at  Gumneck, 
Tyrrell  County,  North  Carolina,  February  13,  1875, 
and  is  a  son  of  Jeremiah  Charles  and  Mahala 
(Melson)  Meekins.  His  father  was  a  merchant, 
farmer  and  banker  of  Tyrrell  County,  and  the 
youth  was  granted  good  educational  facilities,  at- 
tending Columbia  Academy,  Wake  Forest  College, 
and  graduating  in  1896  from  both  the  academic 
and  law  departments.  In  August  of  the  same 
year  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Elizabeth  City 
and  embarked  upon  a  general  practice  of  law,  and 
immediately  entered  public  life,  being  elected  city 
attorney.  Since  that  time  he  has  steadily  advanced 
in  his  profession  until  now  he  is  recognized  and 
acknowledged  as  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of 
the  county  and  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He 
holds  membership  in  the  North  Carolina  Bar  As- 
sociation and  the  American  Bar  Association. 

Since  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Elizabeth  City 
Colonel  Meekins  has  been  almost  constantly  before 
the  public  in  official  positions,  and  his  record  in 
these  offices  is  a  splendid  one.  In  addition  to 
serving  as  city  attorney  he  was  mayor  of  Elizabeth 
City  for  a  short  while,  served  one  term  as  county 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  was  post- 
master six  years,  acted  as  assistant  United  States 
district  attorney  for  four  years,  and  from  1913 
to  1917  was  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  graded  schools  of  Elizabeth,  where  he  presided 
over  the  destinies  of  1,200  children  in  an  educa- 
tional way.  In  1898  he  was  nominated  on  the  re- 
publican ticket  for  the  office  of  solicitor  of  the 
First  Judicial  District;  in  1904  was  candidate  for 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  state,  and  on  two  oc- 
casions was  his  party's  candidate  for  a  seat  in 
Congress.  Political  conditions  on  each  of  these 
occasions,  however,  were  such  as  to  prevent  his 
election.  Mr.  Meekins  stands  high  in  the  councils 
of  his  party.  He  is  ex-chairman  of  the  county  and 
congressional  republican  committees  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  committee  and  during  elections 
has  done  as  much  as  any  one  other  man  to  secure 
his  party 's  success.  It  is  as  an  orator  that  he  has 
won  universal  commendation.  He  has  been  heard 
in  all  of  the  big  cities  of  the  East  and  Middle 
West  and  in  most  of  the  eastern  states;  he  ac- 
companied Senator  Burton  on  ex-President  Taft's 
famous  Tariff  Special  train  which  trailed  Presi- 
dent Woodrow  Wilson  from  Indianapolis  to  Denver 
in  the  campaign  of  1912;  and  Colonel  Meekins 
never  failed  to  hold  the  crowds.  Says  a  eon- 
temporary  review:  "He  is  witty,  he  is  eloquent, 
he  is  convincing  and  he  has  the  punch  of  a  Roose- 
velt. He  is  elegant  without  affectation;  scholarly 
and  plain  spoken;  forceful;  even  dramatic,  with- 
out a  trace  of  rant  or  bombast;  and  as  a  story 
teller  and  character  delineator  he  is  without  a 
peer."  A  few  extracts  from  the  press  in  regard 
to  Colonel  Meekins'  ability  may  not  be  inapropos 
at  this  time:  Worcester  (Mass!)  Telegram:  "Col. 
Isaac  M.  Meekins,  of  North  Carolina,  one  of  the 
greatest  political  orators  who  ever  spoke  on  the 
platform  of  Mechanics  Hall,  gave  the  republicans 
of  Worcester  the  strongest  republican  doctrine  ever 
preached  in  Worcester  at  the  big  republican  rally 
last  night,  Mechanics  Hall  was  full,  and  the  2,800 
people  present  stayed  through  to  the  finish  of 
Colonel  Meekins'  speech.  As  a  speaker  he  is  a 
whirlwind  and  his  arguments  have  the  force  of  a 
cyclone.     Colonel  Meekins  told  the  truth  plainly, 


he  released  it  like  a  Niagara,  and  the  audience  did 
not  get  an  opportunity  to  applaud.  The  stream 
of  oratory  flowed  on  like  the  rapids.  As  a  political 
oration  there  is  little  question  the  address  was  the 
finest  ever  secured  in  Worcester  since  the  days  of 
William  MeKinley.  It  was  free  from  sarcasm, 
simply  a  statement  of  facts."  Buffalo  (N.  T.) 
Commercial:  "Mr.  Meekins  in  clever.  Secretary 
of  War  Henry  L.  Stimson  was  followed  by  Col. 
Isaac  M.  Meekins,'  who  proved  to  be  an  orator  of 
the  rapid-fire  type.  By  the  use  of  catchy  sen- 
tences, he  kept  the  audience  in  constant  good  humor. 
He  was  well  supplied  with  bright  and  clever  say- 
ings, full  of  wit  and  splendidly  equipped  with 
voice  and  mimicry  to  handle  the  crowd  just  right, 
and  he  had  the  audience  cheering  or  laughing  at 
will."  Buffalo  (N.  T.)  Express:  "There  was  a 
large  audience  which  gave  close  heed  to  the 
thoughtful  presentation  of  the  issues  of  the  cam- 
paign at  Convention  Hall,  and  which  enjoyed  the 
lively  manner  of  Col.  Isaac  M.  Meekins  of  North 
Carolina.  Colonel  Meekins  is  a  talker  to  catch 
the  popular  fancy.  He  had  the  crowd  alternately 
applauding  and  laughing."  Buffalo  (N.  Y.) 
Evening  News :  ' '  Col.  Isaac  M.  Meekins,  of  North 
Carolina,  made  one  of  the  biggest  hits  at  a  meet- 
ing at  Convention  Hall  last  evening  following  Sec- 
retary of  War  Henry  L.  Stimson." 

Colonel  Meekins  has  had  many  important  busi- 
ness connections  at  Elizabeth  City  and  elsewhere, 
was  for  some  years  identified  with  journalism  as 
a  publisher  and  editor,  and  is  now  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  E.  J.  Johnson  Company,  Inc.,  of 
Norfolk,  Virginia.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  large 
plantation  on  the  edge  of  the  Dismal  Swamp,  where 
he  grows  100  bushels  of  corn  and  two  bales  of 
cotton  to.  the  acre,  and  has  numerous  other  prop- 
erty holdings  and  much  city  realty.  As  a  fra- 
ternalist  he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  a  Shriner, 
while  in  club  life  he  is  also  prominent  and  popular. 

Colonel  Meekins  was  married  June  6,  1896,  to 
Miss  Lena  Allen,  of  Wake  Forest,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  William  Oscar  and  Isabella  James 
(Purefoy)  Allen,  her  father  being  a  well-to-do 
merchant  and  farmer.  Five  children  have  been 
born  to  this  union:  William  Charles,  Mahala  Mel- 
son, Isabella  James,  Jeremiah  Charles  and  Mary 
Purefoy.  With  their  children,  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Meekins  belong  to  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Elizabeth  City. 

Robert  McArthtjk  Wilson.  There  are  few 
communities  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States  in  which  the  value  of  public  education  is 
not  recognized  even  by  those  whose  own  early 
opportunities  were  entirely  negligible.  One  of 
the  brightening  signs  in  an  era  when  the  whole 
world  seemingly  is  engaged  in  strife  is  the  nota- 
ble interest  that  today  is  attached  to  school  prog- 
ress, and  the  evident  willingness  of  the  people 
to  assume  further  responsibilities  in  order  to  se- 
cure and  maintain  their  educational  institutions 
and  be  able  to  offer  inducements  to  the  best  class 
of  instructors  for  their  children.  Rocky  Mount, 
North  Carolina,  has  been  wide  awake  to  her  privi- 
leges and  has  made  no  mistake  in  calling  Robert 
McArthur  Wilson  to  become  superintendent  of  her 
city  schools. 

Robert.  McArthur  Wilson  is  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  born  in  Wayne  County,  August  18, 
1 888.  His  parents  are  Mosco  and  Rosa  (Pope) 
Wilson,  his   father   for   a  number  of  years  being 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


39 


engaged  in  the  hardware  line  at  Goldsboro,  North 
Carolina.  The  youth  was  reared  in  that  city 
through  his  high  school  period  and  in  1905,  after 
graduating,  entered  the  University  of  North  Car- 
olina, from  which  institution  he  was  graduated 
in  1909.  In  the  interval  between  then  and  his 
student  days  in  the  summer  school  of  Columbia 
University,  which  he  entered  in  1911,  he  taught 
in  the  Hillsboro  High  School,  and  finding  educa- 
tional work  congenial,  in  1911  he  accepted  the  po- 
sition of  principal  of  the  Rocky  Mount  High 
School,  and  in  1914  became  superintendent  of  the 
city  schools.  For  this  field  of  useful  endeavor 
Mr.  Wilson  seems  particularly  well  fitted.  A 
scholar  himself,  he  appreciates  the  advantages  of 
scholarship  and  is  zealous  in  his  efforts  to  inspire 
others  with  his  enthusiasm,  making  him  most  ef- 
fective in  imparting  knowledge  and  in  arousing 
pride  and  emulation  among  those  who  come  within 
his  sphere.  He  has  done  much  for  the  schools  of 
Rocky  Mount  and  has  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  his  work  is  appreciated  and  that  the  high 
recognized  standing  of  the  city  schools  has  been 
brought  about  through  his  influence  and  high 
ideals.  He  is  a  valued  member  of  the  North  Car- 
olina Teachers '  Assembly,  and  shows  a  hearty  in- 
terest in   all  similar   bodies  here   and   elsewhere. 

Mr.  'Wilson  was  married  December  22,  1915, 
to  Miss  Mary  Ballard  Ramsey,  of  Rocky  Mount, 
a  member  of  one  of  the  old  settled  families  of 
this  section.  Politically  Mr.  Wilson  has  never 
been  active,  although  in  the  quiet  performance  of 
his  duties  as  a  good  citizen  he  has  been  true  and 
efficient.  He  was  reared  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  lias  never  seen  any  reason  to  change 
his  religious  faith  and  at  present  is  a  member 
of  the  board  of  deacons  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Rocky  Mount.  Personally  Mr.  Wilson 
is  a  man  of  winning  and  agreeable  manner  and 
his  evident  sincerity  in  his  field  of  work,  which 
requires  a.  large  measure  of  executive  ability,  has 
added  to  his  wide  circle  of  admiring  friends  and 
staunch  advocates. 

Jesse  Griffix  Ball.  Thirty  years  ago  Jesse 
Griffin  Ball  was  enjoying  the  somewhat  limited 
wages  and  the  large  opportunities  for  experience 
as  clerk  in  the  grocery  and  supply  business  of 
M.  T.  Leach  &  Brother  at  Raleigh.  He  learned  the 
business  not  only  by  experience  but  also  by  close 
study  of  every  detail,  and  in  1891,  with  more  expe- 
rience than  capital,  engaged  in  the  business  on  his 
own  account.  At  that  time  he  had  a  retail  gro- 
cery store. 

In  1898  Mr.  Ball  organized  the  J.  G.  Ball  Com- 
pany, wholesale  grocers.  Since  then  this  has  been 
a  big  factor  in  the  wholesale  activities  of  the  city 
of  Raleigh.  The  business  is  of  special  note  be- 
cause it  was  the  first  jobbing  concern  exclusively 
handling  groceries  in  Raleigh,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  wholesale  grocery  houses  of  the  state.  In 
less  than  twenty  years  Mr.  Ball  has  built  up  this 
business  to  rank  among  the  largest  wholesale  firms 
of  North  Carolina,  and  its  business  is  now  state 
wide  in  extent. 

Business  has  not  been. allowed  to  absorb  all  his 
time  and  interests.  Mr.  Ball  served  for  a  number 
of  years  as  commissioner  of  the  sinking  fund  in 
Raleigh,  and  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
civic  life  of  the  community,  doing  what  he  could 
to  develop  the  city 's  commerce,  its  industries,  and 
a  sound  administration  of  it?  municipal  affairs. 

Nearly  all  his  life  has  been  spent  in  Raleigh.  He 
was   born    at    Graham,    Alamance    County,    North 


Carolina,  June  25,  1862,  but  when  a  child  was 
brought  to  Raleigh  by  his  parents,  John  T.  and 
Laura  (Griffin)  Ball.  His  father  was  of  English 
ancestry  and  his  mother  of  Scotch.  His  ancestors 
settled  in  Virginia  in  Colonial  days,  and  from 
there  removed  to  North  Carolina,  settling  near 
New  Bern.  Mr.  Ball  had  his  early  education  in 
the  Raleigh  public  schools  and  afterwards  com- 
pleted a  course  in  the  Eastman  Business  College 
of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  With  this  training 
he  started  out  to  carve  his  destiny  as  a  grocer 's 
clerk,  with  what  results  has  already  been  noted. 

Mr.  Ball  is  also  president  of  the  Mutual  Building 
and  Loan  Association  and  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  a  charter  member  of  the  Merchants  Na- 
tional Bank.  He  belongs  to  the  Capital  Club,  the 
Country  Club  and  the  Neuseoco  Pishing  Club.  It 
is  said  that  there  is  not  a  more  ardent  or  skillful 
devotee  of  the  sport  of  Izaak  Walton  in  North 
Carolina,  and  he  also  finds  recreation  in  motoring. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years  was  one  of  its  ves- 
trymen. 

In  1886  Mr.  Ball  married  Miss  Lavinia  Kreth. 
Her  father,  Joseph  Kreth,  was  a  prominent  mer- 
chant of  Raleigh  fifty  years  ago. 

Samdel  M.  King,  of  Wilmington  where  he  is 
well  known  as  vice  president  and  manager  of  the 
Planters'  Steamboat  Company,  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  North  Carolina  over  thirty  years  and  in 
that  time  has  touched  the  life,  and  affairs  of  the 
state  at  several  points  and  in  a  way  valuable  not 
alone  to  himself  but  to  the  enrichment  and  de- 
velopment of  the  agricultural  and  industrial  re- 
sources. 

Mr.  King  was  born  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1861,  son  of  Samuel  M.  and  Annie  (Weimer) 
King,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  His  an- 
cestors. Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  came  from  the 
north  of  Ireland  about  1740  or  1750  and  settled 
in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey.  Some  of  them 
were  among  the  founders  of  Princeton  University. 
Mr.  King's  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812  and  others  of  the  family  were  patriots  in 
the  Revolution.  Samuel  M.  King,  Sr.,  during 
practically  his  entire  life  was  a  lumber  man  and 
shingle  manufacturer.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
makers  of  shingles  by  modern  machinery  and 
methods.  It  was  the  opportunities  of  this  industry 
that  attracted  him  to  the  South,  with  his  abundance 
of  timber  resources.  In  1882  he  established  a 
shingle  mill  in  Georgia.  Then  in  1884  he  moved 
to  Kelly 's  Cove  on  the  Cape  Pear  River  in  Bladen 
County.  Here  a  shingle  mill  was  established,  and 
his  business  took  on  large  scope  in  handling  timber 
and  lumber  manufacturing  generally.  He  remained 
in  that  section  for  some  years,  giving  active  super- 
vision to  the  business,  but  finally  returned  to  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  before  he  died. 

It  was  in  Lancaster  that  Samuel  M.  King,  Jr., 
was  reared  and  educated.  He  attended  the  gram- 
mar and  high  schools  and  also  Franklin  and  Mar- 
shall College.  Before  coming  to  North  Carolina 
with  his  father  in  18S4  he  had  an  interesting  ex- 
perience in  journalism  as  a  reporter  and  staff 
writer  on  the  Lancaster  Examiner.  For  nearly 
two  years  he  was  secretary  to  Mr.  John  A.  Hie- 
stand,  proprietor  of  the  Examiner  and  a  man  of 
much  power  and  influence  in  politics  and  in  public 
life  in  Pennsylvania,  and  also  a  familiar  figure  in 
national  affairs  at  Washington.  Mr.  King  was  in 
the    vigor    of   young   manhood    when   he   went   to 


40 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Bladen  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1884,  and  be- 
came associated  with  his  father  in  shingle  manu- 
facturing and  the  lumber  business  at  Kelly 's  Cove. 
He  married  in  that  community  and  lived  there  for 
about  twenty  years,  moving  to  Wilmington  in 
1904.  During  the  early  years  of  his  residence  in 
Bladen  County  the  timber  industry  was  practically 
the  only  business  of  profit  in  that  community.  Lit- 
tle attention  was  paid  to  agriculture,  in  fact  it 
had  long  been  a  tradition  that  the  land  in  that 
section  would  not  grow  cotton,  and  land  which  was 
not  valuable  for  the  timber  on  it  could  be  pur- 
chased for  $1  an  acre  or  less,  though  even  at  such 
price  there  was  no  demand.  It  required  consider- 
able faith  and  some  capital  to  demonstrate  that 
the  rich,  deep,  alluvial  soil  around  Kelly's  Cove 
was  a  mine  of  wealth  in  agricultural  possibilities. 
Within  recent  years  a  great  deal  of  this  land  has 
been  developed  into  fine  farms.  Some  real  estate 
transactions  of  recent  date  involve  figures  and 
prices  that  would  have  staggered  the  old  time  resi- 
dents only  a  few  years  ago.  From  a  bale  and  a 
half  to  two  bales  of  cotton  are  raised  on  land  in 
that  vicinity,  and  in  many  cases  it  has  been  proved 
that  corn  will  grow  simply  from  dropping  it  into 
holes  in  the  ground  without  any  plowing  or  culti- 
vation. Some  men  have  gone  into  that  region, 
bought  land,  and  have  paid  for  it  from  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  first  year's  crop. 

Next  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  itself  the  biggest 
single  factor  in  making  its  riches  available  has 
been  drainage.  It  was  in  the  solution  of  the  drain- 
age problem  that  Mr.  King  showed  a  wise  and 
efficient  leadership  and  contributed  his  part  to  the 
agricultural  development  of  the  county.  He  was 
one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  White  Oak  Drain- 
age Company,  which  carried  out  a  system  by  which 
thousands  of  acres  have  been  drained  and  converted 
into  mines  of  inexhaustible  agricultural  wealth. 

Though  Mr.  King  has  had  his  home  at  Wilming- 
ton for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  he  still  retains 
his  interests  at  Kelly's  Cove  and  has  a  very  fine 
farm  there.  While  a  resident  of  Bladen  County 
in  1892  he  was  honored  by  election  to  represent 
the  county  in  the  Legislature,  and  made  a  capable 
record  in  the  session  of  1893. 

Mr.  Bang  deserves  a  place  among  those  fore- 
sighted  and  far-sighted  men  who  in  recent  years 
have  endeavored  to  restore  the  old  time  water 
transportation  on  the  navigable  rivers  and  other 
water  courses  of  Eastern  North  Carolina.  As  a 
result  of  the  work  accomplished  by  him  and  his 
associates  the  revival  and  expansion  of  river  traffic 
on  the  Cape  Fear  has  gone  forward  so  that  the 
volume  of  business  on  the  river,  particularly  local 
freight  shipments,  is  growing  at  a  most  gratifying 
rate.  Mr.  King  is  vice  president  and  manager  of 
the  Planters'  Steamboat  Company  of  Wilmington, 
of  which  Mr.  S.  P.  McNair  of  Bladen  County  is 
president.  This  company  now  operates  two  boats, 
the  A.  P.  Hurt  and  the  Thelma  in  regular  service 
between  Wilmington  and  Payetteville,  doing  both 
a  freight  and  passenger  business  and  making  two 
trips  a  week  each  way. 

Mr.  King  has  been  twice  married.  By  his  first 
wife  he  has  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Emily  King  Smith, 
who  lives  in  New  York  City.  He  married  for  his 
second  wife  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Keith  of  the 
Kelly's  Cove  community  in  Bladen  County.  She  is 
a  daughter  of  the  late  George  Keith  and  a  sister 
of  Mr.  W.  J.  Keith,  one  of  the  prominent  and 
substantial  planters  of  that  section.  There  are 
six  children  by  this  marriage:  Miss  Nettie  King, 
Edward   King,   Mabel,   Clayton,   Donald  Cameron 


and  Keith  King.  Edward  King  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Bingham  Military  School  at  Mebane.  Clay- 
ton King  is  a  member  of  the  class  of  1918  of  the 
Tri-State  College  of  Engineering  in  Indiana. 
Donald  Cameron  King  is  now  in  the  National  army 
stationed  at  Camp  Sevier. 

Amos  Graves  Cox  has  shown  his  special  ability 
and  genius  in  the  industrial,  inventive  and  manu- 
facturing fields,  and  is  the  man  credited  with  most 
of  the  activities  and  influences  that  have  built  up 
the  Town  of  Winterville,  where  most  of  his  inter- 
ests are  located. 

Mr.  Cox  was  born  in  Pitt  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, July  12,  1855,  a  son  of  John  Cannon  and 
Martha  Elizabeth  (Gardner)  Cox.  His  father  was 
a  mechanic  and  an  inventive  genius  and  perfected 
what  is  known  as  the  Cox  cotton  planter.  His  son, 
Amos,  paid  a  royalty  upon  this  invention  and 
began  the  manufacture  of  the  machine  when  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  Cox  cotton  planter 
has  been  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  output  by  the 
A.  G.  Cox  Manufacturing  Company  for  many  years. 

Amos  G.  Cox  acquired  a  private  school  educa- 
tion and  as  a  boy  learned  the  carpenter's  trade. 
He  has  come  to  prosperity  and  prominence  through 
the  avenue  of  self  help  and  self  effort.  While  a 
carpenter  he  frequently  walked  to  work  a  distance 
of  eight  miles.  He  began  manufacturing  on  a 
small  scale,  but  made  first  class  machinery  and 
gradually  expanded  the  A.  G.  Cox  Manufacturing 
Company  into  one  of  the  largest  industries  of  its 
kind.  He  served  as  president  of  the  company 
until  1913.  This  company  besides  the  cotton 
planter  has  manufactured  back  bands  for  plow 
horses,  carts  and  the  noted  Tar  Heel  wagons, 
patented  tobacco  trucks,  the  Cox  Guano  sewer,  a 
patented  device,  also  the  patented  Pitt  County 
school  desks.  The  industry  of  the  Cox  family  has 
been  the  chief  enterprise  of  the  Town  of  Winter- 
ville. 

Mr.  Cox  is  president  of  the  Winterville  Cotton 
Oil  Company,  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the 
Bank  of  Winterville,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
has  employed  his  means  and  energies  to  develop 
farming  on  a  large  scale."  He  has  cleared  a  great 
acreage  of  land,  using  stump  pullers  and  other 
mechanical  devices,  and  today  has  a  farm  of  450 
acres  which  is  contributing  more  than  a  propor- 
tionate share  to  the  crops  for  which  North  Carolina 
is  famous.  Mr.  Cox  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Registration  and  Exemption  boards 
for  Pitt  County.  He  has  been  chairman  of  the 
board  of  education  eighteen  years,  and  in  1917 
was  appointed  for  another  term  of  six  years.  He 
is  a  former  mayor  and  for  ten  years  was  an  alder- 
man of  Winterville.  He  has  also  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  executive  committee  for  the  Winter- 
ville High  School.  In  the  Missionary  Baptist 
Church  he  has  been  a  deacon  for  thirty  years, 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  fifteen  years, 
treasurer  of  the  Baptist  Association,  and  is  a 
trustee  of  Meredith  College  at  Raleigh.  Mr.  Cox 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order. 

October  30,  1879,  he  married  Miss  Susan  Alice 
Jackson,  of  Pitt  County,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  five  children :  Rosa,  wife  of  Richard  H.  Hun- 
sucker,  a  member  of  the  Cox  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany; Jemima  H.,  Mrs.  Herbert  Jenkins,  of  Or- 
lands,  North  Carolina;  Dora  E.,  unmarried  and 
living  at  home;  Fountain  F.,  who  is  his  father's 
active  associate  as  a  farmer,  married  Sallie  Smith, 
of    Robinsonville,    North    Carolina;    and    Roy    T., 


^_j4^y^cr^-^  ^zxijLnr^ —   <5y- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


41 


connected  with  the  Cox  Manufacturing  Company, 
married  Janie  Kittrell,  of  Ayden,  North  Caro- 
lina. 

David  Stevens  Botkix.  The  real  estate  and 
insurance  business  established  by  David  Stevens 
Boykin  in  1907,  the  Boykin  Bealty  Company,  and 
of  which  his  son,  Bobert  Stanley  Boykin,  is  now 
a  partner,  has  gone  hand  in  hand  witu  the  de- 
velopment of  Wilson  for  more  than  a  decade,  and 
undoubtedly  has  contributed  as  largely  toward 
the  advantageous  disposal  of  property  and  the 
honorable  and  satisfactory  placing  of  insurance 
as  any  concern  of  the  kind  in  Wilson  County.  Mr. 
Boykin  is  one  of  Wilson 's  foremost  and  substan- 
tial citizens,  and  his  success  is  self-made,  while 
in  its  scope  and  usefulness  it  directs  attention 
to  qualities  of  perseverance,  business  integrity 
and  ability  a.  d  high  regard  for  welfare  of  the 
community. 

David  9.  Boykin  was  born  at  Clinton,  the  county- 
seat  of  Sampson  County,  North  Carolina,  No- 
vember 29,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Bobinson  Fen- 
nell  and  Cynthia  Ann  (Hobbs)  Boykin.  His  par- 
ents were  well  known  and  highly  respected  agri- 
cultural people  of  that  county,  where  his  father 
was  a  successful  farmer  and  the  owner  of  valu- 
able property,  and  the  youth  was  granted  good 
educational  advantages,  first  attending  private 
schools  and  later  being  sent  to  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  remained  as  a  student 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  At  that  time 
he  returned  home,  and  during  the  next  seven  years 
was  engaged  in  farming,  a  vocation  for  which  he 
had  been  thoroughly  trained  by  his  father.  The 
life  of  the  agriculturist,  however,  did  not  appeal 
to  the  young  man,  whose  inclinations  led  toward 
a  mercantile  career,  and  when  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age  he  laid  aside  the  implements  of 
the  farmer  and  began  his  experience  in  commer- 
cial affairs.  Coming  to  Wilson,  January  1,  1887, 
he  embarked  in  a  mercantile  venture,  and  during 
the  next  eight  years  dealt  in  general  merchandise, 
with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success.  This  en- 
terprise was  followed  by  an  experience  as  a 
wholesale  grocer,  and  during  the  twelve  years  that 
he  was  so  engaged  he  built  up  a  large  and  pros- 
perous business  at  Wilson  and  in  the  surround- 
ing country.  In  the  meantime,  feeling  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  community  was  assured,  he  had 
commenced  investing  in  property,  both  at  Wilson 
and  elsewhere  in  the  locality,  and  this  gradually 
led  him  into  larger  and  larger  enterprises  unti ' 
finally,  in  1907,  he  decided  to  give  his  entire  at- 
tention to  this  business  and  accordingly  estab- 
lished the  Boykin  Bealty  Company,  of  which  he 
has  since  been  president.  He  has  been  the  me- 
dium through  which  some  large  realty  deals  have 
been  consummated,  and  few  men  of  the  commu- 
nity are  better  informed  as  to  land  values.  In 
connection  with  his  real  estate  business  he  deals 
in  life  and  fire  insurance,  representing  some  of 
the  most  reliable  companies  of  the  country.  The 
concern  of  which  he  is  the  head  is  recognized  as 
sound  and  progressive,  and  has  come  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  helpful  community  asset.  Mr.  Boykin 
has  other  business  interests,  and  is  a  director  of 
the  Branch  Banking  Company  of  Wilson.  He  is 
a  valued  member  of  the  Country  Club. 

Mr.  Boykin  was  married  January  22,  1890,  at 
Wi]=on,  to  Miss  Marguerite  Jordan,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Sallie  (Jordan)  Jordan,  agricultur- 
ists of  Wilson  County.  To  this  union  there  have 
been  born  two  children:  Bobert  Stanlev  and  Hat- 


tie  Margaret.  Bobert  Stanley  Boykin  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  and  the 
University  of  North  Carobna.  On  completing 
his  education  he  found  an  opportunity  waiting 
for  him  in  his  father's  real  estate  and  insurance 
business,  and  that  he  now  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  concern  augurs  the  possession  of  worth- 
while and  reliable  business  abilities.  He  is  one 
of  the  popular  members  of  the  Country  Club  and 
the  Commonwealth  Club. 

Job  Hiatt.  A  man  of  versatile  talents,  ener- 
getic, enterprising  and  far-seeing,  Job  Hiatt,  of 
Pilot  Mountain,  is  intimately  associated  with  many 
of  the  leading  interests  of  Surry 'County,  having 
been  an  important  factor  in  developing  and  ad- 
vancing the  agricultural,  manufacturing  and  mer- 
cantile activities  of  this  part  of  the  state,  at  times 
carrying  on  an  extensive  business  in  each  of  these 
industries,  and  in  addition  to  all  of  this  has  filled 
many  large  building  contracts.  A  son  of  the  late 
Anderson  Hiatt,  he  was  born  in  Long  Hill  Town- 
ship, Stokes  County,  North  Carolina,  November  25, 
1853,  of  English  ancestry. 

Moses  Hiatt,  grandfather  of  Mr.  Hiatt,  was 
born  in  England,  but  left  his  native  land  when 
young,  immigrating  to  the  United  States.  After 
spending  a  short  time  in  "Virginia  he  came  to  North 
Carolina,  settling  in  Stokes  County.  Establishing 
an  iron  forge  on  Big  Creek  in  Quaker  Gap  Town- 
ship, he  operated  it  until  his  death.  He  married 
a  Miss  Danley,  a  life-long  resident  of  Stokes 
County,  and  they  reared  three  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, as  follows:  Anderson;  Martin;  Gabriel;  a 
daughter  who  married  Ned  Clemens  and  settled  in 
Missouri ;  Annie,  who  married  a  Mr.  Taylor  and 
migrated  to  Utah;  and  Nancy,  who  also  became 
the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Taylor,  and  with  him  settled 
permanently  in  Utah. 

Born  in  1816  in  Stokes  County,  Anderson  Hiatt 
learned  the  trade  of  an  iron  worker  at  his 
father's  forge,  and  with  his  brother  Martin  sub- 
sequently established  a  forge  on  Bull  Bun  Creek, 
Surry  County.  After  a  time  he  sold  his  interest 
in  that  forge  to  his  brother  Martin,  and  with  his 
other  brother,  Gabriel,  established  a  forge  on  the 
present  site  of  Ararat  station,  Surry  County,  buy- 
ing there  a  tract  of  land  containing  2,000 
acres.  Later  the  brothers  divided  their  holdings, 
Gabriel  taking  the  forge  and  Anderson  the  land. 
Subsequently  Anderson  Hiatt  became  superinten- 
dent of  the  forge  owned  by  Job  Worth  &  Sons,  it 
being  located,  on  Toms  Creek,  and  during  the  first 
year  of  the  Civil  war  was  detailed  by  the  Confed- 
erate government  to  make  iron  at  that  forge. 
During  the  last  year  of  that  war  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Home  Guards.  After  the  war  was 
over  he  leased  the  furnaces  for  a  while,  and  su- 
perintended his  farm,  residing  upon  it  a  number 
of  years.  In  1869  he  moved  to  the  Worth  Forge, 
where,  two  years  later,  his  death  occurred. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Anderson  Hiatt 
was  Ailsa  Hampton.  She  was  born  in  Stokes 
County.  In  her  parents'  family  were  three  sons, 
as  follows:  John  Hampton,  who  settled  in 
Missouri:  Wesley  Hampton,  who  migrated  to  Kan- 
sas: and  Elisha  Hampton,  who  settled  in  either 
Virginia  or  Kentucky.  Surviving  her  husband 
many  years,  Mrs.  Anderson  Hiatt  died  in  1903,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years.  She  reared 
five  children,  namely:  John  M.,  William  A.,  Job, 
Sallv  and  Nannie  Jane. 

Making  good  use  of  his  educational  advantages, 
Job    Hiatt   acquired    when   young   the    knowledge 


42 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


qualifying  him  for  a  professional  career,  and  for 
one  term  taught  in  the  Hill  School  in  Pilot  Moun- 
tain Township.  Then,  abandoning  the  profession, 
he  returned  to  the  home  farm  and  was  employed 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1878.  Removing  in 
that  year  to  Pilot  Mountain,  Mr.  Hiatt  embarked 
in  the  mercantile  business,  which  he  carried  on 
successfully  during  the  next  twenty-nine  years,  in 
the  meantime  being  engaged  in  other  branches  of 
business,  one  of  which  was  the  manufacturing  of 
tobacco,  with  which  he  was  identified  for  three 
years. 

Purchasing  a  saw  mill  in  1890,  Mr.  Hiatt  has 
since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber,  and  nd*w  has  two  mills  in  operation,  the 
demands  of  his  large  and  constantly  increasing 
business  requiring  the  productions  of  both  plants. 
He  is  also  one  of  the  best  known  builders  and  con- 
tractors of  the  county,  and  in  this  capacity  has 
erected  upwards  of  1,000  houses  in  Surry  and 
Stokes  counties  and  a  few  in  Rockingham  County. 
Mr.  Hiatt  also  supplies  his  home  city  with  electric 
lights,  and  here,  it  is  well  to  say,  he  gives  his  per- 
sonal attention  to  the  multiplicity  of  enterprises 
with  which  he  is  associated,  each  and  every  one 
being  most  carefully  and  efficiently  managed. 

Mr.  Hiatt  married,  October  11,  1881,  Miss  Sarah 
Wilkerson  Hill,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  on  Toms 
Creek,  Pilot  Mountain  Township,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  W.  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Briggs)  Hill. 
Mrs.  Hiatt  died  in  1901,  leaving  eight  children, 
namely:  Daisy;  Leathy  Ann;  Robert,  deceased; 
Charles  Edward;  Mary  Elizabeth;  Cora  Ailsa; 
George  W. ;  and  Job  Monroe.  Daisy  married  John 
Nelson,  and  has  seven  children,  Clarice,  Norene, 
Elizabeth,  Katie,  Samuel,  Thomas  and  Hiatt. 
Leathy  Ann,  wife  of  W.  R.  Badgett,  has  four  chil- 
dren, Bryan,  Keith,  William  and  Edward.  Mary  E. 
married  J.  A.  Pell,  and  they  have  two  children, 
Evelyn  and  Joseph.  Religiously  Mr.  Hiatt  is  a 
member  of  the  Friends  Church.  " 

Henry  Warren  Hood,  who  died  June  4,  1915, 
at  the  James  Walker  Memorial  Hospital  in  Wil- 
mington, was  a  business  man,  merchant,  citizen  and 
Christian  gentleman,  whose  entire  life  represented 
a  splendid  harmony  of  activities  and  character. 
His  name  is  especially  well  known  and  his  achieve- 
ments appreciated  in  the  City  of  Southport,  where 
beginning  on  a  small  scale  "he  built  up  a  great 
mercantile  house,  and  that  business  is  still  con- 
tinued by  his  son. 

His  life  is  an  illustration  of  what  .the  individual 
can  accomplish  who  begins  his  career  with  limited 
means  and  opportunities  but  with  unlimited  deter- 
mination. He  was  born  in  Bentonsville,  Johnston 
County,  North  Carolina,  October  11,  1861,  and  was 
not  yet  fifty-four  years  of  age  when  he  died. 
Though  death  came  to  him  prematurely,  it  did  not 
come  too  soon  to  destroy  or  in  any  way  diminish 
his  splendid  record  of  accomplished  work.  He 
was  a  son  of  David  W.  and  Martha  (Jones')  Hood. 
His  father  served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Confed- 
erate army  during  the  Civil  war.  Other  surviving 
members  of  the  family  are  three  brothers,  Robert 
C.  Hood  of  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  and  J. 
Edward  and  William  B.  Hood  of  Southport,  and 
one  sister.  Mrs.  G.  B.  Mcintosh  of  Philadelphia. 

When  Henry  Warren  Hood  was  a  child  his  father 
died  and  consequently  he  had  little  opportunity 
to  obtain  an  education  such  as  continuous  attend- 
ance at  school  could  afford.  He  was  one  of  a  large 
family,  and  the  responsibilities  of  life  came  to  him 
early.     His  mother,  a  woman  of  strong  and  ster- 


ling character,  was  exceedingly  ambitious  for  her 
children  and  determined  to  make  worthy  men  of 
them.  Thus  she  herself  supervised  their  educa- 
tion, and  encouraged  and  trained  them  in  those 
fundamentals  which  are  at  the  bedrock  of  a  suc- 
cessful career. 

Henry  Warren  Hood  became  self-supporting  at 
the  age  of  ten  years  and  from  that  time  until  his 
death  it  is  said  that  he  did  not  lose  sis  months 
from  the  active  service  which  he  gave  the  world 
as  a  business  man  and  citizen.  In  1877  his  mother 
removed  to  Raleigh,  and  Henry  Warren  soon  ob- 
tained employment  in  a  dry  goods  house.  He  re- 
mained with  that  firm  until  he  was  twenty  years 
of  age.  His  mother  feeling  that  Raleigh  was  too 
small  a  city  to  afford  the  advantages  which  her 
ambition  craved  for  her  children,  then  removed  to 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1882,  and  in  that  city 
obtained  a  position  for  her  boys  in  different  whole- 
sale houses.  Warren  entered  a  dry  goods  firm,  and 
at  that  time  it  was  necessary  for  any  young  man 
beginning  a  commercial  career  to  start  at  the  bot- 
tom. His  position  with  the  firm  was  that  of 
stock  boy.  He  soon  realized  that  his  opportunities 
were  limited  in  this  particular  firm  and  after  a 
year  he  changed  employment  and  went  with  one  of 
the  oldest  and  largest  notion  houses  of  Baltimore. 
There  he  rose  rapidly  in  the  favor  of  his  superiors 
and  in  the  ability  to  accomplish  work  for  the 
benefit  of  the  firm.  After  a  year  he  was  sent  out 
on  the  road  as  a  traveling  salesman,  and  for  six- 
teen years  he  represented  the  John  A.  Horner  Com- 
pany of  Baltimore  and  carried  their  goods  to  the 
merchants  of  both  the  Carolinas.  He  possessed 
the  ability  of  true  salesmanship,  was  genial,  a 
man  of  unexampled  integrity  and  morality,  and 
made  firm  and  lasting  friendships  wherever  he 
went. 

In  1888  Mr.  Hood  married  Miss  Kate  Foley, 
daughter  of  Capt.  Richard  F.  and  Amanda  Foley 
of  Baltimore.  The  year  following  their  marriage 
they  removed  to  Southport,  North  Carolina,  and 
that  city  has  since  been  the  family  home.  Of  the 
three  children  born  to  their  marriage  the  only 
on*  now  living  is  Henry  Warren,  Jr.,  elsewhere 
referred  to. 

On  coming  to  Southport  Mr.  Hood  secured  a 
stock  of  goods  and  opened  a  store  with  Mrs.  Hood 
in  active  charge.  He  himself  still  continued  as  a 
traveling  salesman,  and  thus  he  and  his  wife  were 
closely  associated  in  the  venture  which  subsequently 
became  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
mercantile  enterprises  of  Southport.  By  1890  the 
store  had  outgrown  the  small  building  it  occupied, 
and  was  then  moved'to  larger  quarters,  attended  by 
an  increase  in  the  stock.  In  1902  another  change 
was  demanded  because  of  the  continued  growth  of 
the  business,  and  an  addition  was  made  to  the  store 
building.  About  that  time  the  responsibilities  of 
the  Southport  store  became  too  heavy  for  Mrs. 
Hood  to  carry  alone,  and  he  then  retired  from  the 
road  and  gave  his  personal  time  and  energy  to 
the  management  of  the  store.  Thence  forward  the 
Southport  business  had  an  uninterrupted  and  suc- 
cessful existence.  In  1904  Mr.  Hood  bought  the 
two-story  frame  building  occupied  by  his  stock  of 
goods  and  also  the  dwelling  house  adjoining  it, 
and  again  enlarged  both  the  store  and  stock.  He 
was  a  real  merchant,  had  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  goods  and  the  best  methods  of  handling  them, 
and  he  gave  a  close  study  to  every  detail  of  mer- 
chandising. His  constant  endeavor  was  to  render 
better  service  through  his  business.  In  1911  he 
moved  the  old  frame  building  and  erected  in  its 


¥^~y7s-is2sn>4\ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


43 


place  a  handsome  and  modern  two-story  brick 
business  house,  the  interior  finishing  being  solid 
oak  fittings.  In  that  new  store  the  business  has 
since  been  continued.  During  1914  Mr.  Hood's 
health  began  to  fail,  and  early  in  1915  he  took  in 
his  son  as  a  business  associate  and  soon  after 
he  had  to  give  up  active  management  altogether 
and  on  the  4th  of  June  his  life  came  to  a  quiet 
close. 

That  he  was  a  man  of  strong  character  needs  no 
other  evidence  than  the  brief  outline  of  events 
which  have  been  described.  With  all  his  ability 
and  his  wide  experience,  he  was  a  man  of  retiring 
nature,  had  no  ambitions  for  the  honors  of  politics, 
but  was  a  strong  and  ardent  democrat.  His  friends 
knew  him  as  a  deep  and  logical  thinker,  and  one 
whose  loyalty  and  support  could  be  enlisted  for 
every  worthy  undertaking.  He  served  for  two 
terms  as  alderman  of  Southport,  was  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  school  board,  was  treasurer  of  the 
Southport  Commercial  Association,  and  was  reared 
in  the  Baptist  Church  and  was  an  Odd  Fellow. 

Of  his  character  as  a  man  and  citizen  the  best 
appreciation  will  be  found  in  the  words  of  one 
who  knew  him  for  many  years  and  expressed  edi- 
torially in  a  local  paper  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
A  partial  quotation  from  this  editorial  is  an  ap- 
propriate conclusion  for  this  brief  sketch  of  a 
notable  North  Carolina  business  man. 

' '  He  was  honest  and  just  arid  his  every  action 
was  that  of  a  man  who  trusted  in  his  neighbor 
and  there  was  an  impulse  toward  charity  that, 
although  not  of  the  loud  kind,  was  sincere  and 
distinct.  His  well  known  success  in  business  and 
the  popularity  of  his  store  for  many  years  attest 
more  than  anything  else  the  popularity  of  the  man. 
He  was  one  of  those  citizens  who  are  a  credit  to 
any  community  and  one  whose  loss  will  be  dis- 
tinctly felt,  both  in  a  business  and  personal  way. 

' '  There  is  no  language  at  our  command  by  which 
we  can  fittingly  portray  the  sincerity  of  this  man 's 
Christian  character ;  and  in  the  experience  of  a 
lifetime,  the  writer  hereof  can  safely  say,  he  has 
never  met  one  who  seemed  to  more  clearly  walk 
hand  in  hand  with  God.  Conscience  guided  his 
every  act,  both  in  business  and  pleasure.  He  was 
a  model  of  mental  industry  in  his  efforts  to  enter- 
tain and  instruct  his  friends  and  acquaintances. 
With  more  than  ordinary  business  acumen  he  helped 
along  others  and  there  are  many  people  in  this 
city  who  can  say  that  Mr.  Hood  was  the  means 
of  making  real  men  and  women  of  them,  both  by 
advice  and  example.  He  was  strictly  honest  in 
the  service  he  rendered.  In  short,  he  was  not  only 
a  model  Christian  but  he  was  an  honorable  gentle- 
man, in  the  highest  sense  that  term  implies.  To 
man,  woman  or  child,  saint  or  sinner,  he  always 
extended  a  cordial  greeting  that  lent  a  ray  of  light 
to  brighten  their  pathway  in  the  journey  of  life." 

Henry  Warrex  Hood.  Among  the  energetic 
young  business  men  of  Southport  who  are  contrib- 
uting of  their  abilities  in  the  furtherance  of  the 
public  welfare,  one  of  the  best  known  and  most 
progressive  is  Henry  Warren  Hood,  Jr.,  of  the 
firm  of  H.  W.  Hood  &  Son,  whose  labors  in  the 
field  of  fire  protection  have  already  won  him  a 
recognized  position  among  the  men  who  are  work- 
ing in  behalf  of  the  city 's  interests. 

Mr.  Hood  was  born  at  Southport,  Brunswick 
County,  North  Carolina,  May  24,  1892,  and  is  a 
son  of  Henry  Warren  and  Kate  (Foley)  Hood, 
his  father  being  one  of  the  well  known  merchants 
of  Southport.     He  received  his  early  education  in 


the  private  schools  here,  following  which  he  at- 
tended the  Warrenton  (North  Carolina)  High 
School  and  the  Bingham  School,  of  Asheville,  and 
after  his  graduation  from  the  latter,  in  1911,  re- 
turned to  Southport  and  became  a  clerk  in  the 
store  of  his  father.  On  January  1,  1914,  he  was 
admitted  to  partnership  in  the  firm  of  H.  W.  Hood 
&  Son,  with  which  he  continues  to  be  connected. 
While  Mr.  Hood  is  well  and  favorably  known  in 
business  circles  of  Southport,  it  has  been  in  con- 
nection with  the  public  service  that  he  has  been 
most  prominently  brought  before  the  people.  Un- 
der modern  conditions,  the  fire  department  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  branches  of  the  city  govern- 
ment in  any  live  and  progressive  city,  and  it  has 
been  in  this  field  that  Mr.  Hood  has  worked.  He 
is  now  not  only  captain  of  Fire  Company  No.  2, 
but  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  department, 
consisting  of  three  companies,  and  is  treasurer  of 
the  fire  commission  appointed  by  the  state  for  the 
handling  of  funds  for  fire  prevention  and  protec- 
tion. Mr.  Hood  belongs  to  the  Commercial  As- 
sociation, is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Mer- 
chants' Association,  township  food  administrator, 
city  and  county  merchants'  food  administrator  for 
Brunswick  County,  and  mayor  pro  tem  of  South- 
port.  He  is  a  vestryman  of  St.  Philip  's  Episcopal 
Church. 

On  January  5,  1914,  Mr.  Hood  was  married  to 
Miss  Mabelle  Stone,  of  Asheville,  North  Carolina, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  child:  Nancy 
Katherine. 

Johx  Archibald  McCormick.  Though  a  native 
of  Mississippi,  John  Archibald  McCormick  repre- 
sents some  of  the  old  and  substantial  Scotch  fam- 
ilies of  Scotland  and  adjoining  counties  in  North 
Carolina,  and  his  own  life  has  been  spent  in  this 
part  of  the  state  since  earliest  infancy.  His  name 
has  been  widely  associated  with  the  larger  busi- 
ness life  of  Robeson  County  for  a  number  of  years. 
At  Pembroke  he  still  carries  on  extensive  opera- 
tions as  a  merchant  and  planter,  and  was  formerly 
a  prominent  figure  in  the  lumber  industry. 

His  birth  occurred  near  Brookhaven  in  Lawrence 
County,  Mississippi,  in  1868.  He  is  a  son  of  Mur- 
doch and  Lizzie  (McColl)  McCormick.  His  father 
was  born  in  what  is  now  Scotland  County,  then 
part  of  Richmond  County,  North  Carolina.  The 
McCormicks  have  lived  in  Robeson  and  what  is 
now  Scotland  County  since  prior  to  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  Murdoch  McCormick  left  this  state  when 
a  young  man  and  settled  in  Lawrence  County,  Mis- 
sissippi. It  is  to  Mississippi  that  his  service  of 
four  years  in  the  Confederate  army  is  credited.  In 
1869  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  with  his  family 
and  located  in  the  old  McCormick  community  three 
miles  from  Laurinburg,  in  what  is  now  Scotland 
County.  This  home  is  on  the  Gum  Swamp  of  the 
Pee  Dee  in  the  same  vicinity  where  have  lived  the 
Mc.Kinnons,  Fairleys  and  other  old  time  Scotch 
families  from  pioneer  days. 

In  this  community  John  Archibald  McCormick 
grew  up  and  was  inured  and  practiced  in  farming 
pursuits  almost  from  his  earliest  recollection.  The 
interest  to  which  he  was  trained  has  always  re- 
mained the  important  one.  The  first  work  he  did 
away  from  home  was  for  the  late  R.  W.  Liver- 
more  at  Pate's  in  Robeson  County.  Mr.  Liver- 
more  had  extensive  turpentine,  lumbering  mer- 
cantile and  farming  interests  there,  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Cormick was  one  of  his  faithful  employes  and 
associates  for  four  years  in  handling  these'  various 
affairs. 


44 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


He  entered  business  for  himself  in  the  spring  of 
1S94  when  he  established  a  saw  mill  at  Pembroke 
in  Robeson  County,  with  a  commissary  store  in. 
connection.  Since  that  date  Pembroke  has  been 
his  home  and  center  of  his  widening  business  in- 
terests. He  still  has  lumber  and  timber  properties, 
though  not  so  extensive  as  formerly.  His  chief 
energies  now  are  concentrated  upon  merchandise 
and  farming.  His  store  conducted  under  the  name 
of  the  MeCormick  Company  is  a  large  general  store 
and  supply  house  and  enjoys  an  extensive  trade 
all  over  the  surrounding  community.  He  owns  sev- 
eral fine  farms  lying  adjacent  to  and  within  a 
short  distance  of  Pembroke,  and  these  farms  pro- 
duce largely  of  cotton  and  corn.  They  constitute 
part  of  a  belt  of  land  surrounding  Pembroke 
which  has  a  particularly  bright  agricultural  fu- 
ture, with  every  advantage  of  richness,  produc- 
tivity, natural  drainage  and  access  to  transporta- 
tion. Pembroke  is  the  best  railroad  town  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  located  at  the  junction  of  the 
main  line  to  the  Seaboard  and  the  Atlantic  Coast 
Line. 

The  citizens  of  Pembroke  have  a  high  apprecia- 
tion of  Mr.  MeCormick 's  work  as  a  good  citizen. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of  road  com- 
missioners from  Eobeson  County  and  is  in  every 
sense  one  of  the  substantial  factors  of  his  com- 
munity. He  is  a  member  of  the  Pembroke  Pres- 
byterian Church.  Mr.  MeCormick  married  Miss 
Lucy  Pate.  Her  father,  the  late  E.  A.  Pate,  was 
a  prominent  railroad  man,  served  as  section  master 
on  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  for  twenty-six  years, 
and  the  station  of  Pate's  was  named  in  his  honor. 

James  Craig  Braswell.  In  a  conspicuous 
place  on  the  roster  of  Rocky  Mount  and  Nash 
County's  successful  men  of  business  is  found  the 
name  of  James  Craig  Braswell,  of  Rocky  Mount, 
a  native  of  the  state  where  he  has  always  made 
his  home,  and  a  splendid  type  of  the  alert,  pro- 
gressive and  public-spirited  citizen  whose  record 
is  an  indication  that  success  is  ambition's  an- 
swer. His  long  and  prominent  connection  with 
large  business  interests,  and  particularly  those 
connected  with  the  tobacco  industry,  farming  and 
banking,  have  made  him  one  of  the  best  known 
figures  in  the  community  and  few  men  have  bet- 
ter records  for  prosperity  gained  with  honor  and 
without   animosity. 

Mr.  Braswell  was  born  near  Battleboro,  a  com- 
munity on  the  county  line  between  Edgecombe 
and  Nash  counties,  August  '17,  1868,  and  is  a 
son  of  Hon.  Thomas  Permenter  and  Emily  (Stal- 
lings)  Braswell,  and  a  grandson  of  R. '  R.  and 
Anzy  Braswell.  Thomas  P.  Braswell  was  born  in 
1832  in  Edgecombe  County,  and  his  early  educa- 
tional advantages  were  poor  but  this  was  sub- 
sequently greatly  supplemented  by  incessant  read- 
ing and  close  observation.  Throughout  his  life 
he  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  was 
a  leader  among  the  farmers  of  his  state,  being 
one  of  the  first  to  adopt  and  introduce  progressive 
methods,  such  as  cover  crops  and  improved  cat- 
tle. In  addition  to  his  farm  and  extensive  town 
interests,  'he  was  a  stockholder  in  a  great  num- 
ber of  incorporated  companies, '  but  would  never 
agree  to  act  as  a  director  or  officer.  One  of  the 
leading  democrats  of  his  community,  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  democratic  county  committee  for  sev- 
eral years,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  and 
served  his  county  in  the  State  Legislature.     His 


fraternal  connection  was  with  the  Masons,  and 
his  religious  belief  that  of  the  Primitive  Baptist 
Church.  He  was  possessed  of  more  than  the  ordi- 
nary amount  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  and 
was  a  i^hilosopher  of  that  kindly  school  who  reasons 
that  there  is  something  of  good  in  every  one. 
He  was  cool  and  deliberative  in  action,  with  a 
strong  brain  and  excellent  judgment,  broad- 
gauged  and  of  perfect  mental  balance.  Mr.  T. 
P.  Braswell  married  Emily  Stalliiigs,  daughter  of 
James  Craig  Stallings,  and  a  member  of  a  sturdy 
agricultural  family.  Surviving  them  are  three 
children:  Mack  C,  who  married  Alice  Bryan; 
Mark  R.,  who  married  Mamie  Hackney;  and  James 
C.  Eula  and  Mattie,  died  when  quite  young,  and 
Thomas  P.  Braswell,  Jr.,  a  most  promising  young 
man,  died  soon  after  his  graduation  from  the 
University. 

James  Craig  Braswell  was  educated  in  private 
schools,  at  Horner 's  Military  Institute,  and  at 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  after  his 
graduation  from  the  latter  institution  in  1890, 
embarked  upon  his  business  career.  First  he  en- 
gaged in  the  tobacco  business,  and  this  business 
has  continued  to  hold  his  attention  in  large  meas- 
ure to  the  present  time,  his  interests  having  broad- 
ened and  extended  and  grown  to  large  and  im- 
portant proportions.  Few  of  the  men  connected 
with  the  tobacco  industry  and  banking  business 
in  this  part  of  the  state  are  better  known  than 
Mr.  Braswell,  who  is  also  extensively  engaged  as 
a  general  farmer,  owning  over  3,000  acres  of  land, 
of  which  he  cultivates  about  1,000  acres,  the 
greater  part  of  this  being  in  Nash  County.  He 
is  president  of  the  Braswell-Gravely  Company, 
foreign  exporters;  president  of  the  Planters  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Rocky  Mount,  since  the  organi- 
zation the  largest  and  most  prosperous  bank  in 
the  two  adjoining  counties;  president  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Rocky  Mount  Hosiery  Company;  pres- 
ident of  the  Citizens  Building  and  Loan  Associ- 
ation; secretary  of  the  Wilkinson-Bullock  Com- 
pany; treasurer  of  the  Underwriters  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  and  the  North  State  Fire  Insurance 
Company;  vice  president  of  the  Rocky  Mount 
Savings  and  Trust  Company;  and  director  of  the 
Norfolk  Trust  Company  of  Norfolk,  Virginia.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  since 
graded  schools  were  organized  at  this  place,  and 
was  an  alderman  for  eighteen  years.  In  1914  he 
was  honored  as  president  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bankers  Association.  All  worthwhile  movements 
for  the  benefit  of  the  community  have  had  his 
stalwart  support,  and  he  is  accounted  one  of  the 
men  of  the  locality  whose  efforts  in  recent  years 
have  brought  Rocky  Mount  and  Nash  County  for- 
ward as  a  live,  growing  and  prosperous  locality. 
Mr.  Braswell  is  a  steward  in  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  South.  He  is  a  timid  man  and  never 
pushes  himself  forward  but  never  shirks  anything. 
He  has  made  it  a  point  of  life  to  live  and  let  live 
and  in  every  way  lent  his  aid  for  the  upbuilding 
of  the  moral  and  religious  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. He  has  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  the  Govern- 
ment service,  never  failing  to  respond  to  all  calls 
both  for  his  time  and  his  means.  No  one  is 
more  devoted  and  believes  in  the  righteausness  of 
our  cause  than  he,  being  a  man  conscientious  in 
the  performance  of  his  duty  and  being  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Nash  County  Exemption  Board.  He 
has  given  nearly  all  his  time,  and  made  every 
effort  to  see  that  the  law  was  carried  out  with- 


cszyrZ^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


45 


out  discrimination.  He  has  served  without  re- 
muneration in  the  performance  of  all  his  work 
for  the  Government. 

On  June  12,  1901,  Mr.  Braswell  was  married 
to  Hiss  GrizzeLle  Burton,  of  Durham,  North  Car- 
olina, daughter  of  Robert  Carter  and  Nannie 
(Walker)  Burton,  Mr.  Burton  being  largely  con- 
nected with  the  tobacco  business,  and  an  honored 
citizen  of  Durham,  North  Carolina.  To  this  un- 
ion there  have  been  born  four  children:  James 
Craig,  Jr.,  Bobert  Russell,  Lillian  Duval  and 
Nancy  Burton. 

Paekek  Qcikce  Mooee.  The  present  mayor  of 
Wilmington  was  born  in  his  home  city  July  6, 
1876,  a  son  of  Col.  Roger  Moore  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  army  and  Susan  Eugenia  (Beery) 
Moore.  The  practical  life  of  the  business  man 
appealed  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch  at  an  early 
age  and  upon  completing  his  studies  at  the  Ruther- 
fordton  Military  Institute  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  a  branch  of  his  father's  business.  Upon  the 
death  of  his  father  he  formed  a  copartnership  with 
his  brother  and  F.  R.  King  in  the  now  old  estab- 
lished firm  of  Roger  Moore's  Sons  and  Company, 
and  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  com- 
mercial, social  and  religious  life  of  the  city. 

His  entrance  into  public  life  was  as  an  alder- 
man of  the  city,  serving  for  six  years  under  the 
administration  of  Mayors  Alfred  Moore  Waddell 
and  W.  E.  Springer.  When  the  Commission  form 
of  government  was  adopted  for  Wilmington  he 
was  elected  commissioner  for  two  years,  and  under 
his  direction  the  many  miles  of  permanent  streets 
were  built  and  in  1913  he  was  elected  mayor, 
re-elected  in  1915  and  again  in  1917.  He  has 
always  borne  his  share  of  the  responsibilities  in 
the  democratic  party  in  the  state. 

Dr.  James  Sprunt  in  his  book  "Cape  Fear 
Chronicles, ' '  says : 

' '  The  present  mayor  of  Wilmington,  Parkef 
Quince  Moore,  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  the  lead- 
ing spirits  of  the  Colonial  Cape  Fear  described 
by  the  British  Governor  Burrington  in  his  official 
dispatches  to  the  Home  Government  as  the  'pesti- 
ferous Moore  family, '  who  vexed  the  Royal  Gov- 
ernment at  Brunswick  by  their  revolutionary  tend- 
encies, and  later,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1766, 
advocated  the  first  armed  resistance  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent  to  the  authority  of  the  Sovereign 
Lord,  King  George,  when  450  men  of  the  Cape 
Fear,  led  by  George  Moore,  of  Orton,  and  Cor- 
nelius Harnett,  of  Wilmington,  surrounded  Gov- 
ernor Tryon  's  palace  at  Russellboro,  on  the  Cape 
Fear,  and  demanded  with  arms  in,  their  hands  the 
surrender  of  the  stampmaster  and  the  odious  em- 
blems of  his  authority. 

"Mayor  Moore  is  not  only  to  the  manner  born, 
but  his  business  training,  his  patriotic  spirit,  and 
the  charm  of  his  pleasing  personality  have  estab- 
lished him  in  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all 
classes  of  our  people." 

Mr.  Moore  married  Miss  Willie  May  Hardin,  of 
Rutherfordton,  North  Carolina.  They  have  two 
living  children:  Maurice  Hardin  and  May  Latta. 
One  son,  Roger,  died  in  infancy. 

George  0.  Graves.  An  enterprising,  wide- 
awake, and  prominent  business  man  of  Mount 
Airy,  George  O.  Graves,  president  of  the  Mount 
Airy  Mantel  and  Table  Company,  occupies  an  im- 
portant position  in  the  manufacturing  and  mer- 
cantile circles  of  Surry  County,  and  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  the  self-made  man  of  our  times. 


He  was  born  in  1871  on  a  plantation  in  the  Locust 
Hill  neighborhood,  Caswell  County,  which  was  like- 
wise the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Captain  George 
A.  Graves,  and  of  his  grandfather,  Calvin  Graves. 
Mr.  Graves  comes  from  honored  English  ances- 
try, being  a  lineal  descendant  in  the  eignth  genera- 
tion from  Captain  Thomas  Graves,  who  emigrated 
from  England  to  Ameriea  in  1607,  settling  in 
Accomac  County,  Virginia,  the  line  of  descent  be- 
ing as  follows:  Captain  Thomas,'  John,?  John,3 
Jolin,-»  Azariah,"  Calvin, a  Captain  George  A.,"  and 
George  U.*  Captain  Thomas'  Graves  reared  a 
large  family,  and  many  of  his  descendants  are  to 
be  found  in  the  southern  and  western  states.  John? 
Graves  married  a  Miss  Perrin,  and  settled  perma- 
nently in  Elizabeth  County,  Virginia.  It  is  not 
known  whom  John3  Graves  married. 

Johni  Graves  married,  in  Virginia,  Isabella  Lee, 
and  in  1770  came  with  his  family  to  Caswell 
County,  North  Carolina,  settling  on  Country  Line 
Creek,  near  the  present  village  of  Yancey  vide. 

Azariah»  Graves  was  but  two  years  old  when 
brought  from  Virginia  to  North  Carolina  by  his 
parents.  Reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  he  be- 
came an  extensive  planter,  operating  with  slave 
labor.  A  man  of  good  education  and  much  ability, 
he  was  active  and  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and 
served  as  state  senator  from  1805  until  1812.  He 
died  in  1850,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Elizabeth  Williams,  passed  to  the  lite  beyond 
in  1841. 

Calvin6  Graves,  born  on  the  home  farm  June  3, 
1804,  acquired  a  good  education  when  young,  and 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar  was  not  only  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  but 
owned  a  plantation  which  he  operated  with  the 
help  of  slaves.  Influential  in  public  matters,  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1835,  and  was  twice  elected  as  representa- 
tive to  the  lower  branch  of  the  State  Legislature, 
and  four  times  to  the  State  Senate.  While  he  was 
serving  as  president  of  the  Senate  a  bill  was  in- 
troduced asking  for  an  appropriation  for  the 
building  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad.  He  was 
well  aware  that  railways  were  needed  in  this  part 
of  the  state;  he  also  knew  that  his  constituents 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  appropriation,  and 
that  if  he  voted  for  it  he  would  surely  be  defeated 
as  a  candidate  for  re-election.  The  vote  proved  to 
be  a  tie,  and  he,  as  president  of  the  Senate,  cast 
the  deciding  vote  in  favor  of  the  appropriation. 
Later  his  friends  urged  him  to  become  a  candidate 
for  governor  of  the  state,  but  he  steadily  refused 
all  solicitations.  He  married  first,  June  9,  1830, 
Elizabeth  Lee,  who  was  the  mother  of  all  his  chil- 
dren, and  married  second  Mrs.  Mary  Lee.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church,  and 
reared  his  children  in  the  same  religious  faith. 

Captain  George  A."  Graves  received  excellent 
educational  advantages,  being  graduated  from 
Wake  Forest  College,  but  did  not  choose  a  profes- 
sional life.  Agriculture  being  more  to  his  taste, 
he  located  after  his  marriage  on  a  farm  which  his 
wife  had  inherited.  Soon  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  he  entered  the  Confederate  service, 
and  was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  G, 
Twenty-second  Regiment,  North  Carolina  Troops. 
With  his  command  he  took  an  active  part  in  vari- 
ous engagements,  including  among  others  of  note 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  There,  during  the  sec- 
ond day  's  fight,  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  lay 
on  the  field  a  number  of  hours  before  attracting 
the  attention  of  a  Federal  soldier,  one  who  proved 
to  be  a  Mason.    Captain  Graves  was  then  taken  to 


46 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Johnson  Island  in  Lake  Erie,  and  there  remained 
a  prisoner  until  the  close  of  the  war.  The  captain 
then  returned  to  his  home  plantation,  and  though 
he  lived  until  July  5,  1907,  he  never  fully  re- 
covered his  health,  being  an  invalid  much  of  the 
time. 

Captain  George  A.  Graves  married  Miss  Belle 
Williamson,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  James  E.  William- 
son, a  life-long  resident  and  practising  physician 
of  Caswell  County,  and  also  a  farmer,  operating 
his  plantation  with  slave  labor.  Doctor  Williamson 
married  Isabella  Williams,  who  was  born  in  Person 
County,  North  Carolina,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
lived  to  an  advanced  age.  The  wife  of  Captain 
Graves  died  a  short  time  before  he  did,  passing 
away  April  21,  1907.  Four  children  were  born 
of  their  union,  as  follows:  James  W.,  Dora  Belle, 
Calvin  and  George  O. 

Captain  Graves  being  an  invalid  it  fell  upon 
the  mother  to  raise  the  children,  and  a  brave  and 
noble  Christian  mother  she  was.  As  their  slaves 
were  all  taken  from  them  and  farm  land  had  been 
reduced  to  nothing  almost,  still  she  worked,  toiled 
and  prayed  early  and  late  to  raise  the  children 
and  educate  them,  and  keep  the  farm  from  debt 
so  when  they  grew  up  they  would  not  have  debt 
around  them  and  they  could  then  go  out  and  make 
their  way. 

Brought  up  on  the  home  farm,  George  0.s 
Graves  obtained  the  rudiments  of  his  education  in 
the  rude  log  cabin,  which  had  a  puncheon  floor, 
while  the  seats,  which  had  neither  back  nor  desks 
in  front,  were  slabs,  with  wooden  pins  for  legs. 
As  the  rural  school  was  in  session  but  about  three 
months  in  a  year,  he  acquired  the  greater  part  of 
his  knowledge  through  the  instruction  of  his  par- 
ents, both  of  whom  were  well  educated.  While 
yet  a  lad,  he  began  working  on  the  home  farm, 
laboring  diligently  until  attaining  his  majority. 
Starting  out  then  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  single 
handed,  Mr.  Graves  went  to  Danville,  Virginia, 
and  there  found  employment  in  a  warehouse. 
During  his  leisure  time  he  continued  his  studies, 
and  by  steady  application  to  his  books  soon  be- 
came efficient  as  an  accountant.  Returning  then 
to  the  eastern  part  of  North  Carolina,  having  spent 
six  years  in  the  warehouse,  the  last  two  years  as 
head  bookkeeper,  he  was  for  two  seasons  engaged 
in  tobacco  dealing  in  Eastern  Carolina.  In  1896 
Mr.  Graves  located  in  Mount  Airy,  and  for  six 
years  continued  in  the  tobacco  business,  being 
quite  successful.  Giving  that  up,  Mr.  Graves  em- 
barked in  the  furniture  business,  with  which  he  is 
now  actively  identified,  being  president  of  the 
Mount  Airy  Mantel  and  Table  Company,  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  business  organizations  of  this 
part  of  Surry  County.  A  man  of  undoubted  finan- 
cial ability  and  judgment,  he  has  accumulated  a 
handsome  property,  in  addition  to  his  corporate 
interests,  being  one  of  the  most  extensive  real 
estate  holders  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Graves  married,  August  8,  1900,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Plorimel  Hadley,  who  was  born  in  Lenoir 
County,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  James  A. 
and  Sarah  (Best)  Hadley.  She  died  September 
27,  1913,  leaving  two  daughters,  Belle  Williamson 
and  Sarah  Best.  Politically  Mr.  Graves  is  a  demo- 
crat. Religiously  he  is  a  faithful  and  conscien- 
tious member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  is  serving  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
stewards,  and  as  a  teacher  in  its  Sunday  school. 

Michael  Crouly  Guthrie.  Among  the  men  of 
Southport    who    have    merged    eminent    personal 


achievement  with  distinctive  public  service,  thus 
forming  a  splendid  combination  making  for  ideal 
citizenship,  one  of  the  best  known  is  Michael 
Crouly  Ciuthrie.  A  resident  of  this  city  all  his 
life,  he  has  been  identified  with  some  of  its  most 
important  business  enterprises,  and  in  official  posi- 
tions of  importance  has  rendered  service  that  has 
been  and  is  proving  of  incalculable  value  to  the 
community. 

Mr.  Guthrie  was  born  December  14,  1850,  at 
Southport,  Brunswick  County,  North  Carolina,  and 
is  a  son  of  Archibald  Minkens  and  Sarah  A, 
(Crapon)  Guthrie.  His  parents  were  also  natives 
of  JNorth  Carolina,  and  his  father  was  for  many 
years  a  pilot  and  captain  of  tows  and  transports. 
Michael  C.  Guthrie  received  his  education  in  a 
private  school  and  at  Trinity  College,  which  he  at- 
tended for  one  term,  and  also  pursued  a  course 
at  the  Horner  Military  Institute,  at  Oxford,  North 
Carolina.  When  ready  to  enter  upon  his  own 
career,  he  chose  mercantile  lines  as  his  field  of 
effort,  becoming  a  clerk  in  a  general  store.  He 
made  rapid  progress,  and  in  1883,  feeling  that  he 
was  ready  to  stand  alone,  embarked  in  business 
on  his  own  account  and  continued  as  a  general 
merchant  until  1902.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
become  interested  in  various  other  lines  of  busi- 
ness activity,  at  different  times,  including  the 
Southport  Building  and  Loan  Association,  with 
which  he  is  still  identified  in  the  capacity  of 
president.  Mr.  Guthrie's  standing  in  the  business 
world  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  his  business 
associates  have  elected  him  president  of  the  South- 
port  Commercial  Association,  a  position  which  he 
has  held  for  several  years. 

Mr.  Guthrie 's  first  public  position  of  importance 
was  that  of  member  of  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners, which  he  held  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 
Subsequently,  he  became  mayor  of  Southport,  and 
his  ensuing  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
city  further  established  him  in  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  whose  interests  he  carefully  conserved. 
When  it  was  found  necessary  to  elect  a  strong  and 
capable  man  to  the  office  of  county  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  in  order  that  the  public 
school  matters  might  be  straightened  out  and 
handled  efficiently,  Mayor  Guthrie 's  name  was  men- 
tioned as  the  man  for  the  place,  and  he  resigned 
from  the  mayoralty  to  accept  the  new  office,  where 
he  felt  that  his  services  were  more  keenly  needed. 
That  occurred  in  1910  and  he  still  occupies  this 
position,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  discharged  in 
such  a  highly  capable  manner  that  the  Brunswick 
County  schools  now  compare  favorably  with  any 
in  the  state.  Mr.  Guthrie  has  rendered  various 
other  public  services.  He  was  formerly  a  member 
of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  navigation  and 
pilotage  for  the  Port  of  Wilmington;  is  now  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  charge  of  a 
fund  accumulated  from  deceased  pilots  for  the 
Widows'  and  Orphans'  Fund;  and  is  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Southport  Public  Li- 
brary. Whatever  he  has  started  out  to  do  he  has 
done  with  his  whole  heart  and  to  the  full  extent  of 
his  energy,  and  probably  this  is  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  why  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  helpful 
of  Southport 's  citizens.  In  fraternal  matters,  Mr. 
Guthrie  is  identified  with  Atlantic  Lodge,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is 
noble  grand.  He  is  a  member  of  Trinity  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  was  formerly 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  a  period 
of  thirteen  years. 

In  October,   1S74,  Mr.  Guthrie  was  married  to 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


47 


Miss  Elizabeth  Lord  Williams,  of  Southport,  North 
Carolina,  and  to  this  union  there  were  born  two 
sons:  Marshall  Crapon,  surgeon  of  the  United 
States  Public  Health  Service,  and  now  chief  quar- 
antine officer  of  the  Panama  Canal  Zone,  married 
Miss  Harriet  Harding,  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  and  has  one  son,  Marshall  Crapon,  Jr.; 
and  Eugene  duVale,  an  attorney  of  Southport,  who 
died  in  1903,  married  Miss  Viola  Weeks,  of  South- 
port,  and  had  two  children,  Eugene  duVale  and 
Elizabeth  Lord.  Mrs.  Michael  C.  Guthrie  died 
August  11,  1901. 

• 

William  Lloyd  Knight  is  a  prominent  young 
lawyer  of  Weldon,  Halifax  County,  a  man  of 
influential  connections  both  in  business  and  pro- 
fessional circles,  and  representative  of  an  old  fam- 
ily of  Northampton  County. 

On  his  father  's  farm  in  that  county  Mr.  Knight 
was  born  July  3,  1881,  son  of  John  W.  and  Ke- 
ziah  (Davis)  Knight.  His  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  was  supplemented  by  one  year  in  Trin- 
ity Park  School  at  Durham,  followed  by  the 
regular  course  of  the  law  department  of  Wake 
Forest  College.  Mr.  Knight  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  February,  1912,  and  has  ever  since 
been  busily  engaged  building  up  and  handling  a 
general  practice  at  Weldon.  His  connections  in 
a  business  way  are  most  substantial,  and  he  is 
director  of  the  Weldon  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation, a  director  of  the  Shaw  Cotton  Mills  and 
a  director  of  the  Weldon  Eealty  Company.  Mr. 
Knight  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
is  steward  and  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Weldon  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  On  April 
18,  1907,  he  married  Miss  Carrie  Smith,  of  North- 
ampton County. 

William  Boylan  Snow.  The  State  Senate  has 
had  no  abler  or  more  thoughtful  member  than 
William  Boylan  Snow  from  Wake  County.  As 
senator  from  the  Fifteenth  District  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  1915  he  gave  close  attention  to  all  the 
legislation  considered  during  the  session  and  while 
a  loyal  and  ready  worker  with  his  fellow  members 
in  behalf  of  all  good  legislation,  he  also  offered 
several  original  bills  to  the  legislative  program. 

It  was  Senator  Snow  who  introduced  and  se- 
cured the  passage  of  a  law  abolishing  the  custom 
of  clipping  the  heads  of  persons  charged  with 
crime  before  .conviction.  His  bill  forbids  this 
practice  and  also  the  custom  of  subjecting  prison- 
ers to  the  indignity  of  a  convict  garb  during  trial 
and  before  conviction,  or  the  trial  of  any  person  in 
any  dress  other  than  ordinary  civilian  attire.  Sena- 
tor Snow  also  introduced,  but  failed  to  secure  the 
passage,  of  a  measure  providing  for  the  election 
of  members  of  school  boards  by  the  people  instead 
of  appointment  by  the  Legislature. 

Senator  Snow  was  born  at  Ealeigh  May  12, 
1873,  a  son  of  George  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Boylan) 
Snow.  He  attended  Fray  and  Morson  's  Academy 
at  Raleigh,  and  in  1893  graduated  Ph.  B.  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  He  took  up  the 
study  of  law  and  for  many  years  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  attorneys  of  Raleigh.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Bar  Association,  has  filled  the 
office  of  county  attorney  of  Wake  County  and  city 
attorney  of  Raleigh,  and  since  July,  1915,  has  been 
prosecuting  attorney  of  the  City  Court  of  Raleigh. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  Wake  County  Democratic 
Executive   Committee   in   1904   and   a   member  of 


the  State  Democratic  Executive  Committee  in  1908. 
Senator  Snow  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  was  president  in  1914-15  of  the  Wake 
County  University  Alumni  Association,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Zeta  Psi  college  fraternity  and  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Alice 
K.  Stronaeh  he  has  two  children,  William  B.  Snow, 
Jr.,  and  John  Kendall  Snow. 

Jens  Berg.  The  specialized  knowledge  required 
in  the  handling  of  the  duties  of  the  important 
positions  connected  with  the  United  States  quaran- 
tine stations,  necessitates  the  securing  of  men  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability  to  perform  the  work 
that  safeguards  the  country  against  the  intro- 
duction of  contagious  diseases.  One  of  the  men 
of  North  Carolina  who  is  engaged  in  this  import- 
ant branch  of  the  United  States  Government 
service  is  Jens  Berg,  druggist  of  the  quarantine 
station  at  Southport,  and  formerly  a  well  known 
figure  in  business  circles  of  the  city.  Mr.  Berg 
has  been  a  resident  of  Southport  for  eighteen 
years,  and  during  this  time  has  been  active  in 
the  life  of  the  community,  where  he  is  established 
as  a  dependable  citizen  and  a  reliable  official. 

Jens  Berg  was  born  at  Lemvig,  Denmark,  May 
20,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  J.  N.  and  Marie  (Jensen) 
Berg,  who  have  passed  their  entire  lives  in  their 
native  land.  The  son  of  a  well  known  educator, 
who  was  principal  of  various  schools  in  Denmnrk, 
Jens  Berg  received  good  educational  advantages, 
and  when  he  reached  manhood  was  fully  prepared 
to  adopt  the  vocation  of  teaching.  Although  of 
a  studious  nature,  and  fond  of  acquiring  extensive 
knowledge  in  various  directions,  he  did  not  desire 
the  life  of  the  educator,  and  in  1891  came  to 
the  United  States,  confident  that  in  this  land  of 
opportunity  he  could  make  his  fortune  in  a  busi- 
ness way.  His  first  location  was  at  Seabright, 
New  Jersey,  where  for  seven  years  he  was  engaged 
in  the  fish  business,  and  in  1898  came  to  South- 
port,  where  he  became  interested  in  various  busi- 
ness ventures.  His  native  ability,  energy  and 
shrewdness  brought  him  success  from  his  business 
ventures  and  he  became  president  and  manager 
of  the  Southport  Light  and  Power  Company, 
which  positions,  however,  he  has  since  resigned. 
His  business  worth,  foresight  and  acumen  were 
readily  recognized  by  his  new  associates  at  South- 
port,  who  elected  him  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  offices  which  he 
retained  for  two  years.  In  1898  he  was  offered 
and  accepted  a  position  as  pharmacist  in  the 
employ  of  the  United  States  Government,  and 
when  his  ability  in  this  science  was  recognized  he 
was  placed  in  charge  as  druggist  of  the  South- 
port  quarantine  station,  where  he  has  since 
remained.  Mr.  Berg  is  treasurer  and  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Southport  Public 
Library.  His  fraternal  connection  is  with  the 
Masonic  Lodge,  of  which  he  is  secretary  and  past 
master. 

On  November  4,  1902,  Mr.  Berg  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Jane  Woodside,  of 
Southport. 

William  James  Johnson,  of  Red  Springs, 
Robeson  County,  is  member  of  the  firm  W.  J.  and 
J.  W.  Johnson,  whose  operations  as  lumbermen 
have  brought  their  firm  to  a  conspicuous  position 
in  the  lumber  industry  of  the  South,  while  the 
partners  themselves  have  attained  truly  phenom- 
enal success  in  the  business.  This  success  is  the 
result    of  -hard    work,    persistence    through    good 


48 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


years  and  bad,  and  a  knowledge  scarcely  sur- 
passed of  all  the  details  of  the  business. 

While  lumbering  has  been  his  real  business,  and 
from  it  he  has  made  his  fortune,  William  James 
Johnson  is  also  deeply  interested  in  farming,  and 
while  the  splendid  plantation  he  has  gathered  at 
Bed  Springs  represents  something  of  a  recreative 
interest  it  is  by  no  means  unprofitable  from  a 
business  standpoint.  In  fact  everything  Mr.  John- 
son does-  is  businesslike  and  exhibits  results  that 
indicate  the  force  and  power  of  the  man. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  born  near  Carthage  in  Moore 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1859,  son  of  Samuel 
E.  and  Amanda  J.  (Worthy)  Johnson.  His  father, 
who  was  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  a  native  of  Moore 
County,  spent  his  life  there  as  a  farmer,  and  the 
home  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
was  also  the  place  where  he  was  born.  His  wife, 
also  deceased,  was  a  sister  of  former  Sheriff 
Kenneth  Worthy  of  Moore  County.  Her  father, 
James  Worthy,  came  from  England  when  a  young 
man  and  was  a  successful  planter  and  slave  holder 
in  Moore  County. 

Despite  those  advantages  which  are  by  no  means 
to  be  despised  of  good  birth  and  good  family, 
William  James  Johnson,  owing  to  circumstances 
over  which  he  had  no  control  and  through  the 
poverty  stricken  condition  of  the  country  resultant 
upon  the  Civil  war,  grew  up  and  early  learned  to 
depend  upon  himself  for  the  solution  of  life 's  prob- 
lems. There  were  very  few  schools  to  attend  when 
he  was  a  boy,  but  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  have 
one  very  excellent  teacher,  Mrs.  McQueen,  wife 
of  Rev.  Martin  McQueen,  pastor  of  the  historic 
old  "Union  Presbyterian  Church,  within  almost  a 
stone's  throw  of  which  the  Johnson  home  was  lo- 
cated. 

When  Mr.  Johnson  carries  his  recollections  back 
to  the  first  real  work  he  did  in  life  the  scene 
pictured  is  a  lonely  field  in  which  he  is  plowing, 
the  plow  being  dragged  through  the  furrow  by 
a  lone  ox.  But  from  the  farm  his  energies  were 
early  attracted  to  lumbering,  and  the  big  success 
he  has  attained  in  life  is  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  has  made  one  business  the  object  of  his 
concentrated  energies.  His  first  venture  was  a 
small  sawmill  on  the  Carthage  Bailroad  in  Moore 
County.  The  cut  of  this  mill  was  only  5,000  or 
6,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day.  Later  he  engaged 
in  business  with  Mr.  W.  H.  Britton,  of  Cameron, 
with  whom  he  was  associated  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  finally  sold  his  interests  to  Mr.  Britton 
and  then  established  the  Harnett  Lumber  Com- 
pany, which  was  one  of  his  most  extensive  enter- 
prises. Under  that  name  he  sawed  millions  of 
feet  of  lumber  in  Harnett  County.  For  transport- 
ing his  lumber  to  a  main  line  railroad  he  built  a 
lumber  road  from  Manchester  to  his  mills  in  Har- 
nett County.  After  completing  the  cut  in  Harnett 
he  established  a  lumber  mill  in  Dundarrach,  Hoke 
County,  and  was  an  onerator  there  some  time. 
His  present  interest  in  the  lumber  business  is  with 
his  brother,  Hon.  J.  W.  Johnson,  of  Baeford, 
under  the  name  W.  J.  and  J.  W.  Johnson.  They 
have  a  large  mill  below  Red  Springs  in  Bobeson 
County. 

Tt  is  at  Bed  Springs  that  Mr.  Johnson  has  sat- 
isfied Vps  ideals  nnd  tastes  as  to  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  homos  in  North  Carolina.  Many  years 
asro  his  plans  beean  to  take  form  regarding  his 
ideal  of  a  lar<re  plantation  and  countrv  home.  In 
1002  he  bought  176  acres  on  Little  Baft  Swamp 


Creek  near  Red  Springs,  almost  adjoining  the 
town  on  the  north.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  his 
present  place,  which  consists  of  1,270  acres.  He 
has  cleared  and  developed  this  from  a  wilderness 
into  one  of  the  finest  plantations  in  the  state.  This 
plantation  produces  abundantly  of  such  staple 
crops  as  cotton,  corn,  and  other  grains.  He  has 
also  developed  a  peach  orchard  and  pecan  orchard, 
and  every  department  of  his  farm  shows  the  touch 
of  his  vigorous  enterprise.  Sixteen  years  ago  when 
he  bought  the  land  it  had  no  improvement  beyond 
a  little  log  cabin.  Since  then  he  has  constructed 
over  twentj-five  buildings  for  various  purposes. 
At  the  upper  end  of  the  place  he  has  a  grist  mill 
operated  by  water  power,  while  on  the  main  part 
of  the  plantation  he  has  a  modern  cotton  gin. 
There  is  a  fine  dairy  herd  of  Guernsey  milk  cows 
and  also  numerous  Berkshire  and  Duroc  hogs. 

But  the  conspicuous  feature  of  the  farm  is  the 
residence,  which  he  completed  and  occupied  in  1913. 
It  is  a  splendid  mansion,  two  stories  and  base- 
ment. The  basement  is  divided  into  six  rooms.  On 
the  two  floors  are  ten  large  rooms  besides  bath 
rooms  and  closets.  On  a  solid  concrete  founda- 
tion the  walls  are  laid  up  of  cream  colored  pressed 
brick,  while  the  floors  throughout  are  tiled,  and 
it  is  practically  the  ideal  of  a  fireproof  home. 
Outside  are  spacious  galleries  and  there  is  nothing 
lacking  in  the  way  of  modern  conveniences  and 
equipment.  There  are  few  homes  in  North  Caro- 
lina cities  not  to  speak  of  country  which  surpass 
this  in  durability  of  construction  as  well  as  beauty 
of  architecture. 

Mr.  Johnson  married  Miss  Annabella  Cameron, 
daughter  of  Daniel  P.  Cameron,  of  the  Cameron 
vicinity  of  Moore  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson 
have  two  daughters,  both  of  whom  were  educated 
in  the  Flora  McDonald  College  at  Red  Springs. 
Ethel  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Seavy  Highsmith,  of  Fay- 
etteville,  while  the  younger  is  Miss  Anna  Johnson. 

Allison  Barnes  Deans  tried  his  first  eases  as 
a  young  lawyer  more  than  forty  years  ago.  He 
has  enjoyed  high  professional  standing  in  the 
Wilson  County  bar,  and  is  one  of  the  most  widely 
experienced  and  competent  lawyers  in  the  state. 
He  has  seldom  allowed  outside  interests  to  in- 
terfere with  his  professional  work,  and  the  offices 
he  has  filled  have  been  mainly  within  the  lines  of 
his    profession. 

Mr.  Deans  was  born  in  Nash  County,  in  what 
has  since  become  a  part,  of  Wilson  County,  North 
Carolina,  March  18,  1851,  a  son  of  Wiley  and 
Martha  (Simms)  Deans.  His  father  was  a  farmer. 
Mr.  Deans  was  educated  in  the  Wilson  Collegiate 
Institute,  in  Butherford  College  and  studied  law 
under  Chief  Justice  Pearson.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  June,  1876,  and  at  once  located 
in  Wilson  to  begin  his  practice.  He  devoted 
all  his  time  to  his  chosen  work  for  six  years, 
but  in  1882  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  and  filled  that  office  consecutively  for 
twelve  years.  Later  he  served  as  judge  of  the 
Wilson  County  Court  one  term.  Mr.  Deans  has 
handled  a  general  practice,  and  many  large  and 
important  interests  have  been  entrusted  to  his 
careful  and  conscientious  direction.  Mr.  Deans  is 
a  director  and  general  counsel  of  the  Morris 
Plan  Bank  of  Wilson.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason  and  belongs  to  the  Country  Club  and  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce   at  Wilson.     His   religious 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


49 


home  is  in  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  which  he  served  many  years  as  steward, 
and  was  also   active   in  the   Sunday  school. 

On  December  10,  1876,  Mr.  Deans  married  Mary 
Ellen  Clark,  of  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Edwin 
Gray  and  Martha  (Barnes)  Clark.  Her  family 
were  among  the  founders  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Deans  has  four  living  children.  Bettie  is  the 
wife  of  H.  T.  Crittenden,  a  native  of  Virginia 
but  now  engaged  in  his  profession  as  architect 
and  builder  at  Wilson.  Allison  Barnes,  Jr.,  is 
in  the  United  States  Regular  Army  with  the 
rank  of  captain  of  the  Coast  Artillery  and  is 
now  stationed  at  San  Diego,  California.  Edwin 
Gray,  cashier  of  the  Stantonsburg  Planters  Bank 
in  Wilson  County,  married  Beulah  Martin,  of 
Wayne  County,  North  Carolina.  Ruth  Deans 
married  B.  A.  Joyner,  a  merchant  at  Farmville, 
North  Carolina,  and  now  serving  as  mayor  of 
that  town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Deans  lost  one  daugh- 
ter, Iva,  who  married  L.  M.  Cox,  of  Green  Coun- 
ty, North  Carolina,  a  planter  and  tobaeeo  grower. 
Mrs.  Cox  died  September  25,  1913,  a  few  days 
after  the  birth  of  her  only  child,  Iva  Deans  Cox, 
who   was  born   September  17,  1913. 

Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Je.,  a  member  of 
the  Raleigh  bar,  is  a  typical  North  Carolinian  and 
has  had  good  cause  to  congratulate  himself  upon 
the  state  of  his  birth  and  the  city  of  his  nativity, 
for  both  have  been  kind  to  him,  although  not  be- 
yond the  measure  of  his  deserts.  He  was  born  at 
Charlotte,  December  20,  1882,  and  is  a  son  of  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire. 

Mr.  Cheshire  received  the  foundation  for  his 
education  in  the  Baird  School  at  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  and  following  this  enrolled  as  a  student 
at  the  famous  Raleigh  Male  Academy,  where  he 
proved  a  good  and  attentive  student  and  from 
which  he  was  duly  graduated.  He  then  matricu- 
lated at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
he  completed  his  literary  course  and  was  given  his 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1902,  and  took  up 
the  study  of  law  in  1907  at  the  same  institution. 
In  August  of  that  year  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  entered  upon  a  general  practice  that  has 
continued  to  grow  in  size  and  importance  with  the 
passing  years,  through  his  able  qualities  as  a 
lawyer  and  his  stable,  popular  traits  as  a  man 
continuing  his  progress  in  the  development  of  a 
professional  reputation  and  a  profitable  legal  busi- 
ness. Hon.  H.  G.  Cannon',  U.  S.  District  Judge, 
and  Mr.  Cheshire  compiled  and  published  in  1911 
a  work  known  as  the  ' '  Constitution  of  North  Caro- 
lina Annotated,"  which  is  a  valuable  volume  al- 
most universally  used  by  lawyers.  In  1913  Mr. 
Cheshire  was  clerk  to  the  commission  of  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  on  constitutional  amendments, 
his  research  and  investigation  in  this  direction 
making  him  a  decidedly  valuable  man.  He  is  a 
United  States  referee  in  bankruptcy,  and  has  had 
many  cases  of  an  important  character  tried  before 
him.  _  Mr.  Cheshire  is  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  Bar  Association  and  of  the  Country  Club 
of  Raleigh,  and  is  a  vestryman  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 

On  November  27,  1915,  Mr.  Cheshire  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ida  J.  Rogerson  of  Edenton,  North 
Carolina. 

Thurston  Titus  Hicks.  Few  men  have  the 
gift  of  writing  autobiography.  Those  who 
attempt  it  either  scant  and  ignore  all  that  would 

Vol.  V—  4 


serve  to  reflect  their  personality  and  create  the 
values  of  interest;  or  on  the  other  hand,  they 
wind  themselves  in  endless  details  in  which  the 
most  tireless  reader  would  seek  in  vain  for  any 
living  significance.  The  most  facinating  passages 
in  history  and  literature  are  those  occasional  and 
sometimes  unconscious  betrayals  on  the  part  of 
the  chief  actors  concerned  of  their  individual 
experiences  and  personal  emotions  and  ambitions. 
Too  often  autobiography  is  stilted  and  otiose 
because  the  writer  seeks  to  detach  himself  from 
the  subject  and  obsessed  by  the  seriousness  of  his 
purpose  and  with  the  thought  of  his  audience 
constantly  with  him  loses  entirely  his  sense  of 
humor  and  his  ingenuous  perspective. 

It  is  from  a  bit  of  the  rare  and  unusual  auto- 
biographical writing,  fortunately  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  editors  of  this  publication,  that 
it  is  designed  to  tell  briefly  the  story  and  recon- 
struct the  career  of  one  of  North  Carolina 's  well 
known  lawyers,  Thurston  Titus  Hicks  of  Hender- 
son. A  liberal  use  of  quotation  is  made  because 
the  direct  language  not  only  tells  the  story  better 
than  any  one  alse  could,  but  it  also  reveals  some 
of  the  atmosphere  and  the  spirit  surrounding  the 
life  of  a  man  whose  earliest  years  were  spent 
in  the  critical  period  of  the  war  and  whose  serious 
activities  have  brought  him  rather  in  close  touch 
with  more  modern  affairs  and  politics  in  the  state. 
In  the  matter  of  ancestry,  facts  have  been 
gathered  which  connect  the  Carolina  branch  of  the 
family  directly  with  Robert  Hicks,  who  came  over 
on  the  good  ship  Fortune  next  after  the  Mayflower 
landing  November  11,  1621.  A  still  earlier  ances- 
tor was  Ellis  Hicks,  who  by  Edward  the  Black 
Prince  was  knighted  on  the  field  of  Poictiers  Sep- 
tember 19,  1355,  for  taking  a  set  of  colors  from 
the  French. 

The  Carolina  founder  of  the  family  was  William 
Hicks  who  came  from  Westbury,  Long  Island, 
where  men  of  the  name  still  live.  March  5,  1749, 
the  Earl  of  Granville  granted  535  acres  on  Tabbs 
Creek  in  Granville  County,  to  this  William  Hicks 
and  the  deed  for  this  land  is  still  in  the  Hicks 
family.  William  held  the  land  fifty  years,  devis- 
ing it  by  his  will  in  1799  to  his  youngest  son 
Abner.  Abner  held  it  until  1855  and  conveyed 
it  to  his  youngest  son  Benjamin  Willis  Hicks,  who 
held  and  owned  it  until  December  30,  1899,  then 
leaving  it  to  his  children.  Two  of  Benjamin's 
grandchildren  still  own  and  occupy  it.  The 
bodies  of  William  and  Abner  and  Benjamin 
repose  side  by  side  in  that  sacred  soil  which  they 
in  life  held  free  from  lien  or  levy,  in  peace  and 
in  war,  one  hundred  fifty  years.  Few  North 
Carolina  men  might  claim  a  longer  and  more 
honorable  ancestry,  and  all  the  greater  on  that 
account  is  the  significance  of  the  actions  of  Thurs- 
ton T.  Hicks  and  his  brother  Hewitt,  who  refused 
to  take  advantage  of  their  hereditary  privileges 
and  were  probably  the  only  men  in  Vance  county 
who  in  1902  and  since  insisted  on  being  subjected 
to  the  educational  test  of  the  right  of  suffrage. 

Abner  Hicks,  son  of  William,  married  Elizabeth 
Harris,  whose  mother  was  closely  related  to  Isaac 
Watts,  the  great  hymn  writer.  Benjamin,  her 
youngest  son,  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  James 
and  Sarah  Earl  Crews.  William  and  Benjamin 
lived  to  be  more  than  seventy,  Abner,  Isabella 
and  Elizabeth  more  than  eighty;  and  James  Crews 
more  than  ninety  years  of  age. 

Abner  Hicks  was  a  Methodist  and  gave  the 
land  for  one  of  the  first  Methodist  churches  in 
Granville.      Later    he    adopted   the    then    popular 


50 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


idea  that  a  church  could  exist  without  a  bishop  if 
a  state  could  exist  without  a  king.  He  was  one 
of  the  organization  members  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  church.  His  son  Benjamin,  father  of 
T.  T.  Hicks,  was  born  in  1828,  the  same  year  his 
father  became  identified  with  the  Methodist 
Protestant  church,  and  he  too  was  loyal  to  it  all 
his  days,  as  have  been  his  seven  children. 

Thurston  Titus  Hicks,  second  child  and  oldest 
son  of  Benjamin  and  Isabella,  was  born  October 
14,  1857.  No  where  is  there  a  happier  description 
of  what  southern  families  at  home  during  and 
after  the  war  experienced  than  is  found  in  his 
reminescences: 

' '  I  remember  seeing  my  mother  weep  when  my 
father  started  to  the  war,  and  both  seeing  and 
hearing  him  and  her  shout  for  joy  when  he 
returned  from  Point  Lookout.  Military  Prison  in 
June,  1865,  long  after  we  supposed  him  dead.  I 
remember  the  patrolers  who  rode  at  night  and 
whipped  negroes  during  the  war;  and  that  the 
slaves  all  quit  work  the  day  Sherman 's  army 
passed;  and  how  they  marched  afterwards  to  the 
music  of  fife  and  drum  on  their  way  to  the  Union 
League  meetings;  and  how  afraid  they  were  later 
of  the  Ku-Klux-Klan  when  the  marvelous  stories 
of  its  deeds  were  told.  There  never  was  any  dis- 
order or  racial  trouble  on  our  farm ;  some  of  the 
slaves  remaining  with  us  and  in  our  family  many 
years  after  the  war. 

' '  I  know  well  how  we  toiled  for  necessaries, 
sometimes  having  biscuits  on  Sunday  mornings 
only,  wearing  home-spun  clothes  and  shoes  made 
by  our  parents.  During  the  war  we  wore  wooden- 
bottomed  shoes;  had  potato  coffee,  picked  the 
seeds  from  the  cotton  with  our  fingers,  spun  and 
wove  cotton  and  wool  into  cloth,  dyed  it  with 
walnut  root  and  boiled  the  dirt  of  the  smokehouse 
floor  for  salt. 

' '  There  was  no  kind  of  farm  work  in  those  days 
that  my  father's  sons  did  not  do.  I  mention 
besides  the  ordinary  labors  the  year  round,  the 
breaking  of  flax,  beating  out  oats  with  a  flail, 
making  splint  baskets  and  hickory  mauls,  prizing 
tobacco  in  hogsheads  for  the  Richmond  market, 
carrying  fodder  and  pea  hulls  half  a  mile  in  the 
snow  to  the  sheep,  soaking  wheat  in  blue-stone 
water  on  frosty  mornings  and  getting  cockle  burrs 
out  of  the  horses'  manes  and  tails.  A  younger 
brother  had  a  long  sickness  when  two  years  old, 
and  pneumonia  when  he  was  nineteen.  These  sick- 
nesses and  a  slight  illness  of  a  sister  were  literally 
the  only  occasions  of  a  physician  visiting  my  fa- 
ther 's  home  from  his  marriage  until  the  youngest 
of  his  children  was  twenty-one.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  some  'Baltimore  meat'  one  summer,  I 
never  knew  anything  purchased  for  our  home  that 
could  be  raised  on  the  farm. 

' '  The  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  time 
I  have  lived  have  interested  me.  My  earliest  re- 
ligious recollections  were  assertions  of  the  plenary 
inspiration,  and  literary  inerrancy  of  the  Bible. 
Miracles,  vicarious  atonement  and  the  virgin  birth 
were  not  questioned.  But  there  were  lively  dis- 
putes about  church  government,  water  baptism  and 
predestination.  Railroads  and  steam  vessels  were 
only  fifty  years  ahead  of  me;  telegraph  thirteen 
years.  I  was  born  within  four  miles  of  a  court 
house  that  had  stood  a  hundred  years  and  within 
seven  miles  of  a  railroad.  But  I  was  ten  years  old 
or  more  before  I  saw  a  cook  stove  or  a  kerosene 
lamp  or  a  sewing  machine.  Improved  breeds  of 
hogs  and  cattle,  commercial  fertilizers,  crimson 
clover,  flue-cured  tobacco  and  cigarettes  have  come 


since  then.  There  were  no  electric  lights,  or  tele- 
phones or  wireless  telegraphy  or  bicycles,  or  motor 
cycles  or  automobiles  when  I  was  born;  nor  were 
there  in  this  part  of  the  country  any  adding  ma- 
chines or  cash  registers  or  typewriters  or  steno- 
graphers. Life  and  property  and  their  preserva- 
tion and  protection  were  the  darlings  of  the  law. 
Motor  cars  destroy  more  property  every  year  now 
than  there  was  in  the  United  States  in  1860,  and 
more  lives  than  did  many  of  the  big  wars. ' ' 

Most  of  the  contemporaries  of  Mr.  Hicks  confess 
to  having  received  a  limited  common  school 
education  in  their  youth.  One  sometimes  won- 
ders what  it  consisted  of.  Mr.  Hicks  has 
furnished  us  a  definite  picture  so  far  as 
his  individual  experience  was  concerned.  "I 
attended  private  and  public  schools  in  winter 
from  my  fifth  to  my  sixteenth  year.  I 
had  a  fine  memory,  and  could  learn  easily;  but  in 
those  years  I  was  more  interested  in  other  things 
than  lessons,  and  the  most  that  I  learned  was  by 
hearing  others  studying  or  reciting.  I  recall  how 
my  older  sister  labored  over  Parley's  History, 
Watts  on  the  Mind,  Wells  Science  of  Common 
Things  and  Stoddard's  Mental  Arithmetic. 
What  of  these  I  received  was  by  hearing 
her  or  at  a  glance.  I  had  no  time  or  patience 
for  study.  My  father  and  mother  educated  seven 
children  on  one  slate,  two  or  three  slate  pencils, 
one  lead  pencil,  and  fewer  books  than  my  boy 
Benjamin  has  had  in  his  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 
We  borrowed  some  old  books  and  'got  along' 
somehow.  Father  had  little  money.  He  would 
not  go  in  debt.  When  seventeen  I  attended  an 
academy  one  five  months'  term. 

"From  eighteen  to  twenty-one  I  attended  a  high 
school  three  full  ten  months '  terms,  making  valu- 
able use  of  my  time.  Then  I  taught  a  year,  reading 
effectually  at  the  same  time  Blackstone,  Hume's 
History  of  England,  Chitty's  Pleadings,  Adams' 
Equity  and  Battle's  Bevisal.  On  January  5,  1881, 
I  obtained  license  to  practice  law.  I  have  been 
studying  law  ever  since.  Though  my  literary  and 
scholastic  attainments  were  good,  I  am  satisfied 
that  I  was  no  better  taught  as  a  lawyer  than  many 
others,  (see  the  list  84  N.  C.)  who  were,  with  me, 
very  happy  on  receipt  of  parchments  signed  by 
Judges  William  N.  H.  Smith,  John  H.  Dillard  and 
Thomas  S.  Ashe.     That  was  a  great  day  to  me. 

"My  first  year  at  the  bar,  1881,,  'the  dry  year,' 
was  spent  at  Oxford  in  'Watchful  Waiting.' 
Vance  County  was  formed  May  24,  1881.  I  re- 
moved to  Henderson  January  9,  1882.  Here  I 
have  since  resided — in  the  same  house  since  April 
26,   1886." 

Probably  only  a  man  who  had  achieved  those 
things  which  the  world  lias  come  to  regard  as  the 
constituents  of  success  could  evaluate  with  such 
nice  discrimination  that  period  of  rapid  fluctua- 
tion between  fortune  and  discouragement  which  is 
more  or  less  a  part  of  every  young  man's  experi- 
ence. ' '  There  were  no  bounds  to  my  ambition 
until  about  six  months  before  my  admission  to  the 
bar.  I  thought  I  had  the  same  right  and  the  same 
opportunity  as  anybody  else  to  be  president  or  any- 
thing else.  From  then  until  I  had  been  five  years 
at  the  bar,  my  estimate  of  myself  kept  shrinking 
all  the  time.  I  had  no  money,  few  friends,  and 
fewer  elements  of  popularity.  During  that  period 
it  required  twenty-two  months  to  partly  convince 
Miss  Mary  Horner  to  risk  starvation  by  becoming 
my  life  partner.  She  assumed  her  part  of  the 
hazard  on  December  6,  1883,  and  we  finally  won  out 
against  that  peril  some  years  later.     I  was  always 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


51 


possessed  of  determination,  self  confidence  and 
enthusiasm  for  whatever  I  undertook.  I  borrowed 
the  money  to  pay  my  expenses  the  last  two  years 
at  school.  The  reader  might  doubt  me  if  I  should 
state  how  little  I  used.  I  earned  it  and  repaid  it 
and  provided  for  my  family  and  bought  some  law 
books  and  learned  some  law,  and  had  some  practice 
in  these  first  five  years. ' ' 

Mrs.  Hicks'  father  was  Thomas  Jefferson  Horner, 
teacher  and  preacher.  He  was  born  November  21; 
1823,  while  his  great  protonym  was  yet  living. 
He  died  July  11,  1900.  Mrs.  Hick's  mother  was 
Isabella,  daughter  of  Joseph  Norwood,  of  Person 
County.  T.  J.  Horner 's  parents  were  William 
Horner  and  Sally  Parker,  a  first  cousin  of  Willie 
P.  Mangum.  The  three  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hicks  are  Belle,  named  for  her  two  grandmothers, 
wife  of  Dr.  S.  P.  Purins,  and  Edison  Thurston  and 
Benjamin  Horner  Hicks. 

Many  of  the  points  that  mark  the  progress 
of  Mr.  Hicks'  career  as  a  lawyer  may  be  found 
in  the  North  Carolina  Reports.  Two  long  law 
suits  which  he  fought  and  won  are  Timble  vs. 
Hunter,  104-129  N.  C;  and  Heggie  vs.  B.  &  L. 
Association,  107  N.  C.  581.  A  case  of  much  im- 
portance which  he  brought  and  won  was  Burgwyn 
vs.  Hall,  108  N.  C.  489,  in  which  it  was  held  that 
defendant  under  arrest  in  a  civil  action  might  take 
the  insolvent  debtor 's  oath  before  judgment  and 
be  released.  That  nearly  disposed  of  what  was 
left  by  the  constitution  of  1868  of  imprisonment 
for  debt,  even  in  cases  of  fraud.  A  second  im- 
portant case  was  126  N.  C.  689,  in  which  it  was 
held  that  all  fines  imposed  by  mayors  or  other  police 
courts  should  be  paid  to  the  school  fund  and  not 
to  the  town  treasuries.  This  has  already  put  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  into  the  school 
funds.  Mr.  Hicks  has  always  regarded  the  case 
of  Gattis  vs.  Kilgo  as  the  longest  and  best  fight 
he  ever  made.  He  had  choice  of  sides  and  chose 
defendant.  It  was  a  "seven  years  war"  of  acute 
public  interest  all  the  time ;  was  four  times  in 
Supreme  Court  and  five  times  fiercely  fought  be- 
fore Judges  Bryan,  Hoke,  Shaw,  W.  B.  Allen  and 
Fred  Moore.  As  an  individual  victory  iu  court  he 
has  probably  derived  the  greatest  satisfaction  from 
a  second  degree  verdict  for  a  negro  for  killing  a 
white  woman,  when  nearly  every  man  in  the  county 
except  the  jury  and  the  attorney  thought  the 
murderer  should  be  hanged.  Among  other  notable 
cases  were  the  Rowland  and  Barbee  murder  cases. 
Mr.  Hicks  has  enjoyed  very  pleasant  professional 
associations  with  his  brother  Archibald  in  Gran- 
ville, Tasker  Polk  in  Warren,  and  W.  M.  Person  in 
Franklin.  Mr.  Hicks  has  wisely  chosen  numerous 
diversions  and  avocations,  vacations  and  travel  in 
summer,  but  none  of  them  has  he  allowed  to  inter- 
fere with  his  professional  duties.  His  motto  is: 
"This  one  thing  I  do." 

There  would  be  a  distinct  loss  in  attempting  to 
describe  his  experiences  in  polities  and  personal 
religion  in  anything  but  his  own  words. 

"Between  October  14th  and  election  day  187S  I 
heard  General  A.  M.  Scales  and  A.  W.  Tourgee 
speak  in  a  contest  for  a  seat  in  Congress.  My  mind 
was  wide  open.  I  had  never  heard  any  political 
speeches  except  by  Vance  and  Settle,  just  two  years 
before.  Tourgee  convinced  me  I  ought  to  vote 
for  him.  My  father  said  no.  I  voted  for  Scales. 
In  1899  and"l890  I  was  elected  mayor  of  Hender- 
son. In  1892  I  was  persuaded  to  be  a  candidate 
for  the  Legislature  against  a  populist  and  a  negro. 
I  beat  the  populist  and  the  negro  beat  me.  That 
fall  I  promised  my  populist  friends  (nearly  all  the 


country  people  were  populists  then)  that  if  the 
democrats  attained  power  and  did  not  'give  relief 
I  would  quit  them.  In  August,  1894,  Mr.  Cleveland 
published  that  'the  deadly  blight  of  treason  had 
blasted  the  counsels  of  the  brave  in  their  hour  of 
might. '  And  yet — '  I  do  remember  my  faults  this 
day' — in  1896  I  followed  the  'cross  of  gold  and 
crown  of  thorns'  to  an  open  grave  on  which,  when 
filled,  I  never  planted  a  flower.  In  1900  the  demo- 
cratic party  of  North  Carolina  jumped  the  fences 
of  constitution  and  the  law  and  put  itself  at  large. 
I  refer  to  its  legislative  electoral  and  amnesty 
acts  of  1899,  1900  and  1901,  and  the  election  re- 
turns of  August,  1900,  as  compared  with  the  census 
returns  of  that  year,  as  proximate  and  just  causes 
of  my  final  severing  relations  with  that  party. 
Since  that  time  I  have  been  a  republican  in  politics. 
I  like  its  principles  and  policies  and  am  sure  the 
change  had  made  me  a  better  man.  Many  a  time 
since  then  I  have  thought  of  the  incongruousness 
of  North  Carolina  democrats  calling  themselves 
by  that  name.  Often  in  business,  in  my  opinions 
of  men,  iu  the  law  and  in  other  matters,  have  I  en- 
joyed greatly  the  discovery  that  I  have  been 
mistaken,  and  the  privilege  of  moving  to  stations 
of  better  vision.  Courage  is  required  to  make 
these  changes  of  mental  base,  but  the  results  are 
worth  the  efforts.  I  believe  living  under  the  false 
pretense  of  believing  something  one  does  not  be- 
lieve, damages  the  mind  and  character. 

"In  May,  1909,  the  President  stated  that  he 
would  nominate  me  to  the  Senate  for  Judge  of  the 
United  States  for  the  Eastern  District  of  North 
Carolina.  The  Constitution,  for  the  love  of  which 
I  had  left  the  democratic  party,  required  the  ad- 
rice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  That  advice  and 
consent  the  then  North  Carolina  locum  tenens  de- 
clined to  give;  for  had  he  not  led  the  party  where 
the  Constitution  forbade  me  to  follow?  The  result 
did  not  at  all  reduce  my  stock  of  happiness  and 
prosperity.  In  1910  the  republicans  tried  to  make 
me  Chief  Justice  of  the  state,  91,000  of  them; 
and  all  without  a  word  from  me. ' ' 

Thus  while  his  record  of  public  office  holding 
is  not  a  long  one,  it  is  only  due  to  say  that 
Mr.  Hicks  has  probably  executed  as  many  private 
trusts  and  many  of  them  as  long  continued  as  any 
man  of  affairs  of  his  time.  Aside  from  his  two 
terms  as  mayor  of  Henderson  he  was  treasurer 
of  a  large  bond  issue  and  road  fund;  but  public 
offices  are  not  the  things  that  make  his  career 
interesting  and  of  value  now  and  to  later  gener- 
ations. 

In  attaining  to  a  philosophy  of  living  and  an 
estimate  of  those  things  which  constitute  the 
"durable  satisfactions  of  life"  he  says:  "Read- 
ing has  been  to  me  a  continual  pleasure.  Poetry 
was  the  delight  of  my  youth,  fiction  and  humor 
of  my  young  manhood,  biography  and  the  philoso- 
phy of  religion,  of  my  later  years.  The  thought 
of  Doctor  Holmes  when  viewing  the  chambered 
nautilus  'comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er.'  I  am  'a 
part  of  all  that  I  have  met ' ;  '  heir  of  all  the  ages. ' 
Very  happy  though  I  have  been  and  am  in  the  en- 
joyment of  these  possessions,  I  have  often  grieved 
that  I  claimed  and  obtained  so  small  a  part  of  my 
inheritance.  I  acknowledge  with  gratitude  the 
benefits  received  from  my  teacher,  S.  Simpson; 
and  several  admiring  clients  of  my  youth,  now 
long  dead,  whose  confidence  gave  me  a  start  in  life: 
above  all  to  my  father,  who  among  many  other 
helps,  said  over  to  me  times  without  number: 
'What  doth  the  Lord  thy  God  require  of  thee,  but 
to  do  justly,  love  mercy  and  walk  humbly  with  thy 


52 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


God?'  Long  since  he  died  I  was  pleased  to  read 
of  this  by  T.  H.  Huxley  in  his  Genesis  vs.  Nature : 
'This  conception  of  religion  appears  to  me  as 
wonderful  an  inspiration  of  genius  as  the  art 
of  Phidias  or  the  science  of  Aristotle.  If  any  so- 
called  religion  takes  away  from  this  great  saying 
of  Micah,  I  think  it  wantonly  mutilates.  If  it  adds 
there,  is  obscures  the  perfect  idea  of  religion 
*  *  *  And  surely  the  prophet's  staff  would 
have  made  swift  acquaintance  with  the  head  of 
the  scholar  who  had  asked  him  whether  the  Lord 
further  required  of  him  an  implicit  belief  in  the 
accuracy  of  the  cosmogony  of  Genesis. ' 

"I  am  glad  I  have  lived  to  see  slavery  and  the 
sale  of  alcholic  liquors  abolished  by  law  in  North 
Carolina.  I  long  to  see  the  same  freedom  of 
thought  and  action  in  this  state  as  exists  in  any 
other  part  of  the  American  Union.  And  life  has 
been  such  a  joy  to  me  that  I  want  to  live  on  for- 
ever. ' ' 

Lemuel  Showell  Blades,  M.  D.  In  consider- 
ing the  men  who  have  contributed  most  materially 
to  the  upbuilding  of  Elizabeth  City  as  it  is  today, 
with  nourishing  industries,  prosperous  business  con- 
cerns, modern  civic  facilities,  educational  institu- 
tions, religious  opportunities  and  a  refined,  intel- 
lectual, cultured  social  life,  a  correct  history  will 
give  great  credit  to  Dr.  Lemuel  Showell  Blades. 
For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Dr.  Blades  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  leading  interests  here, 
and  at  present  is  vice  president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Elizabeth  City. 

Lemuel  Showell  Blades  was  born  at  Bishopville, 
Maryland,  September  9,  1866.  His  parents  were 
Peter  C.  and  Nancy  E.  Blades.  His  father  was  a 
sea  captain,  merchant  and  farmer,  and  the  family 
was  one  of  substance  and  importance. 

From  careful  home  and  educational  training  the 
youth  entered  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Mary- 
land, and  from  that  historic  institution  was  grad- 
uated in  June,  1889,  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  He 
then  pursued  his  medical  studies  in  the  University 
of  Maryland,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  M.  D.,  in  June,  1891.  After  practic- 
ing medicine  at  Berlin,  Maryland,  for  1%  years, 
he  entered  upon  a  post-graduate  course  at  his  alma 
mater,  in  preparation  for  service  as  naval  surgeon, 
his  military  training  while  in  St.  John's,  perhaps, 
having  awakened  an  ambition  in  this  direction, 
and  choice  of  sea  service  possibly  being  an  in- 
herited echo  from  a  sea-going  father.  While  busy 
with  his  post-graduate  studies,  Doctor  Blades  ac- 
quired an  interest  in  lumber  in  North  Carolina 
which  subsequently  developed  into  large  connec- 
tions. In  March,  1893,  he  located  at  Elizabeth 
City,  where  he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home, 
and  from  then  until  1909  was  mainly  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business. 

In  the  ahove  year  Dr.  Blades  sold  his  lumber 
interests  and  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Nor- 
folk &  Carolina  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company 
of  North  Carolina,  which  is  but  one  of  the  im- 
portant business  enterprises  of  which  he  is  either 
the  official  head  or  one  of  the  alert  and  foresighted 
directors.  He  is  president  of  the  Norfolk  &  Caro- 
lina Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company  of  Virginia; 
vice  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Eliza- 
beth City;  and  is  on  the  directing  board  of  the 
Dixie  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Goldsboro;  of 
the  Savings  Bank  &  Trust  Company  of  Elizabeth 
City,  and  of  the  Seaboard  National  Bank  of  Nor- 
folk, Virginia. 


Doctor  Blades  was  married  at  Elizabeth  City, 
North  Carolina,  September  18,  1895,  to  Miss  Grace 
Melick,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  P.  W.  Meliek, 
and  a  sister  of  C.  W.  Melick,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  merchants  of  Elizabeth  City.  Doctor  and 
Mrs.  Blades  have  four  children:  Charles  Camden, 
James  Evans,  Melick  West  and  Lemuel  Showell 
Blades,  Jr.  Mrs.  Blades  is  an  accomplished  mu- 
sician and  is  a  leader  in  the  city's  pleasant  social 
life.  The  Blades'  handsome  residence  is  one  of 
the  finest  and  best  equipped  in  Elizabeth  City 
and  the  hospitality  that  prevails  in  this  beautiful 
home  is  well  known.  Mrs.  Blades  is  an  earnest 
worker  not  only  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  to 
which  the  family  belongs,  but  takes  an  active  part 
in  temperance  and  charitable  movements. 

In  his  political  views  Doctor  Blades  has  always 
been  in  accord  with  the  democratic  party,  but  in 
local  affairs,  when  civic  reforms  are  needed  or 
movements  of  a  progressive  character  for  the  gen- 
eral welfare  are  under  way,  he  is  liberal  minded 
and  public  spirited  to  any  extent  and  he  heartily 
co-operates  with  other  men  of  wealth  and  influence, 
with  no  political  bias.  He  has  served  as  president 
of  the  Elizabeth  City  Chamber  of  Commerce,  is  a 
member  of  the  school  board,  and  also  is  chairman 
of  the  local  board  of  the  State  Normal  School, 
Colored. 

Doctor  Blades  served  as  surgeon  of  the  North 
Carolina  Naval  Militia,  1906-7.  He  belongs  to 
the  Elks  at  Elizabeth  City  and  is  a  member  of 
the  exclusive  Virginia  Club  of  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
and  also  has  membership  with  the  order  of  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  Prior  to  the  outbreak 
of  the  World  war  Doctor  Blades  and  family  en- 
joyed an  extended  visit  in  Europe. 

Edwin  Franklin  Killette,  who  for  many 
years  has  been  engaged  in  the  general  contract- 
ing and  building  business,  is  the  present  mayor 
of  Wilson,  and  in  that  office  has  shown  the  real 
possibilities  of  progressive  leadership  in  getting 
substantial  work  accomplished. 

Mr.  Killette  was  elected  mayor  of  Wilson  in 
1915  and  after  a  two  year  term  was  re-elected 
in  1917.  Since  he  became  mayor  Wilson  has 
taken  a  great  step  in  advance  in  the  way  of  per- 
manent improvements.  He  has  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  ten  miles  of  street  paving 
laid,  $32,000  expended  on  sidewalk  construction, . 
and  street  improvement  of  all  classes  aggregating 
an  expenditure  of  $587,000.  During  his  term  also 
the  municipal  gas  plant  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
$75,000,  improvements  to  the  amount  of  $145,000 
were  made  on  the  waterworks  plant  and  $80,000 
on  the  light  plant.  Mayor  Killette  was  for  ten 
successive  years  a  member  of  the  city  council 
and  has  been  one  of  the  active  members  of  the 
fire  department  for  thirty-one  years  and  since 
1913    has   been   fire   chief. 

He  was  born  in  Sampson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, August  27,  1866,  a  son  of  Loriu  Delonzo 
and  Eugenia  (Wilkins)  Killette.  His  father  was 
a  farmer  and  Mr.  Killette  grew  up  on  a  farm, 
attended  the  public  schools,  and  in  early  life 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter.  From  a  journeyman 
workman  he  developed  a  business  of  his  own  as 
a  general  contractor  and  builder,  and  since  1899 
his  services  have  been  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  many  of  the  better  homes,  office  buildings 
and  other  structures  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
Mr.    Killette   is   president    of   the   Wilson    County 


0\  -  <£>  *  Vcl^o^&lj^o, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


53 


Poultry  Association.  He  is  alliliated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Junior 
Order  of  American  Mechanics,  is  a  member  of 
the  Country  Club  and  his  church  home  is  the 
Methodist  Episcopal. 

In  June,  1892,  he  married  Miss  Eliabeth  Pear- 
son, of  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  three  children :  Wiley  Pearson,  Edwin  Frank- 
lin, Jr.,  and  Dorothy.  Dorothy  is  now  a  student 
in  Lewisburg   College. 

John  Henry  Sparger  is  one  of  the  few  remain- 
ing veterans  of  the  war  between  the  states.  Since 
the  close  of  that  great  struggle  his  time  and  activi- 
ties have  been  chieily  devoted  to  the  management 
of  a  large  and  splendid  farm  in  Surry  County,  and 
he  is  still  living  there  in  advanced  years  among  his 
children  and  grandchildren. 

He  was  born  in  what  is  now  Mount  Airy  Town- 
ship of  Surry  County,  October  4,  1841.  His  great- 
grandfather was  a  planter  and  a  life-long  resident 
of  Surry  County,  the  family  having  been  estab- 
lished here  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  The 
grandfather,  John  Sparger,  a  native  of  Surry 
County,  subsequently  removed  to  Stokes  County 
and  bought  a  farm  near  Chestnut  Ridge.  On  that 
place  he  had  his  home  and  his  activities  until  his 
death  in  1834.  He  married  Sally  Lyon.  Her 
father,  William  Lyon,  was  a  Surry  County  planter. 
Murlin  Sparger,  father  of  John  H.,  was  born  in 
Surry  County  May  15,  1817,  and  as  a  youth  learned 
the  trade  of  millwright  and  carpenter.  After  lo- 
cating at  his  home  about  four  miles  north  of  Mount 
Airy  he  continued  following  his  trade  and  also 
did  farming.  Among  his  contemporaries  there  was 
hardly  a  better  business  man  in  Surry  County. 
His  success  took  the  special  direction  of  land 
holding,  and  he  kept  adding  to  his  possessions  until 
at  one  time  he  was  owner  of  upwards  of  two 
thousand  acres.  About  half  of  this  large  estate 
was  across  the  line  in  the  state  of  Virginia.  His 
home  was  just  half  a  mile  south  of  the  Virginia 
line  and  in  Mount  Airy  Township.  He  died  on 
November  16,  1877.  Murlin  Sparger  married 
Bethania  Cook,  who  was  born  near  Westfield  in 
Surry  County  January  4,  1817.  Her  father,  John 
Cook,  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Westfield  and 
spent  his  entire  life  there.  Mrs.  Bethania  Sparger 
died  April  27,  1884.  Her  ten  children  were  named 
Elizabeth,  John  Henry,  William  A.,  Margaret, 
Edith,  James  H.,  Frank,  Priscilla,  Mary  E.  and 
George  W. 

When  not  in  school  as  a  boy  John  Henry 
Sparger  was  working  on  his  father 's  farm  and 
early  familiarized  himself  with  the  management 
of  land  on  a  large  scale.  At  the  first  call  for 
troops  in  1861,  when  he  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  I  of  the  Twenty-first  Regi- 
ment, North  Carolina  Troops.  His  regiment  was 
part  of  Early 's  division  and  Ewell  's  corps.  Mr. 
Sparger  was  present  and  took  part  in  the  first 
great  battle  of  the  war,  Manassas,  the  results  of 
which  are  known  to  every  American  schoolboy. 
After  that  with  his  regiment  he  participated  in 
many  of  the  more  notable  conflicts  on  the  soil  of 
Virginia,  and  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  he  was 
wounded.  He  remained  with  his  regiment  on  duty 
until  he  was  retired  in  the  spring  of  1865,  and  he 
arrived  home  just  fifteen  days  before  the  final  sur- 
render. 

A  courageous  soldier,  he  proved  a  courageous 
citizen  and  did  not  hesitate  to  undertake  the  diffi- 
cult performance  of  the  duties  which  confronted 
the   returned   Southern   soldier.     He   began   farm- 


ing and  in  1868  bought  a  place  in  Mount  Airy 
township.  That  was  his  first  home  after  his  mar- 
riage, and  he  lived  there  until  1884,  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead  and  eventually  suc- 
ceeded to  its  ownership.  Many  years  have  been 
spent  in  the  profitable  task  of  general  farming 
and  stock  raising.  His  farm  contains  400 
acres,  both  upland  and  valley,  and  while  in 
the  midst  of  picturesque  surroundings  it  is  also 
highly  valuable  and  productive.  His  home  occu- 
pies a  position  commanding  an  extended  view  of 
the  Johnson  Creek  Valley  and  surrounding  coun- 
try. The  Virginia  state  line  borders  the  farm  on 
the   north. 

In  1870  Mr.  Sparger  married  Ann  Matilda 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  Henry  County,  Virginia, 
September  17,  1844.  Her  grandfather,  Drury 
Smith,  was  one  of  the  wealthy  old-time  planters 
and  owned  upwards  of  12,000  acres  situated  in 
four  different  counties.  He  not  only  looked  after 
the  management  of  this  vast  estate  with  the  aid 
of  his  slaves  but  also  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  tobacco  and  was  a  merchant,  having  stores  in 
four  or  five  different  localities.  When  he  was 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  still  active  in  business, 
he  made  a  journey  to  Danbury  to  transact  some 
affairs.  .  He  rode  horseback,  and  on  the  way  had 
to  ford  the  Dan  River.  On  returning  he  found 
the  stream  very  much  swollen,  but  pushed  his  horse 
in  and  while  in  the  current  was  swept  from  the 
horse  and  drowned.  Drury  Smith  was  twice  mar- 
ried. His  first  wife,  the  grandmother  of  Mrs. 
Sparger,  was  Frances  Pitcher.  After  her  death 
he  married  the  Widow  Walker.  Of  the  first  union 
there  were  six  children.  Mrs.  Sparger's  father 
was  George  W.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Rocking- 
ham County,  North  Carolina,  and  subsequently 
bought  1,100  acres  of  land  in  Mount  Airy  Town- 
ship. There  he  was  a  general  farmer  and  tobacco 
manufacturer  and  had  a  large  household  of  slaves. 
After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  made  his  home  with 
Mrs.  Sparger  and  died  in  his  ninety-second  year. 
George  W.  Smith  married  Mary  V.  Smith, 
oldest  daughter  of  Ned  Smith  and  granddaughter 
of  Drury  Smith.  She  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven,  having  reared  children  named  Green, 
Tyler,  Matilda,  Eliza,  Drury  F.  and  Belle.  The 
son  Green  died  while  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate 
Army. 

Six  children  constitute  the  Sparger  family  cir- 
cle. Their  names  are  John  G.,  George  M.,  Walter 
Munsey,  Lilla,  Emma  V.  and  William  Franklin. 
Emma,  who  married  William  Samuel  Allred,  died 
leaving  seven  children,  named  Albert,  Samuel, 
John,  Mary,  Inez,  Joseph  and  Edward.  George 
M.  married  Dixie  Ella  Jackson,  and  their  four 
children  are  Jack  J.,  Mary  Matilda,  Edward  and 
Glenn.  Lilla  is  the  wife  of  Tom  Brown,  and  their 
children  are  named  Annie,  Isabel,  Herbert,  Murlin, 
Frank,  Robert,  Emma-,  Elbert  and  Jack.  Walter 
Munsey  married  Annie  Ashby  and  has  three  chil- 
dren, John  W.,  Virginia  and  Janie. 

Mrs.  Sparger  died  May  25,  1917.  She  was  an 
active  member  of  the  Salem  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  Mr.  Sparger  is  an  active  member 
of  the  same  church  and  also  keeps  up  with  old 
time  army  comrades  as  a  member  of  Mount  Airy 
Camp  of  the  United  Confederate  Veterans. 

George  J.  Moore.  Among  the  shrines  of  history 
and  patriotism  of  North  Carolina  few  have  been 
more  zealously  preserved  and  are  richer  in  the 
lessons  of  patriotism  and  loyalty  than  the  old 
scene  of  the  Moore 's  Creek  Bridge  at  which  was 


54 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


fought  on  February  27,  1776,  the  first  decisive 
American  victory  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Moore  's  Creek  was 
named  for  the  Moore  family,  and  the  battle  at 
the  bridge  was  planned  and  its  execution  directed 
by  Gen.  James  Moore,  although  he  was  not  actually 
present  at  the  battle.  The  patriot  troops  there  were 
commanded  by  General  Lillington  and  General 
Caswell.  Moore 's  Creek  battleground  lies  in  what 
is  now  Pender  County,  originally  a  part  of  New 
Hanover  County,  on  Moore 's  Creek  less  than  half 
a  mile  from  the  Village  of  Currie.  It  is  on  the  old 
Wilmington  and  Fayetteville  State  Eoad.  It  was 
while  taking  this  route  from  Cross  Creek  to  Wil- 
mington to  join  Lord  Cornwallis  and  Clinton  at 
Wilmington,  that  the  British  and  Tory  forces  under 
General  McDonald  met  the  American  patriots  at 
Moore 's  Creek  Bridge  and  were  utterly  routed. 
Eight  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  were  captured, 
entailing  the  loss  of  only  thirty  American  soldiers 
and  General  McLeod.  Thus  this  became  the  first 
decisive  American  victory  of  the  war  in  this  state. 

In  order  to  provide  a  permanent  memorial  of 
this  historic  event  and  the  place  of  its  occurrence, 
there  was  organized  in  1895,  and  chartered  by  the 
state  the  Moore  's  Creek  Battle  Ground  Association. 
The  land  embracing  the  battle  ground  was  acquired 
by  the  association  and  the  work  of  its  improvement 
and  adornment  was  begun  at  once.  An  appropria- 
tion of  $500  per  year  is  received  from  the  state 
for  the  use  of  the  park,  and  a  lump  appropriation 
of  $5,000  was  attained  from  the  National  Govern- 
ment. The  battleground,  consisting  of  thirty-five 
acres,  has  been  made  into  a  beautiful  park,  adorned 
with  several  appropriate  monuments  and  with  a 
pavilion  where,  among  other  gatherings,  the  annual 
celebration  of  the  battleground  and  their  friends 
is  held.  The  land  has  been  ditched  and  drained  so 
that  it  is  kept  in  perfect  condition.  The  curbs 
and  culverts  are  of  corrugated  steel,  the  roads 
through  the  park  are  the  best  that  can  be  made, 
there  is  an  ample  supply  of  seats  for  visitors,  and 
the  gardening  and  landscaping  are  cared  for  per- 
manently throughout  the  year.  The  park  is  a 
beautiful  and  delightful  place  to  all  visitors,  and  is 
a  rallying  ground  for  loyal  revolutionary  descend- 
ants. 

The  first  president  of  Moore's  Creek  Battle 
Ground  Association  was  the  late  Hon.  James  Fulton 
Moore,  who  served  in  that  capacity  for  fourteen 
years.  To  commemorate  his  memory  and  his 
services  a  monument  has  been  erected  on  the 
grounds.  James  Fulton  Moore  was  a  son  of  James 
Pettigrew  Moore  and  a  grandson  of  Gen.  James 
Moore  above  mentioned.  He  lived  all  his  life  at 
Currie.  He  was  born  February  14,  1852,  and  died 
July  11,  1912. 

His  successor  in  the  office  of  president  of  the 
Battle  Ground  Association  is  Mr.  George  J.  Moore 
of  Atkinson,  Pender  County.  He  was  born  No- 
vember 24,  1860,  on  the  Moore  plantation  on 
Black  River,  three  miles  west  of  the  present  Town 
of  Atkinson  in  what  was  then  New  Hanover 
County,  now  Pender  County.  He  is  a  son  of  Joel 
L.  and  Anne  Eliza  (Hawes)  Moore,  and  is  a 
great-grandson  of  the  Gen.  James  Moore  already 
referred  to.  His  grandfather  was  Capt.  James 
Moore,  who  served  with  that  rank  in  an  infantry 
regiment  in  the  War  of  1812.  His  sword  now 
adorns  the  wall  of  the  State  Historical  Museum 
at  Raleigh.  Capt.  James  Moore  was  only  twelve 
years  old  when  the  Battle  of  Moore's  Bridge  was 
fought.  Joel  L.  Moore  was  born  at  Currie,  North 
Carolina,  a  mile  from  the  battleground,  in   1819. 


Gen.  James  Moore  was  a  native  of  the  Lower 
Cape  Fear  country  and  within  a  few  miles  of  where 
George  Moore  was  born  and  reared  and  still  lives 
the  Moores  have  had  their  homes  continuously  since 
long  before  the  Revolution.  Their  ancestry  is 
Scotch-Irish  and  English,  and  the  family  has  given 
some  of  the  greatest  men  to  North  Carolina.  On 
other  pages  of  this  publication  will  be  found 
references  and  other  interesting  details  concerning 
the  family  and  its  individual  characters. 

George  J.  Moore  was  elected  president  of  the 
Battle  Ground  Association  in  1912,  and  has  since 
labored  faithfully  in  that  capacity  to  keep  up  the 
splendid  appearance  of  the  grounds,  inaugurate  and 
maintain  permanent  improvements,  and  do  all  that 
is  possible  to  make  this  a  scene  of  beauty  and 
adornment  and  one  that  teaches  and  impresses  the 
deepest  lessons  of  patriotism  and  love  of  country. 
Mr.  Moore  is  himself  a  man  who  has  always  had 
the  greatest  reverence  for  those  great  and  noble 
ancestors  through  whose  bravery  and  self  sacrifice 
the  American  colonies  obtained  their  liberty. 

Mr.  Moore  was  educated  under  the  best  of  private 
tutors  at  the  Moore  plantation.  His  own  chief  oc- 
cupation has  been  planting  and  farming.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1916,  he  removed  from  his  plantation  to 
the  Town  of  Atkinson,  and  in  1918  built  there  a 
beautiful  modern  home  that  is  an  almost  exact 
replica  of  the  old  Moore  plantation  house.  In  fact 
much  of  the  material  entering  into  its  construction 
was  brought  from  the  old  house,  including  all  the 
fine  old  doors  and  doorways,  windows,  lintels,  and 
mantels.  The  frame  work  such  as  the  corner  posts, 
etc.,  hewn  out  of  the  longleaf  heart  pine  years  and 
years  ago  for  the  old  house  are  utilized  in  the  new, 
and  are  in  just  as  good  condition  as  they  were 
w'hen  first  put  in  the  old  structure.  The  corner 
posts  are  wonderful  specimens  of  the  sturdy  char- 
acter of  the  old  time  construction.  They  are 
' '  rabbetted' '  out  by  hand  and  mortised  and  pegged 
entirely.  No  nails  were  nsed  in  the  original 
structure.  This  splendid  building  affords  a  most 
fitting  home  for  Mr.  Moore  and  his  interesting 
family,  who  afford  him  his  greatest  pleasure  in 
life.  Mrs.  Moore  before  her  marriage  was  Miss 
Mary  Rebecca  Murphy,  daughter  of  the  late  James 
Archibald  Murphy  and  member  of  one  of  the  old 
families  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear  country.  Judge 
J.  D.  Murphy  of  Asheville,  a  brilliant  lawyer  and 
one  of  the  towering  intellects  of  the  state,  is  her 
cousin.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore  have  five  children: 
Murphy  Alexander  Moore,  Miss  Mildred  G.  Moore, 
George  J.  Jr.,  Estelle  Oberry  Moore  and  Charles 
P.  Moore. 

In  keeping  with  his  ancestry  and  his  own  attain- 
ments Mr.  Moore  has  borne  an  active  part  in 
public  affairs.  This  interest  has  been  especially 
manifested  in  those  things  that  concern  his  com- 
munity and  county.  He  has  advocated  all  wise  and 
progressive  measures  in  public  improvement  that 
are  for  the  present  and  future  benefit  of  the  people. 
He  has  been  an  uncompromising  friend  of  the 
state  stock  law.  Above  all  he  is  convinced  of  the 
tremendous  importance  of  education  and  especially 
of  that  education  which  makes  men  and  women  in- 
telligent. For  many  years  he  has  served  as  county 
commissioner,  being  first  elected  to  the  office  in 
190.T  and  serving  eight  years.  He  was  again  elected 
in  1916,  so  that  he  is  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
office.  Mr.  Moore  has  been  called  upon  and  to  the 
extent  of  his  ability  has  responded  in  services  of  a 
patriotic  nature  in  connection  with  the  needs  of  the 
present  war  period. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


55 


Robert  Walker  Smith,  M.  D.  In  a  calling  in 
which  advancement  depends  upon  individual  merit 
and  skill,  Dr.  Robert  Walker  Smith,  of  Hertford, 
has  won  a  very  enviable  position  and  in  his  practice 
shows  a  thorough  and  comprehensive  understand- 
ing of  the  principles  of  medical  and  surgical  sci- 
ence and  adaptability  for  the  needs  of  suffering 
humanity.  His  work  has  received  the  endorsement 
not  only  of  a  large  and  representative  practice, 
but  also  that  of  the  general  public  and  of  the  civil 
and  national  government,  and  at  various  times 
he  has  been  called  to  fill  positions  of  official  im- 
portance and  responsibility,  of  honor  and  of  trust. 

Doctor  Smith  was  born  at  Hertford,  March  27, 
1868,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  period  of  his 
college  career  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  here. 
His  parents  were  Dr.  Josiah  Townsend  and  Mary 
Ann  (Shannonhouse)  Smith,  and  much  of  his  med- 
ical inclination  and  ability  were  doubtless  in- 
herited from  his  father,  who  was  for  years  one  of 
the  leading  physicians  of  this  section.  After  at- 
tending the  public  schools  Robert  W.  Smith  en- 
tered the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he 
took  a  two-year  academic  course.  After  gradua- 
tion he  was  offered  the  place  of  house  physician 
to  the  Bay  View  Hospital  at  Baltimore,  which,  how- 
ever, he  declined  to  accept.  His  medical  studies 
were  further  pursued  at  the  University  of  Mary- 
land, where  in  1892  he  graduated  from  the  med- 
ical department  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  and  at  once  he  opened  an  office  at  Hert- 
ford, where  he  has  since  remained  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  constantly  increasing  practice  and  of 
a  growing  and  substantial  reputation.  His  offices 
are  located  on  the  top  floor  of  his  two-story  brick 
building,  30  by  70  feet,  on  the  main  floor  is  his 
complete  and  up-to-date  drug  store,  in  addition 
to  which  he  owns  other  business  buildings  and 
city  realty.  He  has  various  interests  of  a  business 
character  and  is  vice  president  of  the  Farmers 
Bank  and  Trust  Company.  In  addition  to  his 
private  practice  Doctor  Smith  is  local  surgeon  at 
Hertford  for  the  Norfolk  &  Southern  Railroad; 
is  chairman  of  the  local  board  of  examining  sur- 
geons, of  which  R.  H.  Welch  is  clerk;  is  an  ex- 
superintendent  of  public  health  and  an  ex-coroner, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  local  United  States  exam- 
iners for  conscription  into  the  new  National  army. 
Doctor  Smith  belongs  to  the  North  Carolina  Med- 
ical Society  and  the  Tri-County  Medical  Society, 
and  belongs  also  to  the  Masons  and  to  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina. With  a  nature  that  could  never  content  itself 
with  mediocrity,  he  has  advanced  to  a  foremost 
position  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession,  having  the 
confidence  and  admiration  of  the  public  and  his 
professional  associates,  and  his  life  record  shows 
the  force  of  his  character  and  the  strength  of  a 
laudable  ambition. 

Doctor  Smith  was  married  October  23,  1894,  to 
Miss  Anna  Belle  Whaley,  of  Maryland,  and  they 
have  one  daughter,  Anna  Whaley,  attending  school. 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Smith  belong  to  Holy  Trinity 
Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  is  junior  warden, 
and  both  are  active  in  religious  work,  the  doctor 
being  a  member  of  the  executive  board  of  mis- 
sions for  the  district  of  Eastern  North  Carolina. 

Theodore  Adolpht-s  Hinnant.  Since  1907,  a 
period  of  ten  years,  Mr.  Hinnant  has  been  city 
clerk  of  Wilson.  Before  entering  that  office  he 
had  proved  his  ability  at  a  technical  trade  and 
in   business   affairs,    and  has   proved   a   leader   in 


those  progressive  forces  which  are  making  Wil- 
son one  of  the  modern  municipalities  of  North 
Carolina.  A  brief  reference  to  the  major  im- 
provements made  since  he  has  been  in  city  office 
is  in  order.  About  $330,000  have  been  expended 
in  making  the  streets  modern  city  thoroughfares. 
A  gas  plant  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $75,000, 
$145,000  were  expended  in  waterworks  improve- 
ments, while  $80,000  were  invested  in  a  light 
plant.  With  all  these  improvements  he  has  had 
to    do    in    some    official    capacity. 

He  was  born  in  Wilson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, March  11,  1873,  a  son  of  John  Thomas  and 
Bathana  (Eulgham)  Hinnant.  His  father  was 
a  merchant  and  also  operated  a  large  farm.  Mr. 
Hinnant  grew  up  partly  on  his  father's  farm 
and  partly  around  the  store,  attended  the  public 
schools  at  Smithfield,  and  also  the  Rockridge 
Academy.  As  a  youth  he  learned  the  trade  of 
machinist,  and  subsequently  for  four  years  sold 
machinery  throughout  the  South.  He  retired  from 
the  road  upon  his  election  as  city  clerk  in  1907 
and  has  since  given  a  rigid  and  strict  attention 
to   the   duties   of   that  office. 

Mr.  Hinnant  is  a  York  Rite  Mason  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Sudan  Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shine.  He 
also  belongs  to  the  Junior  Order  of  United  Amer- 
ican Mechanics,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  is  a  director  of  the  Rotary  Club,  and 
is  a  deacon  and  member  of  the  finance  commit- 
tee   of   the   First    Christian   Church. 

On  July  24,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Jeannette  Barnes,  of  Wilson.  Five  sons  have 
been  borne  to  their  union:  Carl  Settle,  Glaucus 
Graham,  Edwin  L.,  Paul  Anderson  and  Theodore 
Adolphus,  Jr. 

Aristides  S.  Harrison,  M.  D.  Halifax  Coun- 
ty has  known  and  appreciated  the  work  of  Doctor 
Harrison  for  over  thirty-five  years,  not  only  as 
a  capable  physician  and  surgeon  but  also  as  the 
educator  who  was  largely  responsible  for  giving 
the   county   a  system   of   graded  schools. 

Doctor  Harrison  was  born  in  Brunswick  Coun- 
ty, Virginia,  December  1,  1864,  a  son  of  George 
and  Ellen  Alice  (Smith)  Harrison.  His  father 
was  an  educator  and  a  minister  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Doctor  Harrison  was  educated  in  the 
McCabe  University  School  at  Petersburg,  Vir- 
ginia, and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  came  to  North 
Carolina.  For  three  years  he  taught  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  for  twelve  years  was  county 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  Halifax 
County.  During  his  early  teaching  experience  in 
this  county  there  was  not  a  single  graded  school 
and  most  of  the  education  was  supplied  by  means 
of  private  schools.  He  kept  up  an  active  cam- 
paign until  he  saw  the  graded  school  movement 
well  started,  and  since  entering  his  profession 
has  continued  his  interest  in  the  local  schools 
and  for  sixteen  years  has  been  secretary  of  the 
Enfield  graded  schools,  since  they  were  first  or- 
ganized. At  the  present  time  Halifax  County 
has  good  graded  schools  at  Enfield,  Scotland  Neck, 
Weldon  and  Roanoke  Rapids.  There  are  modern 
schoolhouses  in  each  of  these  localities,  and  the 
schoolhuilding  at  Enfield  cost  $23,000. 

Doctor  Harrison  was  STaduated  in  medicine 
from  the  University  of  Maryland  in  1888,  and 
has  also  taken  post-srraduate  work  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.     He  has  been  a  prom- 


56 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


inent  and  success!  ul  physician  of  the  county  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  For  ten  years  he  was  sec- 
retary of  the  town  board  of  commissioners  at 
Enfield.  He  is  a  member  and  president  of  the 
Halifax  County  Medical  Society,  and  also  be- 
longs to  the  North  Carolina  State  Medical  Socie- 
ty and  the  American  Medical  Association. 

Doctor  Harrison  is  vice  president  of  the  Bank 
of  Enfield  and  president  of  the  Harrison  Drug 
Company.  He  is  senior  warden  and  lay  reader 
in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  is  both  a  Scottish 
and  York  Bite  Mason,  being  past  master  of  the 
lodge,  past  high  priest  of  the  Koyal  Arch  Chap- 
ter, past  eminent  commander  of  the  Knights 
Templar,  and  has  attained  the  thirty-second  de- 
gree in  the  Scottish  Eite  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Mystic   Shrine. 

November  14,  1896,  Doctor  Harrison  married 
Miss  Katie  Wilson  Curtis,  of  Enfield.  They  have 
two  children,  Dorothy  Curtis  and  "William  Bur- 
well. 

William  S.  Taylor,  M.  D.  In  point  of  con- 
tinuous service  Dr.  Taylor  is  one  of  the  oldest 
physicians  of  North  Carolina.  His  work  has  been 
done  in  one  community,  Mount  Airy  in  Surry 
County,  and  some  of  the  children  he  attended  there 
at  the  beginning  of  his  practice  now  have  chil- 
dren of  their  own  and  in  some  cases  grandchil- 
dren. Dr.  Taylor  has  proved  a  valuable  citizen  as 
well  as  a  conscientious  and  able  physician. 

Dr.  Taylor  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and 
his  people  all  came  from  Virginia.  He  was  born 
at  Dobson  in  Stokes  County  in  1850.  His  grand- 
father, William  Taylor,  was  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Henry  County,  Virginia,  where  he  had  large 
bodies  of  land  and  operated  them  with  his  slaves. 
It  is  believed  that  he  was  a  native  of  Bottetourt 
County,  Virginia.  William  Taylor  was  a  man  of 
unusual  talents,  was  well  educated,  and  his  per- 
sonal integrity  was  such,  combined  with  his  good 
judgment,  that  he  was  frequently  called  upon  to 
administer  estates  and  serve  as  guardian  for 
minors.  He  married  Catherine  Hill,  and  both 
lived  to  a  good  old  age.  They  were  members  of 
the  Methodist  Church  and  were  very  loyal  to  that 
faith  and  reared  their  children  in  the  same.  Their 
children  were  Samuel  H.,  Spottswood,  Jack,  Wil- 
liam, Lucy  and  Kittie. 

Samuel  Hill  Taylor,  father  of  Dr.  Taylor,  was 
born  near  Trailersville  in  Henry  County,  Virginia, 
and  as  a  young  man  moved  to  Stokes  County, 
North  Carolina,  locating  at  Germanton  when  it 
was  the  county  seat.  For  ten  years  he  served  as 
clerk  of  the  courts.  During  the  war  he  was  cap- 
tain of  a  Home  Guards  organization,  and  after 
the  close  of  hostilities  he  removed  to  Mount  Airy 
and  was  elected  sheriff  of  Surry  County.  For 
many  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness. At  that  time  High  Point  was  the  nearest 
railroad  station  and  all  produce  was  hauled  from 
that  depot  to  surrounding  rural  centers.  Samuel 
H.  Taylor  lived  at  Mount  Airy  until  his  death  in 
1892,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  He  married 
Eliza  J.  Davis,  who  died  in  her  eightieth  year. 
She  was  born  on  a  plantation  on  the  Dan  River 
in  Stokes  County,  near  Danbury.  Her  father, 
James  Davis,  was  also  a  native  of  Stokes  County, 
was  a  planter  and  slave  owner,  and  probably  spent 
all  his  life  in  Stokes  County,  where  he  died  in 
1865.  James  Davis  married  Emily  McAnally. 
Samuel  H.  Taylor  and  wife  reared  four  sons: 
James,  William  Samuel,  John  S.,  Charles  Walter, 


and  three  daughters,  Lucy,  Bettie  and  Jennie. 
The  son  James  was  a  Confederate  soldier  and  is 
now  living  at  Clarksville,  Tennessee.  John  S.  died 
in  Texas.  Charles  Walter  is  living  at  Yankee  Hill 
in  California. 

Dr.  Taylor  grew  up  in  Stokes  County  and  his 
early  education  was  in  private  schools.  He  also 
attended  high  school  at  Mount  Airy.  In  1864, 
when  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  ran  away 
from  home  and  went  to  Virginia  for  the  purpose 
of  joining  Morgan's  command.  His  father  fol- 
lowed him  and  brought  him  home,  thus  quenching 
his  early  ardor  to  become  a  soldier. 

When  the  time  came  to  decide  upon  a  definite 
career,  he  determined  upon  medicine  and  began 
its  study  under  Drs.  J.  and  William  Hollingsworth. 
From  their  offices  he  entered  the  Jefferson  Medi- 
cal College  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  completed 
the  course  and  graduated  M.  D.  in  1873.  In  the 
same  year  he  returned  to  Mount  Airy  and  began 
the  practice  which  has  now  continued  for  forty- 
four  years.  In  1876  Dr.  Taylor  established  the 
first  drug  store  of  Mount  Airy,  and  continued  its 
operations  under  his  management  thirty-four 
years.  His  services  to  the  profession  and  com- 
munity have  been  such  as  to  entitle  him  to  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held.  For  several  years 
he  acted  as  health  officer  for  Mount  Airy,  and  has 
been  local  surgeon  for  the  Southern  Railway  since 
its  line  was  completed  to  Mount  Airy.  Dr.  Tay- 
lor is  a  member  of  the  Surry  County,  North  Caro- 
lina State  and  Tri-State  Medical  societies  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  and  during  his  young  manhood  he 
became  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

Dr.  Taylor  was  married  in  1879  to  Virginia 
Banner,  who  was  born  at  Mount  Airy,  daughter 
of  William  M.  and  Catherine  (Wnitloek)  Banner. 
Dr.  Taylor  and  wife  have  reared  five  children: 
Charles  W.,  Catherine,  Lucy,  Carrie  and  Willie, 
the  last  two  being  deceased.  Charles  W.  married 
Lizzie  Jones  and  has  three  children,  named  Carrie, 
Mary  and  William.  Catherine  is  the  wife  of  W.  O. 
Howard,  a  well  known  attorney  at  Tarboro,  and 
their  two  children  are  named  Catherine  and  Page. 
Lucy  is  the  wife  of  W.  W.  Burke,  and  they  have 
two  daughters,  named  Virginia  and  Willie,  and 
two  sons,  Marion  and  Edwin. 

An  interesting  experience  befell  Dr.  Taylor 
some  years  ago.  A  few  days  after  the  assassina- 
tion of  Governor  Gobel  at  Frankfort,  Kentucky, 
Dr.  Taylor  and  his  cousin,  S.  G.  Pace,  visited  Lex- 
ington, Kentucky,  on  business.  They  registered 
at  the  Phoenix  Hotel.  Kentucky's  incumbent  gov- 
ernor was  then  a  fugitive  from  justice.  It  will 
be  recalled  that  his  name  was  also  W.  S.  Taylor. 
A  report  soon  circulated  through  Frankfort  that 
Governor  Taylor  was  registered  at  the  Phoenix. 
A  crowd  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  apprehend- 
ing the  fugitive.  The  hotel  clerk  did  not  choose 
to  divulge  the  truth,  and  it  was  only  when  Dr. 
Taylor  appeare'd  that  the  clerk  called  the  leader 
of  the  crowd  and  pointed  out  Dr.  Taylor  as  the 
man  whose  name  was  on  the  hotel  register.  The 
crowd  quickly  dispersed. 

Joseph  Redington  Chamberlain.  To  the  up- 
building of  some  of  North  Carolina 's  most  im- 
portant industries  Joseph  Eedington  Chamberlain 
has  given  the  best  years  of  his  active  life.  He  has 
lived  in  this  state  upwards   of   thirty  years,  and 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


57 


came  to  North  Carolina  originally  as  an  educator. 
For  several  years  after  the  opening  of  the  College 
of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts,  he  was  at  the 
head  of  its  department  of  agriculture  live  stock 
and  dairying.  He  entered  that  service  in  1889,  aud 
the  previous  year  was  agriculturist  of  the  North 
Carolina  Experiment  Station. 

He  was  born  at  Kanona,  New  York,  September 
22,  1861,  and  acquired  a  liberal  and  technical  edu- 
cation, receiving  his  scientific  degree  from  Cornell 
University.  It  was  immediately  after  his  gradua- 
tion from  Cornell  that  he  came  to  North  Carolina. 
Though  he  gave  up  his  chair  in  the  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College  after  a  few  years, 
Mr.  Chamberlain  has  always  found  a  practical 
use  for  his  scientific  knowledge  in  the  special  lines 
of  business  to  which  he  has  devoted  himself. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  among  North  Carolina's 
progressive  citizens  to  engage  in  the  manufacture 
of  fertilizers.  He  is  now  president  of  the  Cra- 
leigh  Phosphate  and  Fertilizer  Works.  This  is  the 
only  concern  in  North  Carolina  manufacturing  its 
own  potash  at  its  Utah  plant,  and  has  one  of  the 
most  complete  fertilizer  plants  of  its  kind  in  the 
country.  The  company  also  turns  out  all  grades 
of  fertilizers,  manufacturing  in  its  various  sub- 
sidies between  fifty  and  sixty  thousand  tons  every 
year.  Mr.  Chamberlain  showed  his  resourcefulness 
when  the  supply  of  potash  was  cut  off  during  the 
war  in  Europe,  and  he  soon  found  the  raw  material 
to  make  as  good  potash  as  the  world  produces  to 
fill  the  place  of  the  formerly  imported  product,  so 
that  the  output  of  the  company  has  increased 
during  the  past  three  years. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  is  president  of  the  Farmers' 
Cotton  Oil  Company  of  Wilson,  North  Carolina, 
of  the  Kanona  Company,  Incorporated,  the 
Farmers  Guano  Company  of  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
is  president  and  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Cara- 
leigh  Cotton  Mills  of  Raleigh,  and  vice  president 
of  the  Raleigh  Cotton  Mills,  and  vice  president 
and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Capudine  Chemical 
Company.  He  is  also  a  director  in  tne  Raleigh 
Banking  and   Trust   Company. 

His  early  training  and  scientific  interests  in 
agricultural  problems  have  kept  him  intensely  alert 
as  to  every  advance  in  industrial  methods  in  North 
Carolina  farm  life,  and  he  is  himself  the  owner 
of  over  800  acres  near  Method,  and  spends  some 
of  his  happiest  hours  on  that  farm  looking  after 
its  management  and  enjoying  country  life.  He 
is  an  ardent  fisherman  and  a  lover  of  all  that  nature 
has  to  offer. 

During  the  thirty  years  he  has  spent  in  Raleigh 
he  has  been  aligned  with  every  progressive  move- 
ment for  the  upbuilding  of  its  industrial  and  civic 
resources.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Seaton  Gales 
Lodge  of  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Capital  Club,  the  Country  Club,  the  Rotary  Club 
and  the  Milburnie  Fishing  Club. 

In  1891  Mr.  Chamberlain  married  Miss  Hope 
Summerell  of  Salisbury,  North  Carolina.  Their 
children  are:  Miss  Mary  Mitchell  Chamberlain, 
Jesse  Mark,  John  Summerell  and  Joseph  Redington 
Chamberlain,  Jr. 

Henry  M.  John.  A  former  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Legislature,  and  long  prominent 
in  public  affairs  in  Robeson  County,  Henry  M. 
John  resides  at  Lumber  Bridge,  where  he  has 
some  extensive  interests  in  planting  and  lumber 
manufacture.  His  business  and  citizenship  have 
been   outstanding   facts   that   have   earned   him    a 


generous  measure  of  public  esteem  and  apprecia- 
tion, and  he  is  one  of  several  members  of  what  has 
been  a  truly  notable  family  in  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  John  was  born  at  Blenheim,  Marlboro 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1857,  son  of  James 
Thomas  and  Margaret  (MaeRae)  John.  His  great- 
grandfather, Griffith  John,  was  one  of  three  broth- 
ers who  emigrated  from  Wales  and  settled  in 
Pennsylvania.  Griffith  John  and  another  brother 
prior  to  the  Revolution  moved  to  Mecklenburg 
County,  North  Carolina.  His  son,  Daniel  John, 
married  Mary  Spears  and  they  were  parents  of 
Captain  James  Thomas  John,  who  was  born  in 
Marlboro  County  in  1825.  He  was  captain  of 
militia  in  Marlboro  County,  but  enlisted  in  the 
Confederate  army  as  a  private.  He  was  in  all 
branches  of  the  service,  first  in  the  Heavy  Coast 
Artillery,  then  in  the  Light  Artillery 'and  finally 
in  the  Cavalry  and  Infantry.  He  rose  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  and  at  different  times  commanded 
his  company  as  captain.  He  was  accorded  a  high 
place  as  a  brave  and  efficient  soldier  and  officer.  ■ 
After  the  war  in  1866  he  moved  to  what  is  now 
Scotland  County,  North  Carolina,  and  the  com- 
munity where  he  located  has  long  been  known  as 
John,  a  station  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Scotland  County.  His  wife's 
estate  embraced  a  large  body  of  unimproved  land 
in  that  locality  and  Captain  John  did  much  to 
clear  it  up  and  put  it  under  cultivation.  He  be- 
came a  successful  farmer .  and  a  man  of  wealth 
and  influence.  It  has  been  a  tradition  in  the  John 
family  for  generations  to  emphasize  education,  and 
all  the  children  of  Captain  John  received  the  best 
of  college  and  professional  training.  Captain  John 
died  in  1910.  He  and  his  wife  were  married  in 
1856.  His  wife  was  a  member  of  one  of  the 
prominent  Scotch  families  of  North  Carolina. 

Henry  M.  John  was  nine  years  old  when  in  1866 
the  family  moved  to  what  is  now  Scotland  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  he  grew  up  on  the  old  planta- 
tion at  the  Village  of  John.  Besides  his  educa- 
tion in  the  local  schools  he  attended  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  one  year.  After  reaching  man- 
hood he  started  farming  for  himself  at  Rowland 
in   Robeson   County   and  was   located   there   until 

1905,  when  he  established  his  present  home  l1/^ 
miles  south  of  Lumber  Bridge  in  Lumber  Bridge 
Township.  Mr.  John's  plantation  comprises  550 
acres,  constituting  a  high  class  farm  and  also  con- 
taining much  valuable  timber  land.  Mr.  John 
operates  a  lumber  mill  and  cotton  gin  in  addition 
to  actively  supervising  the  growing  and  cultiva- 
tion of  large  crops. 

A  number  of  times  his  fellow  citizens  have 
honored  him  with  public  trust  and  position.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners of  Robeson  County  from  1898  to  1902, 
four  years.  He  was  elected  to  represent  the  county 
in   the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legislature  in 

1906.  His  was  a  most  creditable  record  in  the 
notable  session  of  1907  when  the  state  prohibition 
law  was  enacted  and  when  the  railroad  question 
was  a  dominant  issue.  Mr.  John  is  a  member  of 
the  Lumber  Bridge  Presbyterian  Church. 

He  has  a  splendid  family.  He  married  Miss 
Effie  Neill,  of  Robeson  County.  All  their  children 
have  been  well  educated,  and  are  brieflv  noted  with 
their  names:  Daniel  R.,  who  attended  Oak  Ridge 
Institute;  Mrs.  Kittie  Sparger,  a  graduate  of 
Guilford  College;  Lacy  John,  a  graduate  of  the 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  at  Raleigh; 
Cora,  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal  and  Indus- 


58 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


trial  Institute  at  Greensboro;  Miss  Margaret,  who 
was  also  a  student  at  the  State  Normal;  and  W.  C. 
John,  now  attending  Trinity  College. 

Raymond  Cromwell  Dunn.  One  of  the  lead- 
ing lawyers  of  Halifax  County,  located  at  En- 
field, Raymond  C.  Dunn's  professional  ability  is 
supplemented  by  the  sturdy  citizenship  which  has 
made  him  known  and  popular  throughout  that 
section  of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  born  at  Scotland  Neck,  North  Caro- 
lina, November  16,  1882,  son  of  James  Leonidas 
and  Dorothy  Marian  (Arington)  Dunn.  Mr.  Dunn 
acquired  his  education  in  the  Vine  Hill  Academy 
and  the  Scotland  Neck  Military  School,  and  from 
there  entered  Wake  Forest  College,  where  he 
graduated  from  the  law  department  in  1903,  be- 
fore he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  As  soon 
as  he  was  qualified  by  admission  to  the  bar  he 
began  practice  at  Enfield,  and  has  enjoyed  many 
influential  associations  with  the  business  and  pro- 
fessional affairs  of  that  community.  He  is  at- 
torney for  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  and  Seaboard 
Air  Line  Railways,  is  a  director  of  the  Bank  of 
Enfield  and  the  Commercial  and  Farmers  Bank, 
and  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the  North 
Carolina  Bar  Association.  Mr.  Dunn  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Baptist  Church  and  is  now  serving  as 
chairman  of  the  Enfield  School  Board.  He  is 
a  thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Bite  Mason  and 
a  member   of  the   Mystic   Shrine. 

October  18,  1905,  he  married  Miss  Stella  Pip- 
pen.      They   have   one   child,   Dorothy   Marion. 

Oscar  E.  Snow.  A  popular  and  prosperous 
attorney  of  Pilot  Mountain  and  a  highly  respected 
and  influential  citizen,  Oscar  E.  Snow  is  a  native 
born  son  of  Surry  County,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred February  18,  1874,  on  a  farm  in  Dobson 
Township.  His  father,  Jordan  H.  Snow,  was  born 
in  Patrick  County,  Virginia,  in  1829. 

Brought  up  on  a  farm,  Jordan  H.  Snow  was  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  in  his  early  man- 
hood, but  subsequently  changed  his  occupation,  be- 
coming a  manufacturer  of  tobacco.  Soon  after 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in 
the  Confederate  army,  and  continued  in  service 
until  a  short  time  before  the'  close  of  the  conflict. 
Being  then  captured  by  the  enemy,  he  was  confined 
as  a  prisoner  of  war  until  given  his  parole,  when 
he  returned  to  his  home.  Migrating  to  North 
Carolina  in  1868,  he  located  in  Dobson  Township, 
purchasing  the  plantation  on  which  he  has  since 
resided,  and  on  which  he  has  made  many  im- 
provements of  value.  He  married  Laura  Wil- 
liams, who  was  born  in  Rockford  Township,  Surry 
County,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Jackson  and  Win- 
nie (Somers)  Williams.  She  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-four  years,  leaving  nine  children,  as  follows: 
J.,  Lula,  Oscar  E.,  Walter,  Lela,  Elbert,  Conder, 
Hettie  and  Ulmer. 

Gaining  his  first  knowledge  of  books  in  the  dis- 
trict school  of  his  native  township,  Oscar  E.  Snow 
subsequently  continued  his  studies  at  Fairview 
College,  and  at  the  academies  in  Boonville  and 
Siloam.  Desirous  of  entering  the  legal  profession, 
lie  then  began  the  study  of  law  with  Judge  A.  C. 
Avery,  and  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  1896, 
opened  an  office  at  Pilot  Mountain.  Soon  after 
the  declaration  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  on 
April  30,  1898,  Mr.  Snow's  patriotic  ardor  being 
awakened,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  First  North 
Carolina  Volunteer  Infantry,  which  had  the  dis- 
tinction  of  being  the  first  regiment  to  enter  the 


City  of  Havana.  Being  honorably  discharged  from 
the  service  on  April  30,  1899,  he  returned  to  his 
home.  Soon  after,  wishing  to  review  his  studies 
and  further  advance  his  legal  knowledge,  Mr. 
Snow  entered  the  law  department  o±  Wake  Forest 
College.  Completing  the  course  of  study  in  that 
institution,  he  resumed  his  practice  at  Pilot  Moun- 
tain, and  in  the  time  that  has  since  elapsed  has 
built  up  a  large  and  highly  satisfactory  practice. 
Mr.  Snow  married  January  1,  1905,  Miss  Laura 
M.  Fulp,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Long  Hill 
Township,  a  daughter  of  J.  G.  and  Zilpha  Fulp. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snow  are  the  parents  of  six  daugh- 
ters, namely:  Wilma,  Ethel,  Gertrude,  Eva,  Leoda 
and  Christine.  Mrs.  Snow  is  a  faithful  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Snow 
belongs  to  Pilot  Mountain  Council  No.  194,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics.  He  takes 
great  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  has  served  as 
mayor  of  Pilot  Mountain  and  as  chairman  and 
secretary  of  the  local  school  board.  At  the  pres- 
ent time,  in  1917,  he  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Surry  County  Board  of  Education. 

Hon.  Charles  P.  Matheson,  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Alexander  at  Taylorsville,  a  member  of 
the  State  Senate  in  1917,  has  been  the  personal 
medium  through  which  the  wholesome  characteris- 
tics of  an  old  and  well  known  family  of  this  section 
of  North  Carolina  have  expressed  themselves  in 
the  present  generation  and  to  the  good  and  welfare 
of  the  county  and  state. 

Senator  Matheson  was  born  at  Taylorsville  in 
Alexander  County  in  1875.  The  Mathesons  are 
one  of  the  oldest  families'  of  prominence  in  the 
county.  His  great-great-grandfather  named 
Donald  Matheson  was  born  in  Scotland  and  with 
two  brothers  came  from  their  native  city  of  Edin- 
burgh to  America.  Later,  some  years  before  the 
Revolutionary  war,  he  removed  to  North  Carolina, 
and  located  near  the  present  Town  of  Taylorsville. 
His  location  was  then  in  Iredell  County,  a  portion 
of  which  "was  subsequently  taken  to  constitute  a 
part  of  Alexander  County.  The  Mathesons  have 
lived  in  this  community  continuously  since  that 
time.  Most  of  them  have  had  their  homes  within 
a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles  of  Taylorsville  and 
some  of  them  in  the  Town  of  Taylorsville  since 
it  was  established.  Mr.  Matheson 's  great-grand- 
father was  also  named  Donald  Matheson.  His 
grandfather,  William  Matheson,  also  spent  his  life 
in   Alexander  County. 

Charles  P.  Matheson  is  the  youngest  son  of 
Robert  Partee  and  Martha  Clarissa  (Carson) 
Matheson,  the  former  now  deceased  and  the  latter 
still  living.  His  father,  the  late  Hon.  Robert  P. 
Matheson,  was  a  man  of  prominence  and  distinc- 
tion in  his  day.  During  the  war  he  was  clerk  of  the 
court  of  Alexander  County  and  discharged  a 
number  of  other  government  duties  during  that 
period.  After  the  war  he  filled  other  public  of- 
fices in  both  county  and  state,  and  for  several 
terms  represented  the  county  in  the  State  Legis- 
lature. His  death  occurred  at  Taylorsville  in 
1909.  One  of  his  brothers,  the  late  Pink  Matheson 
of  Watauga  County,  was  for  many  years  a  leading 
figure  in  the  affairs  of  that  county  and  filled  many 
public  positions  of  trust  and  importance.  He  is 
remembered  by  all  who  knew  him  for  his  distinctive 
and  attractive  characteristics,  his  education  and 
wide  reading,  his  powers  as  an  interesting  con- 
versationalist and  master  of  anecdote  and  reminis- 
cence, a  typical  gentleman  of  that  period,  always 
very  punctual  and  precise  in  his  habits  of  life  and 
elegant  in  his   attire.     There   were  several  other 


UMhM* 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


59 


brothers  and  sisters  of  the  late  Robert  P.  Matheson, 
and  they  and  their  children  were  and  are  people 
of  prominence  and  achievement. 

Senator  Matheson 's  mother  is  a  member  of  the 
Carson  family  of  Iredell  County,  early  settlers  and 
pioneers  of  the  Piedmont  section  of  North  Caro- 
lina. It  is  well  authenticated  that  the  famous 
scout,  Kit  Carson,  a  member  of  this  family,  was 
born  in  Iredell  County  about  eight  miles  north  of 
Statesville. 

Charles  P.  Matheson  received  his  early  education 
in  the  local  schools  of  Taylorsville  and  spent 
three  and  a  half  years  in  Davidson  College.  It 
was  perhaps  a  matter  of  ancestral  inheritance  that 
when  only  a  youth  he  became  interested  in  politics 
and  has  had  quite  a  career  in  that  field.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  this 
section  of  the  state,  wielding  a  strong  influence 
in  politics  and  business,  a  leader  of  his  community, 
and  with  a  host  of  warm  admirers  and  followers. 
For  four  years  he  was  sheriff  of  Alexander  County 
and  after  that  was  clerk  of  the  court  for  six  years, 
although  his  party  was  in  the  minority.  In  1916 
he  was  elected  state  senator  for  the  Senatorial 
District  embracing  Alexander,  McDowell,  Burke 
and  Caldwell  counties.  During  the  session  of 
1917  Mr.  Matheson  was  member  of  the  Finance 
Committee  and  member  of  the  Appropriations  and 
other  important  committees.  He  is  serving  his 
third  appointment  as  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
State  Hispitals  for  the  Insane  and  feels  that  he 
is  doing  more  real  work  for  humanity  in  this  way 
than  in  any  other  work  he  has  been  engaged  in. 
He  likes  the  work  and  feels  that  he  is  giving  time, 
interest  and  energy  to  a  great  work. 

In  business  affairs  his  most  prominent  connection 
is  with  the  Bank  of  Alexander  at  Taylorsville,  of 
which  he  has  been  president  since  1912.  His 
management  of  this  bank  has  been  so  popular  and 
successful  that  notwithstanding  Taylorsville  is  a 
good  sized  town,  county  seat  of  a  good  county,  and 
does  the  banking  business  for  a  large  extent  of 
territory,  including  the  important  industries  of 
Taylorsville,  no  one  has  seemed  to  find  it  a  good 
opening  to  establish  a  rival  bank.  The  presence  of 
half  a  dozen  competing  financial  institutions  could 
not  improve  the  fine  courtesy  and  the  accommoda- 
tion to  the  public  with  which  Mr.  Matheson  con- 
ducts the  bank.  The  Bank  of  Alexander  was 
founded  by  one  of  Mr.  Matheson 's  uncles,  the  late 
"W.  B.  Matheson,  who  was  its  president  for  a 
number  of  years. 

Prior  to  entering  the  banking  field,  Mr.  Matheson 
was  in  the  roller  mill  and  cotton  mill  business  at 
Taylorsville,  being  president  of  the  Watts  Manu- 
facturing Comranv  operating  the  mill  now  owned 
by  the  Liledoun  Manufacturing  Company. 

Various  other  interests  occupy  his  time.  He  is 
engaged  in  farming  and  believes  in  full  blooded 
stock.  He  is  chief  owner  and  president  of  the 
Davis  Springs  Hotel  at  Hiddenite,  Alexander 
Countv,  s'x  miles  from  Tavlorsville.  This  is  a 
noted  health  resort  and  watering  place  and  every 
summer  is  crowded  with  tourists.  Mr.  Matheson 
and  his  mother  make  this  their  summer  home. 

Redmond  Stanley  Wells  has  for  forty-five 
years  been  identified  with  business  affairs  at'  Elm 
City,  and  has  taken  the  lead  in  many  movements 
that  have  created  a  larger  prosperity  and  possi- 
bilities of  progress  for  that  community.  Mr.  Wells 
was  born  in  Nash  County,  North  Carolina,  July 
18,  1S4S.  son  of  Redmond  Daniel  and  Emma  (Tay- 
lor) Wells.    His  father  was  a  planter  and  the  son 


grew  up  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was  twenty- 
one,  in  the  meantime  having  the  advantages  of 
both  public  and  private  schools.  On  leaving  his 
father 's  farm  he  worked  as  clerk  in  a  general 
store  for  a  year  and  then  became  associated  with 
W.  S.  Parker,  under  the  firm  name  of  Parker  & 
Wells,  then  conducting  a  general  store  at  Joynes. 

After  six  years  Mr.  Wells  moved  to  Elm  City 
in  1872  and  since  1876  has  been  in  business  for 
himself,  proprietor  of  a  large  general  store  that 
has  always  carried  a  stock  of  goods  fully  com- 
mensurate with  the  needs  and  demands  of  the 
growing  community  around  the  town.  Mr.  Wells 
was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Toisnot  Bank- 
ing Company  of  Elm  City  and  has  been  its  presi- 
dent since  1901.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Under- 
writers '  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Rocky  Mount, 
and  with  all  the  heavy  responsibilities  he  has  car- 
ried as  a  business  man  has  never  neglected  the 
well  being  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
He  has  served  in  the  office  of  alderman  and  for 
years  was  a  member  of  the  graded  school  board. 
He  is  an  active  member  and  steward  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South. 

April  6,  1881,  Mr.  Wells  married  Bettie  Mercer, 
of  Edgecombe  County,  North  Carolina.  They  have 
one  son,  William  Mercer  Wells,  who  has  already 
attained  an  enviable  position  in  business  affairs. 
He  was  born  May  18,  1884,  was  graduated  from 
Trinity  College  at  Durham  in  1907,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Elm  City  and  for  two  years  was  assistant 
cashier  in  the  Toisnot  Banking  Company  and  is 
still  a  director  of  that  company.  His  main  busi- 
ness is  farming,  and  with  his  father  he  owns  and 
cultivates  1,800  acres  of  land.  He  is  president 
of  the  Carolina  Land  Company  and  has  served  as 
a  member  of  the  City  Commission  of  Elm  City.  He 
is  a  York  Rite  Mason  and  Shriner  and  belongs  to 
the  Greek  Letter  fraternity  Pi  Kappa  Alpha. 

James  Lewis  Evans,  who  has  achieved  some 
of  the  success  which  his  attainments  and  natural 
abilities  justified  in  the  profession  of  law,  is  a 
native  son  of  Pitt  County  and  is  located  in  prac- 
tice  at  Greenville. 

He  was  born  in  Greenville,  Pitt  County,  August 
22,  1889,  a  son  of  William  Franklin  and  Anne 
M.  (Sermons)  Evans.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  two  years  old  and  he  was  brought  up  on 
the  farm  by  his  uncle,  James  (Tobe)  Evans. 
James  L.  Evans  was  educated  in  the  grammar 
and  high  schools  of  Greenville,  attended  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  one  year,  and  took 
his  law  course  in  Wake  Forest  College.  He  left 
that  school  in  August,  1912,  and  has  since  been 
busy  in  building  up  a  general  practice  as  a  law- 
yer at  Greenville.  Mr.  Evans  is  affiliated  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men,  and  the  Woodmen  of 
the    World. 

On  April  26,  1911,  he  married  M'ss  Novella 
Tucker,  of  Pitt  County.  Mrs.  Evans  died  Decem- 
ber 4,  1913,  leaving  a  daughter,  Margaret  Gold 
Evans. 

On  May  4,  1918.  Mr.  Evans  enlisted  as  yeoman 
in  the  Navy  and  is  now  in  the  service  of  his 
country. 

Harold  A.  Rouzer.  Possessing  a  remarkable 
aptitude  for  business,  being  keen  and  alert  to  take 
advantage  of  opportunities,  and  broad  and  bright 
enough  to  handle  the  affairs  of  the  various  organi- 
zations of  wh'ch  he  is  at  the  head,  Harold  A. 
Rouzer  is  numbered  among  the  representative  citi- 


60 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


zens  of  Salisbury  and  is  one  of  the  most  active 
and  prominent  business  men  of  the  city,  being 
treasurer  and  manager  of  the  Rowan  Hardware 
and  Machine  Company  and  president  not  only  of 
the  Eouzer  Garage  Company  and  the  Salisbury 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  but  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Salisbury.  A  son  of 
Charles  A.  Rouzer,  he  was  born  at  Pen  Mar,  Frank- 
lin County,  Pennsylvania,  of  French  ancestry. 

His  paternal  great-grandfather,  a  native  of 
France,  came  with  a  brother  to  America,  and  hav- 
ing located  in  Taneytown,  Maryland,  established 
a  tannery  and  operated  it  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  The  brother  who  accompanied  him  to  this 
country  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and  after 
settling  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  met  with  great 
success  in  his  legal  career,  becoming  a  Federal 
judge. 

Simon  Peter  Eouzer,  Mr.  Eouzer 's  grandfather, 
was  born,  bred  and  educated  in  Taueytown,  Mary- 
land. He  was  a  man  of  versatile  talent,  indus- 
trious and  enterprising,  and  a  few  years  after  his 
marriage  moved  with  his  family  to  Pennsylvania. 
Buying  a  tract  of  land  in  Franklin  County,  he 
established  the  town  of  Eouzerville,  and  subse- 
quently engaged  in  various  lines  of  industry.  He 
opened  a  general  store,  putting  in  a  large  stock 
of  merchandise,  and  was  also  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  having  cleared  and  improved  a 
farm  in  that  vicinity.  Never  letting  an  opportu- 
nity for  advancing  his  interests  slip,  he  made  a 
business  of  buying  standing  timber,  and  by  the 
use  of  portable  saw  mills  converted  the  huge  giants 
of  the  forest  into  lumber,  which  he  sold  at  a  good 
profit,  and  likewise  owned  and  operated  a  cannery, 
giving  his  personal  attention  to  each  of  these  in- 
dustries. He  was  a  man  of  strong  physical  as 
well  as  mental  power,  and  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age, 
dying  at  his  home  in  Eouzerville  in  1916,  aged 
eighty-two  years.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Mary  Hawk,  died  in  1906.  Of  the  seven  chil- 
dren born  of  their  union,  two  died  when  about 
eighteen  years  of  age  and  five  are  living,  as  fol- 
lows: Charles  A.,  Emma,  Kate,  Carrie  and  Clara. 
Charles  A.  Eouzer  was  born,  in  1861,  at  Taney- 
town, Maryland.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he 
entered  the  service  of  the  Western  Maryland  Rail- 
road Company  as  telegraph  operator,  later  being 
made  train  dispatcher.  Resigning  the  position 
after  a  few  years,  he  embarked  in  horticultural 
pursuits,  first  in  Pennsylvania  and  later  at  Spring 
Hill,  near  Mobile,  Alabama,  raising  different  kinds 
of  fruit.  He  is  now  living  at  Thomasville,  Georgia, 
where  he  is  carrying  on  an  extensive  business  in 
the  growing  of  pecans.  He  married  Anna  Hess, 
who  was  born  in  Quincy,  Franklin  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, a  daughter  of  John  and  Lovina  Hess, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children, 
namely:  Harold  Allen,  of  whom  we  write;  Ira  W., 
who  is  connected  with  the  Schloss  Iron  and  Steel 
Company  of  Birmingham,  Alabama;  and  Mary  E. 
Educated  in  Pennsylvania,  Harold  A.  Eouzer 
attended  first  the  Eouzerville  schools,  later  the 
Spartanburg  school,  the  Sheppensburg  Normal, 
and  completed  his  studies  at  the  Pennsylvania 
College.  Entering  then  the  service  of  Mr.  Frick, 
of  the  Frick  Company,  he  continued  as  his  private 
secretary  until  1907.  Coming  to  Salisbury,  North 
Carolina,  in  that  year,  Mr.  Rouzer  purchased  the 
stock  and  good  will  of  the  Rowan  Hardware  Com- 
pany, now  the  Rowan  Hardware  and  Machine 
Company,  and  has  since  served  ably  and  accept- 
ably as  its  treasurer  and  general  manager.  He 
is   also   officially    identified,   as    mentioned   above, 


with  various  other  organizations  of  the  city,  hold- 
ing a  place  of  prominence  and  influence  in  its 
business  and  social  life. 

Mr.  Rouzer  married,  in  1908,  Mary  Edna  Mc- 
Cubbins,  who  was  born  in  Salisbury,  a  daughter 
of  J.  S.  and  Leonora  (Neeley)  McCubbins.  Xnree 
children  have  blessed  their  union,  Harold  Allen, 
Jr.,  Margaret  and  Mary.  Religiously  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rouzer  are  faithful  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  contribute  liberally  towards 
its  support.  Mr.  Rouzer  is  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Morris  Plan  Bank  of  Salisbury,  a  substan- 
tial financial  institution  of  the  city. 

Absalom  Turner  Grant.  One  of  the  oldest  and 
most  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  Moeksville,  Davie 
County,  Absalom  Turner  Grant,  clerk  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court,  is  well  and  favorably  known  in  the  legal 
circles  of  Western  North  Carolina  as  a  most 
courteous,  painstaking  and  faithful  public  official. 
A  native  of  Yadkin  County,  he  was  born  May  15, 
1837,  a  son  of  Robinson  Grant. 

Absalom  Grant,  his  grandfather,  was  born  and 
reared  in  England.  Immigrating  to  America  in 
early  manhood,  he  located  in  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  of  a  ship  carpenter 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  was  Keziah  Wilson.  She  sur- 
vived him,  and  subsequently  came  with  one  of  her 
sons  to  North  Carolina.  After  living  in  this  state 
for  awhile  she  accompanied  her  son  to  Georgia, 
where  her  death  occurred  a  few  years  later.  She 
reared  three  children,  Nathan,  Robinson,  and  Re- 
becca. 

Eobinson  Grant  was  born  in  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
and  there  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  cabinet- 
maker 's  trade.  Coming  to  North  Carolina  in  1820, 
he  settled  in  that  section  of  Surry  County  that  is 
now  included  within  the  limits  of  Yadkin  County, 
and  there  followed  his  trade  for  eighteen  years. 
In  1838,  accompanied  by  his  family,  he  migrated 
to  Georgia,  making  the  removal  with  teams,  that 
being  in  those  days  the  only  mode  of  transporta- 
tion. Locating  in  Talbot  County,  which  was  then 
sparsely  populated,  he  contracted  a  fever,  and  died 
soon  after.  He  married  Sarah  Davie  Turner,  who 
was  born  in  what  is  now  Yadkin  County,  this 
state,  a  daughter  of  Elias  and  Sarah  Turner.  Her 
father,  a  life-long  resident  of  Surry,  now  Yadkin 
County,  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  parental 
homestead,  to  the  area  of  which  he  added  by  the 
purchase  of  other  tracts  of  land,  and  in  addition 
to  carrying  on  general  farming  was  an  extensive 
dealer  in  furs.  When  left  a  widow  in  a  strange 
land,  she  immediately  notified  her  father,  who 
sent  teams  to  Georgia  to  bring  her  and  her  family 
back  to  her  old  home.  A  woman  of  energy  and 
capability,  she  kept  her  family  of  four  children, 
Virginia,  Sarah  D.,  Absalom  Turner,  and  Elizabeth, 
together  until  all  were  grown.  Having  married  for 
her  second  husband  John  A.  McGill,  she  lived  for 
a  time  in  Davie  County,  this  state,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Marshall  County,  Iowa,  where  she  spent 
the  closing  years  of  her  life. 

Gleaning  his  first  knowledge  of  books  in  the 
rural  schools.  Absalom  T.  Grant  subsequently  at- 
tended Old  Trinity  College,  fitting  himself  for  a 
professional  career.  In  1858  he  accepted  a  position 
as  teacher  in  the  Baxter  School,  about  three  miles 
from  Moeksville,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  he 
continued  teaching  for  four  years.  In  July,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Fifty-seventh  Regiment, 
North  Carolina  Troops,  and  under  command  of 
Stonewall  Jackson  joined  Lee's  army  in  Virginia 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


61 


With  his  regiment,  he  participated  in  many  en- 
gagements of  note,  including  the  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. On  the  eighth  of  February,  1865,  Mr.  Grant 
was  captured  at  Hatchers  Run,  and  taken  to  Point 
Lookout,  where  he  was  detailed  for  special  duty. 
Being  paroled  on  June  16,  1S65,  he  returned  home, 
and  soon  after  resumed  his  professional  labors, 
teaching  at  Liberty,  Torrentine,  Bethel,  and 
Jerusalem.  In  1878  Mr.  Grant  was  appointed 
store  keeper  and  gauger,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
about  four  years.  In  1882  he  was  elected  clerk 
of  the  Superior  Court,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
four  years,  has  since  rilled  that  position,  perform- 
ing the  duties  devolving  upon  him  with  credit  to 
himself,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

Mr.  Grant  married,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  Rebecca  Parker,  who  was  born  in  Davie 
County,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Turner  S. 
and  Elizabeth  (Daniels)  Parker.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Grant  are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely: 
Lelia,  Annie  Parker,  Ada,  Sarah,  Robinson  S., 
and  Absalom  Turner,  Jr.  Religiously  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grant  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South.  Fraternally  Mr.  Grant 
belongs  to  Mocksville  Lodge,  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics. 

Hox.  William  Andrew  Maunet.  Of  the  citi- 
zens of  Cleveland  County  who  have  contributed 
through  their  labors  and  talents  to  the  financial 
and  business  upbuilding  of  the  community,  few 
are  better  known  than  Hon.  William  Andrew 
Mauney,  builder  and  owner  of  large  cotton  mills, 
banker,  merchant  and  man  of  wealth  and  extensive 
interests.  But  Mr.  Mauney  is  something  more. 
He  has  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  business  af- 
fairs for  many  years,  but  is  probably  as  well  or 
better  known  for  his  distinguished  public  services, 
both  as  a  state  senator  and  in  the  Lower  House 
of  the  North  Carolina  Legislature,  of  which  body 
he  is  a  member  at  this  time.  Through  sterling, 
worth-while  and  conscientious  devotion  to  the  duties 
of  his  high  office,  this  honored  veteran  of  the  Civil 
war  has  won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  peo- 
ple not  only  of  his  home  community  of  King's 
Mountain,  but  throughout  the  county. 

Hon.  William  Andrew  Mauney  was  born  at  the 
old  Mauney  homestead  in  Cleveland  County,  North 
Carolina,  about  4%  miles  southeast  of  the  Town 
of  Cherryville,  in  1841,  being  a  son  of  David  and 
Fannie  (Carpenter)  Mauney,  both  natives  of  what 
is  now  Gaston  County.  The  Mauneys  trace  their 
descent  from  three  brothers,  Christian,  Jacob  and 
Valentine  Mauney,  of  German  ancestry,  who  came 
to  North  Carolina  from  Pennsylvania  during 
colonial  days.  According  to  the  official  records, 
Valentine  Mauney  received  a  grant  of  land  on 
Indian  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Gaston  County, 
November  3,  1762,  Jacob  Mauney  was  given  a 
grant  of  land  April  19,  1763,  while  Christian 
Mauney,  from  whom  Senator  Mauney  is  descended, 
received  a  grant  of  350  acres  of  land  on  Beaver 
Creek,  September  8,  1770.  Christian  Mauney  was 
the  great-grandfather  of  Senator  Mauney. 

As  is  traditional  with  the  German  peoples,  the 
succeeding  generations  continued  to  live  on  and 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  these  original  grants 
of  land,  and  are  so  living  today,  although  many 
of  the  descendants  have  gone  out  into  adjoining 
counties  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  few  to  other 
states,  a  number  of  the  name  being  found  in 
Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  elsewhere.  .The  Mauney 
community  was  about  the  center  of  the  old  County 


of  Tryon,  which,  under  the  subsequent  United 
States  Government,  became  divided  into  the  pres- 
ent counties  of  Lincoln,  Gaston,  Catawba,  Cleve- 
land and  one  or  two  others.  By  act  of  the  North 
Carolina  Assembly  of  1774,  a  parcel  of  land  on  the 
Christian  Mauney  place  was  purchased  and  set 
aside  as  the  county  seat  of  Tryon  County.  It 
remained  as  such  and  the  courts  were  held  there 
and  all  county  business  transacted  at  this  place 
until  Tryon  County  was  blotted  out  in  1779.  The 
county  seat  for  the  new  County  of  Lincoln  re- 
mained in  this  locality  and  on  the  Mauney  place 
until  1783,  when  the  county  seat  of  Lincoln  County 
was  established  at  Lincolnton.  It  was  at  this 
county  seat  on  the  old  Mauney  place  that  the 
Tryon  Declaration  of  Freedom  was  proclaimed  in 
August,  1775.  This  was  a'  very  bold  and  plain- 
spoken  declaration  against  the  British  war  on  the 
American  colonies.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  old 
Mauney  home  place  is  one  rich  in  historical  fact 
and  legend.  It  was  the  site  of  the  colonial  home 
of  Christian  Mauney,  the  site  of  the  old  Tryon 
County  courthouse,  here  was  formulated  and  signed 
the  Tryon  Declaration  of  Freedom,  as  noted,  and 
it  was  one  of  the  camps  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and 
the  English  army  in  their  march  through  Lincoln 
County. 

Among  the  children  of  Christian  Mauney  was 
Peter  Mauney,  who  married  Barbara  Heavener 
and  became  the  grandfather  of  Senator  Mauney. 
Like  his  father  before  him,  he  was  industrious, 
frugal  and  energetic,  and  became  an  influential 
man  in  his  community.  The  family  has  in  every 
generation  been  noted  for  its  public  spirit  and 
for  the  sterling  characteristics  of  its  members. 
The  early  forefathers,  when  they  had  built  their 
log  cabins  in  the  wilderness,  set  themselves  with- 
out delay  to  the  erection  of  their  pioneer  schools 
and  churches,  having  brought  with  them  to  this 
community  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible.  In 
addition  to  being  faithful  to  their  religion,  they 
have  always  been  strong  devotees  of  education,  and 
have  steadfastly  encouraged  schools  and  colleges 
by  their  influence  and  in  a  monetary  way.  Those 
who  have  followed  the  pioneer  founders  of  the 
family  have  lived  up  to  the  best  traditions  of  the 
name,  and  have  kept  its  record  free  from  stain 
or  blemish  of  any  kind,  in  public  or  private  life. 

David  Mauney,  the  father  of  Senator  Mauney, 
was  born  in  1814,  and  died  in  1900.  In  young 
manhood  he  began  his  career  as  a  farmer,  and 
subsequently  was  one  of  the  first  to  operate  a  saw- 
mill in  his  part  of  the  state.  Later,  when  the 
cotton  mill  business  was  starting,  Mr.  Mauney 
had  the  foresight  to  realize  that  this  was  to  be  a 
great  industry,  and  therefore  engaged  therein,  and, 
with  his  son,  built  numerous  mills  in  this  locality. 
He  became  a  successful  business  man  and  influ- 
ential citizen,  and  died  full  of  years  and  honors. 

William  Andrew  Mauney  was  born  six  miles 
from  the  original  home  place  mentioned  in  the  fore- 
going, and  received  his  education  in  the  old  field 
schools  and  under  instruction  at  a  classical  college 
in  Catawba  County.  He  was  but  fifteen  years  of 
age  when  he  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools, 
but  his  career  as  an  educator  was  interrupted  by 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  South  and 
the  North,  and  he  accordingly  left  the  school  room 
to  don  the  uniform  of  the  Gray  and  to  shoulder  a 
musket  in  defense  of  the  cause  which  he  thought 
right.  In  April.  1861,  he  was  accepted  as  a 
member  of  the  Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  Infantry,  and  subsequently  was  assigned 


62 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


to  the  position  of  commissary.  He  served  through- 
out the  period  of  the  great  war,  being  constantly 
with  General  Lee's  army  of  Northern  Virginia 
with  the  exception  of  several  months  when  he  was 
held  a  prisoner  in  the  Federal  prisons  at  Fort 
Delaware  and  on  Governor's  Island. 

When  he  returned  from  the  war,  with  an  excel- 
lent military  record,  Senator  Mauney  again  settled 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  home  place,  where  his 
attention  was   given  to  various  vocations,  includ- 
ing teaching,  farming  and  mercantile  pursuits.   He 
remained  on  the  old  home  place  until  1873,  when 
he  located  at  King 's  Mountain  in  Cleveland  County, 
just  at  the  line  of  Gaston  County,  and  here  he  has 
resided  to  the  present  time.     His  beautiful  home 
adjoins  the  older  and  smaller  house  which  he  first 
occupied  on  coming  here.     With  his  characteristic 
Mauney  energy,   enterprise   and   sagacity,   he   has 
been  the  leading  factor  in  building  up  the  Town 
of  King's  Mountain  to  its  present  thriving   and 
progressive   stage;    with   its   several   large   cotton 
mills  and   other  industries,   its  banks,  stores   and 
adjacent   prosperous   agricultural   region.      Begin- 
ning with  his  father  and  brothers,  he  has  built  a 
number  of  successful  cotton  mills  in  Gaston  and 
Cleveland  counties,  the  first  one  being  erected  in 
1888,  at  King's  Mountain,  the  mill  of  the  King's 
Mountain  Manufacturing  Company.     The  next  was 
built    at    Cherryville,    about    1890,    and    following 
this  came  the  Long  Shoals  Cotton  Mill,  located  in 
Lincoln  County.     The  Long  Shoals  mill  was  then 
followed  by  the  Bonnie  Mill,  at  King's  Mountain, 
erected  in   1900,   and  now   one   of  Mr.  Mauney 's 
most  successful  enterprises,  although  he  has  vari- 
ous other  enterprises,  being  an  officer  and  director 
in  ten  cotton  mills.     He  is  likewise  president  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  King's  Mountain,  and 
the   head   of   several   successful   mercantile   estab- 
lishments,  the   principal    ones   being   the    general 
mercantile  firm  of  W.  A.  Mauney  &  Company  and 
the  Mauney  Drug  Company,  both  at  King's  Moun- 
tain, and  is  the  principal  owner  of  the  Kiser  Lum- 
ber Company,  also  located  at  this  place.    His  stand- 
ing in  the  business  world  is  one  which  is  only  at- 
tained  by    a   man    whose   every   action  has   been 
guided  by  a  sense  of  integrity  and  a  regard  for 
business  ethics,  while  his   ability  may  be  gauged 
by   the   absolute   confidence   his   associates   in   his 
various    enterprises    place    in    his    judgment    and 
acumen. 

In  addition  to  being  a  man  of  wealth  and  broad 
resources  in  the  business  world,  Senator  Mauney  is 
a  citizen  of  wide  influence  in  political  and  public 
affairs.  He  was  elected  and  served  as  state  senator 
from  his  district  for  one  term,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1916  was  elected  to  represent  his  county,  Cleve- 
land, in  the  Lower  House  of  the  North  Carolina 
Legislature.  He  has  in  both  business  and  public 
life  accomplished  much  for  the  general  welfare 
and  advancement  of  his  town  and  county. 

Senator  Mauney  has  been  married  three  times. 
His  first  wife  was  Susan  Ramsaur,  who  became 
the  mother  of  three  children,  namely:  Ida,  who  is 
the  wife  of  C.  E.  Neisler;  Laura,  who  is  the  wife 
of  W.  A.  Ridenhauer;  and  Hunter,  who  married 
Miss  Jessie  Mundy.  The  second  wife  of  Senator 
Mauney  was  before  her  marriage  Miss  Carrie  Hope, 
and  there  are  no  surviving  children  of  this  union. 
Senator  Mauney 's  present  wife  was  Miss  Candace 
Miller,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters, 
the  Misses  Bonnie  and  Virginia,  the  former  a 
graduate  of  Elizabeth  College,  class  of  1915,  and 
the  latter  now  a  student  in  the  same  institution. 


Richard  J.  Grantham.  The  career  of  Richard 
J.  Grantham  is  an  exemplification  of  the  fact 
that  the  individual  who  possesses  ambition  and 
determination  can  rise  to  high  position,  and  that 
industry  and  perseverance  are  predominating  fac- 
tors in  the  winning  of  deserved  success.  During 
a  period  of  twenty-five  years  Mr.  Grantham's 
fortunes  have  been  identified  with  those  of  Wil- 
son, where  he  holds  the  important  responsibility 
of  caring  for  the  water,  electric  light,  gas,  sewer- 
age, etc.,  of  the  county  seat  in  the  capacity  of 
manager  of  the  city's  plant.  He  is  variously 
connected  with  business  interests  here,  and  is 
likewise  one  of  the  prominent  agriculturists  of 
the  county. 

Mr.  Grantham  was  born  at  Goldsboro,  Wayne 
County,  North  Carolina,  November  3,  1872,  and 
is  a  son  of  David  A.  and  Anna  (Cox)  Grantham. 
The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  has  been 
long  and  favorably  known  in  Wayne  County,  the 
principal  family  occupation  being  farming,  and 
several  have  held  official  positions  of  importance. 
His  father  was  one  of  the  well-to-do  agricultur- 
ists of  the  community,  and  a  man  who  not  only 
held  the  respeet  of  his  fellow-citizens  because 
of  his  industry  and  the  honorable  manner  in 
which  he  carried  out  his  agreements,  but  by 
reason  of  the  efficient  and  busineslike  manner  in 
which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  sheriff  of 
Wayne  County,  a  position  which  he  occupied  for 
twelve  years. 

During  his  boyhood  in  Wayne  County  Richard. 
J.   Grantham   divided  his  time  between  attending 
the  public  schools  and  assisting  his  father  in  the 
work    of    the    home    farm,    and   it    was    intended 
by   the   elder  man  that  the  youth   should   follow 
an    agricultural    career    after    attaining    his    ma- 
jority.     This  was,  however,   distasteful   to   young 
Richard,  who  managed  to  find  odd   times  to   ap- 
ply to  investigation  of  his  favorite  subject,  elec- 
trical  work,  and  to  experiments  therein.     He  thus 
developed  an  aptitude  for  this  kind  of  work  that 
amounted  to  something  out  of  the  ordinary,  and 
he   finally   secured   his   father's   consent   to    allow 
him  to  attend  Trinity  College  at  Durham,  North 
Carolina.      While    attending    that    institution    he 
helped  to   pay  for  his  tuition  by  taking   care  of 
the  light  plant,  and  at  no  time  in  bis  career  has 
there   been   a   period   when   he   was   not   m   some 
way  or  another  connected  with  this  kind  of  work. 
A  young  college   graduate,  on  October   2S,   1892, 
Mr    Grantham  came  to  Wilson  for  the  first  time 
to    assist    in    the    building    of    the    electric    light 
plant,   and  by  the  time  this  was  finished  he  had 
formed  connections  that  he  has  never  since  seen 
fit  to  break.     In  1893   he  was   placed  in  charge 
and   superintended  the  construction  of  the  water 
plant   of  the   City   of  Wilson,   and  in   August  of 
the   same  year  was  made  manager.     In   1906  he 
was  put  in  the  complete   charge   by   being  made 
manager    of    both    the    water    and    electric    light 
plants,    and   in   this   capacity   is   held   responsible 
for   the   correct  working   of   the   electric   and   gas 
light,    water    and    sewerage   systems    of    the    city. 
During  the  period   of  his  occupancy  the   City  of 
Wilson  has  enjoyed  most  excellent  service  in  this 
connection   and  the  citizens  are  thoroughly   satis- 
fied  with   this   official's   labors  in  behalf    of   the 
public  welfare. 

While  a  resident  of  Wilson  Mr.  Grantham  has 
become  convinced  of  the  future  prosperity  of  this 
section  of  the  state  and  has  accordingly  invested 
his  means  here  in  various  ways.  He  is  a  director 
of   the  Planters  Bank,   one  of  the  leading  finan- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


63 


cial  institutions  of  the  county,  a  director  of  the 
Wilson  Home  and  Loan  Association,  another  well 
known  concern,  and  a  member  of  the  loan  board 
of  the  Morris  Plan  Bank.  He  is  extensively 
engaged  in  farming,  having  some  1,200  acres 
under  cultivation.  In  other  ways  he  has  entered 
actively  into  the  life  of  the  community,  and  is 
at  this  time  a  member  of  the  Country  Club,  the 
local  lodges  of  the  Masons  and  the  Odd  Fellows, 
and    the   Eotary    Club. 

Mr.  Grantham  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Fannie  Daniel,  of  Wilson,  in  September, 
1905,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children, 
namely:  Thomas  Daniel,  Kemp  Dickinson  and 
Marjorie. 

Noah  Webster  Collett.  Having  made  a  wise 
and  diligent  use  of  his  faculties  and  opportunities, 
Noah  W.  Collett  has  been  variously  employed  dur- 
ing his  active  career,  and  through  industry,  energy 
and  good  judgment  has  steadily  climbed  the  lad- 
der of  success,  at  the  present  time,  in  1917,  being 
a  member  of  the  manufacturing  firm  of  Graf, 
Davis,  Collett  Company,  which  is  carrying  on  a 
large  and  profitable  business  in  the  manufacture 
of  building  material,  sash,  doors  and  blinds.  He 
was  born  in  Midway  Township,  Davidson  County, 
North  Carolina,  a  son  of  John  Collett,  and  grand- 
son of  James  Collett,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  Thomasville  Township,  Davidson  County.  His 
great-grandfather,  Ezekiel  Collett,  was  a  planter 
in  Thomasville  Township,  and  but  little  else  is 
known  of  his  history.  It  is  supposed,  however, 
that  he  belonged  to  that  branch  of  the  Collett 
family  that  settled  farther  west  in  this  state,  and 
whose  descendants  are  numerous,  and  are  to  be 
found  in  many  of  the  states  lying  west  of  North 
Carolina. 

On  arriving  at  man 's  estate,  James  Collett  em- 
barked in  farming  in  his  native  township,  but  sub- 
sequently moved  with  his  family  to  Midway  Town- 
ship, where  he  bought  a  plantation  and  was  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  until 
his  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  He 
married  Miss  Margaret  Taggart,  whose  parents 
emigrated  from  Ireland  to  North  Carolina,  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Thomasville  Township,  where 
she  was  born.  She  had  four  brothers,  Francis, 
Jacob,  Solomon  and  Jesse,  all  of  whom  removed  to 
Missouri,  Solomon  Taggart  settling  in  Johnson 
County  and  the  other  three  brothers  in  Lafayette 
County. 

Brought  up  on  his  father 's  plantation,  John 
Collett  bought  adjoining  land  in  early  manhood, 
and  having  added  somewhat,  to  the  improvements 
previously  begun,  sold,  and  bought  a  farm  in 
Thomasville  Township.  A  few  years  later  he  dis- 
posed of  that,  and  bought  other  land  in  Thomas- 
ville Township,  where  he  was  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  for  awhile.  Again  selling  out,  he 
bought  land  lying  on  the  west  line  of  Randolph 
County,  where  he  farmed  for  a  time  before  dis- 
posing of  it.  He  then  purchased  a  farm,  a  part 
of  which  is  now  included  within  the  limits  of 
the  Town  of  Thomasville,  and  there  spent  his  re- 
maining days,  dying  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 
The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Sarah  Green. 
She  was  born  in  Midway  Township,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Betsey  (Keineclay)  Green.  She  died 
at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-five  years. 
Four  of  her  children  are  now  living,  as  follows: 
Ladora,  wife  of  J.-  R.  Stone;  Noah  Webster; 
James  P. ;  and  Fanny,  who  married  J.  A.  Lindsay. 

Noah  W.  Collett   attended   the  rural  schools  in 


his  youth  and  assisted  in  the  labors  incidental  to 
farm  life.  On  attaining  his  majority  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Richmond  and  Danville  Rail- 
road Company,  with  which  he  was  connected  for 
eight  years,  first  as  fireman  and  the  last  four  years 
as  engineer.  Resigning  that  position  November 
15,  1889,  Mr.  Collett  accepted  a  position  as  engi- 
neer on  the  Seaboard  Air  Line,  and  remained  in 
that  capacity  for  nine  years  and  fifteen  days. 
The  ensuing  six  years  Mr.  Collett  was  engaged 
in  the  laundry  business  at  Athens,  Georgia.  Locat- 
ing then  in  Salisbury,  he  was  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  furniture  for  a  few  years.  In  1909  the 
Graf,  Davis,  Collett  Company  was  incorporated 
for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  sash,  doors  and 
blinds  and  all  kinds  of  building  material,  includ- 
ing both  exterior  and  interior  furnishings  and  fin- 
ishings. This  enterprising  firm  has  a  large  plant 
amply  equipped  with  all  of  the  most  modern  ap- 
proved machinery  and  appliances  for  carrying  on 
its  manufactures,  and  is  doing  a  large  business, 
not  only  in  Salisbury  but  in  the  surrounding 
country. 

Mr.  Collett  married  first,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  years,  Mamie  Hayes,  who  was  born  in  Bur- 
lington, North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Michael 
and  Mary  (Sellers)  Hayes.  She  passed  to  the 
life  beyond  in  early  womanhood.  Mr.  Collett 
married  for  his  second  wife  Lulie  Hughes,  who 
was  born  in  Abbeville,  South  Carolina,  a  daughter 
of  Cicero  Hughes,  who  married  a  Miss  Rainey. 

By  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Collett  had  two  chil- 
dren, Mary  I.,  who  was  born  at  the  home  of  her 
mother  in  Burlington,  North  Carolina,  married 
James  C.  Hunter,  and  has  one  son,  James  C. 
Hunter,  Jr. ;  and  John  H.,  born  in  Abbeville, 
Georgia,  who  left  the  University  of  Virginia  be- 
fore graduation  to  enter  the  United  States  Avia- 
tion Corps,  and  met  an  accidental  death  at  San 
Antonio,  Texas,  dying  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years.  By  his  second  marriage  Mr.  Collett  has 
two  children,  Flora  May,  who  was  born  in  Athens, 
Georgia,  and  Noah  W.,  Jr.,  who  was  born  in  Salis- 
bury, North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collett  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in 
which  he  has  served  for  a  number  of  years  as 
steward.  Fraternally  he  is  member  of  Fulton 
Lodge  No.  99,  _  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Order 
of  Masons.  Mr.  Collett  has  lived  in  many  places 
and  has  had  varied  experiences.  He  can  recall 
many  incidents  of  pioneer  life,  among  other  things 
remembering  when  his  father  raised  sheep  and 
took  wool  to  Fries  Mill  in  Salem  to  have  it  spun. 
He  then  brought  it  home,  and  his  wife  wove  the 
material   in   which   she   clothed   her   household. 

Edwin  Anderson  Metts,  a  wholesale  grocer  of 
Wilmington,  and  prominent  as  a  yachtsman,  rep- 
resents one  of  the  old  families  of  North  Carolina 
and  has  spent  almost  his  entire  life  in  the  City  of 
Wilmington. 

He  was  born  August  10,  1880,  at  Wilmington,  a 
son  of  James  Isaac  and  Cornelia  (Cowan')  Meets. 
His  father  was  for  many  years  in  business  as  a 
wholesale  merchant.  He  was  educated  in  private 
schools,  in  the  Cape  Fear  Academy,  the  Daniel 
Morrell  Academy,  and  in  1898,  left  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  On  leaving  college  he  was 
taken  into  his  father's  business  and  for  ten  years 
the  firm  was  known  as  James  I.  Meets  &  Son. 
He  then  acquired  a  large  interest,  in  the  Worth 
Company,  wholesale  grocers,  and  has  since  been 
president  of  this  concern,  which  is  one  of  the 
largest  firms  of  its  kind  in  North  Carolina  and  has 


64 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


done  much  to  upbuild  Wilmington's  position  as  a 
trade  center. 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Metts  has  been  one 
of  the  citizens  of  North  Carolina  who  has  practiced 
military  efficiency  as  an  active  member  of  the 
National  Guard.  In  1898  he  joined  as  private  the 
Wilmington  Light  Infantry,  was  promoted  to 
lieutenant  and  battalion  adjutant  of  the  Second 
Eegiment  in  1903,  was  promoted  to  regimental 
adjutant  in  1908,  and  in  1909  became  captain  of 
the  Wilmington  Light  Infantry.  He  is  now  on  the 
retired  list  with  the  rank  of  major. 

As  a  yachtsman  his  exploits  are  well  known 
among  all  followers  of  that  sport.  For  two  terms 
he  served  as  commodore  of  the  Carolina  Yacht 
Club.  He  has  commanded  two  of  the  best  known 
pleasure  boats  in  Carolina  waters,  the  yacht  Puzzle 
and  the  yacht  Calypso,  both  of  which  have  won 
various  trophies  and  the  Calypso  captured  the 
James  Walters  cup  recently. 

Mr.  Metts  is  a  member  of  the  Cape  Fear  Country 
Club,  is  an  active  Mason,  being  affiliated  with  St. 
John  Lodge  No.  1,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  and  with  Sepia  Grotto,  an  organization  of 
Master  Masons.  He  and  his  family  are  members 
of  St.  James  Episcopal  Church. 

On  June  20,  1905,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Cotchett  of  Wilmington.  They  are  the  parents  of 
three  children:  Edwin  Anderson,  Jr.,  James 
Isaac,  Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  Green. 

Eobert  Herring  Wright.  While  his  position  as 
first  and  only  president  of  the  East  Carolina  Teach- 
ers' Training  School  at  Greenville  makes  Mr. 
Wright  one  of  the  dominant  factors  in  North  Caro- 
lina educational  affairs  today,  his  career  apart 
from  that  has  been  one  of  distinction  and  ac- 
cumulating responsibilities  in  school  work  and 
citizenship. 

Mr.  Wright  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  Sampson 
County,  North  Carolina,  May  21,  1870,  a  son  of 
John  C.  and  Betty  Vaiden  (Herring)  Wright.  He 
grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  and  attended  both 
public  and  subscription  schools.  Largely  as  a 
result  of  his  determination  to  secure  a  liberal  edu- 
cation he  advanced  by  attendance  at  the  Oak  Ridge 
Institute  and  in  1897  graduated  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
ence from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He 
was  a  post-graduate  student  during  1901-02  at 
Johns  Hopkins  University  at  Baltimore,  and  was 
in  the  Teachers  College  of  Columbia  University 
in  1906. 

Mr.  Wright  began  teaching  in  1891.  His  first 
school  was  in  one  of  the  country  districts  of  Bladen 
County,  and  he  had  charge  of  the  entire  school, 
all  the  pupils  being  in  one  room.  He  continued 
his  work  in  public  schools  both  in  this  state  and 
in  South  Carolina,  and  from  1898  to  1901  was  an 
instructor  in  Oak  Eidge  Institute,  which  he  him- 
self had  formerly  attended  as  a  student.  After 
leaving  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Mr.  Wright  be- 
came head  of  the  department  of  history,  civics  and 
economics  in  Baltimore  City  College,  and  in  1906 
became  principal  of  the  Eastern  High  School  of 
Baltimore,  where  he  remained  until  1909. 

It  was  on  the  basis  of  this  successful  record  and 
experience  comprising  work  in  a  small  country 
school  and  as  administrative  head  of  one  of  the 
larger  city  schools  of  Baltimore  that  Mr.  Wright 
was  called  to  his  present  duties  as  president  of 
the  East  Carolina  Teachers  Training  School  at 
Greenville  when  that  school  was  first  opened  for 
students  on  October  5,  1909.  In  the  eight  years 
of  its  work  the  Teachers  Training  School  has  had 


4,295  students  enrolled.  It  is  a  state  institution, 
and  was  founded  for  the  express  purpose  of  giving 
to  "young  white  men  and  women  such  education 
and  training  as  shall  fit  and  qualify  them  to  teach 
in  the  public  schools  of  North  Carolina."  When 
it  is  considered  that  the  teaching  force  for  the 
next  generation  or  so  of  pupils  in  North  Carolina 
will  be  largely  recruited  from  the  former  students 
of  the  training  school,  it  is  possible  to  understand 
better  the  importance  and  the  tremenduous  respon- 
sibilities devolving  upon  Mr.  Wright  as  president 
and  directing  head  of  this  institution. 

Mr.  Wright  is  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the 
National  Education  Association,  a  member  of 
the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education, 
of  the  Southern  Sociological  Congress,  is  member 
and  was  on  the  executive  committee  and  in  1915- 
16  president  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Teachers' 
Assembly  and  is  a  member  and  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Maryland  History  Teachers'  Associa- 
tion. He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Society  of  Baltimore,  of  the  Carolina  Club,  of 
which  he  was  president,  and  is  affiliated  with  the 
Boyal  Arch  Masons  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  He  is  present  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  Jarvis  Memorial  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

December  31,  1902,  Mr.  Wright  married  Miss 
Pearl  Murphy  of  Tomahawk,  North  Carolina. 
They  are  the  parents  of  four  children:  Pearl, 
Eobert  Herring,  Jr.,  Mary  and  William  Alderman. 

George  Thomas  Stronach.  In  any  growing 
locality,  whether  it  be  developing  from  wilder- 
ness to  settlement  or  from  city  to  metropolis,  the 
changing  conditions  offer  splendid  returns  for 
foresight  and  business  sagacity.  The  man  who 
can  foresee  the  strategic  center  of  industrial 
development  is  in  a  position  of  advantage  over 
his  fellows,  and  it  is  this  foresight  that  is  neces- 
sary for  success  in  the  field  of  real  estate.  George 
Thomas  Stronach,  commencing  his  career  at  Wil- 
son in  connection  with  financial  matters,  developed 
abilities  in  judging  land  values  that  have  made 
him  one  of  the  leading  operators  in  the  real  estate 
business  in  Wilson  County,  and  today  he  is  con- 
nected with  enterprises  that  are  assisting  largely 
in  the  advancement  of  the  county  seat  as  a  center 
of  business  activity  and  an  attractive  residential 
community. 

Mr.  Stronach  was  born  at  Ealeigh,  North  Car- 
olina, September  28,  1874,  being  a  son  of  George 
Thomas  and  Martha  Elizabeth  (Cooke)  Stronach. 
His  father,  originally  an  agriculturist  and  the 
owner  of  large  properties,  in  later  yeaTs  became 
interested  in  commercial  ventures  and  was  for 
some  years  known  as  a  subtsantial  merchant  of 
Ealeigh.  After  securing  his  preliminary  educa- 
tional training  at  the  Ealeigh  Male  Academy, 
George  T.  Stronach  entered  Oak  Eidge  Institute, 
and  shortly  after  his  graduation  from  that  in- 
stitution, in  1894,  came  to  Wilson.  In  1896  he 
became  identified  with  the  First  National  Bank, 
in  a  minor  capacity,  and  remained  with  that  in- 
stitution until  1914,  at  which  time  he  was  occu- 
pying the  position  of  first  assistant  cashier.  In 
the  meantime,  in  1907,  he  had  become  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Wilson  Insurance  and  Bealty 
Company,  having  become  convinced  of  the  pros- 
perous future  awaiting  this  locality.  The  busi- 
ness of  this  concern  gTew  to  large  proportions, 
and  in  1914,  when  elected  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  enterprise,  Mr.  Stronach  severed  his 
connection   with    the    First   National   in    order   to 


^Z^Uj^CUA^k. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


65 


give  his  entire  attention  to  his  duties  in  his  new 
held.  The  Wilson  Insurance  and  Realty  Com- 
pany is  a  concern  capitalized  at  $10,000,  and 
handles  real  estate  in  a  large  way,  much  of  its 
business  being  done  in  the  way  of  additions  to 
the  City  of  Wilson,  of  which  it  has  made  several. 
Much  of  its  success  may  be  accredited  to  the 
acumen  and  energy  of  Mr.  Stronach,  an  excel- 
lent judge  of  realty  values  and  a  capable  organ- 
izer and  promoter,  as  well  as  a  business  man 
who  has  attracted  public  confidence  by  honest 
representation  and  fidelity  to  agreements.  He  has 
several  other  interests,  being  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Morris  Plan  Bank  of  Wilson,  and 
holding  like  positions  with  the  Atlantic  Building 
and  Loan  Association,  also  a  Wilson  concern, 
and  in  each  has  displayed  energy  and  initiative 
in  a  degree  that  have  made  him  especially  valu- 
able to  his  associates.  He  holds  membership  in 
the  Wilson  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in  *he  meet- 
ings and  work  of  which  he  takes  an  active  part, 
and  is   also   a  member   of  the   Country   Club. 

Mr.  Stronach  was  united  in  marriage,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1912,  to  Miss  Margaret  Pauline  Woodard, 
daughter  of  Frank  Woodard,  an  agriculturist  of 
Wilson  County,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
son,  George  Thomas,  Jr.,  who  was  born  Septem- 
ber  1,    1914,   at   Wilson. 

Thoiias  Millard  Geoege  has  had  a  very  use- 
ful career  as  an  educator  and  an  editor.  He  is 
now  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  leading  paper 
at  Mount  Airy  and  through  the  columns  of  his 
journal  he  appeals  to  many  people  who  were  as 
children   under  his  influence  as  a  teacher. 

Mr.  George  represents  an  old  colonial  family 
of  the  South.  He  was  born  in  New  Hope  Town- 
ship of  Iredell  County,  North  Carolina,  January 
15,  1852.  His  remote  American  ancestors  were 
Welsh  people  who  located  in  Maryland.  His  great- 
grandfather, Reuben  George,  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  spent  nearly  all  his  life.  He  was 
with  the  Virginia  troops  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Of  his  children,  one  or  two  of  the  sons  went  to 
Ohio,  while  two  came  to  North  Carolina.  One  of 
the  latter  was  Isaac  George,  who  was  born  in 
Virginia  and  was  a  pioneer  settler  in  Stokes 
County,  North  Carolina.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Iredell  County,  and  quite  late  in  life,  about 
1840,  moved  to  Indiana  with  some  of  his  family. 
He  made  this  trip  with  wagons  and  teams,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  one  son  and  two  daughters. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Knightstown,  Indiana,  he 
bought  land,  and  lived  there  until  his  death  at 
nearly  eighty  years  of  age.  He  married  a  Miss 
Hensley,  who  was  born  in  Virginia.  After  her 
husband's  death  she  and  a  son  went  to  Litchfield, 
Illinois,  and  that  was  the  locality  where  she  died. 
She  reared  five  children,  named  Enoch,  Wesley  H., 
Elizabeth,  Mary  and  Reuben. 

Wesley  Hensley  George,  father  of  Thomas  Mil- 
lard, was  born  in  Stokes  County  in  June,  1810. 
He  made  the  best  of  his  early  opportunities  to 
attain  an  education  in  a  time  when  schools  were 
very  meagerly  supported.  He  had  a  natural  gift 
as  a  mathematician  and  developed  exceptional 
skill  as  a  surveyor.  A  part  of  each  year  he  was 
kept  busy  at  this  profession  in  Iredell  and  nearby 
counties.  He  also  bought  a  farm  in  New  Hope 
Township,  and  long  superintended  its  operations. 
As  a  young  man  he  had  also  taught  school.  In 
1872  he  removed  to  Yadkin  County,  and  buying  a 
farm  in  the  western  part  of  the  county  resided 
there  until  death  overtook  him  in  1880.     He  mar- 


ried Arena  Redman.  She  was  born  in  Iredell 
County,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Williams) 
Redman.  Her  grandfather,  Thomas  Redman,  was 
born  in  Virginia  of  Irish  ancestry.  Thomas  Red- 
man was  a  pioneer  settler  in  Iredell  County  and 
the  farm  he  developed  furnished  him  resources 
and  home  until  his  death.  He  and  his  wife,  Mary, 
reared  a  large  family  of  children.  John  Redman 
was  also  a  farmer  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  Ire- 
dell County.  His  wife,  Jane  Williams,  who  sur- 
vived him  several  years,  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Williams,  who  it  is  believed  was  born  in  Davidson 
County  of  Welsh  ancestry,  but  subsequently  moved 
to  Iredell  County  and  followed  farming.  Mrs. 
Wesley  George  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 
Her  first  husband  was  named  William  Chenault, 
and  by  that  union  there  were  three  children, 
Abner,  William  and  Mary.  By  her  marriage  to 
Wesley  George  she  had  seven  children:  John 
Franklin,  Martha,  Reuben  Harrison,  Julia, 
Thomas  Millard,  Isadore  and  Docia.  Wesley 
George  was  a  whig  in  politics  and  was  elected 
twice  on  that  ticket  to  the  Legislature.  He  also 
served   in  the   Constitutional  Convention  in  1868. 

Thomas  Millard  George  as  a  boy  and  in  the 
intervals  of  his  teaching  experience  acquired  a  lib- 
eral education.  He  attended  the  common  schools 
in  Iredell  County,  and  afterwards  was  a  student 
in  TaylorviRe  High  School,  in  the  Yadkin  Insti- 
tute and  in  the  Jenersville  Academy.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  began  teaching,  and  continued  that 
work  upwards  of  thirty  years.  For  several  years 
he  was  a  teacher  in  Yadkin,  also  in  Iredell  County, 
and  for  three  years  taught  in  Northwestern 
Missouri  in  Ray  County.  For  two  years  he  was 
principal  of  the  high  school  at  Cana  in  Davie 
County.  His  last  teaching  was  as  principal  of 
the  high  school  at  Elkin  in  Surry  County,  which 
he  served 'three  years. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1904,  Mr.  George  became 
editor  and  publisher  of  the  Elkin  Times.  In  1905 
he  resigned  as  principal  of  the  high  school  to  give 
all  his  time  to  this  paper.  Editorial  work  proved 
a  congenial  field,  and  the  success  of  his  first  ven- 
ture encouraged  him  to  expand  the  scope  of  his 
business  and  in  1913  he  consolidated  the  Elkin 
Times  with  the  Mount  Airy  Leader.  He  has  con- 
tinued the  publication  of  the  Leader  at  Mount 
Airy  and  has  given  it  a  high  place  among  the 
newspapers  of  North  Carolina. 

In  December,  1883,  Mr.  George  married  Mary 
Critz,  who  was  born  in  Davie  County,  daughter 
of  Haman  and  Elizabeth  (Frost)  Critz.  Mrs. 
George  was  a  teacher  before  her  marriage  and 
subsequently  assisted  her  husband  in  school  work. 
They  have  reared  four  children,  all  highly  edu- 
cated young  people  and  proving  their  value  as 
educators.  Their  names  are  Lillian,  William  Fiske, 
Wesley  Critz  and  Mabel  Elizabeth.  William,  who 
had  a  high  school  education,  is  now  secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  at  Bartow,  Florida;  Lillian 
was  educated  in  Catawba  College  at  Newton,  North 
Carolina,  and  is  now  a  teacher  at  Mount  Airy; 
Wesley  Critz  graduated  from  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  and  is  now  a  member  of  the"  fac- 
ulty of  Guilford  College:  Mabel  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Flora  McDonald  College  and  is  now  teaching 
at  Maple  Hill.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  are  active 
members  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church,  and 
have  reared  their  children  in  the  same  faith. 

Hon.  John  Hosea  Kerb.  Prominently  inscribed 
upon  the  annals  of  the  jurisprudence  in  the  State 
of  North  Carolina  is  the  name  and  record  of  Jud^e 


66 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


John  H.  Kerr,  who  became  a  member  of  the  War- 
renton  bar  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  served  in 
various  official  positions,  and  in  1916  was  elected 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  In  Mb  judicial  office 
he  has  established  an  especially  creditable  record 
for  faithful,  conscientious  and  eminently  dis- 
tinguished service,  and  has  strengthened  the  ties 
of  faith  and  confidence  in  which  he  has  been  held 
by  the  people  of  his  state. 

Judge  Kerr  was  born  in  Yaneeyville,  North  Caro- 
lina, December  31,  1873,  a  son  of  Capt.  John  Hosea 
and  Eliza  Catherine  (Yancey)  Kerr.  His  father, 
who  for  many  years  followed  agricultural  pursuits, 
was  also  a  man  of  prominence  and  worth  in  his 
community,  and  in  addition  to  serving  as  clerk 
of  the  court  for  the  County  of  Caswell,  for  a 
number  of  years  was  identified  with  state  mili- 
tary affairs  of  the  United  States  Government  and 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  After  attending  the 
public  schools  for  a  time,  Judge  Kerr  was  sent  to 
Bingham  Military  School,  which  he  attended  as  a 
pupil  in  1890  and  1891,  and  in  the  latter  year 
entered  Wake  Forest  College,  from  which  admir- 
able institution  he  was  duly  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1895.  In  September  of  that  year  he  had 
the  distinction  to  be  the  first  man  to  receive  a 
law  license  who  graduated  from  that  college,  and 
he  at  once  located  at  Warrenton  and  entered  upon 
the  practice  of  his  chosen  calling.  His  business 
has  always  been  of  a  general  character,  and  from 
the  first  Judge  Kerr  was  successful,  his  fine 
abilities  displaying  themselves  in  such  a  manner 
that  he  escaped  almost  altogether  the  period  of 
probation  which  most  young  lawyers  are  forced 
to  meet.  As  he  gained  more  and  more  notable 
success  as  a  practitioner,  so  did  public  honors  come 
to  him,  and  in  addition  to  various  minor  offices 
he  served  for  two  terms  as  mayor  of  the  Town  of 
Warrington  and  in  1904  he  was  chosen  as1  a  presi- 
dential elector,  in  1906  was  made  solicitor  for  the 
Second  and  Third  Judicial  Districts,  a  position  in 
which  he  held  with  the  utmost  fidelity  and  ability 
for  ten  years.  For  some  time  past  he  had  been 
considered  to  be  of  sound  judicial  timber,  and  in 
September,  1916,  was  nominated  for  the  office  of 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  The  large  vote  which 
he  received  at  the  polls  in  the  November  that 
followed  evidenced  the  people's  belief  in  him,  a 
confidence  that  was  not  misplaced,  as  time  has 
already  shown.  Judge  Kerr  has  just  been  renom- 
inated for  this  position  without  opposition  for  a 
term  of  eight  years. 

Judge  Kerr  was  married  February  15,  1899,  to 
Miss  Ella  Lillian  Foote,  daughter  of  Henry  A.  and 
Minnie  (Young)  Foote,  and  to  this  union  there 
have  been  born  two  sons:  John  H.,  Jr.,  and  James 
Yancey.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Baptist  Church, 
and  is  connected  prominently  with  social  affairs 
and  religious  and  charitable  work  of  their  state. 

Willie  Person  Mangum  Turner.  Preliminary 
to  the  practice  of  law,  in  which  he  is  now  suc- 
cessfully engaged  at  Wilmington,  Mr.  Turner  was 
a  newspaper  man,  but  throughout  his  career  has 
benefited  by  close  association  with  the  leading 
men  of  the  state. 

He  was  born  in  Trinity,  Randolph  County,  North 
Carolina,  December  1,  1877,  son  of  Julian  Augus- 
tine and  Mary  Alma  (Leach)  Turner.  His  father 
for  many  years  was  a  prominent  attorney,  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Stanley 
and  Guilford  counties,  and  is  now  living  retired  at 
Greensboro.     The  son  was  educated  in  the  Horner 


Military  School  at  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  and 
finished  his  literary  training  and  also  his  legal  edu- 
cation in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He 
worked  as  a  reporter  and  correspondent  and  for 
a  time  was  city  editor  of  the  Greensboro  Telegram, 
later  city  editor  of  the  Wilmington  Messenger,  and 
was  also  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  ftaleigh 
Times.  He  then  reentered  the  university  and  in 
1907  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  After  practicing 
one  year  at  Lexington  he  returned  to  Wilmington 
in  1908,  and  has  since  found  abundant  opportuni- 
ties to  prove  his  legal  ability  in  the  handling  of 
a  large  volume  of  practice. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar 
Association,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
democratic  party  and  at  one  time  was  nominated, 
though  he  declined  to  run,  for  membership  in  the 
Legislature.  December  14,  1905,  he  married  Miss 
Lucy  Baldwin,  of  Wilmington.  They  have  two 
children,  Willie  Person  Mangum,  Jr.,  and  Marion 
Baldwin. 

Joseph  James  Loughlin  is  one  of  the  rapidly 
rising  members  of  the  bar  of  Wilmington,  though 
his  time  and  attention  have  been  chiefly  devoted 
to    the   business   of   real   estate   development. 

He  was  born  at  Swansboro,  North  Carolina, 
March  20,  1880,  a  son  of  James  and  Ida  M. 
(Ward)  Loughlin,  his  father  having  been  a  manu- 
facturer. He  was  well  educated,  attending  gram- 
mar and  high  schools,  and  during  the  twelve 
years  he  held  the  position  of  chief  clerk  in  the 
postoffice  at  Wilmington  he  carried  on  his  law 
studies  privately  and  in  August,  1911,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  •• 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Loughlin  has  been 
successfully  identified  with  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness aild  development  work.  He  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  New  Hanover  Transit  Company 
and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  improvement 
and  development  of  Carolina  Beach.  He  is  also 
a  director  in  the  Highwood  Company,  developing 
a  Wilmington  suburb,  and  is  a  director  of  the 
Progressive  Building  and  Loan  Association. 

Mr.  Loughlin  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  and  belongs  to  the  Masonic  Order. 
On  September  25,  1907,  he  married  Miss  Eleanor 
King,  of  Pennsylvania.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren: Joseph  James,  Jr.,  Charles  Elliott  and 
Eleanor  King  Loughlin. 

William  Granville  Sydnor  has  for  many  years 
been  actively  identified  with  business  affairs  at 
Mount  Airy,  where  he  has  developed  a  large  and 
extensive  clientage  in  general  insurance.  He  has 
also  done  his  part  toward  the  promotion  of  local 
industries  and  is  now  president  of  the  Hadley 
People  Manufacturing  Company,  president  of  the 
Mount  Airy  Workingman  's  Building  &  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, and  is  president  of  the  Surry  County  Fair 
Association. 

The  welfare  of  the  community  has  also  enlisted 
his  time  and  attention,  and  he  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  town  board  of  commissioners,  and 
was  elected  mayor  in  1911  and  re-elected  in  1913. 

Mr.  Sydnor  is  a  "Virginian  by  birth  and  ances- 
try. He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Halifax  County, 
Virginia,  December  1,  1865.  His  grandfather, 
William  Sydnor,  was  born  in  the  same  county, 
owned  and  occupied  a  farm  near  Meadsville  in 
that  county,  and  employed  his  slaves  to  cultivate 
his  fields.  He  married  Susan  Coleman  Barksdale, 
also   a   native   and   life-long   resident   of   Halifax 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


67 


County.  Their  nine  children  were  Peter,  Beverly, 
Giles,  Alexander  A.,  "William.  A.,  llary,  Judith, 
Betsy  and  Fannie. 

William  Anthony  Sydnor,  father  of  the  Mount 
Airy  business  mau,  was  born  in  Halifax  County, 
Virginia,  June  25,  1836.  He  was  liberally  edu- 
cated, and  from  early  youth  manifested  a  com- 
mendable interest  in  public  affairs.  Before  the 
war  he  owned  numerous  slaves  and  was  much 
attached  to  his  negroes,  treating  them  kindly,  and 
he  refused  all  offers  to  sell  them  and  kept  them 
until  they  were  set  free  by  the  war.  For  several 
years  he  owned  and  operated  a  saw  mill  in  Hali- 
fax County,  and  from  there  moved  to  Mecklenburg 
County  in  the  same  state  about  1871.  In  Meck- 
lenburg County  he  was  associated  as  a  partner 
with  his  brother  Alexander,  and  they  owned  and 
operated  both  a  flour  and  saw  mill  on  the  Boa- 
noke  Biver.  That  was  his  home  until  his  death  on 
April  9,  1877.  William  A.  Sydnor  married,  No- 
vember 26,  1859,  Sally  A.  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  July  26,  1835.  Her 
grandparents  were  Bobert  and  Sarah  ( Spencer  1 
Smith,  life  long  residents  of  Prince  Edward 
County,  Virginia,  and  substantial  farming  people 
of  that  section.  Daniel  A.  Smith,  father  of  Sally 
A.  Smith,  was  a  native  of  Prince  Edward  County 
and  married  Mary  A.  Penick,  a  native  of  Halifax 
County  and  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Tabitha 
(Budd)  Penick.  Daniel  A.  Smith  and  wife  had 
the  following  sons  and  daughters:  Bobert  J., 
Elizabeth,  Maria,  Nathan,  Mildred,  Mollie  and 
Sallie.  Mrs.  William  A.  Sydnor  is  now  living 
with  her  son  William  G.  at  Mount  Airy  and  is 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  still  hale  and  hearty. 
She  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  Bobert  A., 
Susan  and  William  G.  Bobert  A.,  who  died  June 
13,  1897,  married  Bessie  Butler,  and  they  had  a 
son,  Trent.  Susan  married  George  Perkins  and 
is  now  deceased. 

William  G.  Sydnor  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  clerk- 
ing in  a  country  store.  Later  he  took  up  the  in- 
surance business  at  Danville,  Virginia,  and  after 
his  early  training  and  experience  he  removed,  in 
1890,  to  Mount  Airy  and  opened  an  office  to  han- 
dle both  fire  and  life  insurance.  It  has  been  a 
prosperous  business  connection,  and  he  has  the 
chief  insurance  agency  in  Surry  County. 

Mr.  Sydnor  was  married  in  1897  to  Lottie  B. 
Banner,  who  was  born  at  Mount  Airv,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  C.  L.  and  Martha  (Tatem)  Banner,  of  Pat- 
rick County,  Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sydnor 
have  five  children,  named  A.  Kyle,  Margaret,  Wil- 
liam Lee,  Gray  Banner  and  Frank  Tatem. 

Samuel  Probeet  Collier,  now  living  retired  at 
Wilmington,  is  one  of  the  youngest  surviving 
veterans  of  the  war  between  the  states.  He  at- 
tained years  of  manhood  after  that  struggle  was 
over,  and  more  than  forty  years  of  his  mature 
life  were  devoted  to  business  and  official  affairs. 
He  gained  high  rank  among  the  railway  officials 
of  North  Carolina  and  also  for  many  years  was 
clerk  of  the  United  States  Court. 

Mr.  Collier  was  born  at  Everettsville  near  Golds- 
boro,  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1846, 
son  of  Col.  George  Washington  and  Elizabeth 
(Oliver)  Collier.  The  father  was  born  in  the  same 
locality,  son  of  Probert  Collier,  who  was  a  resi- 
dent around  Everettsville  for  many  years.  The 
Colliers  owned  wide  stretches  of  land  and  before 
the  war  were  slave  owners.  The  Collier  home 
was   on  the  south  side   of  the  Neuse   Biver.     Ln 


various  generations  the  Colliers  have  intermarried 
with  other  families  whose  names  are  conspicuous 
in  the  history  of  North  Carolina,  such  as  the  Whit- 
fields,  the  Bryans,  the  Hughes  of  Newborn,  and 
the  Everetts,  for  whom  the  community  of  Everetts- 
ville was  named.  Samuel  P.  Collier 's  mother  was 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  Oliver  of  Newbern. 

Prior  to  the  war  Samuel  P.  Collier  was  a  student 
in  the  school  at  Everettsville  conducted  by  J.  D. 
Campbell.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861-62  he 
attended  Doctor  Wilson 's  Preparatory  School  at 
Melville  in  Alamance  County,  preparing  for  col- 
lege. In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1862-63  he  was  a 
student  in  Hillsboro  Military  Academy  under 
Major  Gordon.  But  all  the  time  his  thoughts 
were  away  from  books  and  the  routine  of  school 
Jife.  His  eagerness  to  get  into  the  strife  which  had 
already  drawn  into  the  ranks  the  best  blood  of  the 
South  came  to  a  climax  in  April,  1863,  when  he 
ran  away  from  the  military  school  in  company 
with  a  fellow  student,  Thomas  B.  Boulhac.  He  was 
sworn  into  the  Confederate  service  at  Baleigh  by 
C.  B.  Boot.  Both  the  young  students  became 
members  of  the  Ellis  Light  Artillery,  commanded 
by  BA  C.  Manley,  son  of  Governor  Manley.  This 
command  was  known  as  Manley 's  Battery  and  was 
attached  to  Cabell's  Battalion  in  General  McLaw's 
Division  of  Longstreet's  Corps.  Mr.  Collier  re- 
mained in  the  artillery  until  after  the  Battle  of 
Gettysburg,  in  which  three  days'  conflict  he  was  a 
participant.  At  Gordonsville,  Virginia,  shortly 
after  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  he  was  offered  and 
accepted  the  sergeant  mayorship  of  the  Second 
North  Carolina  Begiment,  and  held  that  position 
until  September  19,  1864,  when  his  adjutant,  J. 
P.  Dillingham,  of  Newbern,  was  captured  and  he 
was  then  acting  adjutant  of  the  Second  North  Caro- 
lina. The  responsibilities  of  this  office  he  dis- 
charged efficiently  and  faithfully  in  spite  of  his 
youth  until  after  the  surrender  at  Appomattox,  at 
which  he  was  present.  Mr.  Collier  was  only  nine- 
teen years  old  when  the  war  closed.  More  than 
fifty  years  have  since  passed,  but  they  have  failed 
to  obliterate  his  youthfulness  in  appearance  and 
activities,  and  he  is  one  of  the  youngest  old  men 
in  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  The  days  he 
spent  with  the  fighting  armies  of  the  South  assume 
larger  and  larger  interest  in  his  recollections  as 
time  goes  on,  and  he  has  identified  himself  with  the 
old  soldiers'  organizations  and  is  deeply  interested 
in  the  history  and  reminiscences  pertaining  to  the 
war  and  its  participants. 

After  returning  from  the  army  Mr.  Collier  was 
for  a  short  time  at  Goldsboro  and  later  lived  at 
Newbern  until  1870.  He  then  returned  to  Golds- 
boro and  married  in  1871,  and  soon  afterward 
entered  the  railroad  service  as  clerk  to  Capt.  John 
F.  Divine,  superintendent  of  the  Wilmington  & 
Weldon  Bailroad.  Later  he  was  made  clerk  to 
B.  B.  Bridges,  the  president  of  the  road.  His 
railroad  duties  brought  him  to  Wilmington,  the 
headquarters  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon,  and 
that  city  has  been  his  place  of  residence  since 
1871.  In  the  railroad  service  of  the  Wilmington 
&  Weldon  Mr.  Collier  rose  by  successive  and  well 
merited  promotions  to  be  assistant  general  freight 
agent  of  the  company.  He  retired  in  1884.  .Sub- 
sequently for  a  period  of  fourteen  years  Mr.  Collier 
was  clerk  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the 
Wilmington  Division  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
North  Carolina.  He  was  constant  and  unflagging 
in  his  attention  to  the  duties  of  this  office  until 
he  resigned  in  1917. 

At  Goldsboro,  April  27,  1871,  Mr.  Collier  married 


68 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Miss  Emma  F.  Knight,  a  native  of  that  city  and 
daughter  of  Capt.  James  and  Louisiana  (Loring) 
Knight.  Her  parents  were  born  in  Nansemond 
County,  Virginia.  Captain  Knight  was  a  railroad 
official  of  long  and  honorable  record.  He  began 
railroading  at  Suffolk,  Virginia,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  for  over  a  half  a  century  was  with 
the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  Railroad  and  rose  to 
the  position  of  superintendent  of  transportation. 
He  died  in  1901  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  Mrs. 
Collier  cherishes  the  possession  of  a  beautiful 
silver  service  presented  to  her  father  in  October, 
1886,  by  Mr.  W.  T.  Walters,  one  of  the  largest 
stockholders  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon.  The 
service  is  engraved  with  the  following  inscription: 
' '  To  Captain  James  Knight,  a  testimonial  to  his 
never  having  been  found  wanting  during  half  a 
century  of  service. ' '  The  service  consists  of  a 
(pitchier  and  salver  of  hammered  silver,  truly 
massive,  and  of  exquisite  design. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collier  have  three  living  children. 
Mary,  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  James  W.  Perrin,  as- 
sistant traffic  manager  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
Railway.  Samuel  P.  Collier,  Jr.,  is  traffic  manager 
of  the  Winston-Salem  Southbound  Railroad,  with 
headquarters  at  Winston-Salem.  Dr.  George 
Kirby  Collier,  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  Baltimore,  is  now  superin- 
tendent of  a  large  state  institution  at  Sonyea,  near 
Rochester,  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collier  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  by  death  in  1911  another 
son,  James  K.  Collier,  who  was  a  talented  news- 
paper man.  For  several  years  he  was  on  the  edi- 
torial staff  of  the  New  York  American.  He  also 
gained  prominence  in  the  amusement  world,  and 
for  some  years  was  manager  for  Primrose  and 
West's  Minstrels. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collier  have  a  most  delightful  and 
happy  home.  Some  years  ago  he  bought  the 
Brown  mansion  on  Front  Street.  It  is  a  spacious 
and  generously  constructed  residence  suggestive 
of  the  opulence  of  its  builders  and  one  affording 
a  fitting  and  congenial  domicile  for  such  hospitable 
spirits  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collier.  This  home  is  in 
the  heart  of  what  is  now  Wilmington's  business 
district,  and  has  become  highly  valuable  as  real 
estate. 

Russell  Wolcott  Livermore.  The  real  signifi- 
cance of  a  life  is  more  than  its  material  achieve- 
ments, and  consists  in  what  it  has  meant  for  the 
well  being  and  advancement  of  others.  It  was  a 
remarkably  extensive  circle  of  friends  and  neigh- 
bors that  the  life  and  career  of  the  late  Russell 
Wolcott  Livermore  affected,  and  always  for  their 
good. 

When  he  died  at  his  home  at  Pate's  in  Robeson 
County  in  April,  1914,  the  sentiment  was  widely 
expressed  and  was  undoubtedly  true  that  he  was 
Robeson's  most  useful  citizen.  A  complete  ac- 
count of  all  that  he  did  and  the  influences  that 
radiated  from  him  can  only  be  suggested  in  the 
following  paragraphs: 

Mr.  Livermore  was  of  New  England  birth  and 
of  the  rugged  inheritance  of  that  section  of  coun- 
try. He  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1850, 
and  was  only  sixty-four  when  he  died.  His  par- 
ents were  Rev.  Aaron  and  Mary  (Wolcott)  Liver- 
more. Two  of  the  noted  New  England  names 
are  Wolcott  and  Livermore.  His  father  was  a 
Congregational  minister. 

The  early  life  of  R.  W.  Livermore  was  spent 
nt  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  He  was  educated  in 
what  is  now  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural   Col- 


lege, then  known  as  Swathmore  College.  He  pre- 
pared for  the  law  at  Yale  Law  School,  and  after 
graduating  went  west  to  Toledo,  where  he  took 
up  the  practice  of  his  profession.  At  Toledo  he 
married  Miss  Lillie  Hayes.  The  brothers  of  Mrs. 
Livermore  had  some  extensive  land  and  timber 
interests  in  Robeson  County,  North  Carolina,  and 
in  1884  Mr.  Livermore  came  here  to  look  after 
that  property.  He  was  greatly  impressed  with 
the  prospects  of  the  country  and  eventually  de- 
cided to  make  it  his  permanent  home.  His  first 
active  enterprise  was  in  the  turpentine  business, 
later  he  became  a  railroad  tie  contractor,  and 
within  a  comparatively  short  time  had  built  up  an 
immense  business  in  lumber  manufacture,  mer- 
chandise and  as  a  land  owner,  all  of  which  were 
centered  at  Pate's,  a  station  on  the  Seaboard  Air 
Line  two  miles  west  of  Pembroke.  All  his  busi- 
ness affairs  were  prosecuted  with  an  energy  char- 
acteristic of  a  typical  New  England  man. 

Nothing  in  all  his  history  perhaps  reflects  more 
credit  upon  his  name  and  is  more  worthy  to  be 
recalled  in  this  connection  than  the  interest  he 
took  in  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who  have  been  set- 
tled in  the  vieinity  of  Pembroke  for  several  gen- 
erations. Mr.  Livermore  instead  of  disregarding 
these  descendants  of  the  aboriginal  tribes,  as  have 
been  the  tendency  of  most  Americans  at  all  times 
and  places,  lent  them  every  encouragement  and 
assistance  to  improve  their  condition  in  life.  He 
was  glad  to  teach  and  encourage  them  to  carry  on 
farm  operations,  and  especially  to  acquire  their 
own  land  and  homes  and  develop  thrift,  industry 
and  other  habits  that  would  make  them  substantial 
citizens.  Wisely  enough  he  sought  this  end  largely 
by  beginning  with  the  younger  generation,  and  by 
securing  proper  school  facilities  saw  to  it  that 
the  coming  generation  was  educated.  More  than 
anyone  else  Mr.  Livermore  was  the  primary  fac- 
tor in  having  established  at  Pembroke  the  Chero- 
kee Normal  School,  a  state  institution  for  these 
Indians.  It  is  said  that  when  Mr.  Livermore 
came  to  Robeson  County  there  were  not  to  be 
found  altogether  more  than  three  head  of  mules 
among  the  Cherokee  Indians.  Today  it  is  esti- 
mated that  they  own  from  eight  to  ten  thousand 
head  of  livestock,  while  their  progress  and  ad- 
vancement in  living  conditions,  ownership  of 
homes,  industry  and  education  may  be  judged  ac- 
cordingly. All  of  these  results  are  largely  due  to 
the  impetus  and  encouragement  given  them  by 
Mr.  Livermore,  whom  they  always  looked  upon 
as  their  best  friend  and  counsellor,  and  who  in 
turn  received  their  highest  esteem  and  affection. 
Mr.  Livermore  never  formally  practiced  law  in 
North  Carolina,  but  his  legal  ability  enabled  him 
to  perform  a  great  deal  of  gratuitous  service  for 
the  Indians,  for  whom  he  drew  up  papers  and 
was  their  constant  adviser  as  to  the  proper  care 
and  disposition  of  their  property. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Livermore  gave  employ- 
ment to  large  numbers  of  people,  carried  on  ex- 
tensive timbering  and  lumber  manufacturing  en- 
terprises, and  cleared  and  developed  great  acre- 
ages of  land.  And  the  significant  thing  is  that 
with  all  these  opportunities  for  acquiring  wealth, 
and  for  all  that  he  did  to  create  wealth  in  this 
section,  most  of  it  was  done  for  the  sake  and 
benefit  of  others  rather  than  for  himself,  since 
he  was  by  no  means  a  rich  man  when  he  died. 
His  riches  largely  consisted  of  the  love  and  esteem 
of  hia  people.  Personally  Mr.  Livermore  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  largeness  of  mind,  breadth  and 
liberality  of  vision,  characteristics  which  kept  him 


/€a^, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


69 


above  the  petty  affairs  of  party  or  factional  poli- 
tics. He  was  a  scholarly  man,  widely  read  and 
cultured,  and  had  great  ability  as  a  public  speaker, 
and  to  his  intimates  was  a  most  interesting  com- 
panion and  friend. 

Mr.  Livermore  's  children  were  born  at  Pate 's, 
where  he  always  maintained  a  home,  but  for  sev- 
eral years  he  lived  at  Red  Springs,  primarily  to 
educate  his  children.  Mrs.  Livermore  died  several 
years  before  his  own  death.  Three  children  sur- 
vive, Russell  Hayes,  Henry  and  Miss  Mary.  Henry 
is  now  in  the  United  States  Army.  He  and  his 
brother  Russell  Hayes  were  associated  with  their 
father  in  business  until  the  latter 's  death. 

Russell  Hayes  Livermore  was  educated  in  the 
University  of  Xorth  Carolina.  He  is  now  cashier 
of  the  Bank  of  Pembroke,  and  is  in  every  way  a 
worthy  successor  of  his  honored  father.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Gretchen  McCullers,  daughter  of  Henrv 
,A.  and  Ella  (No well)  McCullers,  When  a  child 
'  she  was  adopted  into  the  family  of  Mr.  R.  TV. 
Livermore  and  thus  she  and  her  husband  grew  up 
as  companions  in  childhood  and  are  now  linked 
together  for  the  journey  through  life.  They  hare 
two  interesting  daughters,  Mary  Hoyland  and 
Jean. 

Bukke  Haywood  Bridgers  since  his  graduation 
from  the  law  department  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity in  1905  has  divided  his  time  between  a  grow- 
ing general  practice  as  a  lawyer  and  the  real 
estate  business  at  Wilmington.  He  is  manager 
of  the  Carolina  Heights  Real  Estate  Company, 
and  though  only  thirty-one  years  of  age  has  al- 
ready secured  a  substantial  "place  in  tie  profes- 
sional and  business  life  of  his  city. 

He  was  born  at  Raleigh  Xovember  14,  1885, 
a  son  of  Preston  L.  and  Elizabeth  Eagles  ( Hay- 
wood )  Bridgers.  His  father  was  a  wholesale 
lumber  merchant.  Preparatory  to  his  course  at 
the  University  Mr.  Bridgers  attended  the  Raleigh 
Male  Academy  and  the  Horner  Military  School 
at  Oxford,  and  then  took  the  full  literary  course 
in  the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina,  where  he 
was  graduated  in  1903,  two  years  before  his  grad- 
uation   from    the    law   department. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  Bar 
Association,  the  Cape  Bear  Club,  the  Carolina 
Yacht  Club,  and  the  Cape  Fear  Country  Club. 
April  10,  1913,  he  was  happily  married  to  Helen 
Strange,  of  Wilmington.  They  have  one  child, 
Elizabeth   Haywood. 

Edward  Baxter  Xeave.  Possessing  in  a 
marked  degree  the  ability,  judgment,  enterprise 
and  tact  that  invariably  command  success  in  the 
business  world,  Edward  Baxter  Xeave  is  promi- 
nently and  officially  associated  with  one  of  the 
leading  industrial  organizations  of  Salisbury,  be- 
ing secretary,  treasurer  and  general  manager  of 
the  Vance  Mill  Company,  one  of  the  leading  indus- 
trial organizations  of  Salisbury,  and  these  respon- 
sible positions  he  is  filling  to'  the  acceptation  of 
all  concerned.  A  native  of  Scotland,  he  was  born 
in  Arbroath,  a  seaport  and  manufacturing  town 
of  Eorfarshire,  which  was  also  the  native  place  of 
his  father.  James  B.  Xeave. 

Born  and  bred  in  Scotland.  James  B.  Xeave 
spent  his  earlier  life  in  the  country  of  his  birth, 
living  there  long  after  his  first  marriage.  Lured 
to  the  Xew  World  by  the  glowing  reports  of  for- 
tunes waiting  for  the  brave  immigrant,  he  came 
with  his  family  to  the  United  States,  settling  first 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  later  removing  to  West 


Jefferson,  Madison  County,  that  state,  where  he 
continued  a  resident  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-six  years.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  died  in  Scotland,  leaving  three  sons,  Robert, 
William  H.  and  David.  William  H.  came  with 
the  family  to  America,  and  in  1857  located  in 
Salisbury.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war 
he  was  commissioned  band  master  in  the  Confed- 
erate Army.  James  B.  Xeave  married  for  his 
second  wife  Agnes  Jamison,  who  was  born  in 
Dundee,  Scotland,  came  with  him  and  the  children 
to  America,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy-eight  years.  She  was  the  mother  of  three 
children,  as  follows:  Edward  Baxter,  the  special 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Eleanor;  and  Charles,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years. 

Having  acquired  a  practical  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Ohio,  Edward  Baxter  Xeave 
came  from  that  state  to  Rowan  County,  Xorth 
Carolina,  locating  in  Salisbury,  where  on  May  30, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Rowan  Rifles, 
which  was  later  attached  to  the  Fourth  Regiment, 
Xorth  Carolina  Troops.  Like  his  half-brother,  he 
was  a  talented  musician,  and  was  made  leader  of 
the  Fourth  Regimental  Band.  A  brave  and  cour- 
ageous soldier,  he  continued  with  his  command 
until  the  surrender  at  Appomattox.  Returning 
to  Salisbury,  Mr.  Xeave  formed  a  partnership 
with  Charles  F.  Baker,  and  for  upwards  of  thirty 
years  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  dealing 
extensively  in  house  furnishings.  Since  retiring 
from  that  business  Mr.  Xeave  has  filled  his  pres- 
ent position  as  secretary,  treasurer  and  general 
manager  of  the  Vance  Mill  Company. 

Mr.  Xeave  married  for  his  first  wife  Ellen 
Baker,  a  daughter  of  Charles  F.  and  Ann  (Owen) 
Baker,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  England 
and  the  latter  in  Davidson  County,  Xorth  Caro- 
lina. She  died  in  1874,  and  her  only  child,  Agnes, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  B.  Marsh,  died 
in  early  life,  leaving  five  children,  Thomas  B.,  Jr., 
Edward  B.,  Frank,  Ellen  and  Rebekah.  Mr.  Xeave 
married  second  Carrie  MeXeeley,  who  was  born 
in  Brooklyn,  Xew  York,  a  daughter  of  William  G. 
and  Louisa  (Marvin)  MeXeeley.  Four  children 
have  been  born  of  this  union,  namely :  James 
William,  who  married  Lila  Bernhardt  and  has  two 
children,  Mary  L.  and  Caroline;  Louise;  Anne; 
and  Edward. 

A  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
Mr.  Xeave  joined  Fulton  Lodge  Xo.  9  when  young, 
and  for  fourteen  years  served  as  its  worshipful 
master;  he  was  a  charter  member  and  the  first  wor- 
shipful master  of  Andrew  Jackson  Lodge ;  he  is  a 
member  of  Salisbury  Chapter  Xo.  20,  Royal  Arch 
Masons;  of  Adoniram  Council  Xo.  2,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters;  of  Salisbury  Commandery  Xo.  13, 
Knights  Templar;  and  of  Oasis  Temple  at  Char- 
lotte. Mr.  Xeave  also  belongs  to  Salisburv  Lodge 
Xo.  24,  EJiights  of  Pythias. 

James  Thosias  Broadway  entered  the  cotton 
mill  industry  as  a  boy,  and  has  steadily  worked 
his  way  up  to  a  point  where  he  now  enjoys  many 
of  the  responsibilities  and  the  honors  of  executive 
office,  having  been  connected  with  the  Pearl  Cotton 
Mills  at  Durham  for  nearly  twenty  years. 

Mr.  Broadway  was  born  in  Stanlev  County,  Xorth 
Carolina,  March  6,  1868,  a  son  of  Hartwell  M.  and 
Lavinia  (Ewing)  Broadway.  His  father  was  both 
a  merchant  and  farmer,  was  in  moderate  circum- 
stances and  James  Thomas  found  it  desirable  and 
in  aceord  with  his  own  ambition  to  begin  his 
career  when   only  fifteen  years  of  age.     He  had 


70 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


in  the  meantime  made  the  best  of  his  advantages 
in  the  public  schools,  and  he  first  took  his  place 
in  the  cotton  mill  industry  as  a  picker  boy.  He 
worked  up  steadily,  and  in  1899  on  removing  to 
Durham  he  was  made  overseer  of  weaving  in  the 
Pearl  Cotton  Mills.  Since  1900  he  has  been  super- 
intendent of  that  large  and  important  industrial 
institution  of  Durham. 

Mr.  Broadway  is  a  Chapter  Mason,  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
is  a  deacon  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 
January  3,  1898,  he  married  Miss  Lydia  Bobertson 
of  Union  County,  North  Carolina.  Their  six 
children  are  Jessie,  Hazeline,  Blandina,  Blanch, 
James,  Thomas  Jr.,  and  Hartwell  Edgeworth. 

Iredell  Meabes.  To  live  up  to  the  traditions 
associated  with  his  family  name  would  have  been 
in  itself  a  worthy  achievement  for  Mr.  Iredell 
Meares,  of  Wilmington.  But  he  has  done  more 
than  that.  He  has  added  distinction  to  a  name 
which  has  been  honorably  identified  with  North 
Carolina's  history  since  the  establishment  of  the 
American  Union. 

His  position  as  a  lawyer  is  well  reflected  in  an 
endorsement  signed  by  many  of  the  most  promi- 
nent members  of  the  North  Carolina  bar  urging 
President  Taft  to  appoint  Mr.  Meares  to  a  vacan- 
cy on  the  bench  of  the  United  States  District 
Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  North  Caro- 
lina. His  fellow  lawyers  urged  his  appointment 
because  "he  is  a  well  trained  lawyer,  a  laborious 
student,  accustomed  to  habits  of  legal  research, 
and  writes  clearly  and  cogently  upon  propositions 
of  law.  In  the  enjoyment  of  splendid  physical  and 
mental  activity  at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  "and  of  a 
reputation  both  personal  and  professional,  well 
sustained  for  many  years,  he  has  by  close  applica- 
tion and  patient  study  attained  a  liberal  and  broad 
knowledge  of  the  law  and  familiarity  with  the  pro- 
cedure in  all  the  courts  both  State  and  Federal. " 
The  story  of  his  career  indicates  the  powers 
which  have  brought  him  to  his  honorable  position, 
and  it  is  also  a  source  of  encouragement  to  other 
men  who  have  to  struggle  through  difficulties  to 
attain  the  goal  of  their  ambitions. 

He  was  born  at  Raleigh,  December  15,  1856. 
His  parents  were  Thomas  D.  and  Jane  Moore 
(Iredell)  Meares.  Through  his  mother  he  is  a 
great-grandson  of  James  Iredell,  Sr.,  who  was  one 
of  North  Carolina's  most  eminent  men  in  the 
early  days  of  our  nation's  history.  President 
"Washington  recognized  his  learning  and  ability 
in  appointing  him  to  the  bench  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  and  he  was  a  member  of 
that  tribunal  during  the  critical  period  of  Amer- 
ican history.  Mr.  Meares'  maternal  grandfather 
was  James  Iredell,  Jr.,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers 
and  public  men  of  his  day,  and  his  name  is  indeli- 
bly impressed  upon  the  annals  of  North  Carolina 
by  his  service  as  governor  of  the  state  and  as  a 
United  States  senator.  In  the  paternal  line  Mr. 
Meares'  grandfather,  William  B.  Meares,  attained 
distinction  in  the  law  and  in  public  life,  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  North  Carolina  whigs  in  ante- 
bellum days.  Thomas  D.  Meares,  who  practiced 
law  in  Wilmington  for  many  years,  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  finished  orators  in  the  Cape 
Pear  district,  and  was  an  active  whig  until  the 
dissolution  of  that  party. 

Few  men  begin  life  with  more  incentive  to  the 
success  of  an  honorable  ambition  set  close  before 
them  in  the  careers  of  their  immediate  family  than 
Iredell  Meares.    But  for  the  misfortunes  that  came 


to  nearly  every  Southern  family  in  the  train  of 
the  war  Iredell  Meares  would  have  had  an  easy 
course  in  preparation  for  any  career  he  might 
have  chosen.  His  first  years  were  spent  at  his 
father's  summer  home  at  Southport,  old  Smith- 
ville.  In  1861  the  family  removed  to  a  plantation 
near  the  present  site  of  Cleveland,  North  Carolina. 
The  fortunes  of  Thomas  D.  Meares  were  com- 
pletely wrecked  by  the  Civil  war,  and  in  1867  he 
returned  to  Wilmington  and  had  hardly  begun 
the  task  of  rehabilitating  his  fortunes  when  death 
came  to  him  in  the  fall  of  1871.  He  left  eight 
children. 

As  a  result  of  these  conditions  Iredell  Meares 
had  only  eighteen  months  of  schooling  up  to  the 
age  of  twelve.  The  family  fortunes  were  then  so 
reduced  that  he  had  to  earn  his  own  way  and  aid 
in  the  support  of  others.  His  first  employment 
was  as  office  boy  in  a  local  firm,  and  he  clerked 
in  Wilmington  until  1878,  and  then  removed  to 
New  York  City  and  for  a  time  was  traveling  sales- 
man for  a  wholesale  coffee  house,  introducing  their 
goods  to  southern  trade. 

During  all  this  time  his  ambition  was  steadfastly 
set  upon  those  larger  accomplishments  which  were 
regarded  as  almost  traditional  in  his  family  his- 
tory. In  1881  he  returned  to  Wilmington,  clerked 
for  a  time  in  the  freight  office  of  the  Seaboard 
Air  Line  and  later  was  bookkeeper  for  an  estab- 
lished concern.  His  earnestness  and  the  traits  of 
character  which  he  inherited  from  his  ancestors 
gained  him  recognition  from  such  prominent  men 
as  Col.  Robert  Strange,  Col.  Duncan  K.  McRae, 
Hon.  George  Davis  and  Judge  Risden  Bennett. 
It  was  through  the  influence  of  Colonel  Bennett 
that  in  1885  he  was  appointed  special  deputy  col- 
lector of  the  Port  of  Wilmington,  and  he  held  that 
position  until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1889. 
He  sought  this  position  in  order  to  have  more 
leisure  for  study,  and  though  unable  to  attend 
college  he  bought  and  borrowed  books  and  lost  no 
opportunity  to  enrich  and  improve  his  mind  with 
the  best  in  literature  and  also  with  that  branch  of 
knowledge  which  would  fit  him  for  the  legal  pro- 
fession. It  is  recalled  that  during  his  service  as 
deputy  collector  Mr.  Meares  investigated  certain 
rebates  on  cotton  ties  that  were  being  collected  by 
exporters  of  cotton  from  the  Government,  and  as 
a  result  of  his  investigation  the  payment  of  these 
rebates  was  stopped. 

While  in  the  collector 's  office  Mr.  Meares  studied 
law  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Col.  Thomas 
W.  Strange  and  Mr.  Eugene  S.  Martin,  both  prom- 
inent lawyers  of  the  Wilmington  bar.  The  goal 
to  which  all  his  efforts  had  been  directed  for  so 
many  years  was  reached  in  1889  with  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar,  and  since  then  he  has  practiced 
steadily  at  Wilmington  and  has  gained  state-wide 
prominence  as  a  lawyer,  which  has  been  above  in- 
dicated in  the  words  of  men  who  are  intimately 
acquainted  with  his  work  as  counsel  and  attorney 
in  both  the  State  and  Federal  courts.  It  is  said 
that  Mr.  Meares  for  the  second  time  in  the  history 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state  was  given  a 
specific  commendation  upon  one  of  his  briefs  sub- 
mitted in  the  trial  of  an  important  case  before 
that  tribunal.  Mr.  Meares  has  long  been  prom- 
inent in  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  and 
has  served  as  vice  president  of  the  organization. 

The  independence  of  his  character  and  the  value 
of  his  public  leadership  are  well  known  to  all 
who  have  followed  his  career  in  public  life.  Before 
the  war  his  family  were  chiefly  aligned  with  the 
whig  party.     During  his   own  career  Mr.  Meares 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


71 


was  a  democrat  until  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tional amendment  which  took  the  negro  out  of 
politics  in  North  Carolina  and  enabled  the  voters 
to  make  their  choice  of  political  allegiance  de- 
pendent upon  economic  and  purely  political  ques- 
tions. Since  then  he  has  been  an  independent, 
and  has  been  a  republican  candidate  for  CongTess, 
and  in  1913  was  progressive  candidate  for  governor 
of  the  state,  polling  the  second  highest   vote. 

He  was  a  leader  in  the  campaign  of  1898, 
and  during  that  year  was  one  of  the  special  com- 
mittee of  twenty-five  citizens  of  Wilmington  ap- 
pointed by  mass  meeting  during  the  eventful 
Wilmington  revolution.  Mr.  Meares  subsequently 
wrote  a  history  of  the  movement,  in  which  he 
maintained  that  it  was  a  social  and  not  a  political 
revolution  and  that  it  was  the  assertion  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon 's  determination  to  govern  themselves. 
During  the  campaign  for  the  constitutional  amend- 
ment in  1900  he  advocated  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  on  the  grounds  that  it  would  give  op- 
portunity for  the  full  discussion  of  economic  ques- 
tions and  the  division  of  parties  upon  lines  of 
intellectual  conviction.  In  1904  a  number  of 
Wilmington  citizens  presented  his  name  for  nom- 
ination as  candidate  for  Congress  from  the  Sixth 
District,  but  Mr.  Meares  declined  to  become  a  can- 
didate, since  his  views  were  not  in  accord  with 
the  policies  of  the  national  democratic  party.  In 
1904  he  supported  Roosevelt  and  in  1908  was  active 
in  behalf  of  Mr.  Taft  for  president.  Thus  he  has 
felt  free  to  support  and  advocate  many  of  those 
policies  which  strike  deeply  at  the  roots  of  modern 
economic  and  social  evils,  and  any  state  is  the  bet- 
ter for  a  citizen  of  such  independence  of  thought, 
and  of  such  practical  idealisms.  He  has  delivered 
many  notable  addresses  on  political  matters,  and 
as  an  orator  and  speaker  has  been  in  great  demand 
on  numerous  occasions.  One  of  his  notable  ad- 
dresses was  delivered  in  1902  at  the  laying  of  the 
cornerstone  of  the  courthouse  of  New  Hanover 
County  on  the  subject  "The  Administration  of 
Law."  In  1907  several  articles  on  "North  Caro- 
lina Kate  Legislation  and  Agitation,  and  the  Con- 
stitutional Relation  of  the  State  and  Federal 
Courts, ' '  were  published  under  his  name  in  the 
Charlotte  Observer.  These  articles  were  published 
in  pamphlet  and  attracted  wide  attention  and  dis- 
cussion all  over  the  state.  He  has  given  time  to 
the  study  of  problems  of  internal  development  and 
improvement,  and  his  address  before  the  North 
Carolina  Retail  Merchants'  Association  in  1908  on 
"Deep  Water  Ways  for  the  South"  was  one  of 
the  best  timed  articles  and  most  forceful  presenta- 
tions of  the  general  subject  of  water  ways  in 
North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Meares  was  married  in  1885,  to  Miss  Jo- 
sephine Folger,  of  Cortland,  New  York.  He  has 
a  son,  George  Folger,  who,  after  practicing  law 
with  his  father  a  short  while,  obtained  his  diploma 
as  an  ocean  navigator.  Became  an  officer  in  the 
merchant  marine  of  ocean  steamers,  and,  upon 
the  outbreak  of  the  European  war  in  1914  volun- 
teered in  the  Naval  Reserves,  where  he  now  serves 
as  lieutenant  aboard  an  ocean  transport.  His 
daughter,  Miss  Jane  Iredell  Meares,  is  at  present 
in  the  Government  employ  in  an  important  posi- 
tion at  Washington.  He  has  no  other  living  chil- 
dren.    Mrs.  Meares  is   still  living. 

Cyrus  Dunlap  Hogtte  after  completing  his 
legal  education  came  to  Wilmington  in  1913  and 
for  a  year  and  a  half  served  as  deputy  clerk  to 
the   Superior   Court.     Since  1915  he   has  been  in 


active  practice  and  already  has  a  promising 
clientage  and  is  rapidly  rising  to  the  heights 
which,  distinguish  the  leading  lawyers  of  the 
state. 

He  was  born  at  Marion,  Alabama,  November 
27,  1888,  a  son  of  Cyrus  Dunlap  and  Mary 
( Brown  j  Hogue.  His  father  was  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  at  one  time  served  as  state  auditor 
of  Alabama.  He  died  in  1891.  The  son  received 
his  college  education  in  the  University  of  the 
South  at  Sewanee,  Tennessee,  where  he  graduated 
A.  B.  For  two  years  he  was  assistant  instructor 
in  German  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  while  there  pursued  his  studies  in  the  law 
department,  graduating  LL.  B.  in  1912.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association, 
the  Cape  Fear  Country  Club,  the  Carolina  Yacht 
Club,  and  belongs  to  St.  James  Episcopal  Church. 

George  Calvin  Welch.  When  he  was  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  George  Calvin  Welch  gave  up 
his  work  as  a  country  school  teacher  and,  having 
by  strict  economy  saved  a  couple  of  hundred  dol- 
lars, sought  an  opportunity  to  enter  merchandising 
on  the  basis  of  that  meager  capital  and  practically 
without  experience. 

He  had  enterprise,  which  was  a  more  valuable 
asset,  and  he  secured  a  little  building  in  the  coun- 
try about  four  miles  east  of  Mount  Airy.  Going 
to  Winston-Salem,  he  judiciously  expended  his 
capital  in  a  small  stock  of  general  merchandise, 
loaded  it  on  wagons,  and  transported  it  to  his 
country  store.  That  was  the  manner  of  stocking 
his  business  for  a  number  of  years.  He  soon 
made  the  location  a  favorable  point  of  trade,  had 
a  steady  patronage  and  rapid  additions  had  to  be 
made  to  his  stock  and  his  facilities  for  serving  the 
public.  With  increased  prosperity  he  felt  justified 
in  seeking  a  larger  center  for  business,  and  in  1890 
removed  to  Mount  Airy,  where  he  erected  a  com- 
modious brick  structure  in  which  he  now  conducts 
a  regular  department  store.  His  stock  of  goods 
comprises  practically  everything  needed  for  use 
in  the  home  and  on  the  farm.  Among  successful 
North  Carolina  merchants  Mr.  Welch  deserves 
mention.  Besides  his  large  business  he  is  also 
vice  president  of  the  Bank  of  Mount  Airy. 

Mr.  Welch  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Quaker  Gap 
Township  of  Stokes  County,  North  Carolina.  The 
family  on  both  sides  were  pioneers  in  this  section 
of  the  state.  His  father,  Noah  Welch,  was  born 
near  Germanton  in  Stokes  County,  July  12,  1819. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Fulton.  Noah 
Welch  bought  land  in  Quaker  Gap  Township  and 
was  a  prosperous  general  farmer  until  late  in  life, 
when  he  removed  to  Mount  Airy  and  lived  retired. 
His  death  occurred  in  1896.  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six.  He  married  Delilah  Pearce,  who  was  born 
near  Westfield  in  Quaker  Gap  Township  October 
5,  1822.  Her  father,  William  Pearce,  was  born 
in  the  same  location  and  on  the  same  farm.  Wil- 
liam Pearce  married  Susan  George,  whose  father, 
Presly  George,  was  a  very  extensive  land  owner 
and  slave  holder  in  that  section,  and  spent  his  last 
years  on  his  farm  near  Westfield.  William  Pearce 
and  wife  were  life-long  residents  of  Stokes 
County.  Mrs.  Noah  Welch  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-seven.  Noah  Welch  was  exempt  from  ac- 
tive service  in  the  Confederate  Army  on  account 
of  physical  disability,  but  toward  the  close  of 
the  war  he  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  Home 
Guard  and  did  what  he  could  to  defend  the  coun- 
try. He  and  his  wife  reared  four  children :  Wil- 
liam Francis,  Susan,  George  Calvin  and  Amanda. 


72 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


George  C.  Welch  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm, 
was  educated  primarily  in  the  rural  schools  and 
also  attended  the  Friends  School  at  Westfield.  On 
leaving  school  he  became  a  teacher  and  followed 
that  vocation  until  he  assumed  the  new  role  of 
merchant. 

On  December  9,  1877,  he  married  Delia 
Hutchins,  who  was  born  in  Yadkin  County,  daugh- 
ter of  Vestal  and  Elizabeth  Hutchins.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Welch  have  six  children:  Ida,  Etta,  Emma, 
Walter  P.,  Alice  and  George  Edgar.  Ida  is  the 
wife  of  W.  R.  Bowman  and  her  two  children  are 
Lucy  and  Welch.  Etta  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Jones 
and  has  a  son  Clarence.  Emma  married  Rev. 
J.  M.  Folger  and  their  child  is  Joseph  Calvin. 
Walter  married  Lulla  MeGee,  their  three  children 
being  Clara  Belle,  Walter  McGee  and  Helen.  Alice 
is  the  wife  of  W.  L.  Dunman.        '     . 

Mr.  Welch's  parents  were  faithful  members  of 
the  Baptist  Church.  While  he  was  a  student  in  the 
Friends  School  at  Westfield  he  adopted  that  faith, 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Friends  Church  and  he  is  one  of  the  board  of 
trustees.  Mr.  Welch  has  also  served  as  town  com- 
missioner and  a  member  of  the  city  council  and 
for  eight  years  gave  his  efficient  services  to  the 
board  of  education.    Politically  he  is  a  democrat. 

William  Stone  Roberson.  A  university  town, 
Chapel  Hill  naturally  has  become  the  home  of  men 
of  high  professional  ability,  and  the  church,  medi- 
cine and  the  law  are  all  well  and  even  notably 
represented  here.  An  atmosphere  of  culture  pre- 
vails that  is  well  sustained  by  the  permanent 
residents.  Hundreds  of  youths  yearly  go  out  from 
this  great  university  benefited  not  only  by  the 
educational  opportunities  there  afforded,  but  by  a 
refined  and  wholesome  environment  that  surrounds 
them  in  their  leisure  hours.  Undoubtedly  great 
assistance  has  been  given  in  this  direction  by  the 
wise  administration  of  the  city's  laws,  which  were 
admirably  administered  for  ten  continuous  years 
by  William  Stone  Roberson  as  mayor. 

William  Stone  Robenson  is  a  native  of  Chapel 
Hill,  North  Carolina,  born  February  28,  1869. 
His  parents  were  Dr.  Abner  Benton  and  Cornelia 
Adaline  (Stone)  Roberson.  His  father  was  a 
physician  of  eminence  and  the  families  are  well 
known  all  over  the  state. 

Primarily  educated  in  select  schools,  William  S. 
Roberson  later  attended  the  public  schools  and 
then  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1889,  later  teaching 
school  for  a  year  and  then  returning  to  the  uni- 
versity where  he  was  graduated  from  the  law 
department  in  February,  1891.  He  immediately 
entered  into  practice  at  Graham,  North  Carolina, 
and  from  there  came  to  Chapel  Hill  in  1893  and 
has  successfully  carried  on  a  general  practice  here 
ever  since  and  has  been  connected  with  many 
important  cases  of  litigation  that  have  added  to 
his  honorable  reputation  as  a  lawyer. 

A  loyal  citizen  of  Chapel  Hill  and  ever  mindful 
of  her  best  interests,  Mr.  Roberson  accepted  the 
mayoralty  with  ambitious  hopes  and  during  the 
decade  that  he  continued  to  hold  the  office,  had  the 
satisfaction  of  bringing  about  many  improvements 
that  have  added  materially  to  the  health  and  happi- 
ness of  the  place.  He  has  always  been  exceedingly 
popular.  In  addition  to  his  public  and  professional 
activities,  Mr.  Roberson  for  some  time  has  been 
secretary,  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the 
Chapel  Hill  Insurance  &  Realty  Company. 


Col.  Thomas  L.  Craig.  Among  the  most  prom- 
inent men  of  Gastonia,  using  the  term  in  its  broad- 
est sense  to  indicate  business  acumen,  sterling  char- 
acter, public  beneficence  and  upright  citizenship, 
is  Col.  Thomas  L.  Craig,  merchant,  banker,  stock- 
man, cotton  mill  owner,  civic  leader  and  large 
property  holder.  A  resident  of  this  city  for  more 
than  forty  years,  and  identified  with  the  business 
and  financial  interests  here  for  nearly  an  equal 
length  of  time,  he  is  known  as  one  of  the  chief 
builders  of  Gastonia 's  prosperity,  and  a  man  whose 
ripened  judgment  and  sterling  traits  of  character 
continue  to  benefit  every  enterprise  with  which  he 
is  connected. 

Colonel  Craig  belongs  to  one  of  the  oldest  fam- 
ilies of  Gaston  County,  and  was  born  five  miles 
south  of  Gastonia,  February  24,  1S64,  his  parents 
being  John  H.  and  Mary  A.  (Jenkins)  Craig. 
John  H.  Craig  was  born  about  eight  or  nine  miles 
south  of  Gastonia,  on  Crowder's  Creek,  a  son  of 
James  Robert  and  Sallie  (Boyd)  Craig.  James 
Robert  Craig  was  also  born  in  Gaston  County,  as 
were  his  brothers,  William  and  John  Milton  Craig. 
They  were  of  Scotch  ancestors  who  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  North  Carolina,  coming  here 
during  early  colonial  days.  James  R.  Craig  reared 
a  family  of  seven  sons  and  six  daughters.  Like 
other  members  of  the  family,  he  was  before  the 
Civil  war  a  large  planter  and  slaveholder,  and  those 
bearing  the  name  have  always  been  extensive  own- 
ers of  land. 

During  the  Civil  war  John  H.  Craig  operated  a 
tanyard  at  his  home,  where  he  made  harness  and 
horse  collars  for  the  government  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, and  it  was  in  this  way  that  the  Craig  home 
became  known  as  "Tanyard."  During  the  entire 
period  of  his  active  career  he  was  a  successful  busi- 
ness man,  and  established  the  first  bank  at  Gas- 
tonia, in  partnership  with  L.  L.  Jenkins,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Craig  &  Jenkins,  Bankers.  He 
was  also  for  a  number  of  years  largely  interested 
in  the  cotton  business,  but  is  now  retired  from 
active  life.  Mr.  Craig  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
Jenkins,  who  also  survives,  and  who  is  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Hon.  David  A.  Jenkins,  who  was  state 
treasurer  of  North  Carolina  from  1868  to  1872. 
There  were  eight  children  in  the  family  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Craig:  Thomas  L.;  J.  Robert,  of  Gas- 
tonia; David  J.,  of  Statesville,  North  Carolina,  who 
married  Miss  V.  Copening,  of  Clinton,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  has  four  children;  John  M.,  who  met  an 
accidental  death  September  20,  1914;  Sarah,  the 
widow  of  Archibald  Brady,  of  Charlotte,  who  died 
in  Kansas  City  in  1915,  and  had  one  child,  Jenkins, 
who  is  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  En- 
gineers Corps;  Mary  Etta,  who  survives,  with 
five  children,  as  the  widow  of  the  late  Edward 
Mellon,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  and  who  was 
a  leading  merchant  of  Charlotte  and  the  founder 
of  Mellon 's  Store  on  West  Trade  Street;  Julia 
L.,  the  wife  of  Thomas  M.  Shelton,  of  Charlotte, 
who  was  associated  with  Mr.  Mellon  in  business 
and  is  now  of  the  Mellon  Store,  and  has  six  chil- 
dren; and  Mabel  Gray,  who  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Samuel  A.  Wilkins,  of  Dallas,  Gaston  County,  and 
has  two  children. 

When  Thomas  L.  Craig  was  twelve  years  of 
age  his  parents  moved  from  the  plantation  to  Gas- 
tonia, and  this  city  has  since  been  his  home.  He 
spent  two  years  in  school  at  Dallas,  which  was 
then  the  county  seat  of  Gaston  County,  and  his 
father  then  gave  him  a  start  in  business,  although 
he   was   still   a  mere   youth,   establishing   him   in 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


73 


a  general  store  at  old  Gaston,  which  is  now  the 
eastern  part  of  the  present  city  of  Gastonia.  This 
business  was  conducted  under  the  firm  style  of 
John  H.  Craig  &  Son.  In  1883,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  years,  Thomas  L.  Craig  went  into  busi- 
ness under  his  own  name,  and  in  1886  Thomas  W. 
Wilson  came  into  partnership  with  him,  the  firm 
name  then  becoming  Craig  &  Wilson,  under  which 
the  enterprise  has  been  conducted  ever  since.  Be- 
sides the  store,  which  occupies  a  part  of  the  ground 
floor  of  their  large  three-story  brick  block  at  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Marietta  streets,  they  have  ex- 
tensive barns  at  Marietta  and  Long  streets  for 
the  accommodation  of  their  livestock,  in  which 
they  are  extensive  dealers. 

Individually  Colonel  Craig  is  a  stockman  on  a 
large  scale,  raising  horses  and  cattle  and  owning 
a  stock  farm  of  150  acres  adjoining  the  city  on 
the  east,  three-fourths  of  the  farm  being  within 
the  city  limits.  He  has  another  farm  of  550 
acres  north  of  town  on  the  Dallas  Boad,  and  part 
of  this  also  lies  within  the  city  limits.  He  makes 
a  specialty  of  horses  and  Black  Angus  cattle.  He 
is  likewise  a  very  large  owner  of  interests  in 
cotton  mills,  banks  and  city  and  country  property, 
and  is  a  man  of  such  wealth  and  resource  that  he 
is  enabled  to  get  behind  and  promote  any  industry 
that  comes  to  Gastonia.  He  has  been  a  builder  np 
of  the  great  cotton  mill  industry  of  Gastonia 
and  vicinity,  one  of  the  largest  centers  of  this 
industry  in  the  country,  there  being  in  the  city 
and  surrounding  territory  nearly  half  a  hundred 
large  cotton  mills.  The  colonel  is  vice  president 
of  the  Gray  Manufacturing  Company,  operating 
one  of  the  largest  of  these  mills ;  has  interests  in 
other  important  concerns  of  this  nature;  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Gastonia  Loan  and  Trust  Company 
Bank:  a  director  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  First  National  Bank;  one  of  the 
stockholders  in  the  beautiful  Armington  Hotel; 
president  of  the  Cocker  Machine  and  Foundry 
Company,  and  president  of  the  Ed  Mellon  Com- 
pany Store  of  Charlotte.  He  is  also  the  owner 
of  valuable  business  properties  on  Main  and  Long 
streets  and  a  large  number  of  tenant  houses  in 
the  residential  section  of  the  North  Side,  and  his 
own  home  at  the  corner  of  West  Main  and  York 
streets  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  set  in  the  midst 
of  splendid  gardens,  with  arbors,  trellises  and 
pergolas  built  of  concrete  and  made  beautiful  with 
vines  and   climbing   flowers   of  various  kinds. 

Colonel  Craig  is  the  recognized  leader  at  Gas- 
tonia of  all  civic  movements,  being  president  of 
the  Chamher  of  Commerce  and  of  the  Gaston 
County  Fair  Association,  and  his  energetic  nature 
never  allows  him  to  remain  idle,  but  throughout 
his  life  has  impelled  him  to  go  about  doing  big 
things.  He  has  been  chairman  of  the  county 
democratic  executive  committee  since  1908.  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  term  of  Governor  Locke 
Craig,  in  1912.  was  appointed  a  colonel  on  the 
governor's  staff.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar  Ma- 
son and  a  Shriner,  and  he  and  Mrs.  Craig  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  the 
colonel  is  a _ deacon.  In  1917  he  was  appointed 
on  the  selective  service  board  and  is  now  chairman 
of  the  board.  He  is  a  director  in  four  of  the  large 
cotton  mills  of  Gastonia. 

Mrs.  Craig,  prior  to  her  marriage,  was  Miss 
Jennie  Watson,  of  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  wife 
of  William  M.  Watson,  of  that  place,  who  was 
clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  for  a  number  of  years, 
and   clerk   of  the   Federal   Court  under  the   Con- 


federate   government.      Colonel    and    Mrs.    Craig 
have  no  children. 

Samuel  Lloyd  Sheep.  A  teacher  and  school 
administrator  in  North  Carolina  for  forty  years, 
Samuel  Lloyd  Sheep  has  exercised  an  influence 
far  beyond  the  immediate  scope  of  his  duties, 
and  some  of  the  best  established  ideals  and  in- 
stitutions in  the  modern  system  of  state  educa- 
tion have  been  strongly  impressed  by  his  work 
and  persistent  advocacy.  Mr.  Sheep  is  still  ac- 
tive in  educational  work  and  is  superintendent 
of  schools  at  Elizabeth  City. 

He  was  born  in  Montour  County,  Pennsylvania, 
January  16,  1856,  a  son  of  Matthew  L.  and  Eliza- 
beth (MeKee)  Sheep.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 
and  his  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm  with  the 
advantages  of  the  public  schools.  He  attended 
Greenwood  Academy  at  Millville,  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  1874  graduated  from  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Normal  School  at  Bloomsburg.  For  three 
years  he  was  a  teacher  in  Watsontown,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  from  there  came  to  North  Caro- 
lina, where  all  his  subsequent  years  have  been 
spent. 

For  thirty-six  years  Mr.  Sheep  was  connected 
with  educational  affairs  at  Elizabeth  City,  having 
charge  of  the  Elizabeth  City  Academy,  later 
known  as  the  Atlantic  Collegiate  Institute.  He 
also  organized  the  present  graded  school  system 
at  Elizabeth  City  and  was  in  charge  for  several 
years.  For  two  years  he  was  out  of  the  state 
as  superintendent  of  schools  at  Helena,  Arkansas. 
From  1916  to  1918  Mr.  Sheep  was  superintendent 
of  schools  at  Marion,  and  then  he  was  re-elected 
superintendent  of  the  Elizabeth  City  graded 
schools. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Teach- 
ers' Assembly  and  the  Superintendents'  Associa- 
tion and  for  eight  years  was  a  director  of  the 
Summer  State  Normal  at  Elizabeth  City  during 
the  existence  of  that  institution.  He  also  served 
as  county  superintendent  of  Pasquotank  County. 
He  is  former  chairman  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners  and  ex-president  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  For  six  years  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Summer  School  faculty  of  the  State 
University  at   Chapel   Hill. 

Mr.  Sheep  is  credited  with  originating  the  idea 
and  system  at  the  basis  of  the  Eastern  Carolina 
Teachers  Training  School.  He  worked  persistent- 
ly and  courageously  against  much  opposition  to 
secure  the  establishment  of  this  praiseworthy  in- 
stitution. One  of  the  early  bills  was  defeated 
in  the  Senate  and  it  was  only  in  1909  that  the 
measure  passed  both  houses.  Mr.  Sheep  is  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

November  24,  1880,  at  Elizabeth  City,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Pauline  Hinton,  daughter  of  William 
and  Margaret  Hinton.  They  are  the  parents  of 
six  children :  William  Lloyd  has  been  in  the 
regular  army  for  eight  years,  has  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  colonel  and  is  now  stationed  at  Camp 
Greene.  Matthew  Leigh  is  a  merchant  at  Eliza- 
beth City.  Pauline,  of  Greensboro,  is  the  widow 
of  Glenn  S.  Hudson,  an  attorney.  Helen  Eliza- 
beth married  Dr.  Frank  Morton  Hawley,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister.  Harvey  Hinton  is  a  lieutenant 
in  the  United  States  army.  Margaret  Fresh- 
water,  the   youngest   child,   is    a  teacher. 

John  Hampton  Ball.  As  postmaster  at  Elkin, 
John  Hampton  Ball  is  devoting  his  time  and  atten- 


74 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


tion  to  the  duties  of  his  official  position,  rendering 
satisfactory  service  to  his  fellow  townsmen  and 
to  the  Government.  A  son  of  Nicholas  Ball,  he 
was  born  in  Hamptonville,  Yadkin  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1840.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John 
Ball,  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgetown, 
Maryland,  and  after  his  marriage  with  a  Miss 
Chamberlain  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
Hamptonville  district,  this  state,  and  was  there 
engaged  in  tilling  the  soil  until  his  death. 

Nicholas  Ball  was  born  in  1807  on  the  parental 
homestead  in  Hamptonville  district,  and  there 
spent  the  earlier  years  of  his  life.  Although  he 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  blacksmith 's  trade, 
he  did  not  follow  it,  farming  being  more  congenial 
to  his  tastes.  Having  bought  land  lying  a  mile 
east  of  Hamptonville,  he  embarked  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising,  all  stock  in  those 
days  running  at  large.  Successful  in  his  under- 
takings, he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  years  on 
the  farm  that  he  improved,  dying  April  22,  1857. 
He  married  Drusilla  Bell,  who  was  born  in  Yad- 
kin County,  a  daughter  of  Walter  and  Bebecca 
(Albea)  Bell,  natives  of  Maryland.  She  survived 
him  several  years,  passing  away  in  1865. 

John  Hampton  Ball  was  brought  up  on  the 
home  farm  and  educated  in  the  rural  schools  of 
his  native  district.  When  a  lad  of  thirteen  years 
he  began  life  as  a  wage  earner,  becoming  clerk 
in  the  general  store  of  Josiah  Cowles  &  Son  at 
Hamptonville,  continuing  thus  employed  until 
1861.  In  May  of  that  year  Mr.  Ball  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  First  North  Carolina  Cavalry,  in 
which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  being 
under  command  of  various  officers  of  note,  includ- 
ing the  following  named :  Cols.  L.  S.  Baker, 
James  B.  Gordon,  Thomas  Ruffin,  Rufus  Baninger 
and  William  H.  H.  Cowles.  At  the  battle  of 
Spottsylvania  Court  House  he  was  severely 
wounded,  and  later,  in  1863,  he  was  detailed  as 
courier  for  Gen.  Wade  Hampton,  and  continued 
in  that  capacity  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

On  the  last  day  of  March,  1865,  Colonel  Cowles 
was  severely  wounded,  and  Mr.  Ball  bore  him  from 
the  field  and  remained  with  and  cared  for  him 
until  both  were  captured  by  the  enemy.  Taken  to 
Fetersburg,  Mr.  Ball  was  confined  as  a  prisoner 
until  March  17,  1865,  when  he  was  paroled,  and 
arrived  at  his  home  a  few  days  after  the  sur- 
render. 

Becoming  then  a  salesman  in  a  wholesale  house, 
Mr.  Ball  was  thus  employed  at  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  for  four  years,  and  for  a  similar  length 
of  time  in  Salisbury,  Rowan  County.  Going  to 
Simonton  Mills,  Iredell  County,  in  1875,  he  was 
there  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for  awhile, 
and  was  afterward  similarly  employed  in  different 
places,  having  been  in  Hamptonville  three  years, 
in  Yadkinville  two  years,  and  in  Jonesville,  where 
he  operated  a  general  store  until  1885.  The  ensu- 
ing four  years  Mr.  Ball  served  as  brandy  gauger. 
Forming  then  a  partnership  with  John  F.  Cook, 
he  bought  a  steam  saw  mill,  and  having  installed 
it  near  Elkin  sawed  much  of  the  timber  used  in 
the  building  of  the  first  houses  erected  in  that 
place.  A  few  years  later  Mr.  Ball  accepted  the 
position  of  private  secretary  to  Gen.  W.  H.  H. 
Cowles,  and  with  him  spent  a  few  months  in 
Washington.  Returning  from  the  Capital,  Mr. 
Ball,  in  partnership  with  J.  H.  Greenwood,  entered 
upon  a  new  line  of  "business,  becoming  a  dealer 
in  fertilizers.  Later  he  was  appointed  state  in- 
spector of  fertilizers,  but  resigned  the  position  at 
the  end  of  two  years  and  in  company  with  N.   V. 


Poindexter  engaged  in  the  sale  of  fertilizers,  con- 
tinuing until  1916,  when  he  was  appointed  to  his 
present  responsible  position  as  postmaster  at 
Elkin.  Mr.  Ball  married,  May  25,  1875,  Mary 
Emma  Clark,  who  was  in  Elkin,  a  daughter  of 
Francis  F.  and  Eliza  (Buchanan)  Clark,  and  to 
them  eight  children  have  been  born  and  reared, 
namely:  William  Arthur,  Daisy  C,  Thomas  Fin- 
ley,  Mary  Emily,  Jeannette,  Minnie,  Reuben  Henry 
and  Wade  Hampton.  William  Arthur  married 
Lena  Reynolds,  and  they  have  one  son,  Lay  Reyn- 
olds. Daisy  C,  widow  of  the  late  Robert  L.  Kirk- 
man,  has  four  children,  Lura  Cowles,  John  Frank, 
Robert  Lee  and  Benjamin  Eli.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ball 
are  active  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
which  he  is  serving  as  an  elder.  Although  not  an 
aspirant  for  public  office,  Mr.  Ball  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Elkin  Board  of  Commissioners  and 
on  the  Elkin  Board  of  Education. 

Edward  Carlton  Duncan  of  Raleigh  possesses 
a  recognized  genius  for  financial  organization  and 
constructive  administration  and  is  one  of  the 
prominent  bankers  and  citizens  of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  born  at  Beaufort  in  this  state,  March 
28,  1862,  son  of  William  Benjamin  and  Sarah 
(Ramsey)  Duncan,  both  natives  of  North  Carolina 
and  his  father  a  merchant.  Edward  C.  Duncan 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Beaufort,  had 
some  early  experience  in  farming,  and  became  a 
licensed  steamboat  captain,  which  profession  he 
followed  for  a  number  of  years.  For  several  years 
he  was  collector  of  the  Port  of  Beaufort,  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  for  two 
terms,  1895  and  in  1897,  and  for  eleven  years 
served  as  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  of  the 
Fourth  North  Carolina  District. 

He  resigned  from  that  office  to  become  eore- 
ceiver  for  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway.  During 
the  next  two  years  he  assisted  in  bringing  about 
a  reorganization  which  was  not  only  eminently 
satisfactory  to  all  concerned,  but  also  emphasized 
his  individual  ability  as  a  financier.  In  March, 
1909,  Mr.  Duncan  organized  the  Merchants  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Raleigh  and  has  since  been  its 
president.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Norfolk  Southern 
Railroad,  vice  president  and  director  of  the  Raleigh 
and  Charlotte  Southern  Railway,  and  a  director  of 
the  Atlantic  and  North  Carolina  Railway,  the  Bank 
of  Beaufort  and  the  North  Carolina  Home  Fire 
Insurance  Company. 

Mr.  Duncan  is  a  republican  and  one  of  the  leaders 
of  his  party  in  the  state.  He  has  several  terms 
been  a  member  of  the  Republican  National  Com- 
mittee and  was  active  in  the  campaign  work  for 
Taft  in  1908,  being  on  the  sub-committee  which 
successfully  managed  the  national  Taft  campaign 
of  that  year.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Capital  Club 
and  the' Country  Club. 

February  26,"  1890,  he  married  Carrie  Virginia 
King  of  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of, 
John  F.  King,  a  well  known  merchant  of  that  city. 
By  this  marriage  there  are  three  children  living, 
while  one  son,  Edward  C,  died  at  the  age  of 
fourteen.  William  Benjamin,  an  attorney  at  law, 
is  now  first  lieutenant  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Thirteenth  Field  Artillery.  Elizabeth  S.  married 
T.  S.  Adams  of  Sevier,  North  Carolina;  Charles 
L.  is  a  member  of  the  Coast  Artillery  Corps.  Mr. 
Duncan's  first  wife  died  in  1899  and  in  1903  he 
married  Alma  Speight  of  Fremont,  North  Caro- 
lina, daughter  of  William  H.  Speight,  a  Methodist 
minister. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


75 


Herbert  McClammy  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Wilmington  bar  in  active  practice  and  with  a 
large  amount  of  general  litigation  and  corporation 
work  to  his  credit  for  over  thirty  years. 

He  was  graduated  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  before  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  was  born  in  New 
Hanover  County,  North  Carolina,  October  9,  1863, 
a  son  of  Charles  Washington  and  Margaret  (Fen- 
nell)  McClammy.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and 
his  early  life  was  spent  in  the  wholesome  environ- 
ment of  the  country.  He  attended  the  common 
schools,  the  Lynch  Select  High  School  at  High 
Point  for  three  years,  and  then  took  a  course  in 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1884.  Since  then  he  has  been  in 
general  practice  at  Wilmington.  He  now  repre- 
sents as  attorney  several  local  corporations  and 
banks. 

In  1895  Mr.  McClammy  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  and  his  record  of  public  service 
also  includes  four  years  as  city  attorney.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  and  American 
Bar  associations,  belongs  to  the  Cape  Fear  Club 
and  the  Carolina  Yacht  Club,  the  Cape  Fear 
Country  Club  and  is  a  former  steward  in  the 
Methodist  Church.  .Tune  29,  1898,  he  married 
Miss  Lessie  Leech,  of  Wake  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, Four  children  have  been  born  to  their  mar- 
riage: Miriam,  Margaret,  Herbert,  Jr.,  and  Sarah 
Celeste. 

William  Atlas  Finch  began  his  career  with  a 
definite  purpose  in  view,  and  resolutely  and  ener- 
getically has  followed  the  line  of  a  purposeful 
life  and  has  attained  distinction  in  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law.  Mr.  Finch  has  for  many  years 
been  a  leading  member  of  the  bar  of  '  Wilson 
and  his  name  is  not  unknown  in  professional 
circles    outside    his    home    district. 

He  was  born  at  Stanhope  in  Nash  County, 
North  Carolina,  March  13,  1870,  a  son  of  Joachim 
M.  and  Susan  (Hopkins')  Finch.  His  father  was 
a  farmer  and  the  farm  was  the  early  environ- 
ment of  William  A.  Finch.  Partly  through  his 
own  efforts  he  managed  to  acquire  a.  liberal  edu- 
cation. He  attended  high  school,  the  Oak  Ridgo 
Institute,  Trinity  College  at  Durham,  and  took 
his  legal  education  in  the  University  of  Michigan 
at  Ann  Arbor. 

Mr.  Finch  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  fall 
of  1895  and  at  once  began  practice  at  Wilson, 
where  a  growing  general  practice  has  kept  him 
busilv  engaged  ever  since.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  with  his  familv 
belongs  to  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  a 
member  of  the  Independent.  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 

He  was  married  November  30,  1898,  to  Miss 
Mary  Louise  Ford,  of  Madisonville.  Virginia. 
They  have  three  children.  Marv  Ford,  William 
Atlas,   Jr.,   and   Harry   Clinton.  ' 

Wiley  Sylvester  Retch.  A  man  of  pronounced 
executive  and  financial  ability,  Wiley  Sylvester 
Reich  oeeumes  a  position  of  prominence  in  the 
business  life  of  Elkin,  and  as  president  of  the 
Farmers  and  Merchants  Bank  and  president  of  the 
Reich  Walsh  Furniture  Company  is  widely  known 
throughout  the  surrounding  country.  A  native  of 
North  Carolina,  he  was  born  near  Winston,  For- 
syth County,  which  was  also  the  birthplace  of  both 
his  father,  Ephraim  W.  Reich,  and  of  his  grand- 


father, Thomas  Reich.  His  great-grandparents, 
John  and  Catherine  (Linebeck)  Reich,  were  of 
German  ancestry  and  early  pioneers  of  Forsyth 
County. 

Thomas  Reich  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
owned,  near  Winston,  a  plantation  which  he  oper- 
ated. He  married  Maria  Hanson,  a  lineal  descen- 
dant of  Martin  Hanson,  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Bathabra,  now  known  as  Oldtown  in  Forsyth 
County.  They  were  reared  in  the  Moravian  faith, 
to  which  they  were  always  loyal,  and  both  were 
buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Oldtown. 

Born  March  4,  1832,  on  the  home  farm  near 
Winston,  Ephraim  W.  Reich  acquired  a  good 
knowledge  of  agriculture  when  young  and  chose 
farming  for  his  life  work.  Becoming  owner 
through  inheritance  of  a  plantation,  he  resided 
upon  it  a  number  of  years,  and  then  moved  with 
his  family  to  a  farm  which  his  wife  had  inherited. 
In  addition  to  successfully  supervising  his  farm- 
ing interests,  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
brick,  building  up  a  good  business  in  that  line  and 
continuing  in  both  pursuits  until  his  death,  on 
December  27,  1892. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Ephraim  W. 
Reich  was  Abigail  Livingood.  She  was  born  near 
Maple  Springs  Church,  in  what  was  then  Stokes 
County,  but  is  now  included  within  the  limits  of 
Forsyth  County,  November  13,  1835.  Her  father, 
Henry  Livingood,  was  born  in  the  same  locality, 
a  son  of  John  and  a  Miss  (Grubb)  Livingood, 
residents  during  their  entire  lives,  as  far  as 
known,  of  Stokes  County,  North  Carolina.  Henry 
Livingood  became  owner  of  a  farm  situated  about 
four  miles  west  of  Winston-Salem,  a  part  o'f 
which,  the  Maple  Spring  Camp  Ground,  he  do- 
nated to  the  Maple  Spring  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  he,  his  wife  and  family  were 
members.  Henry  Livingood  married  Elizabeth 
Koontz  who  was  born  in  Davidson  County,  North 
Carolina,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Sally  (Hunt) 
Koontz,  and  to  them  five  daughters  and  two 
sons  were  born,  as  follows:  Abigail,  Charity, 
Mary,  Susan,  Sarah,  Alfred  and  Wesley.  Alfred, 
the  oldest  son,  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  and  died  of  wounds  received  in 
battle.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ephraim  W.  Reich  reared 
five  children,  Alexander,  William  Wesley,  Martha, 
Regina.  and  Wiley  Sylvester. 

Reared  to  habits  of  industry  and  thrift,  Wiley 
S.  Reich  attended  the  district  school  during  his 
boyhood  days,  and  while  assisting  in  the  labors 
of  the  farm  obtained  a  practical  knowledge  of 
agriculture.  He  also  became  an  expert  brick 
maker,  and  when,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  his 
father  gave  him  his  time  he  began  the  manu- 
facture of  bricks  on  his  own  account,  and  in  his 
operations  met  with  gratifying  success.  Going, 
in  1892,  to  Pilot  Mountain,  then  but  a  hamlet, 
Mr.  Reich  was  there  engaged  in  business  as  a 
building  contractor  for  eight  years.  Coming  to 
Elkin  in  1900,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Henry  Whittaker,  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
Whittaker  &  Reich  embarked  in  the  furniture 
business.  At  the  end  of  a  year  he  purchased  his 
partner's  interest  in  the  firm  and  continued  the 
business  alone  until  1906,  when  it  was  incor- 
porated under  its  present  name  of  the  Reich 
Walsh  Furniture  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Reich  is 
president  and  general  manager,  while  his  son 
Paul,  who  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
youngest  graduate  of  Renouard's  School  of  Em- 
balming, New  York  City,  is  the  secretary  and 
treasurer. 


76 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Mr.  Reich  married,  September  30,  1893,  Mary 
Etta  Whittaker,  who  was  born  in  Surry  County, 
a  daughter  of  Henry  G.  and  Sarah  Adaline 
(Marion)  Whittaker.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eeieh  have 
eight  children  living,  namely :  Gladys,  Paul  C., 
Nell,  Mabel,  Hazel  Imogene,  Ralph  Sylvester, 
Mary  Margaret,  John  Whittaker  and  Clyde 
Graham.  Their  oldest  child,  Clyde  Arvel,  died  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reich 
are  active  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  in  which  he  has  served  as  steward 
and  in  which  he  is  now  serving  as  a  teacher  in 
the  Sunday  school.  Fraternally  Mr.  Reich  is  a 
member  of  Elkin  Lodge  No.  454,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons,  which  he  repre- 
sented in  the  North  Carolina  Grand  Lodge  in 
1916  and  1917;  and  of  Elkin  Council,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Frank  Nash,  a  lawyer  who  has  carried  un- 
usually heavy  burdens  of  practice  during  the  past 
forty  years,  has  enjoyed  many  of  the  most  dis- 
tinctive honors  paid  a  member  of  his  profession 
and  also  in  the  public  life  of  his  home  county  and 
state.  At  the  present  time  Mr.  Nash  is  a  candi- 
date for  member  of  the  State  Senate. 

He  was  born  in  Robeson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, January  29,  1855,  a  son  of  Frederick  K.  and 
Anna  M.  (McLean)  Nash.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  Hillsboro  and  for  many  years  an  active 
Presbyterian  minister.  Senator  Frank  Nash  was 
educated  in  the  well  known  private  schools  of 
Misses  Nash  &  Kollock,  also  the  R.  H.  Graves 
School.  As  the  son  of  a  minister  his  early  life  was 
not  one  of  luxury  and  he  found  it  necessary  to 
labor  for  his  own  support.  He  worked  in  a  tobacco 
factory,  and  later  a  wholesale  grocery,  at  which 
time  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  at  night,  and 
by  industry  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June, 
1877.  From  that  year  until  1885  he  practiced  law 
at  Tarboro.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  that  city, 
and  from  1881  to  1885  served  as  judge  of  the 
Criminal  Court. 

His  rigorous  application  to  work  brought  about 
a  failure  of  health,  and  for  nearly  ten  years  he 
was  practically  retired  from  regular  practice.  In 
the  early  '90s  he  came  to  Hillsboro  and  in  that 
city  has  done  his  best  work.  He  has  served  as 
Referee  in  Bankruptcy,  was  mayor  of  Hillsboro 
from  1907  to  1911,  and  served  as  county  attorney 
from  1910  to  1915  and  in  1915  was  again  elected 
but  resigned  that  office  when  he  entered  the  State 
Senate.  As  senator  he  was  a  representative  of  the 
Eighteenth  District  including  Durham,  Orange, 
Alamance  and  Caswell  counties. 

Senator  Nash  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  and  was  a  second 
vice  president  in  the  organization  during  1914-15. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association,  which  he  served  as  second  vice  presi- 
dent in  1913-14,  and  in  1917  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  State  Bar 
Association.  For  many  years  Mr.  Nash  has  given 
time  to  literary  and  historical  research  and  has 
contributed  much  of  value  to  the  historical  litera- 
ture of  the  state.  He  is  author  of  ' '  Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  History  of  Hillsboro  and  also  of 
Orange  County,"  has  written  much  on  the  Recon- 
struction period,  and  has  also  prepared  many 
biographical  sketches  of  men  of  note  in  the  state. 
Senator  Nash  is  a  deacon  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

November   26,   1879,   he   married   Jessie   Powell 


Baker  of  Tarboro.  Mrs.  Nash  died  July  9,  1896, 
leaving  two  daughters.  The  older,  Susan,  is  a 
teacher  in  the  State  Normal  School.  Catherine 
married  Claud  R.  Mclver,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mclver 
have  four  children,  Claud  R.  Jr.,  Staton,  Catherine 
and  Charles  D. 

Ernest  Deans,  who  was  born  at  Wilson,  North 
Carolina,  August  8,  1869,  has  spent  his  active 
career  in  that  city  with  a  growing  diversity  of 
interests  and  responsibilities.  For  a  quarter  of 
a  century  he  has  been  in  the  insurance  and  real 
estate  business  and  since  1896  has  been  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Wilson  Home  Loan 
Association,  and  is  also  manager  of  the  Wilson 
Cotton  Storage  Warehouse  and  manager  of  the 
Wilson   Real   Estate,   Loan   and    Trust    Company. 

Mr.  Deans  is  a  son  of  William  Elbert  and 
Margaret  Franklin  (Rountree)  Deans.  His  fa- 
ther was  for  years  a  merchant  at  Wilson  and  at 
one  time  served  as  city  tax  collector.  Ernest 
Deans  besides  the  public  schools  at  Wilson  at- 
tended Trinity  College,  and  his  first  practical 
business  experience  was  as  bookkeeper,  an  oc- 
cupation he  followed  five  years  before  entering 
business    for    himself. 

He  was  married  September  29,  1897,  to  Mary 
Hunter  Gray,  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia.  Their 
three  children  are  Mary  Hunter,  Aylmer  Gray 
and  Margaret  Rountree.  Mr.  Deans  is  a  steward 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Wilson. 

William  J.  Herring.  Some  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive and  enterprising  farmers  of  North  Caro- 
lina will  be  found  in  Surry  County,  and  among 
them  is  William  J.  Herring,  whose  well  managed 
and  productive  estate  lies  near  Mount  Airy  in 
the  township   of  that  name. 

His  birth  occurred  on  a  farm  in  the  same 
township  of  Surry  County  May  27,  1866.  He  has 
an  interesting  lineage.  His  great-grandfather, 
Henry  Herring,  came  from  Virginia  to  Surry 
county  in  colonial  times,  and  bought  a  tract  of 
land  bordering  Stuart  Creek.  He  contracted  to 
pay  for  this  land  in  tobacco.  He  lived  only  a 
few  years,  and  the  perfecting  of  the  title  to  the 
land  was  left  to  other  members  of  the  family. 

His  son  Hardin  Herring,  grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam J.,  was  born  in  Surry  County,  had  a  farm 
rearing  and  made  farming  his  lifelong  occupation 
in  Surry  County.  He  married  Betty  Dudley.  Her 
grandfather,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam J.  Herring,  was  Charles  Dudley,  a  native  of 
England.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  younger  son 
of  a  wealthy  nobleman.  When  a  youth,  seeking 
adventure,  he  ran  away  and  accompanied  a  neigh- 
bor to  America.  In  this  country  he  acquired  land 
on  Ararat  River  in  Surry  County,  and  here  he 
reproduced  so  far  as  possible  the  circumstances 
and  environment  of  the  typical  sporting  English 
squire.  He  evinced  a  great  fondness  for  fast 
horses  and  kept  up  a  free  handed  hospitality.  His 
son  Robert,  father  of  Betty  Dudley,  was  born  in 
Surry  County  and  after  reaching  manhood  he 
took  his  family  to  Georgia,  but  did  not  find  that 
state  entirely  to  his  heart's  desire  and  soon  re- 
turned, having  made  the  round  trip  with  wagon 
and  team.  He  subsequently  owned  and  occupied 
a  farm   on  Stuart  Creek. 

Hardin  Herring  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
and  his  wife  at  eighty-seven.  Their  son  Henry 
Herring,  father  of  William  J.,  was  born  in  Mount 
Airy   Township   and   his   active   years   were  spent 


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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


77 


on  a  farm  on  Stuart  Creek.  At  the  time  of  the 
war  he  was  lieutenant  in  a  company  of  Home 
Guards.  His  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight.  He  married  Mildred  Johnson,  who  was 
born  in  Wilkes  Couuty,  North  Carolina,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Letitia  Johnson,  who  removed 
from  Wilkes  County  to  Surry  County  fn  1839, 
and  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  on  Stuart 
Creek.  This  land  they  operated  with  their  slaves 
and  they  became  substantial  and  well-to-do 
people  of  that  community.  Mrs.  Henry  Herring 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Her  children 
were  named  William  J.;  Elizabeth;  Robert,  a 
Baptist  minister;  Philip,  who  lived  in  Missouri; 
Frank,  of  Surry  County;  Lettie,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  ten  years;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Samuel 
Critz;  and  Minnie,  single. 

William  J.  Herring  had  all  the  early  advan- 
tages in  some  of  the  country  schools  of  Surry 
county.  The  first  school  he  ever  attended  was  in 
a  log  cabin.  In  the  absence  of  a  window  a  sec- 
tion of  a  log  was  taken  out  to  admit  the  light. 
There  were  slab  benches  for  seats,  an  earth  and 
stick  chimney,  and  fireplace.  Subsequently  Mr. 
Herring  attended  school  in  a  better  equipped 
building  at  Mount  Airy.  The  year  he  was  twenty- 
one  he  worked  a  part  of  his  father 's  land  on  the 
shares,  and  then  went  west  to  Missouri  and  was 
employed  as  a  farm  hand  for  three  years.  Re- 
turning to  Surry  County,  he  lived  for  ten  years 
at  the  old  homestead  and  looked  after  his  aged 
parents.  He  then  bought  eighty  acres  of  land,  a 
part  of  which  is  included  in  his  present  fin©  farm 
situated  two  miles  west  of  Mount  Airy.  Mr.  Her- 
ring now  has  under  his  direct  management  and 
supervision  125  acres,  with  excellent  buildings 
and  with  every  facility  for  maximum  production 
of  crops  and  livestock.  Mr.  Herring  married  Cora 
Critz,  who  was  born  in  Stuart  Creek  Township, 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Eveline  (Simmons) 
Critz.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herring  have  one  daughter, 
Mary,  now  a  member  of  the  class  of  1918  in  the 
Mount  Airy  High  School.  Mr.  Herring  is  affil- 
iated with  Granite  City  Lodge  No.  322,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Miss  Kate  Stuaet.  For  the  notable  aervice  she 
has  rendered  as  a  pioneer  educator  in  North  Caro- 
lina, Kate  Stuarf  deserves  a  specific  place  in  the 
annals  of  the  state,  though  the  esteem  and  affec- 
tion paid  her  name  are  safe  and  secure  in  the 
grateful  memory  of  the  many  hundreds  whose 
lives  and  characters  she  has  helped  form  and  de- 
velop. 

Miss  Stuart,  who  still  lives  at  Southport,  was 
born  in  the  old  village  of  Smithville,  the  original 
name  of  Southport.  Her  grandparents  were  of 
Revolutionary  stock,  and  her  maternal  grandfather, 
John  Garland  was  wounded  in  the  Battle  of  New 
Orleans  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812,  while 
fighting  under  General  Jackson,  and  he  died  of 
his  wounds  three  days  later.  Miss  Stuart  is  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Henry  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
Stuart. 

She  grew  up  in  war  times,  and  has  many  vivid 
memories  of  the  days  when  North  and  South  were 
gripped  in  a  deadly  struggle  for  supremacy.  As 
a  girl  she  was  one  of  the  most  loyal  and  enthusiastic 
upholders  of  the  Southern  cause,  and  the  glory  and 
traditions  of  the  Southland  are  a  living  reality  to 
her. 

On  May  24,  1862,  Miss  Stuart  graduated  in  the 
English  course  from  the  Glen  Anna  Female  Semi- 
nary at  Thomasville,  North  Carolina.     Nearly  all 


the  years  since  then  she  has  spent  as  a  teacher, 
and  her  work  began  at  a  time  which  entitles  her 
to  the  distinction  of  being  a  pioneer  educator  of 
North  Carolina.  All  over  the  state  if  not  all 
over  the  South  there  are  children  and  grandchildren 
of  her  old  pupils  and  her  name  has  a  significance 
to  them  all.  Her  principal  work  in  the  educational 
field  was  performed  as  principal  of  the  Southport 
Academy  and  as  principal  of  the  Peabody  School. 

Miss  Stuart  is  the  only  woman  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Southport,  and  that  is 
a  distinction  as  creditable  to  the  Chamber  as  to 
herself.  She  is  president  of  the  Civic  Club  of 
Southport  and  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church. 

Of  the  many  incidents  in  her  life  which  have 
become  familiar  to  the  people  of  Cape  Fear 
through  widely  published  stories,  one  may  be 
briefly  referred  to  here.  A  number  of  years  ago, 
at  great  personal  risk  to  herself,  she  saved  the  life 
of  Mary  Hunter,  whose  father  was  captain  of  a 
vessel  in  the  Clyde  line.  For  her  heroism  she  was 
presented  a  gold  watch  and  chain,  and  the  Clyde 
steamers  which  came  into  the  port  near  her  home 
always  made  it  a  rule  to  salute  in  honor  of  her 
presence. 

Alexander  J.  MacKinnon.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  say  just  through  what  one  line  of  achieve- 
ment and  interest  Major  MacKinnon  has  contrib- 
uted his  greatest  service  to  his  native  State  of 
North  Carolina.  He  is  Major  MacKinnon  because 
of  his  long  and  active  service  in  the  State  National 
Guard.  His  intimate  friends  know  him  as 
' '  Sandy '.'  MacKinnon,  and  that  title  is  perhaps 
more  expressive  of  his  genial  personality  and  his 
ready  enterprise. 

He  was  born  about  four  miles  west,  of  Laurin- 
burg,  in  Richmond,  now  Scotland  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1862,  was  reared  and  received  his 
early  education  in  the  section  of  the  state  where  he 
was  born,  and  in  that  one  community  he  has  spent 
his  life.  He  is  one  of  the  most  genial  and  amiable 
gentlemen  that  one  would  meet  in  many  a  day — 
characteristics  which,  coupled  with  his  unvarying 
success  in  the  business  world,  make  him  a  man  of 
very  wide  influence. 

He  is  a  son  of  Alexander  C.  and  Sallie  (Mac- 
Queen)  MacKinnon,  both  now  deceased.  His  fa- 
ther was  born  in  what  is  now  Scotland  County, 
formerly  part  of  Richmond  County,  and  belongs 
to  a  large  and  influential  family  of  Scotch  an- 
cestry whose  descendants  at  this  day  are  numbered 
among  the  most  worthy  and  substantial  citizens 
of  the  state.  He  married  Mrs.  Sallie  Currie,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Sallie  MacQueen.  She  was  a 
granddaughter  of  that  distinguished  Scotch  colonial 
character  in  North  Carolina,  Col.  James  Mac- 
Queen,  who  founded  the  family  of  MacQueens  at 
Queensdale  in  what  is  now  Robeson  County  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Alex- 
ander C.  MacKinnon  and  wife  had  the  following 
children:  Archibald,  Martin,  Alexander  J.,  Angus 
C.  and  Katie  MacKinnon. 

Alexander  J.  MacKinnon  was  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  State  Guards  for  many  years,  held 
various  offices,  and  finally  retired  with  the  rank 
of  major.  His  present  interests  extend  to  a  great 
variety  of  business,  industrial  and  agricultural  af- 
fairs. He  is  president  of  the  Maxton,  Alma  & 
Southbound  Railroad;  president  of  the  Alma  Lum- 
ber Company  of  Alma;  president  of  the  A.  J. 
MacKinnon  Corporation  of  Maxton;  vice  nresident 
and  treasurer  of  the  Southern  Exchange  Company, 


78 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


extensive  cotton  buyers,  with  offices  at  Maxton, 
North  Carolina,  and  New  York  City;  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Maxton;  vice  president  of 
the  Town  Creek  Lumber  Company  of  Town  Creek, 
North  Carolina;  secretary  of  Carolina  College  of 
Maxton,  a  school  for  young  women;  and  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  stewards  of  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Maxton. 

Major  MacKinnon  believes  in  doing  good  by 
encouraging  others  to  make  the  best  of  their  op- 
portunities. He  has  no  sympathy  with  that  be- 
nevolence which  merely  works  in  a  circle  and  cre- 
ates the  greater  need  for  continued  charity.  He 
is  first  of  all  a  business  man  and  his  method  of 
doing  good  to  others  strictly  conforms  to  the  most 
exacting  demands  of  business  standards. 

The  interest  in  which  he  takes  the  greatest  pride 
and  contains  the  most  potential  good  for  his  com- 
munity and  state  is  his  farm  about  five  miles  south 
of  his  home  city  of  Maxton.  While  he  would  not 
call  it  a  model  farm,  it  really  is  an  important 
center  of  experimental  agriculture  and  is  sewing 
as  a  splendid  instrument  of  agricultural  advance- 
ment. He  bought  the  land  a  few  years  ago  as  a 
timber  investment.  Aside  from  the  timber  there 
was  hardly  an  acre  that  was  worth  anything  from 
an  agricultural  standpoint.  At  the  present  time 
he  has  200  acres  cleared  and  in  cultivation.  On 
this  farm  Major  MacKinnon  is  endeavoring  to  show 
the  practical  value  of  diversified  farming,  and  the 
means  and  methods  to  accomplish  that  object.  His 
purpose  is  not  to  lead  away  from  the  old  stand- 
ard crop  of  cotton,  for  he  himself  still  pins  his 
faith  to  the  cotton  crop.  It  is  rather  to  demon- 
strate how  by  the  rotation  of  crops  and  the  pro- 
duction of  various  legumes,  together  with  the  rais- 
ing of  good  breeds  of  livestock,  the  land  can  be 
made  more  productive  with  a  less  expense  for  arti- 
ficial fertilizer.  He  is  thus  endeavoring  to  open 
a  way  out  for  the  successful  production  of  the 
staple  money  crop  cotton,  at  a  less  expense  to  the 
farmer  and  with  an  incidental  result  of  larger 
profit.  While  Major  MacKinnon  reads  and  gathers 
information  from  agricultural  journals  and  from 
bulletins,  yet  he  is  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
theoretical  or  book  farmer.  His  idea  is  the  very 
practical  one  of  simply  making  good  money 
out  of  the  farm  and  showing  other  farmers  how 
to  do  likewise.  The  distinguishing  part  of  his 
plan  is  that  its  successful  operation  requires 
brain,  study,  unceasing  attention  to  detail,  and 
hard  work.  So  far  his  success  has  been  nothing 
less  than  remarkable,  and  it  has  acted  as  an  in- 
spiration to  others  and  undoubtedly  the  fruits  of 
his  experiment  will  continue  to  benefit  that  locality 
for  years  to  come.  As  a  stock  man  Major  MacKin- 
non is  raising  pure  bred  hogs  of  the  Duroc-Jersey 
type  and  some  pure  bred  cattle  and  is  constantly 
grading  up  his  stock.  Several  acres  of  his  land 
are  devoted  to  pasture,  being  sodded  in  Bermuda 
grass,  and  recently  he  has  been  endeavoring  to  set 
it  with  burr  clover,  and  has  also  experimented 
with  Abruzzi  rye  for  forage.  He  has  succeeded  in 
getting  such  a  rotation  of  crops  and  of  the  va- 
rious legumes  that  his  hogs  and  cattle  have  good 
grazing  practically  during  the  entire  year.  His 
farm  is  an  experiment  ground  for  various  kinds 
of  forage  and  feed  crops,  and  some  notable  re- 
sults have  already  been  attained.  The  MacKinnon 
farm  also  produces  canteloupes,  watermelons,  and 
various  other  fruits  and  vegetables.  The  primary 
object  throughout  is  to  give  the  land  plenty  of 
humus,  and  that  by  such  a  system  of  rotation  as 
will  make  it  productive  with  the  least  outlay  for 


fertilizer.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  without  such 
a  system,  the  bills  for  guano  or  other  fertilizing 
agents  to  supply  the  natural  lack  of  humus  makes 
profitable  farming  on  such  land  practically  out  of 
the  question. 

At  his  home  in  Maxton  Major  MacKinnon  is 
at  the  head  of  a  very  happy  family.  He  married 
Miss  Jennie  MacKinney,  daughter  of  the  late  Cap- 
tain MaeKinney,  who  was  a  highly  respected  citi- 
zen ot  .Robeson  County  and  died  at  Maxton  several 
years  ago.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  MacKinnon  have  four 
children,  Sallie  Lou,  Henry  A.,  Katie  Lee  and 
Arthur  J.  MacKinnon.  Sallie  Lou  is  a  Hu  Choow, 
China,  missionary.  The  son,  Henry,  practiced  law 
two  years  and  has  volunteered  in  the  United  States 
army.  He  is  a  second  lieutenant  and  now  in 
Prance. 

George  Washington  Stanton,  who  has  be- 
come well  known  at  Wilson  in  banking  and  in- 
surance circles,  was  born  in  Wilson  County  and 
his  birthplace  was  near  the  Town  of  Stantons- 
burg,  with  which  section  his  family  have  been 
identified  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Stanton  was  born  October  19,  1878,  and  is 
a  sou  of  George  Washington  and  Georgia  (Wil- 
kinson) Stanton.  His  father  was  a  well  known 
farmer  and  represented  his  home  county  in  the 
State    Legislature    in    1876. 

George  W.  Stanton,  Jr.,  grew  up  on  his  fa- 
ther 's  farm,  attended  the  Wilson  High  School 
and  in  1895  was  a  student  in  Professor  Yerkes 
Military  Institute.  In  1896,  at  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen, he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Branch  Bank- 
ing Company  at  Wilson  in  the  capacity  of  a 
' '  runner. ' '  He  remained  with  that  institution 
with  increasing  efficiency  and  with  increasing  re- 
sponsibilities until  August,  1909,  and  when  he 
resigned  he  was  cashier.  Since  leaving  the  bank 
Mr.  Stanton  has  been  a  successful  insurance  man 
at  Wilson,  and  is  now  general  agent  of  the  Jef- 
ferson Standard  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
Greensboro,    North   Carolina. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Rotary  Club,  Country 
Club  and  Commonwealth  Club  of  Wilson,  is  past 
chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge  and 
the  Dramatic  Order  Knights  of  Korassan  and  is 
active  in  St.  Timothy  Episcopal  Church,  serving  as 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school. 

On  November  12,  1902,  Mr.  Stanton  married 
Effie  L.  Baker,  of  Emporia,  Virginia.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Lucie  Claiborn  Stanton,  now  at- 
tending the   public   schools   of   Wilson. 

Hon.  Shadrach  C.  Pranklin  has  made  his  years 
and  his  efforts  count  chiefly  as  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  in  Surray  County,  near  Mount  Airy.  He  has 
also  served  in  the  Legislature,  and  has  filled  various 
other  places  of  trust  and  responsibility.  Mr.  Frank- 
lin is  a  member  of  an  old  and  noted  family  of 
Western  North  Carolina.  It  is  the  same  family 
which  produced  Governor  Jesse  Pranklin,  one  of 
the  early  governors  of  this  state  and  also  a  United 
States  senator. 

Mr.  Pranklin  was  born  on  a  farm  in  the  locality 
known  as  Haystack  in  Surry  County  July  23, 
1845.  He  was  not  yet  sixteen  when  the  war  broke 
out,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the 
Confederate  army  as  a  member  of  Company  E  of 
the  45th  Regiment,  Virginia  Troops.  He  was 
with  that  regiment  in  many  of  its  battles  and 
campaigns  until  in  June,  1864,  he  was  captured 
and   as   a   prisoner   of   war   was   confined   at    In- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


79 


dianapolis.      When    the    war    was    over    he    was 
released   on   parole. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  North  Carolina 
was  his  great-grandfather,  Bernard  Franklin, 
who  was  born  in  Virginia  of  early  English  an- 
cestry. Prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war  he  came 
to  North  Carolina  and  settled  on  Mitchell's  Rivei 
in  Surry  County.  He  was  a  pioneer  there  and 
helped  redeem  a  portion  of  the  wilderness.  It 
was  his  son  Jesse,  afterwards  governor  and 
United  States  senator,  who  had  first  come  to  this 
region  and  while  visiting  his  uncle,  General  Ben- 
jamin Cleveland,  had  selected  the  site  where  Ber- 
nard Franklin  settled.  The  latter  improved  his 
farm  and  continued  to  live  in  that  locality  until 
his  death.  He  married  Mary  Cleveland,  a  sister 
of  the  Kevolutionary  hero,  Colonel  Ben  Cleveland. 
They  reared  five  children :  Jesse,  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  Abednego  and  Mary.  Grandfather 
Shadrach  Franklin  was  born  in  Albemarle 
County,  Virginia,  but  grew  upon  a  farm  in  Surry 
County.  .He  finally  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of 
part  of  the  old  homestead  and  had  his  slaves  to 
cultivate  the  fields.  Late  in  life  he  went  to  live 
in  the  home  of  his  son  Wiley  T.,  and  died  there 
at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  Shadrach  Franklin  mar- 
ried Judith  Taliaferro,  who  was  born  in  Albe- 
marle County,  Virginia.  Her  father,  Dr.  John 
Taliaferro,  a  native  of  the  same  county,  came  to 
North  Carolina  in  colonial  times  and  was  one  of 
the  very  early  settlers  in  what  is  now  Stuart 
Creek  Township,  Surry  County.  In  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  he  acted  as  a  surgeon  and  looked 
after  the  wounded  following  the  battle  of  Gilbert 
Courthouse.  The  farm  which  he  improved  is  still 
owned  by  his  descendants.  Grandmother  Franklin 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Their  children 
were  seven  in  number,  Bernard,  Taliaferro,  Wiley 
T.,  Polly,  Lucy,  Martha  and  Bettie. 

Wiley  T.  Franklin  was  born  on  a  farm  that 
bordered  Mitchell 's  River  in  Surry  County,  in 
December,  1801.  On'  that  farm  he  spent  his  early 
days  and  after  reaching  manhood  he  bought  an- 
other place  on  Mitchell's  River  but  subsequently 
sold  that  and  bought  land  on  Fisher's  River.  He 
owned  slaves  and  enjoyed  the  easy  circumstances 
of  the  substantial  planter.  He  occupied  his  old 
homestead  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Mary 
Taliaferro,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Taliaferro  and 
a  granddaughter  of  the  Dr.  John  Taliaferro, 
above  named.  She  died  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years  and  two  months.  She  was  the  mother  of 
seven  children:  Virginia,  Martha,  Bettie,  Judith, 
Matilda,  Lucinda  and  Shadrach  C. 

The  only  son  in  this  family,  Shadrach  C.  Frank- 
lin, had  a  farm  training  and  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  local  schools  before  the  war.  When  the 
war  was  over  he  went  to  Tennessee,  but  soon 
returned  to  Surry  County  and  bought  the  farm 
he  now  occupies  two  miles  west  of  Mount  Airy. 
He  has  used  a  great  deal  of  care  and  invested  a 
large  amount  of  capital  in  developing  this  place 
according  to  his  ideals  of  an  efficient  farm.  It 
consists  of  200  acres  and  has  ample  buildings 
and  other  facilities  for  the  handling  of  his  live- 
stock and  his  crops.  His  favorite  cattle  are  the 
Shorthorns   and  he  also   raises   Red   Duroc   swine. 

Mr.  Franklin  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Martha  Whitlock,  who  was  born  in 
Stuart  Creek  Township  of  Surry  County,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Celia  (Roberts)  Whitlock. 
Mrs.  Franklin  died  four  years  after  her  mar- 
riage. Her  two  sons  are  James  W.  and  Charles 
W.,  the   former   of  whom   married    Alice   McGee. 


For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Franklin  married  Bettie 
Kapp,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  bordering  Mit- 
chell 'a  River  in  Surry  County,  a  duuguter  of 
Adolphus  and  Mary  (Thompson,)  Knapp.  By  the 
second  union  there  are  also  two  sons:  J_.ee  Fries 
and  Bernard  F. 

Politically  Mr.  Franklin  has  always  been  a 
sturdy  and  stanch  democrat.  His  election  to  the 
Legislature  occurred  in  1887,  and  besides  the 
service  he  thus  rendered  his  community  he  was 
for  five  years  a  member  of  the  County  School 
Board  and  two  years  county  commissioner.  He 
is  affiliated  with  Surry  Camp  No.  797  of  the 
United  Confederate  Veterans,  and  has  been  com- 
mander of  that  camp  most  of  the  time  since  it 
was  organized. 

Mark  Twain  Frizzelle,  M.  D.  The  ten  years 
since  he  left  the  Medical  College  of  Virginia  with 
his  diploma  have  been  sufficient  in  which  to  give 
Doctor  Frizzelle  prominence  and  success  in  his 
profession,  and  also  a  position  of  business  leader- 
ship and  civic  prominence  at  Ayden,  his  home  town. 

Doctor  Frizzelle  was  born  in  Greene  County, 
North  Carolina,  October  26,  1879,  a  son  of  sub- 
stantial farming  people  of  that  section  of  the 
state,  Jesse  T.  and  Lovie  Cornelia  (Brooks,)  Friz- 
zelle. Doctor  Frizzelle  acquired  his  early  education 
in  the  Ormondsville  High  School,  later  attended 
Trinity  College  at  Durham  with  the  class  of  1903, 
and  was  granted  the  degree  Doctor  of  Medicine  by 
the  Medical  College  of  Virginia  in  1907.  In  July 
of  that  year  he  located  at  Ayden,  and  while 
handling  a  general  practice  is  regarded  as  a  very 
expert  and  skillful  surgeon.  Doctor  Frizzelle  is 
a  member  of  the  Pitt  County  and  North  Carolina 
Medical  societies  and  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation. He  is  physician  to  the  National  Veneer 
Company,  is  president  of  the  Ayden  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  and  director  of  the  Farmers 
and  Merchants  National  Bank.  He  also  has  farm- 
ing land  to  the  extent  of  400  acres  and  gives  its 
management  considerable  of  his  personal  super- 
vision. 

James  Buchanan  Ruark.  One  of  the  individ- 
uals who  essentially  belongs  to  the  men  of  action 
of  Brunswick  County  is  James  Buchanan  Ruark, 
whose  career  is  typical  of  modern  progress  and 
advancement.  Alert  and  enterprising,  this  South- 
port  merchant  has  utilized  to  the  full  the  opportu- 
nities which  have  been  offered  him  for  business 
preferment,  and  has  attained  thereby  an  eminently 
satisfying  success.  The  secret  of  his  accomplish- 
ment is  not  far  to  seek,  for  close  application,  in- 
defatigable energy,  integrity  and  determination 
have  combined  to  constitute  the  foundation  of  his 
achievements. 

James  Buchanan  Ruark  belongs  to  a  family 
which  has  long  been  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected in  Southeastern  North  Carolina,  and  was 
born  in  Brunswick  County,  this  state,  January  24, 
1857.  His  parents  were  Hanson  Kelley  and  Re- 
becca Ann  (Woodside)  Ruark,  and  his  father  was 
a  pilot  who  was  widely  known  among  the  river 
captains  of  this  section  for  an  extended  period  of 
years.  The  education  of  James  B.  Ruark  was 
confined  to  that  attainable  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  day  and  locality,  but  he  was  naturally  alert 
and  possessed  a  retentive  mind,  and  started  his 
career  with  perhaps  a  better  education  than  the 
majority  of  boys  who  had  received  his  same  advan- 
tages. He  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age  when 
he  began  to  contribute  to  his  own  support,  and 
in  1875  became  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  South- 


80 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


port,  a  capacity  in  which  he  continued  for  twelve 
years.  During  this  time  he  had  secured  experi- 
ence in  every  department  of  mercantile  life,  and 
in  August,  1887,  felt  that  he  was  ready  to  realize 
one  of  his  ambitions,  that  of  becoming  a  proprietor. 
At  that  time  he  accepted  an  opportunity  offered 
and  began  business  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Guth- 
rie, an  association  which  lasted  for  sixteen  years, 
when  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Euark 
taking  over  Mr.  Guthrie's  interests.  Since  1912 
the  business  has  been  conducted  under  the  firm  style 
of  J.  B.  Euark  Company,  and  has  become  one  of 
the  necessary  commercial  assets  of  the  city.  Mr. 
Euark  has  a  modern  store  building,  with  the  most 
up-to-date  equipment,  and  carries  a  complete  stock 
of  general  merchandise,  chosen  with  regard  to  the 
particular  needs  and  wishes  of  the  people  of  his 
community,  well  and  attractively  arranged  and  dis- 
played, and  fairly  priced.  The  enterprise,  from 
catering  merely  to  a  local  patronage,  has  grown 
until  its  customers  now  bring  their  trade  from 
far-distant  points.  Mr.  Euark's  success  has  been 
builded  along  lines  of  honesty  and  fair  dealing, 
and  his  name  in  the  business  world  is  synonymous 
with  integrity. 

■  On  October  29,  1876,  Mr.  Euark  was  united  in 
marriage  w;th  Miss  Sallie  Potter  Longest,  of 
Brunswick  County,  North  Carolina,  and  to  this 
union  there  are  seven  living  children,  namely: 
Hattie  Longest,  now  the  wife  of  J.  H.  Stone,  of 
Wilmington,  North  Carolina;  Eobert,  who  is  a 
successful  practitioner  of  law  at  that  city;  Joseph 
Watters.  mayor  of  Southport  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Brunswick  County  bar;  Crou- 
ley  Guthrie,  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  Dr.  William 
Thomas,  a  successful  practicing  physician  of 
Wilmington;  Bryant  Whitfield,  who  is  a  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  and  Mary 
Eebecca,  who  is  the  wife  of  Eobert  St.  George,  a 
traveling  man  of  Wilmington. 

Mr.  Euark  has  long  been  interested  in  civic  mat- 
ters, and  has  served  as  town  commissioner  and 
alderman  for  several  years.  In  July,  1909,  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  county  board  of  educa- 
tion, a  position  which  he  has  retained  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  His  public  service  has  been  a  decidedly 
creditable  one,  reflecting  honor  upon  Mr.  Euark's 
executive  ability  and  character.  A  greater  worker 
in  religious  movements  at  Southport  will  not  be 
found  than  Mr.  Euark,  and  for  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  he  has  been  treasurer  and  a  member 
of  the  board  of  stewards  of  Trinity  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  His  only  fraternal  connection 
is  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
in  which   order  he  is   past  noble  grand. 

Hon.  Joseph  Watters  Euark.  The  law  is 
known  as  a  stern  mistress,  demanding  of  her  dev- 
otees constant  and  unremitting  attention  and 
leading  her  followers  through  many  mazes  and  in- 
tricacies before  she  grants  them  a  full  measure 
of  success.  This  incessant  devotion  frequently 
precludes  the  idea  of  the  successful  lawyer  indulg- 
ing in  activities  outside  of  the  straight  path  of 
his  profession,  especially  if  his  vocational  duties 
are  of  a  large  and  important  nature.  But  there 
are  men  who  find  the  time  and  the  inclination  to 
devote  to  other  matters,  particularly  those  affect- 
ing civic  affairs,  and  who,  by  the  very  reason  of 
their  ability  in  the  law,  are  peculiarly  fitted  to 
perform  capable  service  therein.  Joseph  Watters 
Ruark,  mayor  of  Southport,  has  for  a  number  of 
years  been  a  close  devotee  of  the  law.  A  master 
of  its  perplexities  and  complexities,  his  activities 


have  been  directed  incessantly  to  the  demands  of 
his  calling.  Yet  he  has  found  the  leisure  to  dis- 
charge in  a  highly  efficient  manner  the  duties  of 
his  office,  and  he  is  therefore  as  well  known  as  a 
public-spirited  factor  in  civic  affairs  as  he  is  as 
a  thorough   and  learned  legist. 

Joseph  W.  Ruark  was  born  at  Southport,  Bruns- 
wick County,  North  Carolina,  November  29,  1885, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  Buchanan  and  Sallie  Potter 
(Longest)  Euark,  of  whom  mention  is  made  on 
other  pages  of  this  work. 

After  attending  the  public  schools  of  Southport, 
Joseph  Watters  Euark  entered  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  February  4,  1907.  He  began 
practice  at  Sanford,  North  Carolina,  where  he 
remained  for  five  years,  and  took  a  prominent  part 
in  public  affairs,  being  elected  mayor  of  that 
city.  He  had  served  in  that  office  for  two  years 
when  he  resigned,  and  in  1913  came  to  Southport, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  a  general  prae-  - 
tice  of  his  profession.  It  was  not  long  before  his 
abilities  were  recognized,  and  he  is  now  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  large  professional  business  which 
takes  him  into  all  the  courts.  In  May,  1915,  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  Southport,  and  is  giving  the 
people  excellent  service  in  that  office.  Mayor 
Euark  is  a  Blue  Lodge  and  Chapter  Mason  and  a 
member  of  the  Junior  Order  of  "United  American 
Mechanics.  He  has  the  interests  of  his  native 
city  at  heart  and  is  found  foremost  among  the 
men  who  are  working  for  its  advancement. 

On  November  29,  1911,  Mayor  Euark  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Elizabeth  Cross,  of  Sanford,  North 
Carolina,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Marion. 
Mayor  and  Mrs.  Euark  are  members  of  Trinity 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Alexander  Waddell  Pate.  The  ability  to 
handle  successfully  a  number  of  interests  is  a 
rare  one,  and  has  been  a  distinguishing  feature 
of  the  business  career  of  Alexander  Waddell  Pate 
in  Wilmington.  Mr.  Pate  is  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  had  his  early  business  experience  in  this 
state  and  in  Virginia,  and  since  April,  1907,  has 
been  identified  with  Wilmington  and  primarily  as 
a  real  estate  man.  He  conducts  a  real  estate, 
brokerage  and  development  business. 

He  was  responsible  for  the  laying  out  and 
developing  of  the  Sea  Gate  property.  He  also 
bought  the  New  Hanover  Transit  Company  and 
laid  out  and  developed  the  Carolina  Beach.  This 
was  an  old  resort  property,  but  had  practically 
been  abandoned  from  a  residential  standpoint. 
It  is  a  tract  of  land  of  unexampled  beauty  and 
adaptability  for  resort  purposes.  It  comprises 
1,000  acres,  is  situated  fourteen  miles  from  Wil- 
mington on  a  peninsula  extending  into  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  and  bounded  on  one  side  by  Cape 
Fear  Eiver  and  at  the  head  of  Myrtle  Grove  Sound. 
The  New  Hanover  Transit  Company  owns  this 
beach  of  which  Mr.  Pate  is  president.  One  of  the 
leading  improvements  on  the  beach  property  is 
the  Graystone  Inn,  which  contains  thirty  rooms. 
Mr.  Pate  is  also  president  of  the  Southern  Eealty 
and  Development  Company,  is  a  director  of  the 
Wilmington-Carolina  Beach  Eailway  Company,  and 
is  head  of  the  A.  W.  Pate  Company,  real  estate 
and  brokerage. 

He  was  born  in  Cumberland  County,  North 
Carolina,  September  26,  1875,  a  son  of  Alexander 
and  Susan  E.  (McDonald)  Pate.  His  father  was 
a  merchant  and  manufacturer.  The  son  received 
his   education    in    the   public   schools    and   in    the 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


85 


000.  The  firm  is  also  one  of  the  chief  cotton  buy- 
ers in  Pitt  County.  The  founder  of  the  business 
is  everywhere  known  trustfully  and  appreciatively 
as  ' '  Bob  ' '  Davis.  It  is  said  that  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  people  in  Pitt  County  who  have  never 
traded  at  any  store  or  bought  any  goods  except 
from  Bob  Davis. 

Mr.  .Robert  Lang  Davis  was  born  March  23, 
1856,  a  son  of  Benjamin  Archibald  and  Mary  A. 
(Lang)  Davis.  His  father  was  a  farmer.  When 
Robert  L.  was  about  rive  years  of  age  his  father 
went  away  to  fight  with  the  Confederate  Army  in 
Company  F  of  the  Sixty-first  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  Infantry,  and  was  with  the  Confederate 
troops  in  many  campaigns  until  he  met  his  death 
at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  April,  1863.  The 
death  of  his  father  meant  that  Robert  L.  Davis' 
early  advantages  were  of  a  meager  character,  and 
his  education  was  confined  entirely  to  the  country 
schools.  He  had  to  overcome  handicaps  and  meet 
hardships  in  establishing  himself  in  the  business 
world.  For  several  years  he  farmed,  and  in  1872 
became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  his  uncle,  W.  G. 
Lang. 

Then,  in  1879,  with  a  limited  capital  and  Only 
a  few  years  experience,  he  set  up  in  business  for 
himself  as  a  general  merchant  at  Farmville.  The 
farm  was  first  known  as  Davis  &  Home,  his  partner 
being  W.  R.  Home.  In  1886  Mr.  Home  withdrew, 
and  after  that  Mr.  Davis  continued  alone,  grad- 
ually building  up  his  trade  and  enlarging  the  scope 
of  his  enterprise.  In  1893  he  took  in  his  two 
brothers,  Francis  M.  and  John  R.,  and  thus  estab- 
lished the  firm  of  R.  L.  Davis  &  Brothers,  which 
now  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  held  its  own 
among  the  larger  mercantile  organizations  in  the 
state. 

Besides  the  big  work  he  has  accomplished  in 
founding  and  building  up  this  enterprise  R.  L. 
Davis  has  been  a  foremost  and  ever  ready  factor 
in  everything  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  Farm- 
ville and  vicinity.  He  is  known  as  a  big-hearted 
and  public  spirited  citizen.  His  interests  are  now 
widespread,  and  he  is  well  known  in  financial 
circles  as  a  planter,  manufacturer  and  business 
man. 

He  became  one  of  the  large  stockholders  and 
a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Greenville,  and  served 
as  its  president  from  1S96  until  it  was  merged  with 
the  National  Bank  of  Greenville,  at  which  time  he 
resigned  the  presidency.  In  1900  he  was  elected 
county  commissioner  of  Pitt  County  and  re-elected 
in  1902,  and  has  also  served  as  mayor  and  alderman 
of  Farmville.  In  1904  he  organized  the  Bank  of 
Farmville  and  has  since  been  its  chief  executive 
officer.  Mr.  R.  L.  Davis  also  took  a  prominent 
part  in  creating  a  tobacco  market  at  Farmville, 
building  two  warehouses  and  gradually  enlarging 
the  facilities  until  Farmville  now  supplies  one  of 
the  chief  markets  in  Eastern  North  Carolina.  He 
also  financed  the  tobacco  drying  plant  at  a  cost  of 
$40,000.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  has 
been  president  since  its  organization  of  the  Farm- 
ville Oil  and  Fertilizer  Mill,  and  is  president  of 
the  Davis  Horse  and  Mule  Company.  He  gave 
Farmville  a  modern  brick  three-story  hotel,  one 
of  the  important  institutions  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Davis  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  graded 
school  board  of  Farmville  since  it  was  organized. 
Ho  lias  never  married. 

His  brother,  John  Richard  Dnvis,  who  is  active 
manager  of  R.  L.  Pavi«  &  Brothers,  was  born 
April  20,  1863,  had  a  public  school  education,  and 
since   1893   has  been  prominently  associated  with 


his  brother.  He  is  a  director  and  treasurer  of  the 
Farmville  Oil  and  Fertilizer  Company,  is  vice  presi- 
dent and  director  of  the  Bank  of  Farmville,  di- 
rector and  treasurer  of  the  Davis  Horse  and  Mule 
Company.     He  is  also  a  bachelor. 

Francis  Marion  Davis,  the  third  member  of 
the  firm  of  R.  L.  Davis  &  Brothers,  was  born 
February  25,  1861,  and  after  an  education  in  the 
public  schools  became  clerk  in  the  store  of  his 
brothers  until  he  entered  the  active  partnership 
in  1893.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Davis  Horse 
and  Mule  Company.  June  3,  1903,  he  married 
Miss  Lucy  Bryant,  of  Wilson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. Their  four  children  are  named  Francis 
Marion,  Jr.,  Virginia  Elizabeth,  Janie  Long  and 
Margaret  Scarborough. 

Hector  McLean  Green.  Now  serving  as  post- 
master of  Wilmington,  an  office  to  which  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Wilson  on  May  28,  1915, 
Hector  McLean  Green  has  long  been  actively 
identified  with  business  and  public  affairs  in  this 
section   of  the  state. 

He  was  born  in  Harnett  County,  North  Carolina, 
March  30,  1849,  a  son  of  John  and  Flora 
Catherine  (McLean)  Green.  His  father  was  a 
planter.  Hector  Green  spent  his  early  life  on 
the  old  plantation,  and  part  of  his  boyhood  fell 
during  the  dark  days  of  the  war.  He  had  to 
satisfy  himself  with  such  education  as  was 
afforded  by  the  private  schools,  and  after  the 
war  he  assisted  in  rehabilitating  the  plantation 
and  remained   there  until   1871. 

His  chief  business  success  has  been  in  the  timber 
and  lumber  business,  and  he  built  some  very  exten- 
sive connections  from  Wilmington  as  his  head- 
quarters and  continued  actively  in  the  industry 
until  he  entered  the  postoffice.  From  1898  to 
1912  he  also  served  as  treasurer  of  New  Haven 
County  and  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Exe- 
cutive Committee  in  1895,  1896,  1897  and  1898. 
Mr.  Green  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  First  Presbyteriau 
Church   of  Wilmington. 

On  November  6,  1873,  he  married  Miss  Ida 
Deems  Alderman,  of  Wilmington.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Alice,  wife  of  Edwin  M.  Wilson,  who 
is  a  well  known  educator.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson 
have  a  son,   Hugh   McLean   Wilson. 

James  LaFatette  Morgan,  banker  and  man- 
ufacturer of  Marion,  has  achieved  the  dignity 
and  position  of  a  successful  business  man  through 
many  years  of  consecutive  effort,  in  which  abibty, 
common  sense  and  integrity  have  been  dominant 
characteristics. 

Mr.  Morgan  was  born  in  Rutherford  County, 
North  Carolina,  September  26,  1854.  His  par- 
ents were  James  Webb  and  Harriet  (Briscoe) 
Morgan.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  his  fa 
ther  's  farm  and  under  his  father 's  direction  ho 
also  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  tanning. 
His  father  operated  one  of  the  few  tanneries 
at  that  time  in  North  Carolina.  The  son  was 
educated  in  one  of  the  old  fashioned  subscrip- 
tion schools.  On  taking  up  his  independent  career 
he  was  identified  with  the  manufacture  of  tobacco 
for  about  seven  years.  Since  then  his  interests 
have    taken    on    a   wide   scope. 

Mr.  Morgan  is  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Marion,  is  one  of  the  organizers  and  a 
director  of  the  Marion  and  Clinchfield  Manufac- 
turing Company,   a   cotton   mill,   is   secretary   and 


86 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


treasurer  of  the  Marion  Light  &  Power  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  the  active  organizer,  and 
also  owns  a  tannery.  Mr.  Morgan  has  an  ex- 
tensive tract  of  farm  land,  comprising  about 
2,000  acres  and  including  the  widely  known 
Pleasant  Gardens  farms. 

He  has  also  done  his  share  of  public  duties, 
having  served  as  alderman  of  Marion  and  as 
register  of  deeds  of  the  county.  January  13, 
1886,  he  married  Belle  Moore,  of  Statesville, 
North  Carolina.  They  have  two  daughters,  Essie 
is  the  wife  of  Hubert  McNeill  Poteat,  a  professor 
in  Wake  Porest  College.  The  daughter  Pay  is 
Mrs.   William  P.  Craig. 

Richard  LaFayette  Harris.  A  valued  and 
highly  esteemed  resident  of  Elkin,  Surry  County, 
Richard  LaFayette  Harris,  vice  president  of  the 
Elkin  Canning  Company  and  a  farmer  of  prom- 
inence, has  spent  his  entire  life  in  this  section  of 
the  state,  and  in  its  growth  and  development, 
whether  relating  to  its  agricultural,  manufacturing 
or  mercantile  interests,  has  ably  performed  his  full 
share.  A  son  of  the  late  Fletcher  Asbury  Harris, 
he  was  born  on  a  plantation  in  Edwards  Township, 
Yadkins  Valley,  Wilkes  County,  June  27,  1861.    • 

Ephraim  Drake  Harris,  paternal  grandfather  of 
the  special  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born,  it  is 
supposed,  in  Ireland,  of  Scotch  ancestry.  The  only 
member  of  his  father 's  family  to  cross  the  At- 
lantic, he  immigrated  to  America  when  young, 
coming  directly  to  North  Carolina.  Locating  about 
six  miles  east  of  Jonesville,  he  purchased  land,  and 
with  the  help  of  slaves  improved  a  fine  plantation, 
and  in  addition  to  carrying  on  general  farming 
owned  and  operated  a  tannery.  Exceedingly  pros- 
perous in  his  undertakings,  he  erected  a  substantial 
brick  house  on  his  estate,  and  there  continued  his 
residence  until  his  death.  One  of  his  sons,  Thomas, 
went  west,  but  it  is  not  known  in  what  state  he 
located.  Another  son,  Enoch,  enlisted  during  the 
Civil  war  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  died  while 
in  service,  leaving  two  sons,  William  W.  and 
Edward  E.  His  daughter  Margaret,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Mr.  MeMasters,  lived  for  a  time 
after  her  marriage  in  Wilkes  County,  from  there 
going  West. 

Fletcher  Asbury  Harris  was  born  on  the  home 
farm  in  Yadkin  County  October  11,  1818,  and  there 
grew  to  manhood.  Taking  advantage  of  every  of- 
fered opportunity,  he  acquired  an  excellent  educa- 
tion and  as  a  young  man  did  much  surveying  in 
Yadkin,  Wilkes  and  Surry  counties,  having  been  a 
civil  engineer  of  high  repute.  Subsequently  pur- 
chasing a  farm  in  the  Yadkin  Valley,  Edwards 
Township,  he  managed  it  successfully  with  the  aid 
of  slaves,  occupying  it  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  December  24,  1902. 

On  April  14,  1841,  Fletcher  A.  Harris  married 
Sarah  H.  Moore,  who  was  born  in  Stokes  County, 
North  Carolina,  June  17,  1820,  being  a  daughter 
of  William  C.  Moore.  She  preceded  him  to  the  life 
beyond,  dying  September  4,  1898.  Eleven  chil- 
dren were  born  of  their  union,  as  follows:  Wil- 
liam Clement,  who  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
Army  soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war, 
and  lost  his  life  in  the  service;  Ellen  Virginia; 
Juriah  Lueretia;  Ephraim  Drake;  Julius  Newton; 
Maria,  deceased;  Margaret  Paulina,  deceased; 
Charles  Clinton,  deceased;  Richard  LaFayette;  Ann 
Victoria;  and  Lelia  Henrie. 

Brought  up  on  the  parental  homestead,  Richard 
LaFayette  Harris  first  attended  the  district  schools, 
later  completing  his  early  studies  in  the  Jonesville 


High  School.  He  obtained  a  practical  knowledge 
of  agriculture  on  the  home  plantation,  remaining 
there  until  1885,  when  he  was  appointed  deputy 
revenue  collector  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In  1893 
he  was  again  appointed  to  the  same  office,  and 
served  another  term  of  four  years  in  that  capacity. 
Mr.  Harris  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  his 
father's  estate  which  he  has  since  managed  in- 
telligently and  successfully,  although  he  has  not 
lived  upon  it  for  a  number  of  years,  his  home  since 
1902  having  been  in  Elkin,  where  he  has  erected 
a  commodious  house,  with  modern  improvements. 
Identified  with  one  of  the  leading  industries  of 
Surry  County,  Mr.  Harris  is  vice  president  of  the 
Elkin  Canning  Company  and  devotes  a  portion  of 
his  time  to  this  concern,  which  is  carrying  on  an 
extensive  and  remunerative  business  in  the  canning 
of  fruits  and  vegetables  grown  in  this  section  of 
the  country. 

Mr.  Harris  married,  November  18,  1896,  Iris 
Adelia  Poplin,  who  was  born  in  Edwards  Township, 
Wilkes  County,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  J.  and  Eliza- 
beth Virginia  Poplin.  Into  the  household  thus 
established  five  children  have  been  born,  namely: 
Ohna  B.,  Edwin  Worth,  Beulah  May,  Sarah  Eliza- 
beth and  Margaret  Victoria.  Faithful  and  valued 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harris  have  reared  their  family  in 
the  same  religious  belief.  Mr.  Harris  has  served 
as  a  member  of  its  board  of  stewards.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Elkin  Lodge  No.  454,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons,  and  is  a  non- 
affiliating  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows. 

Thomas  Skinner  White.  Among  the  native 
sons  of  Perquimans  County  who  have  won  success 
and  occupy  enviable  and  prominent  positions  in 
business  circles  is  Thomas  Skinner  White,  the 
variety,  scope  and  volume  of  whose  connections 
make  him  a  leading  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
community.  His  salient  characteristics  are  deter- 
mination, diligence  and  keen  sagacity,  and  upon 
these  he  has  builded  his  prosperity,  winning  a 
high  and  well  merited  measure  of  success.  Mr. 
White  was  born  in  the  little  community  of  Chap- 
moke,  near  Hertford,  Perquimans  County,  North 
Carolina,  December  7,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Trim 
Skinner  and  Cornelia  (White)  White.  His  father 
was  one  of  the  substantial  agriculturists  of  his 
community  and  an  extensive  dealer  in  horses  and 
mules,  and  during  a  long  and  active  career  was 
one  of  the  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  the  locality 
of  Hertford.  He  had  lived  in  Elizabeth  City 
four  years  before  his  death. 

Thomas  Skinner  White  was  granted  the  oppor- 
tunity of  securing  a  good  education  in  his  youth, 
and  as  he  was  ambitious  and  industrious  he  did 
not  fail  to  take  advantage  of  this  chance  for  a 
thorough  preparation.  After  he  had  been  taught 
in  the  private  school  of  Professor  Sheap,  he  went 
to  Bethel  Hill  Academy,  and  when  his  course  was 
completed  there  he  was  ready  to  enter  upon  his 
business  career.  His  first  position  was  secured 
when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  when  he  became 
collection  clerk  in  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Elizabeth  City,  an  institution  with  which  he  was 
identified  for  four  years.  He  had  then  reached  his 
majority,  and  was  anxious  to  enter  upon  an  inde- 
pendent career  of  his  own;  wherefore,  he  came  to 
Hertford  and  embarked  in  the  horse  and  mule 
business,  a  knowledge  of  which  he  had  gained  in 
his  youth  through  association  with  his  father. 
After  two  years  of  fair  success  alone  he  became 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


87 


associated  in  partnership  with  T.  F.  Winslow,  as 
Winslow  &  White,  and  they  have  since  carried  on 
a  constantly  increasing  business  in  handling  horses, 
mules,  wagons,  etc.  In  1906  a  new  opportunity 
presented  itself,  when  the  Hertford  Cotton  Oil 
Company  got  into  financial  difficulties.  Mr.  White 
became  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Eastern  Cot- 
ton Oil  Company,  which  took  over  the  other  con- 
cern, and  which  has  since  been  one  of  the  success- 
ful enterprises  of  the  city.  He  acted  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  secretary-treasurer  until  1913,  when  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  company.  He  has 
also  been  connected  with  financial  institutions  in 
an  official  capacity,  and  at  the  present  time  is  a 
member  of  the  directing  boards  of  the  Hertford 
Banking  Company  and  the  Farmers  Bank  and 
Trust  Company,  both  substantial  and  successful 
institutions.  He  likewise  owns  a  one-fourth  inter- 
est in  the  general  merchandise  business  of  White 
&  Company,  a  well  known  concern;  is  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Johnson  &  White,  general  in- 
surance agents;  and  is  vice  president  of  the  Car- 
taret  Lumber  Company,  the  headquarters  of  which 
are  at  Beaufort,  North  Carolina.  As  an  agricul- 
turist he  has  shared  in  the  development  of  this 
part  of  the  country  and  is  receiving  excellent  re- 
turns from  the  products  of  his  600 -acre  farm,  being 
also  in  partnership  in  the  ownership  of  another 
property  consisting  of  500  acres.  Mr.  White  has 
fully  discharged  the  duties  of  citizenship,  having 
served  as  a  member  of  the  town  commissioners, 
and  as  a  trustee  of  the  graded  schools,  and  at 
present  is  chairman  of  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Belief 
Society. 

On  November  3,  1903,  Mr.  White  was  married 
to  Miss  Mattie  Walker  Toms,  of  Hertford,  a 
daughter  of  Zach  and  Susie  B.  (White)  Toms, 
and  to  this  union  there  have  been  born  two  chil- 
dren: Susie  Frances  and  Thomas  Skinner,  Jr. 
Mr.  White  is  popular  as  a  fraternalist,  belonging 
to  the  Masons  and  being  a  charter  member  of  Eliza- 
beth City  Lodge  No.  856,  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  With  his  family  he 
belongs  to  the  Baptist  Church,  where  he  is  serving 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  church  trustees. 

Edward  P.  Bailey.  A  central  feature  of  Wil- 
mington's industrial  prosperity  for  sixty  years 
has  been  the  Wilmington  Iron  Works,  which  was 
the  first  instiLUtion  of  the  kind  located  in  the 
city,  and  was  established  there  by  John  C.  Bailey 
in  the  year  1856.  It  has  had  an  almost  uninter- 
rupted career  of  prosperity  and  success,  and  is 
now  under  the  executive  management  of  Edward 
P.   Bailey,  a  grandson  of  the  original  founder. 

Edward  P.  Bailey  was  born  at  Wilmington 
January  2,  1885,  a  son  of  E.  P.  and  Annie 
(Empie)  Bailey.  His  father  was  for  many  years 
president  of  the  iron  works. 

The  education  of  Edward  P.  Bailey  was  directed 
with  a  view  to  assuming  the  responsibilities  con- 
nected with  the  management  of  this  important 
industry.  In  1904  he  graduated  with  the  degree 
of  Mechanical  Engineer  from  the  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College  of  North  Carolina,  and  in 
the  same  year  began  his  official  service  with  the 
Wilmington  Iron  Works,  of  which  he  is  now 
president.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Wilming- 
ton Marine  Railway  Company. 

Mr.  Bailey  is  affiliated  with  the  Sigma  Nu 
fraternity,  is  past  master  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
No.  1,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  is  a 
member  of  Concord  Chapter,  Boyal  Arch  Masons, 
belongs  to  the  Cape  Fear  Club  and  the  Cape  Fear 


Country  Club  and  the  Carolina  Yacht  Club.  At 
one  time  he  served  as  captain  of  the  Wilmington 
Light  Infantry. 

November  14,  1912,  he  married  Charlotte 
Pleasants,  of  Wilmington.  They  have  one  son, 
Edward  P.,  Jr.,  born  August  21,  1913. 

Robert  Vance  Brawley,  M.  D.,  a  physician 
and  surgeon  of  superior  attainments,  has  been 
in  practice  at  Salisbury  for  over  fifteen  yeais 
and  is  one  of  the  accomplished  men  in  the  pro- 
fessional and  social  life  of  that  city. 

He  was  born  on  a  plantation  in  Shepherdsville 
Township  of  Iredell  County,  North  Carolina,  a 
son  of   James  W.  and  Julia   (Caldwell)    Brawley. 

Preliminary  to  his  career  he  had  a  thorough 
and  liberal  education,  beginning  with  the  public 
schools  of  Mooresville,  the  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College  at  Raleigh,  and  later  was  a 
student  both  in  the  literary  and  medical  depart- 
ments of  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  From 
there  he  entered  the  College  of  Medicine  at  Rich- 
mond,   Virginia,    and   graduated    M.   D.   in   1901. 

For  a  short  time  Doctor  Brawley  engaged  in 
the  general  practice  of  medicine.  He  then  went 
to  New  York,  and  after  extended  post-graduate 
courses  returned  to  Salisbury  and  has  since  given 
his  time  to  his  work  as  a  specialist  in  diseases  of 
the   eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat. 

Doctor  Brawley  married,  in  1907,  Mary  Boyden, 
a  native  of  Salisbury  and  daughter  of  Col.  A.  H. 
and  Mary  (Shober)  Boyden.  More  extended  refer- 
ence to  the  distinguished  members  of  the  Boyden 
family  is  made  on  other  pages.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Brawley  have  two  children:  Robert  Vance,  Jr., 
and  Boyden. 

Abram  O.  Bray.  As  superintendent  and  general 
manager  of  the  North  Wilkesboro  Roller  Mill, 
Abram  O.  Bray  holds  a  position  of  responsibility 
and  trust,  and  is  actively  associated  with  the  de- 
velopment and  advancement  of  the  manufacturing 
and  mercantile  interests  of  Wilkes  County.  A 
native  of  North  Carolina,  he  was  born  in  Wilkes 
County,  a  son  of  Lacey  Jasper  and  Tassie  Lou 
Alice  (Chaney)  Bray,  of  whom  a  brief  sketch  ap- 
pears elsewhere  in  this  work. 

Acquiring  his  rudimentary  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Elkin,  Abram  O.  Bray  subsequently 
took  an  advanced  course  of  study  at  the  Raleigh 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College.  During  his 
boyhood  days  he  worked  with  his  father,  and  under 
his  instruction  gained  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  miller 's  trade  and  an  experience  in  milling  that 
has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  him  since.  Going 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1903,  when  the  final 
preparations  for  the  exposition  held  in  that  city 
that  year  were  being  made  Mr.  Bray  served  as 
checking  clerk  in  the  Mines  Building  during  the 
collection  and  placing  of  the  exhibits.  When  the 
exposition  was  over  he  became  a  commercial  sales- 
man, traveling  through  various  parts  of  the 
country,  especially  in  the  West,  for  two  years.  Re- 
turning then  to  Elkin,  he  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  milling  business  until  1908,  when  he 
assumed  his  present  position  in  the  business  ac- 
tivities of  North  Wilkesboro. 

The  North  Wilkesboro  Roller  Mills,  of  which  Mr. 
Bray  has  charge,  has  a  capacity  of  seventy-five 
barrels  of  flour  per  day,  and  200  bushels  of  meal. 
It  is  finely  equipped,  being  amply  supplied  with 
the  most  modern  approved  machinery,  and  under 
the  wise  supervision  of  Mr.  Bray  is  well  patronized, 
it  being  run  as  a  custom  and  merchant  mill. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Alexander  Perry  Eckel  was  the  first  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Greensboro,  and  for  many  years  was 
prominent  in  its  affairs  as  a  merchant  and  citizen. 

He  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Tennessee,  in 
1826.  His  father,  Peter  Eckel,  brought  his  family 
from  Germany  and  settled  in  Jefferson  County, 
Tennessee,  where  he  followed  farming.  Alexander 
P.  Eckel  was  one  of  eleven  children.  His  life 
to  the  age  of  twelve  was  spent  on  his  father 's 
farm  in  Tennessee.  In  the  meantime  his  uncle, 
Charles  Eckel,  had  become  a  prosperous  jeweler 
at  Georgetown,  D.  C.  During  a  visit  to  the  family 
in  Tennessee  this  uncle  took  a  fancy  to*  Alexander 
and  induced  the  latter 's  father  to  allow  the  boy 
to  return  with  him  to  Georgetown  and  grow  up 
as  his  adopted  child,  since  he  himself  had  no 
children.  Thus  Alexander  P.  Eckel  was  taken 
away  from  his  rural  surroundings  in  Tennessee, 
grew  up  near  the  national  capitalj  and  was  given 
a  good  education  and  learned  the  jeweler  'a  trade 
in  his  uncle's  store. 

After  reaching  manhood  he  came  to  Greensboro 
when  it  was  a  village,  and  for  many  years  was 
engaged  in  the  jewelry  business.  He  finally  bought 
a  farm  about  four  miles  out  of  town  and  operated 
it  with  the  aid  of  slave  labor  until  the  war. 
He  never  moved  to  this  farm,  but  remained  a 
resident  of  the  city  until  his  death  in  1906.  He 
was  prominent  in  local  affairs  and,  as  already 
noted,  was  elected  the  first  mayor  of  the  city. 

He  married  Mary  E.  Hill,  who  was  born  in 
Hillsdale  in  Guilford  County,  daughter  of  Wilson 
and  Matilda  (Boyd)  Hill,  both  natives  of  Rock- 
ingham County.  Mrs.  Eckel,  who  died  in  1890,  was 
the  mother  of  two  children,  Charles  Eugene,  a 
resident  of  Guilford  County,  and  Matilda  H. 
Matilda  is  living  at  Greensboro,  widow  of  Dr. 
Henry  A.  Alford. 

William  Bennett  Thorpe.  While  the  active 
energies  of  William  Bennett  Thorpe  have  been 
employed  in  building  up  a  large  and  successful 
business  as  dealer  in  coal  and  builders  supplies 
at  Wilmington,  his  interests  have  not  been 
altogether  concentrated  on  his  business,  and  he 
is  one  of  the  men  of  Wilmington  ever  ready  to 
enlist  himself  in  behalf  of  the  success  of  some 
institution  or  public  spirited  movement  for  the 
betterment  of  the  community. 

He  was  born  at  Rocky  Mount  in  Nash  County, 
North  Carolina,  November  17,  1873,  but  for 
many  years  has  been  a  resident  of  Wilmington. 
His  parents  were  Henry  Roane  and  Lucy  S. 
(Bunn)  Thorpe,  his  father  being  a  successful 
physician.  He  started  life  with  only  the  advan- 
tages of  the  public  schools,  and  on  leaving  school 
lie  had  his  first  experience  as  clerk  in  a  general 
store. 

In  1902  he  organized  the  W.  B.  Thorpe  Com- 
pany, coal  and  builders  supplies,  and  at  the  present 
time  this  company  offers  a  strong  competition  to 
all  other  concerns  in  the  line  for  this  branch  of 
business  at  Wilmington.  Mr.  Thorpe  is  president 
and  treasurer  of  the  company  and  is  also  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Wilmington  Homestead  and  Loan  Com- 
pany. 

He  1ms  been  one  of  the  efficient  workers  in 
behalf  of  the  Wilmington  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  is  now 
servins  as  its  treasurer.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Cape  Fear  Club,  the  Cape  Pear  Country  Club,  the 
Carolina  Yacht  Club,  and  of  St.  James  Episcopal 
Church.  On  Decern ber  8,  1897,  he  married  Miss 
Margaret  Engelhard  Meares.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Margaret  Meares  Thorpe. 


William  Edgar  Warren.  One  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  is  found  in 
William  Edgar  Warren,  who  is  one  of  the  ex- 
tensive farmers  of  Edgecombe  County  and  is  well 
known  in  mercantile  and  banking  circles.  Mr. 
Warren  is  cashier  of  the  Pirst  National  Bank  of 
Wilson   and   is  a  member   of   its   directing   board. 

William  E.  Warren  was  born  in  Nash  County, 
North  Carolina,  October  21,  1857.  His  parents 
were  Spencer  May  and  Julia  (Raekleyj  Warren. 
The  family  came  to  Wilson  in  January,  1858,  and 
Spencer  May  Warren  became  a  man  of  business 
and  political  prominence  here.  For  many  years 
lie  was  a  prosperous  merchant  and  was  mayor 
of  the  city  and  also  filled  the  office  of  register 
of  deeds  in  Wilson  County. 

In  the  public  schools  and  the  Wilson  Collegiate 
Institute  William  E.  Warren  secured  his  general 
educational  training  and  afterward  took  a  course 
in  a  business  college  in  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
After  he  returned  he  engaged  for  some  years 
with  his  father  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Wil- 
son County  and  also  became  interested  in  agri- 
culture, this  interest  continuing  and  as  the  owner 
of  valuable  farming  land  is  one  of  the  county's 
most  substantial  residents.  Since  April  1,  1894, 
Mr.  Warren  has  been  cashier  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Wilson  and  since  1896  has  been 
one  of  its  board  of  directors.  This  bank  is  a 
sound,  solid  institution,  working  with  a  capital 
of  $100,000,  surplus  $60,000,  profits  $45,000,  and 
deposits  $1,000,000.  In  1902  he  assisted  to  or- 
ganize the  Wilson  Trust  &  Savings  Bank,  and 
is  a  director.  His  standing  has  always  been  high 
in  business  circles  and  Wilson  justly  refers  to 
him  as  one  of  her  most  upright  and  dependable 
citizens. 

Mr.  Warren  was  married  December  21,  1881,  to 
Miss  Nannie  Sugg,  who  died  August  19,  1896. 
She  was  the  mother  of  the  following  children: 
Nannie,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  B.  Gray,  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Wilson  Hardware  Company ; 
Malie,  the  wife  of  A.  N.  Daniel,  who  for  seven 
years  has  been  manager  of  the  W.  T.  Clark  Com- 
pany at  Wilson;  Ethel  Alice,  who  resides  at 
home;  Irene,  the  wife  of  Dr.  G.  W.  Mitchell, 
whose  home  is  at  Macclesfield,  North  Carolina, 
but  he  is  now  in  the  medical  service  of  the  United 
States  Army  and  stationed  at  Ohiotown,  Tennes- 
see; Edward,  who  is  teller  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Wilson;  and  George  Spencer,  who  is  now 
first  lieutenant  in  the  army  and  on  his  way  to 
oversea  service.  Mr.  Warren  was  married  to  his 
present  wife  November  24,  1897.  She  was  Miss 
Irene  Sugg.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Warren  were 
Dr.  G.  C.  and  Nannie   (Bynum)    Sugg. 

For  a  period  of  ten  years  Mr.  Warren  was 
identified  with  the  military  organization  known 
as  the  Wilson  Light  Infantry.  He  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  F  in  1889  and  steadily 
climbed  through  the  ranks,  through  election,  un- 
til he  became  adjutant  of  the  Second  Regiment, 
with  rank  of  captain,  serving  as  such  for  two 
years,  then  became  major  in  the  Second  and 
when  he  resigned  in  1899  he  held  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel.  He  has  been  honored  by  his 
fellow  citizens  by  election  to  responsible  offices 
and  served  twelve  years  as  treasurer  of  the  Town 
of  Wilson  and  fifteen  years  as  treasurer  of  the 
school  board.  He  attends  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal  Church,   and   belongs   to   the  Country  Club. 


$&&&%- — 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


89 


James  Meigs  Flippen,  M.  D.  With  the  profes- 
sioual  standing  and  prestige  brought  by  over  thirty 
years  of  active  experience  and  thorough  capabilities, 
Doctor  Flippen  is  now  one  of  the  well  known 
specialists  in  Western  North  Carolina  and  is  prac- 
ticing to  a  large  clientage  in  Mount  Airy.  Doctor 
Flippen  is  of  a  family  of  physicians,  and  is  a  son 
of  the  venerable  Dr.  Samuel  Meadows  Flippen,  who 
is  now  nearly  eighty  years  of  age  and  is  still  look- 
ing after  his  work  as  a  physician  in  Mount  Airy. 
A  more  complete  sketch  of  this  honored  old  time 
doctor  will  be  found  on  other  pages  of  this  publi- 
cation. 

James  Meigs  Flippen  was  born  at  Westfield  in 
Stokes  County,  North  Carolina,  attended  the  Friends 
School  in  that  village  and  also  a  preparatory  school 
at  Dalton  taught  by  the  noted  educator  Professor 
Flynt.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr. 
Joseph  Holliugsworth  of  Mount  Airy  and  subse- 
quently attended  lectures  at  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  where  he  was 
graduated  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1884. 

Doctor  Flippen  has  practiced  in  various  local- 
ities, including  a  year  and  a  half  at  Westfield,  five 
or  six  years  at  Pilot  Mountain,  five  years  at 
Thomasville,  twelve  years  at  Salisbury,  and  for  a 
few  months  he  lived  at  Oklahoma  City.  Returning 
to  North  Carolina,  he  began  practice  at  Winston- 
Salem,  but  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  his  daugh- 
ter he  removed  to  Mount  Airy. 

Doctor  Flippen  has  not  only  had  unusual  oppor- 
tunities in  the  scope  of  his  own  experience  but  has 
constantly  kept  abreast  of  the  advances  made  in 
medicine  and  surgery.  In  1886  he  took  a  post- 
graduate course  in  Jefferson  Medical  College  at 
Philadelphia.  Spent  portions  of  the  years  1894-95 
in  the  New  York  City  Post-Graduate  School,  and  in 
1907-08  took  special  work  in  genito-urinary  surgery 
at  Johns  Hopkins  University  at  Baltimore.  This 
latter  branch  he  has  made  a  specialty  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

Doctor  Flippen  was  married  December  28,  1889, 
to  Cora  Marion,  who  was  born  in  Surry  County, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Matilda  Marion.  They 
have  one  daughter  and  two  sous:  Ruth,  Eugene  L. 
and  James  Meigs,  Jr.  Ruth  is  the  wife  of  Murray 
Carleton,  and  they  have  a  son  named  Meigs  Flip- 
pen  Carlton.  Eugene  L.  is  now  a  student  in  Balti- 
more College. 

Doctor  Flippen  is  a  member  of  the  Surry  County 
and  the  North  Carolina  State  Medical  societies  and 
the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Friends  Church  and  is  affiliated  with 
Granite  City  Lodge  No.  322,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  Mount  Airy  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons;  Piedmont  Commandery  No.  6  of  the 
Knights  Templar  and  also  belongs  to  Winston 
Lodge  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

Albert  Edgar  Woltz.  While  the  law  has  been 
his  jealous  mistress  and  he  has  been  devoted  to 
its  practice  for  the  past  five  years,  Albert  Edgar 
Woltz,  of  Gastonia,  has  made  himself  a  factor 
in  too  many  different  lines  to  be  subject  to  only 
one  classification  of  vocation.  It  is  a  case  where 
inheritance  of  sound  abilities  from  his  worthy 
ancestors,  liberal  advantages  of  education  and 
training,  and  excentiona]  talpnts  in  a  business  way 
have  accomplished  large  result-  and  benefit  when 
Mr.  "Woltz  is  still  numbered  among  the  younger 
generation. 

Mr.  Woltz  was  born  at  Dobson,  Surry  County, 
North  Carolina.     He  is  a  son  of  Dr.  John  R.   and 


Louisa  (Kingsbury)  Woltz.  The  Woltz  family 
is  of  Holland  Dutch  ancestry.  The  first  of  the 
name  came  out  of  Holland  and  settled  with  the 
compatriots  in  New  York.  Later  a  branch  moved 
south  into  Virginia.  Mr.  Woltz 's  paternal  grand- 
father, Dr.  L.  F.  Woltz,  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
enlisted  from  that  state  and  served  as  a  surgeon 
in  the  Confederate  army  and  was  also  a  representa- 
tive in  the  State  Legislature  several  times.  He 
stood  high  in  his  profession  and  he  allied  himself 
by  marriage  with  Miss  Jane  Early,  a  cousin  of 
Gen.  Jubal  Early,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
cavalry  leaders  produced  by  the  South  during  the 
war.  Dr.  John  R.  Woltz,  father  of  the  Gastonia 
lawyer,  has  had  a  successful  career  as  a  physician. 
After  the  war  he  removed  to  Surry  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  married  Miss  Louisa  Kingsbury, 
who  has  died  within  recent  years. 

Albert  E.  Woltz  grew  up  at  Dobson  in  Surry 
County.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  with  the  class  of  1901.  He  is 
one  of  the  university 's  leading  alumni,  and  has 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
his  alma  mater.  In  the  interval  between  his  gradu- 
ation from  university  and  his  taking  up  the  prac- 
tice of  law  Mr.  Woltz  was  chiefly  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work.  He  established  the  graded  school 
system  at  Granite  Falls  and  Lenoir  in  Caldwell 
County,  and  spent  seven  years  there  as  superintend- 
ent. He  took  a  similar  position  in  the  schools  of 
Goldsboro,  and  served  two  years,  and  in  1909  was 
appointed  Bursar  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, a  position  he  held  until  1912.  This  business 
connection  enabled  him  to  continue  his  studies  in 
the  University,  and  he  was  in  the  law  department 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1911. 

In  August,  1912,  Mr.  Woltz  began  practice  at 
Gastonia.  Though  he  has  been  in  the  profession 
a  comparatively  short  time  only,  he  has  already 
won  an  enviable  place  and  is  recognized  by  his 
colleagues  as  both  an  able  and  successful  lawyer. 
He  is  law  partner  of  Hon.  A.  C.  Mangum,  the 
firm  being  Mangum  &  Woltz.  It  has  been  Mr. 
Woltz 's  ambition  to  excel  in  the  law,  and  conse- 
quently he  has  placed  his  professional  interests 
first  and  above  all,  though  many  other  affairs  have 
claimed  more  or  less  constant  attention. 

His  resourcefulness  as  a  business  man  is  indi- 
cated by  his  prominent  connection  with  enterprises 
in  Gastonia  and  Gaston  County.  He  was  the  organ- 
izer and  is  one  of  the  officials  of  the  Lloyd  Cotton 
Mills,  Incorporated.  This  company  owns  and  op- 
erates a  cotton  mill  of  3.200  spindles  near  Stanley. 
With  other  associates  Mr.  Woltz  developed  and 
sold  a  large  amount  of  city  and  suburban  property 
in  Gastonia  and  he  promoted  the  Arlington  Heights 
property,  a.  suburb;  the  Gray  Mill  property  on 
West  Franklin  Avenue;  the  property  at  Loray 
Mill ;   and  other  subdivisions. 

Much  prominence  has  been  given  in  the  news- 
papers of  late  to  the  "Morris  Plan"  banks,  which 
originated  in  New  York  City  and  which  have  been 
established  in  many  industrial  and  metropolitan 
centers.  It  is  strictly  a  business  institution^ 
though  its  object  is  to  afford  financial  assistance 
on  n  business  basis  to  the  poorer  classes  and  those 
with  ready  collateral  for  loans.  Gastonia  has  such 
n  bank,  organized  in  the  latter  part  of  1916,  and 
Mr.  Woltz  was  one  of  the  local  citizens  who  brought 
about  its  establishment  and  is  a  director  of  the 
bank. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  his  outside  enter- 
prises, and  one  in  which  he  justly  takes  a  great 
deal  of  pride,  is  his  stock  farm  with  its  herd  of 


90 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


registered  Holsteins.  This  farm,  situated  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Gastonia,  consists  of  157 
acres  of  land.  It  is  considered  one  of  the  model 
stock  farms  and  dairies  of  the  state.  Mr.  Woltz 
has  installed  a  fine  herd  of  thoroughbred  Holstein 
cows,  and  operates  a  modern  dairy,  the  product 
being  sold  in  Gastonia  and  vicinity.  His  herd  of 
Holsteins  is  headed  by  the  registered  bull  Korn- 
byke  Hygeia  Beryl,  purchased  from  the  famous 
Haynes  stock  farm  at  Winston-Salem.  While  the 
farm  furnishes  recreation,  Mr.  Woltz  regards  it 
strictly  as  a  business  enterprise  and  it  has  also 
been  a  factor  of  incalculable  value  and  an  incentive 
to  Gaston  County  farmers,  who  thereby  have  been 
stimulated  to  grade  their  stock  and  devote  more 
attention  to  high  grade  cattle. 

Mr.  Woltz  is  an  active  member  and  a  director 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  during  the  past 
four  or  five  years  has  allied,  himself  with  prac- 
tically every  undertaking  for  the  benefit  and  bet- 
terment of  the  city.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church  and  belongs  to  most  of  the  local 
lodges  and  fraternities,  including  the  Masons,  Odd 
Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias.  Mr.  Woltz  mar- 
ried Miss  Daisy  Mackie  of  Granite  Falls,  Caldwell 
County.  They  have  four  children:  Elizabeth,  aged 
twelve;  Katharine,  aged  five;  John  Henry,  aged 
three ;  and  William  Kingsbury.  The  youngest  was 
named  for  his  great-great-grandfather. 

John  H.  Niggel.  Beginning  only  with  his 
expert  individual  proficiency  as  a  stone  cutter, 
John  H.  Niggel  has  developed  and  built  up  the 
largest  monument  and  stone  business  in  North 
Carolina,  being  secretary,  treasurer  and  general 
manager  of  the  Carolina  Cut  Stone  Company. 

He  was  born  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  Illinois, 
May  22,  1877,  a  son  of  John  H.  aiid  Wilhelmina 
L.  (Knapple)  Niggel,  his  father  having  also 
followed  the  trade  of  stone  cutter.  After  being 
educated  in  public  and  parochial  schools  John  H. 
Niggel  served  a  thorough  apprenticeship  at  the 
stone  cutter's  trade  and  followed  it  as  a  journey- 
man for  several   years. 

It  was  in  1905  that  he  came  to  Wilmington 
and  organized  the  Carolina  Cut  Stone  Company. 
In  addition  he  is  also  chairman  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Veneer  Company,  which  is  capitalized  at 
$100,000  and  has  a  splendid  business  in  all  kinds 
of  cut  stone  work  and  finishing.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  finance  committee  of  this  organization. 

He  is  a  member  of  St.  Mary's  Pro-Cathedral, 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Boyal  Arcanum, 
the  Germania  Club,  the  Hanover  Seaside  Club, 
and  is  identified  with  the  Wilmington  Chamber 
of  Commerce  and  is  president  of  Post  G  of  the 
Travelers  Protective  Association.  On  May  20, 
1906,  Mr.  Niggel  married  Catherine  Carroll,  of 
Wilmington. 

George  Hackney.  During  a  long  and  active 
career  George  Hackney  has  upheld  and  developed 
much  of  the  business  and  industrial  prosperity 
of  Wilson  and  has  concerned  himself  with  prac- 
tically everything  that  is  vital  to  the  good  and 
welfare   of  that  community. 

The  Hackney  family  has  supplied  much  of  the 
enterprise  as  the  result  of  which  Wilson  has 
become  one  of  the  manufacturing  towns  of  North 
Carolina.  The  birth  of  George  Hackney  occurred 
in  Wilson  September  19,  1854.  In  January  of 
that  year  his  father,  Willis  Napoleon  Hackney, 
had  located  his  shop  in  the  town  as  a  wagon  and 
buggy    manufacturer.      For    a    number    of    years 


Willis  N.  Hackney  made  these  vehicles  almost 
entirely  by  hand,  and  he  turned  out  buggies 
which  were  noted  for  their  strength  and  durabil- 
ity. That  was  the  beginning  of  the  Hackney 
wagon  industry  which  now  includes  several  im- 
portant plants  in  the  state.  Willis  N.  Hackney 
was  born  in  Nash  County,  North  Carolina,  and 
his  ancestors,  of  English  origin,  came  to  North 
Carolina  about  1800.  Willis  N.  Hackney  mar- 
ried Martha  Douglass  Turner. 

Mr.  George  Hackney  grew  up  at  Wilson,  at- 
tended the  public  schools  and  the  Horner  Mili- 
tary Institute  and  from  early  boyhood  was  fam- 
iliar with  the  wagon  shop  of  his  father.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  learning  the  trade,  and 
his  knowledge  of  the  business  includes  every 
technical  as  well  as  business  detail.  For  several 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  Parker,  Mur- 
ray &  Company,  his  part  in  the  business  being 
"the  company."  Subsequently  he  became  head 
of  the  wagon  manufacturing  plant  of  Hackney 
&  Murray  and  still  later  Hackney  &  Son,  and 
since  1886  the  business  has  been  conducted. as 
Hackney  Brothers.  The  proprietors  are  Mr. 
George  Hackney  and  his  brother  Willis  Douglass 
Hackney. 

Besides  Hackney  Brothers  Mr.  Hackney  is  a 
director  of  the  Hackney  Wagon  Company,  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Wilson,  the  Wilson  Trust 
and  Savings  Bank,  is  vice  president  of  the  Dixie 
Fire  Insurance  Company  at  Greensboro,  is  vice 
president  of  the  Underwriters  Fire  Insurance 
Company  of  Boeky  Mount,  North  Carolina,  and 
is  president  of  the  Washington  Buggy  Company. 

In  a  public  way  he  is  serving  as  chairman  of 
the  Wilson  School  Board  and  is  also  chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Atlantic  College  at 
Wilson,  to  which  he  has  given  liberally  of  his 
time  and  means  since  this  institution  was  estab- 
lished. For  twenty  years  he  has  served  as  aa 
elder  in  the  Christian  Church,  and  is  a  member 
of  the   Wilson   Country   Club. 

Mr.  Hackney  was  married  September  15,  1886, 
to  Miss  Bessie  Acra,  who  came  from  Gloucester 
County,  Virginia.  Seven  children  have  been  born 
to  their  marriage :  George,  Jr.,  of  Washington, 
North  Carolina;  Thomas  J.;  James  Acra,  who  is 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Washington  Buggy 
Company;  John  Needham,  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  wagon  business;  Bessie  Acra,  wife 
of  William  D.  Adams,  a  wholesale  grocer;  Lula 
Roane,  wife  of  Harvey  B.  Rufiin,  a  member  of 
Ella,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Atlantic  Christian 
the  Branch  Bank  Company  of  Wilson;  and  Mary 
College  and  is  still  at  home. 

Thomas  Jennings  Hackney,  son  of  Mr.  George 
Hackney,  was  born  at  Wilson,  April  25,  1889, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  in  the  Bing- 
ham Military  School,  and  in  1910  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Since  then 
he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Hackney 
Brothers  plant  at  Wilson.  He  served  as  alder- 
man of  the  city  from  1913  to  1915,  and  in  1915- 
16  was  chairman  of  the  board  of  city  com- 
missioners. He  is  also  general  superintendent  and 
director  of  the  Wilson  Buggy  Company,  and  di- 
rector of  the  Hassell  Supply  Company  of  Wash- 
ington, North  Carolina.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason  and  member  of  lie  Soudan  Temple  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  belongs  to  the  Commonwealth  and 
Country  clubs,  and  is  treasurer  of  the  Christian 
Church  at  Wilson.  He  married  April  25,  1917, 
Evelyn  E.  Jones,  of  Washington,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  Walter  H.  and  Helen  Jones. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


91 


William  0.  Jackson,  of  Surry  County,  began 
his  active  career  with  limited  means  but  with  un- 
limited determination  and  energy,  and  in  course  of 
time  has  developed  one  of  the  notable  farms  of 
the  county.  * 

Mr.  Jackson  was  born  in  a  log  cabin  in  Little 
Yadkin  Township  of  Stokes  County  May  2,  1854. 
His  grandfather  was  John  Jackson.  His  birthplace 
is  said  to  have  been  Anson  County,  North  Car- 
olina. For  several  years  he  resided  in  Davidson 
County  and  then  moved  to  the  Shepard's  Moun- 
tain Settlement  in  Randolph  County.  In  1S48  he 
went  to  Wythe  County,  Virginia,  and  spent  his 
last  years  there.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife 
was  Barsheba  Bean,  a  native  of  Davidson  County. 
She  died  in  Randolph  County. 

Joel  D.  Jackson,  father  of  William  0.,  was  born 
while  his  parents  lived  in  Davidson  County,  on 
December  10,  1824.  His  early  training  was  as  a 
farmer,  and  when  he  started  life  for  himself  he  was 
just  even  with  the  world.  For  several  years  he 
worked  at  Hoover  Gold  Mine.  He  was  a  steady 
and  industrious  workman,  and  being  thrifty  of  his 
earnings  he  was  able  in  time  to  buy  a  tract  of 
timbered  land  near  the  present  site  of  Pinnacle  in 
Stokes  County.  The  timber  at  that  time  had  little 
value.  In  fact  it  w:as  an  obstacle  to  cultivation, 
and  huge  logs,  which  would  now  be  worth  $100  or 
more  apiece,  were  rolled  together  and  burned.  On 
a  clearing  in  the  woods  he  built  the  log  cabin  in 
which  William  O.  Jackson  first  saw  the  light  of 
day.  The  task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  had 
hardly  begun  when  the  war  broke  out.  The  duty 
of  patriotism  was  stronger  than  any  other  responsi- 
bility with  him,  and  he  left  home  to  enlist  in  Com- 
pany D  of  the  Fifty-third  Regiment  of  North  Car- 
olina troops.  He  went  to  the  front  with  his  com- 
mand and  was  with  his  regiment  in  all  of  its  serv- 
ices, including  many  of  the  important  campaigns 
and  battles  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  He 
fought  at  Gettysburg  and  many  other  engagements, 
and  in  1864  was  captured.  He  was  taken  to  Point 
Lookout,  Maryland,  and  held  a  prisoner  of  war  for 
ten  months  until  paroled.  He  reached  home  just 
four  days  before  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appo- 
mattox. In  the  meantime  the  country  had  been 
devastated,  but  he  courageously  resumed  farming 
and  in  time  had  achieved  financial  independence. 
His  later  years  were  spent  in  comfort  and  plenty 
and  he  died  on  the  farm  in  November,  1916,  in  his 
ninety-second  year.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Stone, 
who  was  born  near  Dalton  in  Stokes  County  and 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  Her  father  was 
William  Stone,  a  planter  who  also  filled  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  many  years.  William  Stone 
married  a  Miss  Barner.  Joel  D.  Jackson  and  wife 
had  five  children:  Albert  L.,  William  0.,  John  B., 
Julia  A.  and  Joseph  A.,  all  of  whom  married  and 
reared  families. 

William  O.  Jackson  made  the  best  of  his  limited 
opportunities  when  a  boy  to  obtain  an  education. 
During  the  war  this  section  of  North  Carolina  was 
visited  by  the  armies  of  both  the  North  and  the 
South.  Farms  were  laid  waste,  crops  were  burned, 
stock  driven  off,  and  when  the  soldiers  returned  it 
was  necessary  to  begin  all  over  again  in  the  task 
of  rehabilitation  and  improvement.  William  O. 
Jackson  was  about  eleven  years  of  age  when  the 
war  ended,  and  he  had  alreadv  tested  his  strength 
in  the  work  of  the  fields.  He  continued  at  home 
assisting  his  father  until  twenty-four,  and  then 
married  and  started  out  for  himself.  For  two  years 
he  rented  land  from  his  father,  and  then  con- 
tracted for  a  tract  of  land  from  Nicholas  Daltou, 
going   in   debt   for   the    entire   place.      This   land 


joined  his  father's  farm.  Hard  work  and  energy, 
together  with  the  faithful  co-operation  of  his  wife, 
brought  him  success  and  he  soon  had  his  land  paid 
for.  In  1894  he  removed  from  that  farm,  buying 
the  place  he  now  owns  and  occupies  in  Mount  Airy 
Township  of  Surry  County.  This  farm  borders 
Lovill's  Creek  and  is  four  miles  from  Mount  Airy. 
The  home  is  a  substantial  and  commodious  brick 
house,  and  there  are  numerous  other  farm  build- 
ings, while  the  condition  of  the  fields  and  the  man- 
agement indicates  and  proves  that  it  is  one  of  the 
choicest  farms  of  Surry  County.  Mr.  Jackson  is 
both  a  general  farmer  and  stock  raiser.  Jerseys  are 
his  favorite  dairy  cows,  and  he  keeps  Short-Horns 
for  beef. 

He  married  Sarah  Ann  Allen,  a  daughter  of 
Elisha  and  Elizabeth  (Spainhour)  Allen.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jackson  have  three  children:  Reuel  D.,  Wal- 
ter Roscoe  and  Dixie  Ella.  Reuel  married  Ronda 
Ross  and  has  a  son  Thomas  J.  Dixie  Ella  is  the 
wife  of  George  M.  Sparger,  and  their  children  are 
Jack  J.,  Mary  Matilda,  Edward  and  Glenn.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jackson  are  active  members  of  the  Salem 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

James  Owen  Reillt.  The  wide-awake  operator 
in  realty  in  almost  any  section  is  able  to  accom- 
plish results  when  business  conditions  are  normal, 
and  that  many  have  availed  themselves  of  advan- 
tageous circumstances,  the  prosperity  of  numerous 
communities  and  of  the  individuals  themselves  con- 
clusively proves.  One  of  those  who  has  been  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  present  substantial  con- 
ditions in  Southeastern  North  Carolina  is  James 
Owen  Reilly,  who  stands  in  a  prominent  position 
as  an  alert,  capable  and  honorable  operator.  Dur- 
ing his  business  career  along  this  line  he  has 
handled  much  valuable  property,  either  as  an  in- 
dividual or  for  others,  and  his  name  has  been 
identified  with  the  growth  of  the  City  of  Wil- 
mington since  1903. 

Mr.  Reillv  was  born  at  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, July  12,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  John  William 
and  Catherine  (Scott)  Reilly.  He  comes  of  an  old 
and  honored  southern  family,  and  is  a  grandson  of 
Maj.  James  Reilly,  C.  S.  A.,  who  fought  gallantly 
under  the  colors  of  the  Southland  during  the  war 
between  the  states,  and  was  in  command  of  Fort 
Fisher,  when  it  was  captured.  John  William 
Reilly,  father  of  James  Owen  Reilly,  was  bora 
April  27,  1851,  at  Fort  Moultrie,  South  Carolina, 
moved  as  a  young  man  to  Wilmington,  where  he 
had  an  honorable  business  career  and  was  super- 
intendent of  the  Wilmington  Gas  and  Electric 
Light  Company,  and  died  May  3.  1904.  James 
Owen  Reilly  received  his  early  education  in  St. 
Mary's  Parochial  School  of  Wilmington,  following 
which  he  pursued  a  course  at  Cape  Fear  Academy, 
and  in  1S92  entered  upon  his  career  as  a  clerk 
in  the  real  estate  office  of  his  uncle,  Maj.  Daniel 
O  'Connor,  of  Wilmington,  who  had  established 
the  business  as  early  as  1869.  In  1902  Mr.  Reilly 
became  interested  in  the  insurance  business,  and 
in  the  following  year,  with  another,  purchased  the 
business  from  his  uncle,  a  partnership  existing 
until  1905,  when  Mr.  Reilly  bought  his  partner's 
interests.  Since  then  the  business  has  been  con- 
ducted under  the  style  of  James  Owen  Reilly, 
real  estate  and  insurance.  Mr.  Reilly  has  been 
the  medium  through  which  have  been  conducted 
some  of  the  largest  real  estate  transactions  that 
have  been  consummated  here  in  recent  years,  and  in 
the  field  of  insurance  he  has  represented  all  the 
leading  companies.  His  long  and  successful  career 
as  a  real  estate  man  has  given  him  a  prominent 


92 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


place  among  the  shrewd  judges  of  such  values  in 
Wilmington.  His  holdings  include  large  and  valu- 
able properties  both  in  his  own  fee  and  in  trust 
for  others.  At  this  time  he  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Rural  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
and  a  director  in  the  Peoples  Bank  and  the  North 
Carolina  Building  and  Loan  Association.  He  has 
always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  city  's  welfare, 
never  hesitating  to  advocate  or  oppose  any  meas- 
ure or  project  which  in  his  judgment  has  merited 
endorsement  or  opposition.  As  a  fraternalist  he 
belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  sec- 
retary of  the  local  lodge  of  the  latter  order.  His 
social  connections  include  membership  in  the  Cape 
Fear  Country  Club.  On  May  13,  1898,  Mr.  Reilly 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  Second  Regiment,  Nortn 
Carolina  Infantry,  for  service  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  rose  to  the  rank  of  corporal,  and 
was  mustered  out  of  the  service  November  20, 
1898.  For  five  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Re- 
serve Corps  of  the  Wilmington  Light  Infantry. 
Mr.  Eeilly  is  possessed  of  musical  talent  and  has 
been  organist  of  Saint  Mary  's  Cathedral  since  the 
building  of  the  edifice. 

On  June  21,  1906,  Mr.  Reilly  married  Miss  Min- 
nie Irene  Smithers,  of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  and 
to  this  union  there  has  been  born  one  daughter: 
Helen  Scott. 

Alexander  MacDonald  Hall,  after  leaving  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  winning  success  in  the  commercial  field, 
and  has  been  continuously  identified  with  the 
grocery  business  at  Wilmington.  For  twelve  years 
he  was  in  the  service  of  the  Hall  &  Pearsall  whole- 
sale grocery  firm,  beginning  as  a  elerk,  and  in 
1903  he  organized  the  Wilmington  Grocery  Com- 
pany, one  of  the  largest  retail  houses  of  the  city, 
and  has  since  been  its  president.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Community  Savings  &  Loan  Company, 
and  is  president  of  the  Merchants  Association  and 
the  Bureau  of  Credits. 

Mr.  Hall  was  born  at  Wilmington  December  9, 
1873,  a  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Margaret 
(Sprunt)  Hall.  He  was  given  a  liberal  education, 
attending  the  local  public  schools,  the  Horner 
Military  Academy,  Davidson  College  and  finishing 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  is  now 
serving  as  Clerk  of  Session  in  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Wilmington. 

Mr.  Hall  is  married  and  has  a  happy  family. 
November  11,  1896,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Hargrave,  of  Kenansville,  Duplin  County,  North 
Carolina.  Their  five  children  are  named  Mary 
HargTa.ve,  Margaret  Sprunt,  Jessie  Kenan,  Jean 
MacDonald  and  Alexander  Sprunt. 

Romnie  Pueefrt  Watson.  One  of  the  great- 
est contributing  factors  to  the  prestige  and  re- 
nown of  North  Carolina  is  that  which  comes  from 
the  tobacco  industry.  The  importance  of  this  in- 
dustry cannot  be  gainsaid,  for  the  Old  North 
State  is  second  only  to  one  other  in  the  production 
of  this  staple,  and  last  year  its  crops  approximated 
200.000,000  pounds.  Of  recent  years  the  han- 
dling of  tobacco,  which  before  had  centered  in 
certain  localities,  has  spread  out  to  numerous  new 
communities,  and  one  of  these  where  the  business 
has  taken  on  added  strength  during  the  past  sev- 
eral decades  is  Wilson  County,  where  men  of  ex- 
perience, known  business  ability  and  sound  finan- 
cial standing  are  devoting  their  energies  to  the 
promotion  of  standard  methods  in  distributing 
this,    one    of   the   state's   greatest    products.      In- 


cluded among  these  men  is  found  Romnie  Purefry 
Watson,  president  of  the  R.  P.  Watson  Company. 
Mr.  Watson's  entire  career  has  been  identified 
with  the  handling  of  tobacco,  and  at  the  present 
time  he  is  president  of  the  Wilson  Tobacco  Board 
of  Trade  and  vice  president  of  the  Tobacco  As- 
sociation of  the  United  States. 

Romnie  P.  Watson  was  born  on  a  farm  in  War- 
ren County,  North  Carolina,  December  31,  1867, 
a  son  of  William  and  L>.u  Virginia  (Wright)  Wat- 
son. He  was  reared  on  the  homestead  place,  amid 
agricultural  surroundings,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  private  schools  and  at  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege, where  he  attended  with  the  class  of  1885. 
Following  this  he  applied  himself  to  farming  for 
one  year,  but  in  1886  began  to  secure  experience 
in  the  field  in  which  he  was  later  to  achieve  so 
notable  a  success  as  a  helper  on  sales  for  a  leaf 
tobacco  concern  at  Henderson,  North  Carolina. 
There  he  gained  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
business,  and  in  1895  came  to  Wilson,  where  he 
became  a  commission  merchant,  buying  and  sell- 
ing leaf  tobacco  until  1907,  when  the  R.  P.  Wat- 
son Company  was  founded  and  incorporated.  This 
concern,  of  which  he  has  since  been  president, 
has  a  large  and  modern  factory.  In  the  develop- 
ment of  this  business  Mr.  Watson  has  displayed 
a  thorough  familiarity  with  the  industry,  an  ex- 
cellent knowledge  of  values  and  a  desire  to  ele- 
vate business  standards.  His  acumen,  sound- 
ness and  personal  integrity  have  been  recognized 
by  his  associates  in  the  trade,  and  in  the  position 
of  president  of  the  Wilson  Tobacco  Board  of 
Trade  he  exerts  a  helpful  and  progressive  influ- 
ence which  is  doing  much  to  better  conditions.  In 
the  national  organization,  the  Tobacco  Association 
of  the  United  States,  of  which  he  is  vice  presi- 
dent, his  voice  is  frequently  heard  in  the  coun- 
cils, always  favoring  high  business  ethics.  Mr. 
Watson  is  also  vice  president  of  the  Wilson  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce.  When  the  Wilson  Country  Club 
was  organized  in  1916,  he  was  chosen  its  presi- 
dent for  a  term  of  one  year,  and  he  belongs  also 
to  the  Commonwealth  Club.  As  a  sincere  friend 
of  education  he  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  wilson  graded  schools. 
Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Masons  and  is 
a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Shriner.  Aside  from 
his  interests  in  the  tobacr~>  business  Mr.  Watson 
has  few  activities,  an  exception  being  his  large 
agricultural  holdings,  he  being  a  successful  gen- 
eral farmer. 

On  October  30,  1895,  Mr.  Watson  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  Lou  Thomas,  of  Henderson,  North 
Carolina,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  six  children: 
Penn  Thomas,  Margaret,  Selma,  Romnie  P.,  Jr., 
Mary  and  William.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  are 
members  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  Mr.  Watson  is  serving  therein  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  stewards. 

William  Wade  Hampton.  For  many  years  ac- 
tive and  prominent  in  public  affairs,  William  Wade 
Hampton,  a  valued  and  respected  citizen  of  Dob- 
son,  has  served  his  fellow-men  in  various  capacities, 
in  each  and  every  official  position  that  he  has  held 
performing  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  intelli- 
gently and  courageously,  proving  himself  in  all 
things  and  at  all  times  faithful  to  his  constituents. 
A  native  of  Yadkin  County,  which  was  likewise  the 
birthplace  of  his  father,  Alfred  Hampton,  and  of 
his  grandfather.  Dr.  John  Hampton,  he  was  born 
February  2,  1859,  in  Bnckshoal  Township,  of  pio- 
neer ancestry. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


93 


Henry  Hampton,  Mr.  Hampton's  great-grand- 
father, wa--,  it  is  supposed,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Halifax  County. 
Migrating  in  early  manhood  to  North  Carolina,  he 
lived  first  in  Stokes  County,  near  Germantown, 
from  there  moving  to  Yadkin  County,  where,  on 
land  which  he  purchased,  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing until  his  death. 

Born  and  educated  in  Yadkin  County,  Dr.  John 
Hamilton  began  the  study  of  medicine  when  quite 
young,  and  when  ready  to  assume  the  duties  of  a 
practicing  physician  located  at  Hamptonville,  Yad- 
kin County.  Skillful  and  successful  in  his  profes- 
sional labors,  he  built  up  a  large  practice,  which 
extended  across  the  line  into  Wilkes  County,  caus- 
ing him  many  a  long,  weary  ride,  which  he  was 
forced  to  take  on  horseback,  carrying  his  medi- 
cine with  him  in  his  saddle  bags.  Notwithstanding 
the  many  hardships  he  endured  while  caring  for 
the  sick  he  lived  to  a  venerable  age,  dying  at  the 
age  of  four  score  and  four  years  in  Hamptonville. 
The  Doctor  married  Nellie  Holcomb,  who  spent  her 
life  of  eighty-one  years  in  Yadkin  County,  and  to 
them  three  sons  were  born,  as  follows:  Alfred. 
Leroy  and  Wade. 

Alfred  Hampton  was  born  in  Hamptonville, 
North  Carolina,  in  1832,  and  there  grew  to  man's 
estate.  Choosing  the  free  and  independent  occu- 
pation of  a  farmer,  he  bought  land  near  Hampton- 
ville, and  was  there  profitably  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three  years.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Home  Guards.  The  maiden  name 
of  his  wife  was  .Tanie  Patterson.  She  was  born 
near  Hamptonville,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Rebecca  (Ladd)  Patterson,  and  is  now  residing  at 
Mount  Airy.  Surry  County.  She  has  five  children, 
namely:  Thomas  J.,  William  Wade,  Mary  E., 
Sallie  A.  and  Jane  P. 

Obtaining  his  preliminary  education  in  the  rural 
schools  of  his  native  district,  William  Wade  Hamp- 
ton subsequently  attended  the  Yadkinville  and 
Boonviile  academies,  completing  his  studies  in  the 
County  Line  Academy,  in  which  Senator  Overman 
was  an  instructor.  Thus  prepared  for  a  profes- 
sional career.  Mr.  Hampton  taught  school  two 
terms,  and  then,  being  persuaded  to  enter  official 
life,  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  Fniter  States 
gauger.  and  served  in  that  position  two  years,  after 
which  he  served  an  equal  length  of  time  as  deputy 
internal  revenue  collector.  A  short  time  later 
Mr.  Hampton  was  elected  to  represent  Surry 
County  in  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1889  was  elected 
to  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legislature,  and 
was  there  the  candidate  of  the  minority  party  for 
speaker  of  the  House. 

Locating  on  a  farm  near  Havstack  in  1886,  Mr. 
Hampton  operated  it  successfully  until  1892.  when 
he  removed  with  his  familv  to  Mount  Airy,  from 
there  coming  in  1894  to  Dobson,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  In  1894  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court,  and  after  serving  efficiently  in  that 
capacity  for  four  years  was  re-elected  in  1906  and 
continued  in  office  for  eight  more  years.  He  is 
still  greatlv  interested  in  agriculture,  being  a  land- 
holder and  operating  his  farm  through  renters. 

On  January  in.  18S6,  Mr.  Hampton  married  Miss 
Emma  Shore,  who  was  born  in  Yadkin  County,  a 
daughter  of  Wiley  F.  and  Sarah  CWilliams")  Shore. 
Two  children  have  blessed  their  union.  Wade  Bruce 
and  Henry  Conrad.  Mrs.  Hampton  is  a  member  of 
the  Missionarv  Baptist  Church  and  is  a  teacher  in 
its  Sundav  school. 


James  Dixon  Eckles  is  one  of  the  able  lawyers 
of  Buncombe  County,  and  also  one  of  the  most 
useful  men  in  the  citizenship  of  the  community  of 
Black  Mountain.  He  has  fairly  earned  every  step 
in  his  advancement,  and  richly  merits  the  distinc- 
tions that  have  been  accorded  him  while  he  is  still 
in  the  middle  years  of  a  successful  career. 

Mr.  Eckles  was  born  at  Petersburg,  Yirsinia, 
August  19,  1874,  son  of  Robert  Stith'  and  Eliza- 
beth Bennett  (Tucker)  Eckles.  His  father  for  a 
number  of  years  was  a  merchant  and  afterwards 
was  connected  with  the  Norfolk  &  Western  Rail- 
way Company.  The  son  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lie  schools  of  Petersburg,  Emory  and  Henry  Col- 
lege in  Washington  County,  Virginia,  and  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  University,  receiving  his  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Law  at  the  latter  school  in  June,  1902. 
Mr.  Eckles  was  for  five  years  a  member  of  the 
bar  of  Norfolk,  Virginia.  In  1909  hp  came  to 
Buncombe  County,  locating  at  Black  Mountain, 
where  in  addition  to  his  growing  general  practice 
he  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Black  Moun- 
tain Building  and  Loan  Association,  director  and 
attorney  of  the  Methodist  Colony  Company,  and  is 
attorney  for  various  lumber  companies  and  other 
corporations.  He  has  also  served  as  city  attorney 
and  in  1917  was  elected  mayor  of  this  thriving 
town.  In  the  Buncombe  County  democratic  pri- 
mary held  June  1,  1918,  he  was  elected  as  the  can- 
didate of  that  party  for  the  office  of  representative 
No.  1  for  Buncombe  County  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  North  Carolina. 

April  8,  1912,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Cat- 
terall  Many.  Her  people  came  from  New  York 
State.  They  have  two  children,  Mary  Elizabeth 
and  Jane  Ann. 

Clement  Coote  Brown  has  been  a  resident  of 
Wilmington  for  over  forty  years.  He  came  to  the 
city  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  in  those  early 
years  was  a  telegraph  operator,  the  duties  of 
which  position  caused  him  to  move  from  place  to 
place.  He  was  promoted  from  time  to  time  and 
eventually  became  manager  of  the  Western  Union 
Company  at  Wilmington. 

On  leaving  the  Western  Lnion  service  Mr. 
Brown  bought  the  Wilmington  Brokerage  Com- 
pany, and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  an 
important  figure  in  financial  and  business  affairs. 
He  is  also  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Wilming- 
ton Homestead  &  Loan  Association,  and  is  vice 
president  of  the  Masonic  Temple  Corporation.  He 
is  secretary  of  Orient  Lodge  No.  395,  A.  E.  & 
A.  M.,  is  past  commander  of  the  Knight  Templar 
Commanderv,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Carolina 
Yacht  Club." 

Mr.  Brown  was  born  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia February  13,  1853,  a  son  of  Eleazer  and  Mar- 
garet (Coote)  Brown.  His  father  was  for  many 
years  an  employe  of  the  United  States  government 
at  Washington.  Mr.  Brown  gained  his  early 
education  largely  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
while  there  learned  the  art  of  telegraphy. 

On  April  13,  1877,  at  Wilmington,  he  married 
Miss  Ellen  Stevenson.  They  are  the  parents  of 
four  children.  Thomas  Edwin  and  James  Steven- 
son are  both  connected  with  the  Wilmington 
Brokerage  Company,  being  associates  of  their 
father.  Ida  is  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Speiden,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania.  The  youngest,  is  Clement 
Coote,  Jr..  who  is  first  lieutenant  of  the  Three 
Hundred  and  Seventh  Regimental  Engineers  and 
now  in  France.   For  manv  vears  Mr.   Brown  has 


94 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


been   a   deacon    in   the    First    Baptist    Church    of 
Wilmington. 

Eichakd  Beauregard  Hyatt  is  now  in  his  third 
consecutive  term  as  sheriff  of  Edgecombe  County, 
and  has  for  many  years  been  closely  identified 
with  the  business  and  civic  affairs  of  Tarboro  and 
that  community. 

He  was  born  at  Tarboro,  August  21,  1864,  a 
son  of  Jesse  Blair  and  Margaret  (Home)  Hyatt. 
His  father  was  a  substantial  merchant  of  Tar- 
boro, and  for  a  number  of  years  served  as  chief 
of  police  of  the  city. 

Richard  B.  Hyatt  was  educated  in  Prof.  F.  S. 
Wilkinson's  school  and  his  first  practical  ex- 
perience was  as  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  1893 
he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of  Edgecombe 
County,  and  filled  that  office  six  years,  an  experi- 
ence that  gave  him  a  training  of  much  value  as 
an  officer  of  law  and  order.  For  a  year  he  was 
chief  of  police  at  Tarboro,  resigning  that  office, 
and  for  some  years  served  as  constable.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1912,  he  was  appointed  to  serve  an  unex- 
pired term  as  sheriff  of  Edgecombe  County,  and 
in  1913  was  regularly  elected  to  that  office  and 
has  been  re-elected  in  1915  and  1917.  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  which  come  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  sheriff's  office  in  Edgecombe 
County  have  never  been  more  efficient  than  un- 
der Mr.  Hyatt. 

He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Edgecombe  Home- 
stead &  Loan  Association  and  of  the  Edgecombe 
County  Fair  Association.  Fraternally  he  is  affil- 
iated with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. Mr.  Hyatt  married  January  19,  1897,  Miss 
Minnie  White,  of  Halifax  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, daughter  of  William  King  White,  a  farmer 
of  that  county. 

Bishop  Edward  Rondthaler,  D.  D.,  has  for 
forty  years  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the  Mora- 
vian Church  in  Western  North  Carolina,  was  for- 
merly pastor  of  the  Home  Moravian  Church  at 
Salem,  and  now  for  many  years  has  been  bishop. 

He  comes  of  a  long  line  of  Movarian  divines 
and  his  father  and  grandfather  were  prominent  in 
the  church  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
Bishop  Rondthaler  was  born  at  Sehoeneck,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  24,  1842.  His  grandfather,  Eman- 
uel Rondthaler,  was  born  in  Russia,  and  was  pastor 
of  the  Moravian  Church  at  Serepta  in  that  country. 
About  1804  he  immigrated  to  America,  locating  at 
York,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  continued  as  pastor 
of  the  Moravian  Church  for  many  years.  Edward 
Rondthaler,  father  of  Bishop  Edward  Rondthaler, 
was  born  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  September  6,  1817. 
He  was  liberally  educated  at  Nazareth  Hall,  North- 
ampton, Pennsylvania,  and  his  first  pastorate  was 
at  Shoeneck,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  ordained 
in  1841.  Subsequently  he  became  president  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Nazareth  Hall  and  was 
active  in  that  office  until  his  death  in  1855.  He 
married  Sarah  Louisa  Rice,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Salome  (Heckewelder)  Rice.  Her  grand- 
father was  the  famous  John  Heckewelder,  a  bishop 
of  the  Moravian  Church  and  for  many  years  a  mis- 
sionary among  the  Delaware  and  other  Indian 
tribes  in  the  Northwest  Territory.  Bishop  Hecke- 
welder lived  with  those  Indians  in  Ohio,  and  all  his- 
torical students  are  familiar  with  his  writings.  He 
wrote  a  detailed  account  of  his  life  and  experiences 
among  the  Indians,  describing  their  habits  and 
characteristics,  and  this  work  is  the  basis  for  much 


of  the  knowledge  of  these  Indian  tribes  which  has 
been  used  for  historians  in  all  subsequent  work, 
and  the  Heckewelder  narrative  was  also  read  and 
studied  by  Longfellow  and  other  poets  and  supplied 
the  material  for  much  of  the  poetry  dealing  with 
Indian  life.  Bishop  John  Heckewelder  spent  his 
last  years  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.  Bishop 
Rondthaler 's  mother  died  in  1854. 

Bishop  Edward  Rondthaler  grew  up  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, attended  the  Nazareth  Hall  and  also  the 
Moravian  Theological  Seminary  at  Bethlehem  for 
four  years.  He  also  went  abroad  and  spent  a  year 
in  the  University  of  Erlangen  in  Germany.  In 
1864,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  began  teaching 
at  Nazareth  Hall  and  in  the  following  year  was 
ordained  deacon  and  became  pastor  of  a  Moravian 
Church  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  remained  at 
Brooklyn  engaged  in  his  duties  until  1873,  when 
he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Moravian  Church  of 
Philadelphia.  After  these  pastorates  in  two  of  the 
largest  cities  of  the  country,  Bishop  Rondthaler 
came  to  the  Home  Moravian  Church  at  Salem,  North 
Carolina,  in  1877.  He  has  been  active  in  the  larger 
responsibilities  of  his  church  in  this  section  of 
North  Carolina  ever  since.  He  continued  as  a 
pastor  until  1891,  and  on  the  12th  of  April  of  that 
year  was  consecrated  bishop  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum. 

Besides  his  responsibilities  as  bishop  he  is  senior 
pastor  of  the  seven  Moravian  churches  of  Winston- 
Salem  and  since  1880  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Elders  Conference.  He  was  principal 
of  the  Salem  Female  Academy  from  1884  to  1888 
and  for  many  years  has  been  president  of  its  Board 
of  Trustees.  Bishop  Rondthaler  is  a  man  of  wide 
culture  and  has  traveled  extensively.  He  attended 
the  General  Synods  of  the  Moravian  Church  at 
Herrnhut  in  Saxony,  where  the  church  originated, 
being  present  at  the  Synods  in  1879,  1889,  1899, 
1902,  1906,  1909  and  1914.  He  was  at  the  Synod  in 
August,  1914,  when  the  great  world  war  broke  out. 

Bishop  Rondthaler  married  Mary  Jacobson, 
daughter  of  Bishop  John  Jacobson,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  missionary  among  the  Delaware  In- 
dians and  subsequently  bishop  of  the  Northern 
Division  of  the  Moravian  Church.  Bishop  and  Mrs. 
Rondthaler  have  reared  two  children,  Howard  and 
Alice.  The  latter  is  the  wife  of  Bev.  Arthur  Chase 
of  Ware,  Massachusetts,  and  the  former  is  presi- 
dent of  Salem  College. 

Rory  McNair.  Lying  two  miles  east  of  Max- 
ton  in  Robeson  County  is  located  Argyle  Farm, 
one  of  the  best  known  places  of  historic  interest 
in  the  southern  part  of  North  Carolina.  Rory 
McNair,  the  present  occupant  and  owner  of  the 
farm,  and  one  of  the  progressive  and  energetic 
agriculturists  of  the  county,  is  the  representative 
of  the  fifth  generation  of  the  family  to  reside  upon 
this  property.  He  was  born  here  in  1869,  and  is 
a  son  of  R.  M.  and  Rebecca  J.  (MacCallum)  Mc- 
Nair. 

It  was  about  the  year  1760  that  Neil  McNair, 
the  great-great-grandfather  of  Bory  McNair,  came 
from  Scotland  and  located  on  this  farm,  and  here 
his  descendants  have  resided  ever  since.  His  son 
was  Roderick  McNair,  and  the  latter 's  son  was 
Duncan  McNair.  An  interesting  relic  of  the 
early  years  is  the  residence,  still  preserved,  al- 
though removed  to  the  rear  of  the  premises,  which 
was  built  by  Neil  McNair  for  a  home.  Although 
at  least  150  years  old,  its  sturdy  construction  is 
indicated  by  its  still  good  state  of  preservation, 
it  being,  in  fact,  practically  as  staunch  as  when 


ft 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


95 


first  erected.  It  was  built  originally  of  hewn 
logs,  and  in  later  years  these  were  covered  by 
weather  boarding. 

The  farm  at  present  consists  of  about  500  acres, 
is  of  the  rich  sandy  soil  that  is  characteristic  of 
this  section  of  the  state,  and  its  fertility  and  last- 
ing quality  can  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  it 
has  been  continuously  in  profitable  cultivation  for 
such  a  long  period  of  years.  Argyle  Farm  is  two 
miles  east  of  Maxton,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
Lumberton-Roekingham  road,  which  is  a  part  of 
the  Wilmington-Charlotte  Highway,  a  much-trav- 
eled thoroughfare.  The  general  crop,  of  course, 
is  cotton,  but  for  the  past  few  years  Mr.  McNair, 
who  is  one  of  the  progressive  men  of  his  locality, 
has  been  quite  extensively  engaged  in  the  com- 
mercial production  of  canteloupes  and  watermelons, 
and  usually  ships  from  his  farm  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  carloads  of  melons  each  year,  making 
quite  a  local  industry. 

In  1912  Mr.  McNair  built  his  present  spacious 
and  beautiful  residence  on  his  farm,  and  this  is 
one  of  the  show  places  of  Maxton  and  the  vicin- 
ity, being  equipped  with  a  water  system  and  all 
modern  conveniences  and  affording  a  splendid  and 
comfortable  home  for  the  McNair  family  and  a 
pleasant  and  desired  place  of  visit  for  their  many 
guests.  Mr.  McNair  married  Miss  Mary  Purcell, 
and  they  have  five  children:  Thomas  P.,  Rebecca 
J.,  Roderick,  James  MacCallum  and  Elizabeth  Neil. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNair  and  their  children  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian   Church. 

Aethuk  Bascom  Croom,  M.  D.  The  present 
secretary  of  the  New  Hanover  County  Medical  So- 
ciety at  Wilmington  is  one  of  the  latest  additions 
to  the  medical  fraternity  of  that  city,  and  it  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  distinctive  tribute  paid  him  by 
his  fellow  practitioners  that  he  was  given  the  honor 
and  dignity  of  an  office  in  their  medical  organiza- 
tion. Doctor  Croom  is  a  physician  and  surgeon  of 
thorough  experience  and  tried  abilities,  is  a  son 
of  an  old  time  and  skillful  country  doctor  of 
Robeson  County,  and  in  that  locality  he  himself 
practiced  until  he  came  to  Wilmington. 

Doctor  Croom  was  born  at  Maxton,  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1880,  a  son  of  Dr.  James  Dallas  and  Ann 
Mortimer  (Blake)  Croom,  both  now  deceased.  His 
father,  who  died  at  Maxton  in  1914,  was  born  at 
Currie  in  Pender  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1844. 
His  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  of  those 
splendid  Scotch  people  who  settled  the  Cape  Fear 
section  of  North  Carolina  and  put  the  stamp  of 
their  character  on  all  its  subsequent  history. 
Bunyan  Croom  was  the  father  of  Dr.  James  D. 
Croom.  Bunyan  Croom  married  Mary  Jane  Mc- 
Duffie. 

James  Dallas  Croom  was  one  of  the  youngest 
soldiers  in  the  war  between  the  states,  having 
volunteered  in  the  Confederate  army  before  he 
was  seventeen.  He  made  a  creditable  record  as 
a  soldier,  as  is  attested  to  by  all  his  old  comrades 
who  were  with  him  on  the  march  and  in  battle, 
never  shirking  a  duty,  always  eager  for  the  fray, 
and  possessing  a  youthful  spirit  and  enthusiasm 
and  undaunted  courage  that  made  him  beloved  of 
all  his  fellows.  He  was  wounded  at  the  Battle 
of  Bentonville.  Some  time  after  the  war  he  moved 
to  the  little  village  then  known  as  Shoe  Heel, 
now  the  flourishing  and  wealthy  Town  of  Maxton 
in  Robeson  County.  He  taught  school,  was  in  the 
drug  business  and  studied  medicine.  His  medical 
studies  were  finished  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  University   of   South    Carolina   at  Charleston, 


where  he  graduated  with  the  class  of  1876.  From 
that  time  until  his  death,  nearly  forty  years  later, 
he  was  continuously  in  practice  at  Maxton.  His 
Scotch  character,  his  patience,  his  skill,  his  devo- 
tion to  duty,  made  him  greatly  beloved  all  over 
that  part  of  the  country.  For  a  long  number  of 
years  he  was  a  deacon  in  the  Maxton  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  not  long  before  his  death  was  elected 
one  of  its  ruling  elders.  His  wife,  Ann  Mortimer, 
was  a  daughter  of  Isham  and  Mary  (Hall)  Blake, 
of   Fayetteville,   Cumberland   County. 

With  such  parents  the  early  influences  surround- 
ing the  life  of  Arthur  Bascom  Croom  were  well 
calculated  to  develop  in  him  his  best  talents  and 
all  those  ideals  and  ambitions  that  make  men  use- 
ful in  the  world.  He  was  reared  and  attended  the 
schools  of  Maxton,  studied  medicine  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Maryland  and  Baltimore,  and  was  grad- 
uated M.  D.  with  the  class  of  1905.  During  his 
last  year  at  Baltimore  he  also  pursued  post-grad- 
uate work  in  Johns  Hopkins  University.  He  began 
practice  at  his  home  town  of  Maxton  and  for  a 
little  more  than  five  years  he  and  his  father  con- 
ducted a  well  equipped  hospital  in  that  town. 

Doctor  Croom  's  unflagging  energy  and  capacity 
for  hard  work,  as  well  as  his  special  talents  as  a 
physician,  really  required  a  wider  field  for  his 
efforts.  Hence  in  July,  1917,  he  located  per- 
manently in  Wilmington,  the  seaport  city  and  com- 
mercial metropolis  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
gladly  welcomed  here  by  the  medical  profession, 
anil  his  acquaintance  and  his  ability  brought  him 
almost  immediately  a  busy  practice.  Besides  being 
a  physician  and  surgeon  of  the  first  rank,  Doctor 
Croom  has  a  rare  gift  of  making  friends  with 
every  one,  of  whatever  station  in  life,  and  he  lit- 
erally radiates  cheer  and  comfort  which  in  these 
modern  days  of  strain  and  complexity  are  as  im- 
portant an  agency  for  health  as  medicine.  While 
at  Maxton  Doctor  Croom  was  for  several  years 
local  surgeon  for  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  and  Sea- 
board Air  Line  Railway.  At  Wilmington  he  has 
been  appointed  consulting  surgeon  for  the  Sea- 
board Air  Line  Railway. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Charles 
B.  Aycock  he  was  appointed  first  lieutenant  of 
Company  M,  Second  North  Carolina  Regiment,  and 
Governor  Glenn  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain. 

At  Raleigh  December  30,  1902,  Doctor  Croom 
married  Miss  Maude  Dinwiddie,  daughter  of  James 
and  Bettie  (Carrington)  Dinwiddie,  both  members 
of  "Virginia  families  and  both  now  deceased.  James 
Dinwiddie  was  one  of  the  South 's  distinguished 
educators.  For  several  years  he  held  one  of  the 
professorships  in  the  University  of  Tennessee  at 
Nashville,  where  Mrs.  Croom  was  born.  Later 
removing  to  Raleigh,  he  became  president  and 
owner  of  Peace  Institute,  in  which  latter  institu- 
tion Mrs.  Croom  was  educated.  Mrs.  Croom  brings 
fine  intelligence  and  capacity  to  the  exacting  duties 
of  the  wife  of  the  busy  practitioner,  and  is  a 
woman  of  note  at  Wilmington,  both  at  home  and 
in  society.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Croom  have  three 
children,  Elizabeth,  Maude  and  Bascom. 

William:  Gordox  Weeks.  In  days  when  the 
whole  world  shows  unrest,  it  is  to  the  solid,  re- 
liable, substantial  business  man  that  the  ordinary 
citizen  turns  with  hope.  Such  men  have  shown 
ability  in  the  safeguarding  of  their  own  interests 
and  have  many  times  carefully  guided  their  own 
enterprises  through  panics  and  business  convul- 
sions  that   have   brought   stringent   markets,   and 


96 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


it  would  seem  but  natural  that  such  men  should 
be  resourceful  and  from  experience  be  able  to  ad- 
vise wisely  and  judiciously.  Perhaps  no  better 
example  of  sound  business  methods  can  be  found 
in  any  enterprise  at  Rocky  Mount  than  those  which 
prevail  with  the  well  known  wholesale  grocery 
house  of  Matthews  &  Weeks,  William  Gordon 
Weeks  being  the  senior  member  of  the  firm. 

William  Gordon  Weeks  was  born  in  Edgecombe 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  19,  1875.  His 
parents  were  George  Washington  and  Bettie  (Leg- 
gett)  Weeks.  The  father  has  always  devoted 
himself   to   agricultural   pursuits. 

After  the  public  schools  William  G.  Weeks 
continued  his  education  in  Scotland  Neck  Mili- 
tary School  and  subsequently  took  a  course  in 
a  commercial  college  at  Siler  City,  North  Caro- 
lina. Afterward  he  remained  with  his  father  on 
the  home  farm  for  a  year  and  then  accepted  a 
position  as  traveling  salesman  for  a  wholesale  gro- 
cery company  of  Rocky  Mount,  and  continued 
with  this  house  for  the  next  five  years.  No  bet- 
ter method  could  he  have  found  to  prepare  himself 
for  his  present  business.  He  became  favorably 
known  over  a  wide  territory  and  thoroughly  fa- 
miliar with  grade,  quality  and  market  of  the  com- 
modities he  sold  and  with  his  competitors,  and 
thus  was  well  qualified  when,  in  1902,  he  became 
associated  with  James  W.  Matthews,  as  Matthews, 
Weeks  &  Company,  wholesale  grocers.  This  has 
been  an  exceedingly  prosperous  concern. 

Mr.  Weeks  was  married  January  16,  1902,  to 
Miss  Martha  Eleanor  Woodall,  who  was  born  at 
Smithfield,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
the  late  Seth  and  Martha.  (Durham)  Woodall.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Weeks  was  a  merchant  and  also 
owned  farm  properties  in  Johnston  County.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Weeks  have  three  sons :  William  Gor- 
don, George  LaFayette  and  Kenneth  Denham,  Mr. 
Weeks  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  in  which  he  is  a  deacon.  Though 
never  a  politician  or  office  seeker,  nevertheless  he 
is  an  active  and  useful  citizen  and  all  matters 
of  civic  importance  receive  his  careful  attention. 
He  feels  a  sense  of  public  responsibility  as  do 
other  stable  and  dependable  men,  and  is  ever 
ready  to  assist  in  promoting  undertakings  which 
he   believes   will   benefit   the  community. 

Lacey  Jasper  Bray.  A  prosperous  business 
man  of  Elkin  and  a  substantial  representative  of 
the  milling  interests  of  Surry  County,  Lacey  Jasper 
Bray  has  been  exceedingly  fortunate  in  his  under- 
takings, his  success  in  life  being  entirely  due  to 
his  untiring  industry,  energy  and  good  manage- 
ment. He  was  born  April  11,  1859,  in  Dobson 
Township,  Surry  County,  North  Carolina,  a  son  of 
Oliver  Bray  and  grandson  of  Arthur  Bray,  a  life- 
long farmer  of  Surry  County. 

Reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  Oliver  Bray  re- 
mained beneath  the  parental  rooftree  until  twenty- 
one  years  old,  when  he  started  in  life  for  himself. 
Desirous  of  learning  the  miller's  trade,  he  worked 
for  awhile  in  a  corn  mill  in  Surry  County,  later 
being  employed  in  a  French  burr  mill  on  Fish 
River  near  Dobson.  He  became  an  expert  miller, 
and  followed  the  trade  during  the  remainder  of  his 
active  life.  He  attained  the  age  of  'sixty-eight 
years,  while  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Polly  Butcher,  died  when  but  fifty  years  old.  She 
was  born  near  Stony  Knoll,  Rockford  Town- 
ship, Surry  County,  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Elizabeth  Butcher.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  were  brought  into  the  world  with- 


out the  aid  of  a  physician.  Two  died  of  that  dread 
disease,  diphtheria,  and  eight  grew  to  years  of  ma- 
turity, as  follows :  Hiram,  Martha,  Tilda,  Sihon, 
Lacey  Jasper,  Nancy,  Clarenden  and  Richard. 

Lacey  Jasper  Bray  received  a  practical  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools,  and  when  quite  young 
began  working  in  a  burr  mill,  while  thus  employed 
learning  to  make  flour  by  that  process.  He  con- 
tinued work  as  a  journeyman  miller  until  1906, 
when,  in  the  month  of  June,  he  purchased  the  Elkin 
Roller  Mill,  which  he  has  since  owned  and  operated. 
This  mill  is  furnished  with  modern  machinery  and 
has  a  capacity  of  sixty  barrels  of  flour  and  100 
bushels  of  corn  meal  per  day,  and  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  Bray  furnishes  much  of  the  flour  and 
meal  sold  in  this  section  of  the  county.  Mr.  Bray 
has  also  a  large  feed  mill  and  crusher,  and  is  operat- 
ing them  successfully  and  with  profit. 

At  the  early  age  of  twenty  years  Mr.  Bray  mar- 
ried Teresa  Lou  Alice  Chaney,  who  was  born  in 
Virginia,  eighteen  miles  from  Pennsylvania  Court 
House,  a  daughter  of  Abram  and  Mary  Chaney. 
Seven  children  have  been  born  of  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bray,  namely:  Mary  Etta,  Abram  O., 
James  S.,  Martha  L.,  Cornelia,  Rebecca,  and  Joseph 
Lacey.  Religiously  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bray  are  con- 
scientious and  faithful  members  of  the  Missionary 
Baptist  Church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Bray  belongs  to 
Elkin  Camp  No.  105,  Woodmen  of  the  World;  and 
to  Elkin  Council  No.  96,  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics. 

Lester  A.  Crowell,  M.  D.,  F.  A.  C.  S.  While 
he  has  been  busy  with  the  general  work  of  his 
profession  in  Lincoln  County  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  the  services  and  achievements  that  make 
the  name  of  Doctor  Crowell  distinctive  in  the  pro-  ' 
fession  in  North  Carolina  is  as  founder  and  active 
head  of  the  Lincoln  Hospital  at  Lincolnton.  He 
built  and  established  this  hospital  in  1907,  and  since 
that  time  his  work  has  been  devoted  to  surgery. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  had  evinced  special  skill 
in  the  surgical  branch  of  his  profession  and  prior 
to  founding  his  hospital  he  took  post-graduate 
work  in  New  York,  and  for  years  has  been  a  de- 
voted student  as  well  as  a  practitioner  of  surgery. 
His  professional  brethren  have  many  times  recog- 
nized his  rare  ability  in  this  field,  and  it  is  also 
testified  to  by  the  fact  that  the  hospital  is  so 
generously  patronized  as  to  keep  Doctor  Crowell 
and  his  assistants  constantlv  busy.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Tri-State  Medical  Association  at 
Charleston  in  February,  1918,  Doctor  Crowell  was 
elected  vice  president  of  the  association.  On  the 
basis  of  his  attainments  he  is  also  a  member  of 
the  American  College  of  Surgery.  He  belongs  to 
the  county  and  state  societies  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  His  individual  record  has 
been  consistent  with  the  hieh  character  of  the 
Crowell  family  during  their  21/f!  centuries  of  resi- 
dence in  America.  Wheeler's  "History  of  North 
Carolina,"  published  about  1845,  gives  an  interest- 
ing account  of  the  origin  of  the  Crowell  family. 
It  states  that  two  brothers,  John  Crowell  and 
Edward,  came  to  North  Carolina  and  settled  in 
Halifax,  migrating  from  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey. 
The  name  was  originally  Cromwell.  Wheeler  quotes 
another  authority  to  the  effect  that  in  1674  two 
brothers  of  Oliver  Cromwell  left  England  for 
America,  and  settled  in  New  Jersey,  having  fled 
from  England  because  of  the  political  storms  that 
impended  over  the  name  and  house  of  the  late 
Protector.  While  on  the  voyage,  fearing  that 
persecution    would    follow   from   the   adherents   of 


£&  $^t^k&.  M  a  £ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


97 


Charles  II,  they  resolved  to  change  the  name.  This 
was  done  with  solemn  ceremony.  Each  brother 
wrote  his  name  on  paper  and  each  cut  therefrom 
the  letter  M  and  cast  it  into  the  sea.  The  family 
pedigree  on  vellum,  recording  these  facts,  was  with 
the  family  in  North  Carolina.  It  was  kept  in  an 
ornamental  chest  with  other  valuables  which  was 
seized  and  carried  off  by  a  party  of  Tarleton  's 
Legion  in  1781. 

John  Crowell,  on  the  authority  of  Wheeler's 
history,  married  a  Miss  Lewis.  He  died  early,  leav- 
ing several  children,  one  of  whom,  Joseph,  married 
Miss  Barnes,  a  celebrated  beauty,  and  one  of  their 
daughters  married  Mumford,  whose  daughter  was 
the  wife  of  Hon.  Wilie  Jones.  Edward  Crowell 
married  Miss  Rayburn,  aunt  to  Governor  Rayburn 
of  Georgia.  His  oldest  son,  Samuel,  married  Miss 
Bradford,  and  another  son  was  Col.  John  Crowell, 
at  one  time  a  member  of  Congress  from  Georgia 
and  also  Indian  agent. 

Doctor  Crowell 's  paternal  ancestry  goes  back 
through  several  generations  to  his  gTeat-great- 
grandfather,  Simon  Crowell,  who  was  born  in 
1725  and  came  to  what  is  now  Union  County 
about  1760.  His  was  a  remarkable  life.  Born 
at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  he  lived  into  the  second  third  of  the  fol- 
lowing century,  and  at  his  death  in  1835  had  at- 
tained the  age  of  one  hundred  ten  years. 

Samuel  Crowell,  great-gTandfather  of  Doctor 
Crowell,  was  a  patriot  Revolutionary  soldier.  His 
son,  Michael  Crowell,  the  grandfather,  was  also 
identified  with  Union  County,  where  the  family 
had  had  their  home  for  years  preceding  the  Revo- 
lution. Many  of  the  Crowells  have  become  notable 
in  the  professions  and  in  affairs.  One  of  the  family 
connections  is  Dr.  A.  J.  Crowell  of  Charlotte,  a 
cousin  of  Doctor  Crowell  of  Lincolnton.  The 
Charlotte  physician  is  one  of  the  eminent  members 
of  the  profession  in  this  state.  Michael  Crowell 
married  Jane  Pyron,  of  pure  Scotch  ancestry.  Her 
father,  William  Prron,  was  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier. 

Dr.  Lester  A.  Crowell  was  born  in  Lincoln 
County,  North  Carolina,  eight  miles  north  of 
Lincolnton.  in  1867.  His  father,  the  late  Dr.  Eli 
Crowell,  was  born  in  Union  County,  but  some  time 
prior  to  the  war  moved  to  Lincoln  County,  settling 
eight  miles  north  of  the  county  seat.  For  a  long 
period  of  years  he  was  a  country  physician,  and 
a  large  community  gave  him  their  gratitude  during 
his  life  and  have  retained  a  grateful  memory  of 
his  character  and  his  work.  He  died  in  1896.  His 
home  for  many  years  was  at  the  place  known  as 
Reepsville. 

At  Reepsville  Dr.  Lester  A.  Crowell  spent  his 
youthful  days,  attending  the  local  schools  and  the 
private  school  of  Professor  Hahn,  one  of  the  nota- 
ble teachers  of  his  day.  He  received  his  profes- 
sional education  in  the  Baltimore  Medical  College, 
from  which  he  graduated  with  the  class  of  1892. 
He  then  took  up  active  practice  in  his  home  com- 
munity on  the  Catawba  River,  and  continued  there 
until  1900,  when  he  came  to  Lincolnton  and  was 
in  general  practice  for  seven  years  before  estab- 
lishing his  hospital. 

Doctor  Crowell  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  married  in  1896, 
at  Shelbv,  in  Cleveland  Countv,  Miss  Marv  J. 
Hull,  daughter  of  M.  F.  and  Mollie  A.  (Grigg) 
Hull,  of  Cleveland  County.  Her  father  served  in 
the  Confederate  army  throughout  the  war  with  a 
Cleveland  County  regiment,  and  was  one  of  the 
leading   citizen?    of    that   splendid   county.      Mrs. 

Tol.  V— 7 


Crowell 's  mother  is  a  member  of  the  Grigg  family 
of  Scotch  ancestry  which  has  lived  in  that  sec- 
tion for  several  generations.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Crowell  have  an  interesting  family  of  five  chil- 
dren, named  Gordon  B.,  Mary  B.,  Corinne,  Lester 
A.,  Jr.,  and  Frank  Hull  Crowell.  The  daughter 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Abernethy,  a 
young  man  who  is  now  in  the  United  States  Army. 
Gordon  B.  Crowell  is  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  and  following  his  father's 
example  was  preparing  for  the  medical  profession 
in  the  Medical  School  of  the  State  University.  In 
1917  he  volunteered  his  services  in  the  Medical 
Corps  of  the  United  States  Army,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  unit  headed  by  Doctor  Brenizer 
of  Charlotte.  He  is  now  in  active  service  in 
France.  This  young  man  is  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  and  has  already  demonstrated  many  unusual 
talents  that  offer  a  promising  future  for  him  in 
his  profession. 

Hugh  Davtb  Ward,  M.  D.  The  world  owes  more 
to  the  medical  profession  and  its  exponents  than  to 
any  other  vocation  or  class  of  men.  The  medical 
men  from  earliest  times  have  borne  an  important 
part  in  the  progress  of  civilization,  not  alone  in 
caring  for  the  sick,  but  in  having  a  voice  in  the 
councils  of  the  nations,  and  as  time  has  passed 
their  importance  has  steadily  increased,  and  de- 
servedly so.  The  life  of  the  conscientious  physician 
is  never  one  of  ease.  Not  only  is  it  necessary  for 
him  to  devote  years  to  preliminary  training,  but 
his  studies  are  not  completed  until  he  lays  aside 
his  duties,  for  medicine  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive of  sciences,  and  each  day  brings  new  ideas 
and  discoveries.  To  keep  abreast  of  them  requires 
study  and  ability,  a  broad  mind  and  comprehensive 
reading.  Among  the  younger  members  of  the 
medical  fraternity  of  Brunswick  County,  one  of 
the  devotees  of  this  calling  who  is  winning  success 
through  inherent  ability,  thorough  training  and 
a  comprehensive  realization  and  appreciation  of 
the  responsibilities  resting  upon  him,  is  Hugh 
David  Ward,  M.  D.,  who  has  been  engaged  in 
practice  at  Southport  since  1914. 

Doctor  Ward  is  a  native  of  the  Old  North  State, 
having  been  born  at  Wilmington,  August  24,  1885, 
a  son  of  David  and  Mary  (Curtis)  Ward.  His 
father  was  a  prominent  farmer  and  stockman  in 
the  vicinity  of  Wilmington,  and  Doctor  Ward 
passed  a  gVeat  deal  of  his  boyhood  on  the  home 
farm,  in  the  meantime  acquiring  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools.  Later  he  pursued  a 
course  of  study  at  Oak  Ridge  Institute  in  Stokes 
Countv,  North  Carolina,  and  was  then  sent  to  the 
noted  "Wake  Forest  College,  in  Wake  County,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1912.  With  this  prep- 
aration Doctor  Ward  entered  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
graduated  in  1914  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  and  at  once  came  to  Southport,  where 
he  has  been  engaged  in  a  general  practice.  It  has 
been  his  fortune"  thus  far  to  impress  the  people 
with  his  ability,  scholarship  and  medical  talents, 
and  thus  has  drawn  about  him  a  very  desirable 
and  remunerative  professional  business.  His  suc- 
cess thus  early  in  life  may  be  taken  as  indicative 
of  a  prosperous  future,  replete  with  eminent  attain- 
ments. In  July,  1907,  he  entered  the  United  States 
Public  Health"  Service  as  assistant  surgeon,  and 
expects  to  remain  in  this  service  in  the  future. 

Doctor  Ward  is  a  member  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Medical  Society,  the  Brunswick  County  Med- 
ical Societv  and  the"  American  Medical  Association, 


98 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


and  among  his  fellow  practitioners  enjoys  an  excel- 
lent reputation  as  an  observer  of  the  highest  ethics 
of  his  calling.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Junior  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics,  of  the  Masonic 
Order,  and  of  the  Upsilon  Pi  Chapter  of  the  Phi 
Chi  medical  fraternity  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church. 

Augustin  Walston  Macnair  is  a  rising  young 
attorney  of  the  Tarboro  bar  and  has  demon- 
strated his  thorough  capacity  for  handling  many 
large  and  important  interests. 

Mr.  Macnair  was  graduated  in  law  in  1908,  was 
admitted  to  the  Virginia  bar  in  1909,  practiced 
five  years  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  since  1915 
has  been  located  at  Tarboro,  where  he  handles 
chiefly  a  corporation  and  commercial  practice. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation. 

He  was  born  October  17,  1887,  and  comes  of  a 
fine  old  Scotch  family  and  through  his  ancestry 
has  membership  in  the  Sons  of  the  American  Rev- 
olution.  His  parents  were  Whitmel  Home  and 
Carrie  Lee  (Walston)  Macnair.  His  father  was  a 
druggist.  Mr.  Macnair  attended  St.  Mary 's  Col- 
lege at  Belmont,  North  Carolina,  finishing  his 
preparatory  work  in  1904  and  then  entered  the 
literary  and  law  departments  of  Georgetown  Uni- 
versity at  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  graduated 
in  1908,  before  his  twenty-fourth  birthday. 

Charles  G.  Gilreath,  for  fifteen  years  practic- 
ing law  at  Wilkesboro,  is  lineally  descended  from 
some  of  the  first  settlers  in  his  section  of  Western 
North  Carolina.  The  family  has  been  distinguished 
for  its  patriotism,  its  ability  in  different  lines,  and 
has  been  liberally  represented  in  the  wars  of  the 
nation  and  in  the  professions  and  leading  indus- 
tries. 

His  remote  American  ancestor  was  Capt.  Wil- 
liam Gilreath.  He  was  a  Scotch-Irishman,  and 
coming  to  America  in  colonial  times  lived  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  about  1755  came  south  to  North  Caro- 
lina. He  established  a  home  in  that  portion  of 
Rowan  County  which  is  now  Wilkes  County.  His 
purchase  of  land  was  a  place  about  three  miles 
south  of  the  present  site  of  Wilkesboro.  At  that 
time  Western  North  Carolina  was  a  virtual  wilder- 
ness. There  were  Indians  in  great  numbers,  none 
of  the  tribes  having  been  removed  or  driven  away. 
It  was  a  vast  happy  hunting  ground,  filled  with 
big  game  and  the  streams  abounded  in  fish.  There 
was  every  opportunity  for  pioneer  adventure  and 
frontier  experience.  When  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion came  on  Captain  Gilreath  joined  the  other 
colonists  in  seeking  independence,  and  was  cap- 
tain of  a  company  in  the  noted  Col.  Ben  Cleve- 
land 's  command.  That  company  did  its  part  in  the 
battle  of  King's  Mountain  and  Captain  Gilreath 
was  wounded  during  that  engagement.  With  the 
close  of  the  war  he  deeded  his  estate  to  his  son 
William  and  with  his  wife  and  other  children 
accompanied  Col.  Ben  Cleveland  on  a  migration  to 
Greenville.  South  Carolina.  In  that  community  he 
spent  his  last  days,  and  some  of  the  descendants  of 
the  sons  that  went  with  him  are  now  living  at 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

The  head  of  the  next  generation  was  his  son  Wil- 
liam Gilreath,  who  was  born  on  the  old  homestead 
south  of  Wilkesboro.  He  spent  his  entire  life  there, 
and  his  remains  are  buried  on  the  old  estate.  The 
family  plantation  is  now  known   as  the  Oakwood 


Farm.     William  Gilreath  reared  four  sons,  named 
Hilary,  Henry)  Hardee  and  Hugh. 

Henry  Gilreath,  who  was  born  three  miles  south 
of  Wilkesboro,  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
Wilkesboro  lawyer.  He  bought  a  plantation  about 
two  miles  from  his  birthplace  and  during  his  active 
career  operated  his  fields  with  slave  labor.  He 
married  Lavina  Parks,  who  was  born  at  Roaring 
River  in  Wilkes  County.  Both  lived  to  a  good  old 
age.  Their  three  sons  were  named  Hugh,  Thomas 
and  William. 

Hugh  Gilreath,  the  grandfather,  was  born  three 
miles  southwest  of  Wilkesboro,  and  in  time  bought 
a  farm  near  Moravian  Falls.  To  the  cultivation 
of  his  land  he  gave  the  best  of  his  energy  and  died 
there  at  the  age  of  sixty.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Barker.  Her  father,  Joel  Barker,  came  from  Eng- 
land with  his  parents  and  married  a  Miss  Steven- 
son, of  the  prominent  Stevenson  family  of  Iredell 
County.  Mrs.  Hugh  Gilreath  died  when  eighty- 
three  years  of  age.  Their  two  sons  were  named 
Thomas  J.  and  James  Pervis,  and  their  two  daugh- 
ters were  Elizabeth  and  Martha. 

Thomas  J.  Gilreath,  father  of  Charles  G.,  was 
born  on  a  plantation  on  Rocky  Creek  in  Iredell 
County  in  1831.  He  was  liberally  educated,  having 
the  instruction  of  two  noted  schoolmen,  Professor 
Hall  and  Dr.  Brantly  York.  When  a  young  man 
he  began  teaching,  and  that  was  his  life 's  occupa- 
tion. He  became  one  of  the  founders  of  Movarian 
Falls  Academy  and  continued  his  work  as  a  teacher 
for  forty  years.  He  also  bought  a  farm  two  miles 
from  Moravian  Falls,  and  that  furnished  him  a 
home  and  occupation  for  his  leisure  until  his  death 
at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  Prof.  Thomas  J.  Gil- 
reath married  Keziah  Kesler.  She  was  born  at 
Monbo,  North  Carolina.  Her  father,  Samuel  Kes- 
ler, was  born  in  Rowan  County,  and  her  grand- 
father, Cornelius  Kesler,  was  of  Holland  nativity 
and  always  talked  and  read  the  Dutch  language. 
Cornelius  Kesler  married  a  Miss  Wallace.  Samuel 
Kesler  was  owner  of  a  farm  along  the  Catawba 
River  in  Iredell  County,  and  before  the  war  had 
slaves.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Matilda 
Miller.  She  was  born  in  Iredell  County,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Catherine  Miller,  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  Millers  in  1808  made  the  long 
journey  south  from  Pennsylvania,  traveling  with 
wagons  and  bringing  all  their  earthly  possessions. 
John  Miller  lived  on  a  farm  between  Monbo  and 
Troutmans  in  Iredell  County.  There  he  and  his 
wife  spent  their  last  years.  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Gil- 
reath died  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Her  eight 
children  were  named  James  E.,  Alice,  William  S., 
Franklin  H.,  Clarence  H.,  Thomas  Cicero,  Charles 
G.  and  Florence. 

Mr.  Charles  G.  Gilreath  was  born  at  his  father's 
home  at  Moravian  Falls  in  Wilkes  County  and  dur- 
ing his  youth  attended  the  Moravian  Falls  Acad- 
emy. When  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  he  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  his  father  as  a  teacher  and 
continued  the  work  of  the  school  room  for  seven 
years.  His  leisure  had  been  devoted  in  the  mean- 
time to  the  study  of  law  and  eventually  he  entered 
Wake  Forest  College  under  Professor  Gully,  and 
was  licensed  to  practice  on  September  1,  1903.  He 
opened  his  office  at  Wilkesboro  and  has  been 
steadily  prospering  and  gaining  prestige  in  the  pro- 
fession for  the  past  fourteen  years.  Since  1907  he 
has  been  associated  with  Hon.  R.  N.  Hackett,  and 
between  them  they  command  a  large  share  of  the 
best  law  business  in  the  county. 

Mr.   Gilreath   was  married   December   20,   1903, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


99 


to  Mary  Fidelia  Moore,  who  was  born  near  Brushy 
Mountain  in  Wilkes  County,  a  daughter  of  Enoe 
C.  and  Aley  (Hendren)  Moore.  Mrs.  Gilreath  died 
in  1914  and  Mr.  Gilreath  subsequently  married  her 
sister,  Ola.  There  are  two  children  of  the  first 
marriage :  Fred  Gully  and  Grace  Moore.  Mr. 
Gilreath  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  while  his  wife  is  a  Baptist. 

John  J.  George.  What  is  now  the  flourishing 
industrial  village  of  Cherryville,  Gaston  County, 
received  an  important  addition  to  its  citizenship 
in  1892  when  John  J.  George  began  his  work  as 
one  of  the  teachers  in  the  local  schools.  Mr. 
George  left  the  educational  profession  a  few  years 
later,  and  for  nearly  fifteen  years  has  been  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  business  men 
of  the  county.  He  has  done  much  to  build  up 
the  industrial  resources  of  Cherryville  and  sur- 
rounding territory,  and  is  associated  with  other 
large  capitalists  in  ownership  and  operation  of 
several  cotton  mills  and  other  business  organiza- 
tions. 

Mr.  George  was  born  in  Lexington  County, 
South  Carolina,  in  1866,  son  of  Nelson  B.  and 
Isabel  (Shealy)  George.  His  father  was  a  South 
Carolina  farmer,  and  during  the  war  between  the 
states  did  gallant  service  as  a  Confederate  soldier. 
He  was  in  Company  C  of  the  Third  South  Carolina 
Regiment  and  altogether  participated  in  twenty- 
seven  battles  and  was  seven  times  struck  by  enemy 
bullets. 

Mr.  George  has  always  been  grateful  to  those 
who  guided  the  fortunes  of  his  youth  because  of 
the  excellent  education  he  received.  He  first  at- 
tended the  Mitchell  High  School  in  Lexington 
County,  South  Carolina,  a  school  noteworthy  for 
the  thoroughness  of  its  teachers.  It  was  a  pre- 
paratory school  for  college,  and  after  attending 
this  school  and  spending  one  year  in  Professor 
Preher  's  School  at  Lexington,  he  entered  Newbury 
College.  This  college,  a  denominational  school 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  attended  one  year 
and  completed  his  literary  education  in  two  other 
Lutheran  colleges,  first  at  Concordia  College  at 
Conover,  North  Carolina,  where  he  spent  \Vi 
years,  and  in  1892  graduated  from  Lenoir  College 
at  Hickory,  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  George  was  a  young  college  man  when  he 
came  to  Cherryville  and  for  six  years  was  identi- 
fied with  this  community  as  a  teacher  in  its  local 
schools.  With  the  exception  of  seven  years  when 
he  had  business  interests  that  required  his  residence 
in  Bessemer  City  in  Gaston  County,  Mr.  George 
has  been  a  resident  of  Cherryville  since  1892. 

Mr.  George  first  made  his  big  mark  in  the  busi- 
ness world  as  a  bond  salesman.  For  five  years 
ending  in  1918  he  was  in  the  bond  business,  rep- 
resenting one  of  the  oldest  and  best,  known 
municipal  bond  houses  in  the  Middle  West,  the 
firm  Sidney  Spitzer  &  Company  of  Toledo.  This 
organization,  with  branch  offices  in  half  a  dozen 
large  cities,  had  no  stronger  man  on  its  sales  force 
than  Mr.  George.  He  sold  $20,000,000  worth  of 
bonds  and  loans  for  his  house,  and  earned  both 
for  himself  and  the  Spitzer  Company  a  great  deal 
of  money. 

Mr.  George  was  well  prepared  for  the  changes 
necessitated  by  war  conditions,  when  all  bond 
houses  operated  under  severe  handicaps.  In  1917 
he  engaged  actively  in  the  cotton  mill  business  at 
Cherryville,  an  industry  with  which  he  had  been 
more  or  less  intimately  connected  financially  for 
several  years.     With  his  associates  in  November, 


1917,  Mr.  George  bought  the  Vivian  Cotton  Mills 
at  Cherryville.  He  is  the  principal  stockholder 
and  president  and  active  manager  of  the  mills, 
which  manufacture  skeins  and  tubes,  10  's  to  16  's. 
There  was  an  almost  instant  change  for  the  bet- 
ter when  Mr.  George  took  personal  management 
of  the  property.  He  gave  it  a  thorough  overhaul- 
ing, installed  new  and  improved  machinery,  con- 
structed a  large  addition  to  the  general  plant,  and 
increased  the  number  of  spindles  from  3,100  to 
5,200.  Mr.  George  also  has  a  large  interest  in 
another  cotton  mill  at  Cherryville,  the  Cherryville 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  is  the  pioneer 
cotton  mill  of  the  town.  It  manufactures  warp 
and  skein  yarns.  The  president  of  this  mill  is 
Mr.  P.  E.  Rhyne  of  Lincolnton,  while  Mr.  George 
is  its  vice  president. 

An  important  new  enterprise  in  the  spinning 
industry  of  the  country,  organized  in  March,  1918, 
and  of  which  Mr.  George  is  one  of  the  promoters 
and  is  second  vice  president  of  the  company,  is 
the  Manny-Steel  Company.  This  organization  at 
the  present  time  represents  twenty-one  mills  and 
sells  the  yarn  products  of  these  mills  direct  to 
hosiery  mills  and  other  knitting  and  weaving  in- 
dustries. The  company  began  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $155,000.  By  May,  1918,  subscriptions 
to  the  amount  of  $223,000  had  been  made  and  the 
capital  is  to  be  increased  to  $250,000.  In  the  six 
weeks  ending  at  the  middle  of  May,  1918,  the 
company  had  transacted  more  than  a  million  dol- 
lars' worth  of  business,  a  record  seldom  passed 
even  by  the  essential  war  industries.  The  main 
offices  of  the  company  are  at  Philadelphia,  while 
Mr.  George  has  charge  of  the  southern  branch  at 
Cherryville. 

Other  business  connections  of  Mr.  George  are 
as  a  stockholder  in  three  of  Gaston  County 's 
banks,  the  First  National  at  King's  Mountain,  the 
First  National  at  Cherrvville,  and  the  Bessemer 
City  Bank. 

A  man  of  his  enterprise  and  energy  means  much 
to  the  well  being  of  any  community.  He  has  al- 
ways shown  a  willingness  to  take  a  responsible 
share  in  civic  and  community  affairs,  and  as  a 
cotton  mill  operator  has  been  deeply  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  his  operatives  and  is  keenly  con- 
scious of  the  responsibility  devolving  upon  him  in 
making  his  mill  village  a  social  and  human  as  well 
as  a  commercial  factor.-  This  mill  village  at  Vivian 
has  received  many  improvements  in  the  way  of  san- 
itary equipment  for  the  cottages,  the  improvement 
of  streets  and  lawns,  the  construction  of  a  new 
park,  and  besides  these  comfort  facilities  Mr. 
George  has  also  liberally  encouraged  everyone  in 
matters  of  thrift  and  industry. 

In  the  many  years  of  his  residence  at  Cherry- 
ville a  remarkable  transformation  has  been  effected 
in  the  town.  When  he  first  located  there  Gaston 
County  had  only  one  bank  and  three  cotton  mills. 
At  the  same  time  there  were  forty  licensed  distil- 
leries and  any  number  of  "blockade"  distilleries 
in  the  county.  Mr.  George  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers in  working  for  temperance  and  prohibition. 
He  is  highly  gratified  at  the  total  absence  of 
liquor  factories  at  present,  these  institutions  being 
supplanted  by  the  thirteen  banks  of  the  county 
and  more  than  eighty  cotton  mills,  with  promise 
of  manv  other  substantial  industries  to  follow. 

Mr.  George  married  Miss  Frances  Pearl  Mauney, 
daughter  of  Hon.  S.  S.  Mauney.  Her  father  is  a 
brother  of  Hon.  W.  A.  Maunev  and  Mr.  J.  S. 
Mauney  of  King's  Mountain.  The  Mauneys  are 
an   old  and   historic    family   in   this   part   of   the 


100 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


state  and  reference  to  the  individual  members  is 
found  more  in  detail  on  other  pages.  Mr.  George 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
and  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Lenoir  College.  To  him  and  his  wife  were  born 
ten  children:  Linchen,  Kerne,  Prentiss,  Catharine, 
Delmas,  Howard,  Reba,  Marjorie,  Garcie  and 
Ruth. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Hall  is  president  of  Hall 
&  Pearsall,  Incorporated,  wholesale  grocers  at 
Wilmington.  Though  seventy-six  years  of  age, 
he  is  still  a  busy  business  man.  He  has  devoted 
nearly  half  a  century  to  the  achievement  of  what 
he  modestly  terms  a  moderate  business  success, 
though  it  is  one  of  the  leading  wholesale  houses  of 
the  state.  Such  a  career  has  a  distinct  value  apart 
from  the  material  results.  When  a  boy,  preparing 
for  college,  Mr.  Hall  responded  to  the  call  of  duty, 
and  spent  four  years  with  the  Confederate  army. 

He  was  born  January  29,  1842,  near  Hallsville 
in'  Duplin  County,  North  Carolina.  His  parents 
were  Thomas  Pearsall  and  Susan  Eliza  (McGowen) 
Hall.  His  grandfather,  William  Hall,  came  in 
early  life  from  Virginia,  settling  in  Duplin 
County,  and  founding  the  Village  of  Hallsville. 
He  died  December  26,  1825,  in  his  eighty-fourth 
year.  Thomas  Pearsall  Hall  was  born  February 
6,  1796,  and  died  September  7,  1844,  when  Ben- 
jamin F.  Hall  was  only  two  years  of  age.  Susan 
Eliza  McGowen  was  born  December  5,  1808,  and 
died  May  23,  1894.  Her  father,  William  McGowen, 
died  in  1859,  when  about  ninety-six  years  of  age. 
The  family  ancestry  also  introduces  two  other  well 
known  names,  Pearsall  and  Dixon.  Thomas  P. 
Hall  and  wife  had  seven  sons,  Benjamin  F.  being 
the  youngest.  Three  died  in  childhood.  David 
died  in  1857,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  The  other 
three,  Edward  James,  Jeremiah  Pearsall  and  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  all  enlisted  in  the  North  Carolina 
State  troops  in  March,  1861.  Jeremiah  died  of 
disease  in  1862.  Edward  James  died  in  1867  as 
a  result  of  wounds  received  at  the  Battle  of 
Drury's  Bluff  in  May,  1864. 

Benjamin  F.  Hall  had  ancestors  who  were  sturdy 
and  most  of  them  long-lived,  and  thus  began  life 
with  an  inheritance  of  qualities  such  as  no  man 
could  despise.  Owing  to  various  circumstances 
he  received  only  a  limited  education.  He  attended 
primary  schools  and  the  -Grove  Academy  near 
Kenansville,  where  he  came  under  the  instruction 
of  Bev.  James  M.  Sprunt,  D.  D.,  Hon.  B.  F.  Grady 
and  Mr.  Samuel  Clement.  Instead  of  entering  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  in  1861  as  he  had 
planned,  he  entered  the  Confederate  army,  and 
served  through  the  war  in  the  Twelfth  and  Forty- 
third  North  Carolina  regiments,  finally  surrender- 
ing at  Appomattox.  He  enlisted  in  March,  1861, 
in  Company  C  of  the  Duplin  Rifles,  a  part  of  the 
Twelfth  Regiment.  This  term  of  enlistment  was 
for  six  months.  In  April,  1862,  he  re-enlisted  in 
Company  A  of  the  Duplin  Rifles,  Forty-third 
North  Carolina  Regiment.  He  served  as  corporal 
of  Company  C  in  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  and  as 
first  sergeant  of  Company  A  of  the  Forty-third 
Regiment.  The  further  details  of  his  military 
record  will  be  found  in  ' '  Clarke  's  North  Carolina 
Regiment,"  Vol.  1,  page  608,  Vol.  3,  pages  1  to  18, 
and  Vol.  5,  page  497. 

Though  he  was  an  active  and  loyal  soldier  dur- 
ing the  four  years  of  trying  conflict  between  the 
North  and  South,  Mr.  Hall  has  a  sincere  conviction 
that  war  should  be  the  last  resort  of  civilized 
people ;    and   cites   the   present  ■  world    war   as   an 


example  of  its  fearful  reaction  upon  the  nations 
that  provoke  it,  and  expresses  his  views  in  the 
following  words:  "Prussianized  Germany,  under 
its  autocratic  government,  controlled  by  a  military 
oligarchy,  has  brought  upon  the  world  the  greatest 
disaster  of  all  ages  in  its  mad  attempt  to  bring 
free  nations  under  its  dominion.  The  vast  military 
machine  built  up  through  a  generation  at  enormous 
expense  needed  to  justify  its  cost  in  a  war  of  con- 
quest, lest  the  people  should  refuse  further  to 
bear  the  burden. 

"By  this  mad  effort,  Germany  has  provoked 
the  undying  animosity  of  all  free  people,  and  ce- 
mented the  purpose  of  the  more  powerful  nations 
to  relieve  the  world  of  further  menace  to  its  peace 
from  Prussian  militarism.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, as  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  it  will 
be  at  no  distant  date,  we  can  hope  for  a  league 
of  the  sane  and  peaceful  nations  of  the  earth  under 
such  laws  as  will  preserve  the  peace  of  the  world 
without  vast  military  and  naval  establishments. ' ' 

The  end  of  the  war  between  the  states  found 
Mr.  Hall,  as  it  did  thousands  of  other  southern- 
ers, without  means,  and  in  a  country  depleted  in 
its  resources,  and  without  settled  plan  of  develop- 
ment. At  this  time  he  began  teaching  school,  and 
followed  that  occupation  for  two  years  in  Duplin 
County.  He  had  previously  taught  in  the  fall 
terms  of  1858-59-60  in  the  same  county.  In  1868 
Mr.  Hall  came  to  Wilmington,  and  was  soon  en- 
gaged in  the  wholesale  grocery  and  provision  busi- 
ness, which  has  grown  up  under  his  management 
to  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of  its  kind  in  this 
city.  From  1869  to  1876  he  was  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Edwards  &  Hall,  and  in  1876  established 
the  firm  of  Hall  &  Pearsall.  In  1901  the  business 
was  incorporated  as  Hall  &  Pearsall,  Incorporated, 
and  since  that  date  Mr.  Hall  has  been  president 
of  the  company.  From  time  to  time  he  took  part 
in  other  local  business  affairs,  serving  several  years 
as  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilming- 
ton, of  the  Wilmington  Savings  &  Trust  Company, 
and  as  director  of  the  Wilmington  Sea  Coast  Rail- 
road. 

Mr.  Hall  has  been  a  democrat,  though  without 
personal  aspirations  for  the  honors  of  politics. 
He  has  exerted  what  influence  he  could  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  of  good  government,  both  locally  and 
in  the  state  and  nation,  and  a  number  of  letters 
appeared  under  his  signature  advocating  the  elec- 
tion of  Woodrow  Wilson.  Since  1879  Mr.  Hall  has 
been  ruling  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Wilmington.  He  served  as  trustee  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia  from  1884  to 
1916. 

On  April  12,  1871,  at  Wilmington,  he  married 
Miss  Marsraret  Tannahill  Sprunt.  Mrs.  Hall  was 
born  October  20.  1844,  and  died  April  26,  1914. 
She  was  born  at  Port  of  Spain,  Island  of  Trinidad, 
a  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Jane  (Dalziel) 
Sprunt,  who  came  from  Scotland.  At  the  time 
of  her  birth  her  father  was  junior  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Reed,  Irving  &  Company  of  London  and 
Port  of  Spain.  Later,  he  and  his  brother,  James 
M.  Sprunt,  moved  to  North  Carolina.  There  were 
five  generations  of  ruling  elders  in  the  Sprunt 
family.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  had  the  following  chil- 
dren: James  Sprunt,  M.  D.,  who  was  educated  at 
Davidson  College,  married  Edith  Kirkpatrick,  and 
now  makes  his  home  at  Los  Angeles,  California. 
At  the  date  of  this  sketch  he  is  first  lieutenant, 
as  a  volunteer,  in  the  Medical  Reserve  Corps  of 
the  United  States  army.  Alexander  McDonald, 
who  also  completed  his  education  in  Davidson  Col- 


• 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


101 


lege,  married  Margaret  Hargrave,  and  lives  at 
Wilmington.  Louis  Edward,  who  was  educated  in 
the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina,  married  Eleanor 
Williams,  and  resides  at  Wilmington.  John,  edu- 
cated at  Davidson  College,  married  Katharine 
Hoke,  and  lives  at  Wilmington.  At  this  date  the 
three  last  named  sons  are  engaged  in  business  in 
the  City  of  Wilmington,  A.  M.  Hall  is  president 
of  the  Wilmington  Grocery  Company,  and  John 
and  Louis  as  officers  in  Hall  &  Pearsall,  Incorpo- 
rated. The  three  daughters  all  completed  their  edu- 
cation in  Wellesley  College  in  Massachusetts. 
Susan  Eliza  is  now  a  missionary  teacher  in  the 
mountain  schools;  Jessie  Dalziel  is  a  foreign  mis- 
sionary in  China ;  Jane  Sprunt  is  a  social  worker, 
both  in  the  City  of  Wilmington  and  in  the  moun- 
tain districts. 

Loris  Edward  Hall.  The  name  Hall  has  been 
one  of  prominence  in  business  circles  of  Blooming- 
ton  for  a  great  many  years.  Louis  Edward  Hall, 
representing  the  second  generation  of  the  family, 
is  a  man  of  university  training,  and  on  leaving 
college  he  entered  the  old  established  wholesale 
grocery  house  with  his  father,  and  is  now  vice 
president  and  general  manager  of  Hall  &  Pearsall 
Company,  Incorporated. 

He  was  born  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
August  4,  1877,  and  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin and  Margaret  Tannahill  (Sprunt)  Hall.  His 
father  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business 
fifty  years  ago.  Louis  E.  Hall  was  educated  in 
Cane  Fear  Academy  and  in  Amy  Bradley  School, 
and  finished  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
He  then  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
wholesale   grocery   business. 

For  one  term  Mr.  Hall  served  in  the  city  coun- 
cil. For  several  years  he  was  vice  president  of 
the  local  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  was  its  presi- 
dent in  1914-15.  He  is  also  former  president  of 
the  Wilmington  Association  of  Credit  Men,  which 
is  affiliated  with  the  National  Credit  Men's  As- 
sociation. Mr.  Hall  is  a  member  of  the  Carolina 
Yacht  Club,  Cape  Fear  Country  Club  and  the  Cape 
Fear  Club.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
First  Presbvterian  Church  until  the  organization 
of  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  in  1917.  This  con- 
gregation has  its  home  in  the  beautiful  building 
at  Fifteenth  and  Market  erected  by  Dr.  James  and 
W.  H.  Sprunt  as  a  memorial  to  their  parents,  who 
are  the  <Tandparents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  Hall  was  made  a  deacon  in  this  church  and  is 
active  in  its  work.  For  eight  years  he  served 
as  second  lieutenant  of  Company  C,  the  Wilmington 
Light  Artillery,  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  the 
State  National  Guard,  and  is  now  on  the  reserved 
list. 

On  April  21,  1908,  he  married  Miss  Eleanor  Wil- 
liams of  Red  Springs,  North  Carolina.  They  have 
two  children:  Margaret  Tannahill  and  William 
Fitzhugh. 

William  Oscar  Howard.  A  Tarboro  lawyer 
with  twenty-five  years  of  active  experience,  Wil- 
liam Oscar  Howard  has  frequently  been  honored 
with  the  more  important  offices  of  county  and  city 
and  has  a  well  secured  reputation  among  the  law- 
yers of  that  section  of  the  state. 

He  was  born  in  Edgecombe  County  November 
19.  1871.  son  of  James  T.  and  Margaret  L. 
(Page)  Howard.  His  father  was  a  well  to  do 
farmer  at  Conetoe.  North  Carol'na. 

He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools, 
in   the  Davis   School   conducted   by  Col.  A.   C.   Da- 


vis, and  took  his  college  work  in  Wake  Forest 
College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1891.  He 
studied  law  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  February,  1893. 
Since  then  he  has  been  looking  after  a  large  gen- 
eral practice  at  Tarboro. 

Mr.  Howard  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina 
Legislature  in  1895.  In  his  home  city  he  served 
as  mayor  two  terms,  as  city  attorney  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  also  as  county  attorney.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Tar  Heel  Club  and  is  a  steward 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

November  6,  1901,  he  married  Miss  Kate  Tay- 
lor, of  Mount  Airy,  North  Carolina.  They  have 
two   children,   Katherine   and   Margaret  Page.' 

William  Archibald  McGirt.  Good  roads,  both 
in  the  county  and  state,  every  movement  connected 
with  the  betterment  and  welfare  of  the  City  of 
Wilmington,  the  success  of  the  democratic  party, 
and  an  important  business  which  has  grown  up 
under  his  hands  in  real  estate  and  insurance,  are 
the  more  important  varied  interests  which  require  . 
the  time  and  energies  of  this  prominent  Wilming- 
ton citizen. 

He  began  his  career  early.  In  fact  he  was  only 
fourteen  when  he  left  public  schools  and  began 
working  in  a  wholesale  dry  goods  house  as  a  clerk. 
He  continued  that  employment  until  he  was  nine- 
teen, and  then  was  connected  with  a  general  com- 
mission firm  and  later  in  business  for  himself.  In 
1914  Mr.  McGirt  established  his  office  for  real 
estate  and  insurance,  and  he  makes  a  specialty  in 
the  handling  of  farm  and  timber  land,  and  repre- 
sents a  number  of  life,  fire  and  other  insurance 
companies. 

He  was  born  at  Wilmington,  December  30,  1884, 
a  son  of  Archibald  Gilchrist  and  Mary  E.  (Bu- 
f ord)    McGirt.     His  father  was  a  merchant. 

Outside  of  his  private  business  affairs  perhaps 
no  other  thing  appeals  more  strongly  to  Mr.  Mc- 
Girt than  the  subject  of  good  roads.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Good  Roads  Commission  of  North 
Carolina,  serving  on  its  executive  board,  and  has 
worked  in  and  out  of  season  for  the  cause  of  good 
roads  in  New  Hanover  County  and  in  behalf  of 
state  highway  construction.  An  object  of  his 
personal  interest  is  the  Wilmington-Goldsboro 
Highway,  the  Wilmington-Charlotte  Highway  and 
the  Wilmington-Federal   Highway. 

Mr.  McGirt  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age  when 
he  began  talking  and  working  in  the  interests  of 
the  democratic  party  and  in  behalf  of  prohibition. 
In  1912  he  was  elected  county  commissioner,  in 
1914  was  made  chairman  of  the  board,  and  in  1916 
was  re-elected.  He  is  also  at  the  head  of  both  the 
countr  and  city  boards  of  health.  In  1912  he 
was  president  of  the  Woodrow  Wilson  Club  of 
Wilmington,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
which  raised  $10,000  in  the  city  for  the  campaign 
fund.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Thirty-Second  Degree 
Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  McGirt  is  president  of  the  Food  Conserva- 
tion Commission  of  New  Hanover  County,  is  on 
the  executive  committee  of  the  War  Savings,  also 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Red 
Cross  of  New  Hanover  County,  is  chairman  of 
the  Rural  Campaign  committee,  and  by  appoint- 
ment by  the  Government,  a  four-minute  man  and 
is  very  active  in  all  affairs  pertaining  to  the  war. 

Frank  Dobbin  Hackett.  Prominent  in  the 
legal    circles    of    Wilkes    County,    Frank    Dobbin 


102 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Hackett,  of  North  Wilkesboro,  occupies  an  honor- 
able position  in  the  ranks  of  his  chosen  profession, 
and  as  a  public-spirited  and  progressive  citizen  is 
active  and  influential  in  city,  county  and  state 
affairs.  He  was  born  June  14,  1857,  on  the  Hackett 
homestead  three  miles  below  North  Wilkesboro,  a 
son  of  Charles  Carroll  Hackett,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred on  the  same  farm  in  1828.  His  grand- 
father, James  Hackett,  was  a  native  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  where  his  father,  Robert  Hackett, 
settled  on  coming  to  this  country  from  Ireland. 

Born  and  educated  in  Ireland,  Robert  Hackett 
became  an  extensive  land  owner  and  a  man  of 
influence.  Becoming  an  apostle  of  revolutionary 
doctrines,  he  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  an  up- 
rising against  the  government,  and,  with  ■  one  of 
his  brothers,  was  arrested,  convicted  and  sentenced 
to  death.  His  wife  bribed  the  jailer,  and  he  was 
allowed  to  escape.  Embarking  on  a  sailing  vessel, 
he  crossed  the  ocean  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
and  after  a  brief  stay  in  that  place  located  in 
the  wilds  of  North  Carolina,  in  the  western  part 
of  the  state.  A  patriotic  citizen,  loyal  to  the  in- 
terests of  his  adopted  home,  he  joined  the  colonists 
in  their  fight  for  freedom  and  participated  with 
his  comrades  in  the  battle  at  King 's  Mountain.  He 
subsequently  met  with  an  accidental  death,  being 
drowned  in  the  French  Broad  River.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  first  wife,  great-grandmother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  Margaret  Sloan. 

James  Hackett,  their  son,  was  born  just  three 
days  after  his  parents  landed  in  Charleston. 
Brought  up  in  North  Carolina,  he  spent  the  earlier 
years  of  his  life  near  Statesville,  Iredell  County, 
and  during  the  War  of  1812  took  an  active  part 
in  many  of  its  engagements.  After  the  war  he 
bought  land  in  Wilkes  County,  not  far  from  North 
Wilkesboro,  and  in  addition  to  farming  engaged 
in  business  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  was 
well  patronized,  erecting  among  other  buildings 
of  note  a  fine  residence  for  General  Wellborn  and 
the  Chapman  Gordon  home  on  Kensington  Heights. 
The  latter  house  has  since  been  moved  from  its 
original  site,  and  is  still  in  good  condition.  Very 
successful  in  all  of  his  operations,  he  bought  land 
at  various  times,  acquiring  title  to  about  1,600 
acres,  including  the  family  home  on  Mulberry 
Creek.  The  maiden  name  of  his  second  wife,  the 
grandmother  of  Mr.  Hackett,  was  Fanny  Isabelle 
Johnson.  She  bore  him  six  children,  Elizabeth, 
James  W.,  Robert  Franklin,  Alexander  L.,  Rich- 
ard Rush  and  Charles  Carroll,  while  by  his  first 
marriage  he  reared  three  children,  Oliver  Perry, 
Joseph  W.  and  William. 

Completing  his  preparatory  studies  in  the  Jones- 
ville  Academy,  Charles  Carroll  Hackett  was  sub- 
sequently graduated  from  Emory  and  Henry  Col- 
lege, after  which  he  began  his  active  career  as  a 
teacher  in  the  private  schools  of  the  state.  During 
the  administration  of  President  Pierce  he  was  in 
the  United  States  Government  employ,  serving  in 
the  bureau  of  equipment,  construction  and  repairs, 
and  during  the  Civil  war  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Home  Guards.  At  the  close  of  the  conflict  he  again 
entered  upon  a  professional  life,  and  for  six  years 
taught  school,  first  in  Jonesville  and  later  at  Swans- 
boro.  Then  resuming  farming  on  Miller's  Creek, 
he  there  continued  his  agricultural  labors  until  his 
death,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years. 

Charles  Carroll  Hackett  married  Jane  Cuthbert 
Sturgis,  who  was  born  in  Thomaston,  Upson 
County,  Georgia,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Joseph  Stur- 
gis, for  many  years  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Georgia.     It.  is  said  that  Judge  Sturgis,  who  was 


acknowledged  as  one  of  the  foremost  judges  of  his 
time,  learned  to  read  after  his  marriage.  The 
Judge 's  father  was  born  and  reared  in  Hungary, 
and  was  an  associate  of  Thaddeus  Sobieski,  a 
Polish  revolutionist,  who  for  political  reasons  was 
forced  to  flee  his  country,  and  came  to  America. 
Mrs.  Charles  C.  Hackett  died  when  but  sixty  years 
old.  She  was  the  mother  of  four  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Frank  Dobbin,  the  special  subject  of  this 
brief  biographical  record;  Joseph  J.,  deceased; 
Charles  Sturgis,  deceased;  and  Richard  Arthur. 

An  ambitious  student  from  his  youth  up,  Frank 
D.  Hackett  under  the  instruction  of  his  father 
acquired  a  sure  foundation  of  broad  general  knowl- 
edge, and  later  studied  law  under  Maj.  H.  Bing- 
ham of  Statesville,  North  Carolina.  In  1890  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  during  the  next  two 
years  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  States- 
ville, this  state.  In  1892  he  moved  to  Bluefield, 
West  Virginia,  where  he  resided  for  some  time.  Re- 
turning to  North  Carolina  in  1894,  Mr.  Hackett 
opened  a  law  office  in  North  Wilkesboro,  where  he 
has  been  in  continuous  practice  ever  since,  his 
clientage  being  large  and  constantly  increasing. 

Mr.  Hackett  married,  in  1883,  Miss  Mary  Alice 
Phillips,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Beaver  Creek 
Township,  Ashe  County,  where  her  father,  George 
H.  Phillips,  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  is  now  living, 
being  an  esteemed  and  highly  respected  citizen  of 
four  score  and  four  years.  During  the  Civil  war 
Mr.  Phillips  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate 
Army.  He  married  for  his  first  wife,  the  mother 
of  Mrs.  Hackett,  Martha  Walters,  who  spent  her 
entire  life  in  Ashe  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hackett 
have  four  children,  namely :  Martha  Jennie,  who 
married  Hugh  Armfield  Craner,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Hugh  A.,  Jr.,  and  Robert  Hackett;  Charles 
W.  married  Bernice  Raoulle  Smith;  Nena  mar- 
ried Dempsey  Wood  Vinson;  and  Frank  D.,  Jr., 
married  Ethel  Lee  Cullens,  of  Hertford  County. 

Religiously  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hackett  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  of 
North  Wilkesboro,  of  which  he  is  a  steward  and 
for  a  number  of  years  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school.  Politically  Mr.  Hackett  has 
been  actively  identified  with  the  democratic  party 
since  casting  his  first  presidential  vote  in  1880  for 
Gen.  W.  S.  Hancock.  Prominent  and  influential  in 
public  affairs,  he  has  served  as  mayor  of  North 
Wilkesboro,  was  a  member  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee of  the  county  in  1915  and  1916;  and  is 
now,  county  auditor.  In  1895  Mr.  Hackett  was 
appointed  special  deputy  collector  of  United  States 
internal  revenue,  and  from  1899  until  1901 
was  assistant  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. In  1903-1905  and  1907  he  served  as  chief 
clerk  of  the  House,  and  1902  and  1903  he  was 
state  bank  examiner.  Fraternally  Mr.  Hackett  is 
a  member  of  Wilkesboro  Lodge  No.  23,  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  past  grand  mas- 
ter of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina.  He 
also  belongs  to  Wilkes  Encampment  No.  9,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Faith  Lodge, 
Daughters  of  Rebekah. 

PAvro  Young  Cooper.  It  not  infrequently 
happens  that  the  life  of  the  individual  becomes 
a  central  feature  of  the  life  of  the  entire  com- 
munity. As  there  is  a  certain  harmony  of  arrange- 
ment and  grouping  in  nature 's  direct  manifesta- 
tions, so  also  human  activities  seem  to  collect  them- 
selves in  proper  order  around  some  central  indi- 
viduality or  institution.  Illustrations  of  this 
are  not  uncommon  in  these  pages.     The  history  of 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


103 


an  individual  is  not  merely  concerned  with  his 
personal  activities,  but  grows  and  broadens  to 
include  many  of  the  chief  interests  of  a  town, 
county  or  even  the  state. 

This  point  of  view  is  necessary  at  the  outset 
in  reading  the  following  sketch  of  David  Young 
Cooper.  It  is  not  merely  a  record  of  his  life,  but 
becomes  an  historical  biography,  reflecting  much 
of  the  spirit  and  of  the  enterprise  which  in  the 
past  forty  or  fifty  years  have  entered  into  and 
made  the  communities  of  Henderson  and  Vance 
counties  what  they  are  today.  The  story  of  his 
personal  life  and  of  the  close  interrelations  with 
the  business  and  civic  institutions  surrounding 
him  are  admirably  told  in  the  words  of  Thomas  M. 
Pittman  and  nothing  is  detracted  from  the  value 
of  that  well  written  sketch  because  it  was  pre- 
pared several  years  ago. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  a 
tide  of  emigration  from  Virginia  was  turned 
toward  Granville  County  in  North  Carolina.  Near 
Grassy  Creek,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
some  sixteen  .miles  from  the  present  county  seat, 
the  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  located  churches 
in  close  proximity,  each  called  Grassy  Creek. 
Around  these  were  formed  settlements  of  thrifty, 
intelligent,  God-fearing  tillers  of  the  soil  who  have 
maintained  a  good  report  for  a  century  and  a 
half.  Here,  near  the  close  of  the  century,  came 
James  Cooper  from  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  gladly 
found  in  the  near  neighborhood  the  Venables, 
Hamiltons,  Steeds  and  others,  men  of  tartan  and 
bag-pipe  ancestry,  followers  of  Calvin  and  Knox. 
And  here  his  son  Alexander  was  born  and  spent 
his  days.  He  was  the  father  of  our  subject.  An 
elder  in  Little  Grassy  Creek  Presbyterian  Church, 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  a  successful  farmer  and 
slave  owner,  honest  and  just,  he  was  respected 
by  his  neighbors  and  noted  for  doing  well  what- 
ever he  undertook.  The  wife  of  Alexander  Cooper 
was  Harriet  J.  Young,  daughter  of  David  J. 
Young,  who  came  to  Granville  County  from  Vir- 
ginia. This  family  was  prominent  and  influential. 
Many  of  its  members  have  won  deserved  recogni- 
tion outside  of  their  social  circles.  Among  such 
may  be  named  William  Hamilton  Young,  lawyer 
and  accomplished  scholar;  Col.  John  D.  Young, 
a  gallant  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army;  Dr. 
Wesley  Young,  the  Oxford  physician;  Col.  I.  J. 
Young,  a  prominent  politician  during  the  period 
following  the  Civil  war ;  and  James  R.  Young, 
insurance  commissioner  of  North  Carolina,  and 
author  of  the  "North  Carolina  Insurance  Law." 
In  this  community  and  of  such  stock  David 
Young  Cooper  was  born  April  21,  1S47.  During 
his  childhood  he  attended  the  country  schools 
near  his  home,  and  when  not  so  engaged  was 
required  with  his  brothers  to  cultivate  parcels  of 
land  allotted  to  them,  that  they  might  learn 
industry  and  respect  for  labor.  On  Sundays  he 
was  required  to  attend  church.  These  early  habits 
of  industry  and  church  attendance  have  continued 
and  greatly  contributed  to  his  usefulness  and 
success.  From  1858  to  1863  he  attended  Horner 
School  at  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  after  which  he 
served  a  year  in  the  Confederate  army. 

In  1867,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  Mr.  Cooper 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  at  his  old 
home:  and  five  years  later  moved  to  Henderson 
and  entered  upon  that  course  of  commercial  enter- 
prise which  has  brought  him  both  wealth  and 
reputation,  and  where  during  the  past  twenty 
years  he  has  influenced  the  life  of  the  community 
in    a    measure    not    attained    bv    anv    other.      In 


cooperation  with  his  uncle,  the  late  J.  Crawford 
Cooper  of  Oxford,  he  inaugurated  the  tobacco 
warehouse  business,  since  known  as  Cooper  's  ware- 
house. He  understood  men,  and  possessed  in  un- 
usual measure  the  elements  of  success.  A  cordial 
and  hearty  friendliness,  untiring  energy,  industry 
that  kept  him  early  and  late  about  his  business, 
close  attention  to  details,  large  comprehension, 
sound  judgment,  an  indomitable  will  and  a  liberal 
and  enterprising  spirit  characterized  his  life  and 
brought  him  phenomenal  success.  He  takes  a 
natural  pride  in  the  fact  that,  although  he  began 
business  with  small  means,  he  has  kept  his  affairs 
so  well  in  hand  that  he  has  never  given  a  note. 
Cooper 's  Warehouse  has  been  twice  driven  into 
larger  quarters.  Mr.  Cooper  built  the  present 
large  brick  warehouse,  well  equipped  for  every 
demand  of  the  trade,  in  1886.  At  that  time  he 
bought  out  the  interests  of  his  uncle  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  continued  it  in  his  own  name  until  1902. 
From  1875  to  1895  Mr.  Cooper  was  probably 
the  largest  seller  of  fine  tobacco  in  the  world. 

By    his    marriage    on    February    24,    1876,    with 
Leah    Hilliard    Perry,    daughter    of    Dr.    Sidney 
Perry   of   Franklin   County,   Mr.   Cooper   added   to 
his    connection    a    group    of    the    most    prominent 
families  in  Franklin,   Nash   and  Warren  counties, 
embracing    such    well    known    names    as    Alston, 
Boddie,     Carr,     Crudup,    Hilliard     and    Williams. 
The  Perrys  were  most  likely  settled  in  old  Gran- 
ville before   the  creation   of  Bute   County.     It   is 
certain  that  they  were  well   known   in   Bute  dur- 
ing    the     Bevolutionary     period,     and     were    long 
distinguished  for   wealth,  refinement,   culture  and 
an  elegant  but  simple  old-time  hospitality.     Mrs. 
Cooper  brought  to  her  new  relation  the  traditional 
characteristics   of   her   family,   and,   we  may  add, 
of  her  county,  and  quickly  created  one  of  the  most 
delightful    homes    in    Henderson.      Her    death    in 
1897    bereaved    the    whole    community,    and    the 
blessings  of  the  poor  followed  her  to   the  grave. 
Four   sons   and  a  daughter   survive   this   marriage. 
Soon  after  entering  business  in  Henderson  Mr. 
Cooper  recognized  the  need  of  a  new  county,   of 
which    Henderson    should   be   the   capital,   and   he 
entered  heartily  into  plans  to  secure  its  creation. 
After  several  failures  an  act  was  finally  obtained 
from    the    General    Assembly    establishing    Vance 
County   from  portions  of  the  old   counties   Frank- 
lin, Granville  and  Warren,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the   qualified  voters   of  the  new  county.     The 
campaign  which  ensued  was  one  of  great  warmth, 
even    bitterness.       The    traditions    of    these    old 
counties    were    treasured    as    a   part    of    the   life 
history    of    many    old    families,    which    they    were 
loath  to  lose.     Their  attachments  and  associations 
centered   around   Louisburg,   Oxford    and   Warren- 
ton,    and    they    fought    to    preserve    them.       The 
younger  men  of  vigor  and  industry,  who  saw  better 
opportunities  for  youth  and   enterprise  in  a  new 
county,    warmly    supported   the   movement.   It   was 
before   the  day  of   the  constitutional   amendment, 
and  the  leaning  of  the   colored   vote,   then   in   the 
majority,  added  to  the  complications  of  the  situa- 
tion.       Among  the  leaders   of  the  movement   were 
Mr.     Cooper,     Col.     I.     J.     Young,     Dr.     W.     T. 
Cheatham,       Harrison       Lassiter,       Col.       Harvie 
Harris   and   James   R.   Young.      The   vote   resulted 
in  favor  of  the  new  county,  and  Henderson  entered 
upon  a  course  of  great  prosperity. 

With  the  rapid  increase  of  his  own  business  and 
wealth,  Mr.  Cooper  developed  fine  capacity  for 
large  enterprises,  which  during  the  past  few 
years  has  led  to  many   demands   for  his  services, 


104 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  most  important  of  which  have  been  in  con- 
nection with  financial  and  industrial  enterprises 
at  his  own  home. 

The  Henderson  Storage  Warehouse  was  the 
first  of  these  enterprises.  Its  significance  was 
not  at  first  apparent  to  casual  observers.  Indeed, 
members  of  the  company  scarcely  realized  its  full 
import.  For  years  it  had  been  customary  to  store 
tobacco  in  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  obtain  ad- 
vances on  warehouse  certificates  in  those  cities,  and 
sell  upon  the  samples  certified  by  their  warehouse 
inspectors.  The  storage  company  largely  trans- 
ferred this  business  to  Henderson.  It  erected  a 
large  warehouse  for  storage,  and  appointed 
Wyndham  E.  Gary,  a  well  known  tobacco  expert, 
as  inspector.  His  certificates  and  samples  were 
accepted  without  question  for  advances  and  sales 
at  home  and  elsewhere.  A  double  purpose  was 
accomplished,  a.  new  and  profitable  line  of  busi- 
ness was  inaugurated,  and  the  financial  interests 
of  the  community  were  coordinated  for  the  first 
time,  opening  the  way  for  co-operation  in  larger 
undertakings.  The  Citizens '  Bank  followed  in 
January,  1889.  Mr.  J.  B.  Owen,  a  young  gentle- 
man of  high  character  and  large  fortune,  came  to 
Henderson  from  Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia, 
and  proposed  the  organization  of  a  bank  with  a 
capital  of  $45,000.  The  only  bank  previous  to 
that  time  was  the  uncapitalized  private  Bank  of 
Henderson.  This  was  soon  absorbed  by  the 
Citizens '  Bank,  which,  until  the  recent  opening 
of  the  First  National  Bank,  furnished  the  entire 
banking  facilities  of  the  community.  It  has  been 
an  eminently  successful  institution,  and  has  now 
a  capital  and  surplus  of  $125,000  with  $450,000 
deposits,  $385,000  loans  and  discounts  and 
$587,000  of  total  resources.  Mr.  Cooper  has  been 
a  director  from  the  time  of  its  organization. 

But  Mr.  Cooper 's  greatest  work  outside  of  his 
tobacco  business  has  been  in  the  creation  of  the 
cotton  manufacturing  interests  of  Henderson. 
The  Henderson  Cotton  Mill  was  organized  in 
1895,  witli  a  capital  of  $90,000,  which  was 
increased  to  $125,000  before  operations  were 
begun,  and  subsequently  to  $240,000.  The  mill 
has  been  enlarged  from  time  to  time  from  its 
earnings.  It  consumed  1,000  bales  of  cotton 
the  first  year  of  its  operation,  and  its  capacity 
has  now  increased  to  10,000  bales.  The 
stock  is  largely  held  in  Henderson,  and  has  steadily 
realized  an  annual  dividend  of  8  per  cent. 
Upon  the  increase  in  stock  there  were  offers  for 
more  than  twice  the  amount  of  the  issue  in  a 
very  short  time.  Mr. -Cooper  has  been  president  of 
the  company  from  the  beginning. 

The  Harriet  Cotton  Mill,  named  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Cooper's  mother,  was  organized  in  1898,  with 
a  capital  of  $240,000,  which  was  increased  to 
$300,000  in  1900.  This  mill  has  al=  >  been  greatly 
enlarged  from  its  earnings,  while  steadily  paying 
its  annual  dividends,  and  consumes  about  $10,000 
bales  of  cotton  annually.  It  also  largely  represents 
local  capital,  and  Mr.  Cooper  has  been  its  only 
president. 

He  has  conducted  the  operations  of  the°e  mills 
with  such  signal  ability  that  he  has  never  had 
occasion  to  leave  Henderson  to  secure  a  dollar  for 
the  use  of  either  enterprise.  The  two  plants  are 
worth  nearly  or  quite  $1,000,000  now,  and 
do  an  annual  business  of  some  million  and  a  half 
dollars.  Mr.  Cooper  claims  these  mills  to  be  the 
largest  producers  and  sellers  of  hosiery  yarns  in 
the  South.  One  important  result  of  their  location 


lias  been  to  greatly  enhance  the  position  of  Hen- 
derson as  a  cotton  market. 

Mr.  Cooper  would  resent  any  claim  that  he 
alone  has  accomplished  these  things.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  there  are  combined  in  any  enterprise  in  the 
state  an  abler  or  more  efficient  body  of  men  than 
are  associated  in  the  Henderson  ventures.  They 
have  accorded  Mr.  Cooper  a  leading  position,  and  . 
he  has  justified  their  confidence. 

It  is  not  unfitting  in  this  connection  to  men- 
tion Mr.  Cooper's  relations  with  those  in  his 
employ.  He  takes  a  deep  personal  interest  in 
their  welfare.  This  is  particularly  noticeable 
in  respect  to  young  men  who  prove  themselves 
capable  and  deserving.  In  nearly  every  instance 
when  he  has  advanced  them  as  far  as  he  can  in 
his  own  business,  he  goes  outside  and  secures 
them  promotion  elsewhere  commensurate  with 
their  deserts.  His  interest  in  the  operatives 
of  his  mills  is  almost  paternal.  He  has  secured 
the  location  of  branches  of  the  Henderson  graded 
school  near  each  mill.  He  has  been  the  largest 
contributor  to  their  churches  and  Sunday  Schools. 
The  fact  that  he  is  an  Episcopalian  and  they 
almost  entirely  Baptists  and  Methodists  seems 
forgotten  on  both  sides.  He  is  as  much  interested 
in  getting  reports  of  the  Sunday  School  work  as 
members  of  their  own  denominations.  On  a  recent 
occasion  when  a  prominent  minister  of  a  leading 
denomination  discredited  the  religious  and  moral 
influence  thrown  around  mill  settlements,  Mr. 
Cooper  drew  from  his  pocket  a  report  of  the 
Sunday  School  of  the  South  Henderson  Baptist 
Church  (Harriet  Mill)  and  challenged  compari- 
son with  any  school  of  that  minister 's  denomina- 
tion in  the  state.  Naturally,  he  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  his  employees. 

While  exerting  his  best  efforts  for  the  develop- 
ment of  home  interests,  Mr.  Cooper  has  not  been 
insensible  to  the  demands  and  opportunities  out- 
side. In  1892  he  was  a  delegate  from  North 
Carolina  to  the  Nicaragua  Canal  Convention  at 
New  Orleans.  Under  the  Hoffman  administration 
he  was  a  director  in  the  Durham  and  Northern 
Railway  Company,  a  director  in  the  Seaboard 
Air  Line  Railway  Company,  and  a  member  of 
the  Finance  Committee  of  the  latter.  He  has 
been  for  some  years  a  director  of  the  Commercial 
and  Farmers  Bank,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  and 
is  interested  in  the  Wachovia  Loan  and  Trust 
Company,  and  many  other  financial  and  industrial 
enterprises  both  in  and  out   of  the  state. 

In  1902,  upon  the  coming  of  age  of  his  two 
elder  sons,  Sydney  P.  and  Alexander,  he  partly 
relieved  himself  of  the  burdens  of  his  warehouse 
business  by  converting  it  into  a  corporation  and 
shifting  much  of  the  labor  upon  their  younger 
shoulders. 

Aside  from  the  large  enterprises  that  have 
been  noted,  Mr.  Cooper  is  concerned  in  nearly  all 
the  public  enterprises  of  Henderson.  He  may 
justly  be  called  the  founder  of  the  Henderson 
graded  schools.  In  1899  he  joined  with  a  few 
other  gentlemen  of  the  town  in  organizing  the 
Central  School  without  legislative  charter  or 
provision  of  law  for  its  support.  They  undertook 
its  support,  the  people  of  the  community  making 
such  contributions  as  they  pleased.  Professor  J. 
T.  Alderman,  formerly  of  this  state  but  then  con- 
nected with  the  public  schools  of  Columbus. 
Georgia,  was  secured  as  superintendent,  and  the 
movement,  was  a  success  from  the  .beginning.  In 
1901  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  establish- 


&^^/< 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


105 


ing  the  school  upon  a  legal  basis  and  providing 
for  its  support.  Mr.  Cooper  was  one  of  the 
original  trustees,  and  upon  the  retirement  of  Dr. 
J.  D.  Huffham,  D.  D.,  succeeded  him  as  president 
of  the  board.  The  school  has  outgrown  its 
present  facilities,  and  a  splendid  lot,  well  loeated, 
has  been  purchased,  upon  which  a  new  building 
will  be  erected  during  the  present  or  coming  rear 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000  or  $25,000.  He  has  'also 
served  the  town  as  a  member  of  its  Board  of 
Internal  Improvements,  but  otherwise  he  has  not 
sought  or  held  any  public   office. 

But  in  common  with  most  representative  men 
of  Henderson,  it  is  his  home  that  most  engages 
his  affections.  In  1898  he  was  joined  in  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Florence  M.  Davis,  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Nicholas  H.  Chavasse,  of  Henderson,  grand- 
daughter of  Sir  Thomas  Chavasse,  an  eminent 
English  surgeon,  niece  of  the  present  Bishop  of 
Liverpool,  England,  »nd  kinswoman  of  George 
Eliot,  the  novelist.  It  is  a  most  congenial  and 
sympathetic  union,  and  their  home  is  a  center  of 
social  life  and  hospitality.  Both  are  deeply 
interested  in  their  church,  the  Episcopal,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  vestryman  and  treasurer  for 
many  years,  and  concern  themselves  actively  in 
its  various  enterprises.  He  was  one  of  the  moving 
spirits  in  acquiring  St.  Mary's  School  for  the 
church  and  has  heen  one  of  its  trustees  from  the 
time   of   its    acquisition. 

Negative  qualities  are  wanting  in  Mr.  Cooper. 
To  be  positive  and  aggressive  is  his  ideal  of  a 
business  man.  In  his  personal  relations  he  is  of 
a  friendly  disposition,  both  approachable  and 
accessible.  He  recognizes  an  obligation  to  the 
community  growing  out  of  his  wealth,  and  is  one 
of  the  first  men  approached  for  aid  to  any  object 
that  appeals  to  public  or  private  beneficence.  He 
is  democratic  by  instinct  as  well  as  conviction, 
because  he  is  interested  in  his  fellowmen.  His 
early  purpose  in  life,  as  stated  by  himself,  was 
"to  become  a.  first-class  business  man,  to  surpass 
my  competitors  by  doing  things  better  than  they 
can,  and  to  be  of  real  service  to  my  community 
and  fellow-men. ' '  How  far  this  has  been 
accomplished  may  be  judged  in  a  measure  from 
the  record  here  given. 

William  Jaoquelix  Boykin.  In  the  business  life 
of  Wilson,  William  Jacquelin  Boykin  has  been  an 
important  factor  since  his  arrival  in  this  city  in 
189.'1!.  During  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  has  been 
identified  with  a  number  of  enterprises,  all  con- 
nected with  the  steady  growth  and  progress  of 
the  commercial  interests  of  the  community,  and 
the  concerns  with  which  he  has  linked  his  name 
have  been  founded  and  maintained  upon  sound 
principles  and  honorable  policies.  His  career  has 
been  characteristic  of  the  men  who  have  assisted 
in  the  locality 's  business  development. 

Mr.  Boykin  was  born  in  the  City  of  Richmond, 
Virginia.  July  12,  1862.  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel 
Henry  and  Frances  (Taylor I  Boykin.  His  father 
was  for  a  number  of  years  prominently  known  in 
public  circles  of  the  Virginia  capital,  where  he 
served  in  the  capacity  of  register  of  land  of  the 
Old  Dominion  State.  The  public  schools  of  his 
native  city  furnished  William  .1.  Boykin  with  his 
educational  training,  and  his  first  experience  in 
a  commercial  way  was  secured  in  the  tobacco  busi- 
ness, which  he  entered  as  a  youth  of  seventeen 
years  and  with  which  he  continued  to  be  con- 
nected until  1904.  In  the  meantime,  in  1893.  he 
came   to   Wilson,   where    he   established   himself   in 


business  as  a  tobacco  leaf  dealer  and  exporter, 
and  until  1902  centered  his  activities  in  this  line 
of  commercial  enterprise.  In  the  year  mentioned 
lie  entered  another  field,  when  he  founded  and  es- 
tablished the  Wilson  Ice  and  Fuel  Company,  of 
which  he  became  secretary,  treasurer  and  gen- 
eral manager.  He  still  retains  these  positions, 
and  since  1904  has  given  his  undivided  attention 
to  the  interests  of  the  company,  having  disposed 
of  his  holdings  in  the  tobacco  industry.  Mr.  Boy- 
kin 's  business  has  been  one  of  sound  and  steady 
advancement,  and  a  gratifying  success  has  re- 
warded his  good  management  and  energetic  labor. 
In  addition  to  the  handling  of  ice  he  deals  also 
in  coal  and  wood,  and  both  departments  have 
grown  commensurately  with  the  growth  of  the 
community.  In  business  circles  he  is  known  as  a 
man  who  can  be  relied  upon  to  observe  a  high 
standard  of  commercial  ethics,  and  in  ventures  in 
which  he  has  been  associated  with  others  his  as- 
sociates have  had  reason  to  feel  secure  in  his  judg- 
ment and  foresight.  Mr.  Boykin  is  a  valued  and 
popular  member  of  the  Country  and  Common- 
wealth clubs.  He  is  a  Mason  in  high  standing, 
and  belongs  to  the  Lodge,  Chapter,  Commandery 
and  Shrine  of  that  order.  He  and  his  family 
belong  to  Saint  Timothy's  Episcopal  Church  of 
Wilson,  and  Mr.  Boykin  now  occupies  the  post 
of  senior  warden. 

On  .Tune  22,  1887,  at  Richmond,  Mr.  Boykin 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Rosa  Harris, 
who  was  born  in  Goochland  County.  Virginia,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter:  Frances, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  Thomas  D.  Meares,  Jr., 
income  tax  inspector  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina, 
for   the   United   States   Government. 

Noah  B.  Kendrick  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
No.  5  Township  near  Waco,  Cleveland  County, 
North  Carolina,  November  22,  1869.  The  date  of 
his  birth  is  of  special  importance  since  it  indicates 
that  period  in  which  his  earlv  youth  was  spent. 
His  father,  Larkin  S.  Kendrick.  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  and  had  given  practically  his  all  to 
the  cause  of  the  South  during  the  war.  With  the 
close  of  that  struggle  his  family,  like  thousands 
of  others,  was  left  in  very  humble  circumstances, 
and  the  father  died  when  Noah  B.  Kendrick  was 
an  infant. 

The  latter 's  earliest  childhood  recollections  re- 
volve around  the  humble  home  and  circumstances 
in  which  the  family  lived.  He  takes  a  great  deal 
of  natural  pride  in  the  little  memento  he  has  in 
the  form  of  a  picture  of  the  dimunitive  log  cabin 
in  which  he  was  born.  Very  early  in  life  he  went 
to  work  to  support  himself,  and  for  that  reason 
was  deprived  of  getting  a  full  extent  of  even  such 
limited  facilities  as  were  offered  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  dav.  This  was  a  period  when  the 
South  was  at  the  lowest  ebb  financially  and  indus- 
trial^, and  Mr.  Kendrick  had  to  overcome  the 
heaw  handicaps  imposed  upon  the  youth  of  that 
e^och.  He  was  given  no  outside  advantages  what- 
ever and  his  individual  success  has  been  achieved 
on  the  score  of  his  native  ability  plus  a  superabun- 
dant energy  and  initiative.  Thus  it  is  possible  to 
give  all  the  more  credit  to  a  man  who  today  is 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  Gaston  Countv  finan- 
cially, a  prominent  merchant  and  manufacturer, 
possessed  of  resources  and  influence,  and  a  leader 
in  civic  and  educational  enterprises.  His  success, 
considering  all  the  conditions,  has  been  nothing 
short  of  phenomenal. 

Mr.  Kendrick 's  mother  was  Margaret   (Putnam) 


106 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Kendrick.  On  his  father 's  side  he  is  descended 
from  English  ancestry  founded  in  America  by 
three  brothers  from  England.  One  of  them  set- 
tled in  Massachusetts,  one  in  Tennessee,  and  the 
third  either  in  South  Carolina  or  Georgia.  It  is 
from  the  latter  that  Noah  B.  Kendrick  is  de- 
scended. 

Mr.  Kendrick  got  his  start  in  a  business  way  at 
Cherryville,  Gaston  County,  his  present  home,  and 
with  which  place  he  has  been  identified  for  many 
years.  In  partnership  with  his  brother,  J.  W. 
Kendrick,  he  is  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Ken- 
drick Mercantile  Company  of  that  place.  They 
also  do  an  extensive  business  in  cotton  buying  and 
are  the  mainsprings  of  much  of  the  business  ac- 
tivity in  this  town.  Mr.  Kendrick  was  one  of 
the  organizers  and  is  still  a  director  of  the  Gaston 
Manufacturing  Company,  a  $200,000  corporation 
operating  one  of  the  best  cotton  mills  in  Gaston 
County.  He  and  his  brother  established  the  first 
telephone  system  at  Cherryville,  which  they  after- 
wards sold  to  the  present  Piedmont  Telephone 
Company.  In  1915  Mr.  Kendrick  established  the 
Kendrick  Brick  and  Tile  Company,  manufacturers 
of  brick,  with  a  large  plant  at  Mount  Holly. 
Since  its  founding  this  plant  has  prospered  under 
the  direction  and  management  of  Mr.  Kendrick. 
He  is  president  of  the  Gaston  Knitting  Mill  at 
Cherryville,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers 
in  1918,  and  is  also  vice  president  of  the  Osage 
Manufacturing  Company  at  Bessemer,  North  Caro- 
lina. In  1917  Mr.  Kendrick  bought  the  first 
Bailie  Ginning  System  in  the  state,  a  system  of 
ginning  unopen  cotton,  which  has  saved  the  far- 
mers in  the  vicinity  over  forty  thousand  dollars 
that  would  otherwise  have  been  an  entire  waste. 

During  the  sessions  of  1909  and  1911  Mr.  Ken- 
drick was  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  Gaston  County. 
One  of  his  chief  interests  in  his  prosperous  career 
has  been  in  forwarding  and  upbuilding  educational 
institutions.  His  own  early  experiences,  when  such 
a  thing  as  popular  education  hardly  existed  in  his 
part  of  the  state,  has  made  him  all  the  more  de- 
termined that  the  youth  of  the  present  generation 
should  have  the  best  possible  provision  for  train- 
ing and  instruction.  It  was  through  his  personal 
initiative,  enterprise  and  effort  that  the  election 
was  called  and  carried  favorably  whereby  taxation 
was  voted  and  the  work  begun  for  the  present 
public  and  high  school  at  Cherryville.  Educational 
authorities  have  pronounced  it  one  of  the  very 
best  educational  institutions  in  North  Carolina. 
Mr.  Kendrick  is  also  a  director  of  the  famous 
Boiling  Springs  High  School  in  Cleveland  County, 
an  institution  outgrowing  fame  and  influence 
maintained  by  the  Sandy  Run  and  King  Mountain 
Baptist  associations. 

On  February  18,  1891,  Mr.  Kendrick  married 
Miss  Margaret  Mauney,  daughter  of  Caleb  Mauney, 
of  Gaston  County.  She  is  a  member  of  the  promi- 
nent family  of  that  name  whose  history  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendrick 
have  seven  living  children:  Bessie,  Gearrie,  Clyde, 
Lela,  Haywood,  Novello  and  Pearl.  The  oldest  of 
these  have  and  are  yet  receiving  the  best  of  col- 
lege and  university  education  in  North  Carolina 
institutions.  The  oldest  son,  Gearrie  L.,  enlisted 
in  the  Aviation  Department  of  the  United  States 
Army  December  13,  1917,  and  is  now  in  Prance. 
The  second  son,  Clyde,  who  has  just  became  twenty- 
one,  will  soon  enter  the  service. 


James  William  Creed  is  one  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  Mount  Airy  in  Surry  County.  He  has 
lived  in  that  locality  all  his  life  and  his  people 
were  among  the  pioneers  of  Surry  County.  His 
birth  occurred  in  Mount  Airy  and  he  is  a  son  of 
the  venerable  Anderson  Creed,  who  is  still  living 
there  and  an  honored  veteran  of  the  war  between 
the  states. 

The  grandfather,  Bennett  Creed,  was  also  born 
in  Surry  County.  He  was  a  farmer  and  millwright. 
The  farm  he  owned  and  occupied  was  about  four 
miles  west  and  somewhat  south  of  Mount  Airy. 
He  gave  active  superintendence  to  his  land  but 
spent  at  least  a  portion  of  each  year  away  from 
home  working  at  his  trade.  Bennett  Creed  married 
Martha  Dunnegan,  who  was  born  in  Dobson  Town- 
ship of  Surry  County,  where  her  parents  were  pio- 
neers. She  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  and  her 
husband  lived  to  be  seventy-two.  Their  four  chil- 
dren were  named  Sally,  Dicey,  Anderson  and  John. 

Anderson  Creed,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  near 
Mount  Airy  in  the  township  of  that  name  in  1839, 
grew  up  and  as  a  youth  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter. In  1861,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Confederate  Army  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  Capt.  L.  J.  Norman.  For  four  years 
he  was  with  his  command  battling  the  forces  of 
the  North,  and  endured  the  hardships  of  number- 
less campaigns,  marches  and  engagements.  With 
the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  farming  and 
made  two  crops,  after  which  he  moved  to  Mount 
Airy  and  found  employment  in  a  tobacco  factory 
during  a  portion  of  each  year,  while  the  rest  of 
the  time  was  spent  working  at  his  trade  as  carpen- 
ter. He  bought  city  property  and  since  the  fall 
of  1866  has  had  his  home  at  Mount  Airy.  However, 
he  has  spent  a  portion  of  his  time  on  his  farm. 
Anderson  Creed  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Martha  Ann  Durham,  who  was  born  in 
Patrick  County,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Henry  Dur- 
ham. She  died  in  1874,  leaving  two  children:  An- 
derson Edward  and  James  William.  The  second 
wife  of  Anderson  Creed  was  Susan  Creed,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Enoch  Creed.  There  were  also  children  by 
the  second  marriage. 

James  William  Creed  as  a  boy  attended  the 
public  schools  at  Mount  Airy.  'Work  and  the 
serious  responsibilities  of  life  were  part  of  his 
earlv  experience  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  -was 
employed  in  a  tobacco  factory  for  a  portion  of 
each  year.  In  December,  1896,  he  began  clerking 
for  J.  D.  Jenkins  in  his  book  store.  In  1904  he 
left  the  book  store  to  take  up  the  lumber  business, 
which  he  continued  2%  years.  He  then  went 
back  to  Mr.  Jenkins  and  was  his  trusted  and 
chief  dependence  in  the  work  of  the  store  until 
the  death  of  Mr.  Jenkins  in  1911.  Mr.  Creed  then 
succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  business,  and 
has  carefully  built  it.  up  to  a  profitable  enterprise. 
He  carries  a  full  line  of  books,  periodicals  and  sta- 
tionery and  has  every  supply  of  that  kind  needed 
by  the  community. 

In  February,  1902,  Mr.  Creed  married  Jessie  D. 
Watkins,  a  daughter  of  F.  C.  and  Fannie  Watkins. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Creed  have  eight  children:  William, 
James,  Clunett,  Jesse.  Edward,  Paul,  Frances  and 
Margie.  Mrs.  Creed  is  a  member  of  the  Friends 
Church.  Mr.  Creed  affiliates  with  Mount  Airy 
Lodee  No.  107  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

Edmund  Strudwick.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
North    Carolina    Medical    Society    in    June,    1907, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


107 


Dr.  H.  A.  Royster  of  Raleigh  read  a  paper  entitled 
Edmund  Strudwick,  Surgeon,  in  which  he  called 
that  pioneer  surgeon  the  most  heroic  figure  so  far 
recorded  in  the  medical  annals  of  North  Carolina. 
It  is  largely  from  that  paper  that  we  are  indebted 
for  the  materials  of  the  following  sketch. 

Edmund  Strudwick  was  born  in  Orange  County, 
North  Carolina,  March  25,  1802,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  at  Hillsboro.  The  scene  of 
his  birth  was  at  Long  Meadows,  only  about  five 
miles  north  of  Hillsboro.  He  was  of  an  old 
established  family  in  that  community  and  his 
father  had  long  been  prominent  in  politics. 

From  the  famous  Elder  Bingham  Dr.  Strud- 
wick received  the  equivalent  of  a  high  school  edu- 
cation, but  did  not  finish,  as  we  are  told,  because 
he  was  ' '  so  impatient  to  begin  the  study  of  the 
science  to  which  nature  seemed  especially  to  have 
called  him  and  which  he  pursued  with  un- 
diminished ardor  literally  to  the  last  moment  of 
his  conscious  existence. ' '  His  medical  studies 
began  under  Dr.  James  Webb,  who  stood  to  him 
almost  as  a  father  and  whose  place  in  the  hearts 
of  his  people  Doctor  Strudwick  subsequently 
rllled.  He  graduated  as  a  Doctor  of  Medicine  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  April  8,  1824. 
Among  his  classmates  were  Dr.  John  K.  Mitchell, 
father  of  S.  Weir  Mitchell.  For  two  years  he 
served  as  resident  physician  in  the  Philadelphia 
Almshouse  and  Charity  Hospital,  and  equipped 
with  this  climical  experience  he  returned  home  in 
1826   and   began   practice   at   Hillsboro. 

Doctor  Strudwick  never  affiliated  with  any 
medical  organization  except  the  Xorth  Carolina 
State  Medical  Society.  He  was  a  charter  member 
and  the  first  president  of  that  society  and  in  his 
election  the  society  honored  itself.  He  continued 
a  lively  interest,  in  the  work  of  the  society  into 
his  last  years,  though  he  practically  never  con- 
tributed  anything  to  its  medical  literature. 

The  character  of  Doctor  Strudwick 's  work  was 
such  as  came  to  every  country  practitioner  in  his 
day.  He  was  apothecary,  physician,  obstetrician, 
surgeon.  And  though  he  performed  those  duties 
as  other  men  had  performed  them  before  him, 
there  seemed  to  stand  out  in  him  something  that 
was  different — above  and  beyond  the  country 
doctor  around  him.  It  was  the  man  behind  the 
physician,  the  strong  mental  and  moral  force 
back  of  his  activity.  Though  Doctor  Strudwick 
was  a  well-rounded  medical  man,  his  forte  was 
surgery,  and,  as  his  biographer  states,  had  he 
lived  in  this  day  and  generation  his  name  would 
be  at  the  top  of  those  who  exclusively  practice 
that  art.  ' '  When  we  consider  the  conditions 
under  which  he  lived  and  labored,  his  work  and 
its  results  were  little  short  of  miraculous.  His 
reputation  was  not  merely  local,  but  during  the 
forties  and  long  afterward  he  was  doing  operations 
in  Raleigh.  Wilmington,  Charlotte,  Greensboro — 
all  the  principal  cities  of  the  state.  Numerous 
patients  were  sent  to  him  also,  some  of  them  from 
long  distances.  There  was  no  general  hospital  in 
the  state  then,  but  he  cared  for  his  cases  some- 
how and  always  gave  them  faithful  attention.  No 
modern  surgeon  in  Xorth  Carolina  has  ever 
attained  to  such  individual  eminence.  Xor  were 
his  results  less  wonderful.  He  attempted  not  only 
the  lesser  cases,  but  also  those  of  magnitude,  and 
this  fact  gives  greater  color  to  the  results."  His 
bioerapher  records  scores  of  operations  for  cata- 
ract by  the  now  obsolete  needle  method  without 
losing  an  eye.     He  was  especially  famous  for  his 


work  in  lithotomy,  and  in  his  time  undoubtedly 
ranked  as  the  leading  lithotomist  of  Xorth  Caro- 
lina. He  performed  many  successful  operations 
of  breast  amputations,  strangulated  hernia  and 
others  that  now  and  always  have  been  classed  as 
major  operations. 

Of  his  personality,  habits  and  tastes  Doctor 
Royster  recalls  many  things  that  will  be  read 
with  interest  by  the  North  Carolina  medical 
fraternity  and  the  public  in  general.  ' '  Doctor 
Strudwick  was  built  in  a  big  mold.  His  soul 
could  not  conceive,  his  mind  could  not  think,  his 
body  could  not  do  a  little  thing.  A  study  of  his 
career  indicates  that  his  ways  were  not  the  ways 
of  the  ordinary  man  either  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession or  out  of  it.  He  was  a  master  of  men. 
And  this  was  not  an  acquirement  of  age,  but  he 
was  all  his  life  a  leader.  His  moral  force  in  the 
community  may  be  shown  by  his  set  determina- 
tion never  to  allow  doctors  to  quarrel.  He  simply 
would  not  let  them  alone  until  peace  was  made. 
A  favorite  way  was  to  invite  the  warring  ones 
to  his  home  on  a  certain  time  without  giving  them 
an  opportunity  to  know  in  advance  that  they  were 
to  meet.  This  done,  he  usually  accomplished  his 
purpose.  He  was  determined  even  to  the  point 
of  stubbornness.  Just  after  the  Civil  war  his 
most  influential  friends  attempted  with  all  their 
power  to  persuade  him  to  take  advantage  of  the 
homestead  law,  which  was  designed  to  permit 
Southern  men  to  save  a  little  during  the  Recon- 
struction pillage — 'but  he  would  not.  Instead  of 
this,  he  sold  everything  to  pay  his  creditors  and 
lived  in  a  two-room  house  without  comforts  until 
he  died. 

' '  In  personal  appearance  Doctor  Strudwick  was 
attractive.  He  was  exceedingly  active  and  actually 
up  to  his  final  hours  his  energy  was  comparable 
to  that  of  a  dynamo.  There  was  about  him  an 
intensity  that  was  of  itself  commanding  and  over- 
powering. Underneath  this  exterior  of  rough 
force  was  a  suppressed  temperament  that  came 
from  a  humane  and  sympathetic  heart,  and  that, 
let  forth,  was  as  gentle  as  the  outward  manner  was 
firm.  He   never  neglected  a  case.     No 

matter  how  insignificant  the  ease,  how  poor  the 
patient,  how  far  the  ride,  he  pursued  it  with  the 
same  zest.  He  never  stopped  for  inclement  weather 
or  swollen  streams.  He  braved  the  former  and 
swam  the  latter.  Obstacles  only  seemed  to  increase 
his  zeal  to  press  onward.  His  healthy  body  was  a 
boon  to  Doctor  Strudwick.  Xever  but  once  in  the 
working  period  of  his  existence  was  he  sick.  This 
fine  condition  was  aided  also  by  his  simple  habits. 
He  was  not  a  big  eater,  and  was  extremely  temper- 
ate. An  oft  repeated  saying  was  'I  have  never 
swallowed  anything  that  I  heard  of  afterwards.' 
He  also  had  the  gift  of  taking  'cat-naps'  at  any 
time  or  place.  He  frequently  slept  in  his  chair. 
He  was  an  early  riser  his  life  long,  the  year 
around.  One  of  his  invariable  rules — which 
illustrates  the  sort  of  stuff  of  which  he  was  made 
— was  to  smoke  six  pipefulls  of  tobacco  every 
morning  after  breakfast.  He  was  a  most  insatiate 
consumer  of  tobacco,  being  practically  never  free 
from   its   influence. 

' '  In  politics  Doctor  Strudwick  was  an  ardent 
whig,  though  he  never  sought  nor  held  publie 
office.  In  religion  he  professed  the  creed  of  the 
Presbyterians  and  was  an  elder  in  the  church. 
His  interest  in  life  and  its  affairs  was  forever 
keen  and  live,  particularly  in  any  project  for  the 
public  good.     He  was  everybody 's  friend  and  an 


108 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


absolute  paragon  of  cheerfulness.  Even  during 
his  sudden  reverse  of  fortune  his  optimism  never 
left  him." 

What  Doctor  Eoyster  regarded  as  the  crowning 
incident  in  his  history  occurred  when  he  was  nearly 
sixty  years  of  age.  ' '  He  was  called  to  a  neighbor- 
ing county  to  perform  an  operation.  Leaving 
Hillsboro  by  rail  he  arrived  at  his  station  about 
midnight  and  was  met  by  the  physician  who  had 
summoned  him.  Together  they  got  immediately 
into  a  buggy  and  set  out  for  the  patient 's  house 
six  miles  in  the  country.  It  was  dark  and  cold, 
the  road  was  rough,  the  horse  became  frightened 
at  some  object,  ran  away,  upset  the  buggy  and 
threw  the  occupants  out,  stunning  the  country 
doctor  and  breaking  Doctor  Strudwick's  leg  just 
above  the  ankle.  The  latter  after  recovering 
crawled  to  the  side  of  the  road  and  sat  with  his 
back  against  a  tree.  In  the  meantime  the  other 
physician  had  managed  to  get  into  the  buggy, 
drove  to  the  patient 's  home,  where  for  a  time  he 
could  give  no  account  of  himself  or  his  com- 
panion. Coming  out  of  his  stupor  he  faintly 
remembered  the  occurrence  and  at  once  dispatched 
a  messenger  to  the  scene  of  the  accident.  Doctor 
Strudwick  was  still  leaning  against  the  tree.  He 
got  in,  drove  to  the  house  without  allowing  his 
own  lee  to  be  dressed,  and  sitting  on  the  bed 
operated  upon  the  patient  for  strangulated  hernia 
with  a  successful  result. 

"What  an  inspiration  is  the  life  of  such  a  man. 
Viewing  it  even  from  afar  one  cannot  help  seeing 
the  sublime  soul  that  was  back  of  it  all.  He 
would  have  been  no  uncommon  man  in  any  age, 
in  any  place.  It  is  to  his  surgical  skill  that 
extraordinary  tribute  must  be  mid.  Were  he 
living  today,  Edmund  Strudwick  would  be  the 
sursncal  Sampson  of  our  state.  Indeed,  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  of  us  equal  him  in  the  work  with 
he  essayed  to  do.  In  these  days  of  wide  possi- 
bilities his  fame  as  a  specialist  in  surgery  would 
rank  high.  Such  estimates  are  not  overdrawn, 
for  Doctor  Strudwick 's  position  in  his  period  was 
such  as  to  admit  of  them  and  more." 

In  1828,  two  years  after  beginning  practice, 
Doctor  Strudwick  married  Ann  Nash,  whom  he 
survived  two  vears.  They  had  five  children,  two 
daughters  and  three  sons,  both  daughters  dying 
in  infancy.  Of  the  sons,  Frederick  N.  became  a 
well  known  lawyer,  having  been  solicitor  of  the 
Fifth  District  and  stood  high  in  his  profession 
before  his  death.  The  other  two  sons  both 
followed  their  father 's  profession.  The  youngest, 
Dr.  Edmund  Strudwick,  Jr.,  practiced  success- 
fully at  Dayton,  Alabama,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine. 

The  oldest  son,  Dr.  William  Strudwick,  gained 
a  substantial  position  in  his  father 's  profession 
and  followed  it  for  manv  years  in  the  same  com- 
munity, at  Hillsboro.  He  died  there  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven,  the  same  age  at  which  his 
father  had  passed  away.  He  was  noted  as  a 
fluent  conversationalist,  a  gracious  host  and  a  rare 
example  of  the  doctor  of  the  old  school. 

Shepperd  Strudwick,  a  resident  of  Hillsboro 
for  many  years,  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  banking,  industrial,  and  much  of  the  import- 
ant business  and  public  spirited  activities  of  that 
town  and  of  Orange  County. 

While  Mr.  Strudwick  has  been  essentially  a 
business  man,  he  represents  a  very  prominent 
family  of  professional  people.  He  is  a  grandson 
of  the  eminent  pioneer  surgeon  of  North  Carolina, 


Dr.  Edmund  Strudwick,  whose  career  in  the  sub- 
ject of  a  separate  article  on  other  pages.  His 
father  was  also  a  prominent  physician.  Shepperd 
Strudwick  was  born  at  Hillsboro  November  15, 
1868,  son  of  Dr.  William  Samuel  and  Caroline 
(Walters)  Strudwick.  His  mother  was  of  a  prom- 
inent family  of  the  Cape  Fear  district  of  North 
Carolina.  Shepperd  Strudwick  was  educated  at 
first  in  a  private  school,  spent  two  years  in 
Horner's  School  at  Oxford,  and  then  entered  the 
cotton  offices  of  Eoyster  &  Strudwick.  A  year 
later  he  became  bookkeeper  for  some  cotton 
factors,  and  from  1885  to  1895  was  engaged  in 
the  fertilizer  and  chemical  industry.  He  spent 
three  years  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  handling 
chemicals  and  fertilizing  materials  and  another 
three  years  was  located  at  Mount  Pleasant, 
Tennessee,  wncre  he  elm  practically  a  pioneer  work 
in  developing  phosphate  mines,  being  secretary  of 
the  International  Phosphate  Company.  Selling 
out  his  interests  there  he  returned  to  his  native 
city  of  Hillsboro  and  in  1905  organized  the  Bank 
of  Orange,  of  which  he  has  since  been  a  director. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bellvue 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  whicli  he  is  president, 
and  is  a  director  of  the  Orange  Trust  Company. 
Mr.  Strudwick'  has  served  as  town  commissioner 
and  for  several  years  was  chairman  of  the  Good 
Roads  Committee  and  deserves  considerable  credit 
for  the  results  already  achieved  in  the  construc- 
tion of  improved  highways  in  that  part  of  the 
state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Orange  County 
National  Council  for  Detense.  Mr.  Strudwick  is 
a  charter  member  and  director  of  the  Commercial 
Club  and  is  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church. 
June  20,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Susan  Read, 
of  Farmville,  Virginia.  They  have  three  living 
children:  Clement  Read,  Shepperd,  Jr.,  and  Ed- 
mund. 

Simon  Justus  Everett,  of  Greenville,  is  a  law- 
yer by  profession,  but  is  in  spirit  and  energy  a 
practical  business  man,  and  has  gained  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  citizen  who  touches  nothing  in  a 
business  way  that  he  does  not  vitalize  and  benefit. 
While  a  man  of  many  varied  interests,  he  handles 
them  all  apparently  with  the  ease  and  efficiency 
that  most  men  have  difficulty  in  equalling  in  a 
single  undertaking. 

Mr.  Everett  was  born  at  Hamilton,  Martin 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  4,  1877,  a  son  of 
Justus  and  Elizabeth  Margaret  (Purvis)  Everett. 
His  father,  who  died  in  March,  1914,  was  a  far- 
mer, planter,  banker  and  merchant,  and  a  man 
of  wide  prominence  in  his  section  of  the  state. 
He  filled  various  public  offices  and  was  a  com- 
missioner and  justice  of  the  peace  of  Martin 
County. 

Member  of  a  family  of  means,  Simon  Justus 
Everett  was  liberally  educated,  attending  the  Ham- 
ilton High  School,  'the  Vine  Hill  Male  Academy 
at  Scotland  Neck,  and  in  1902  graduated  A.  B. 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  also 
studied  law  there,  and  spent  one  summer  as  a 
law  student  in  Columbia  University  of  New  Tork. 
He  was  licensed  to  practice  in  August,  1904,  and 
has  been  a  practicing  attornev  since  January,  1905. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  taught  in  high  schools  at 
Monroe  and  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  and  for  a 
time  edited  the  Enterprise  at  Williamston,  North 
Carolina.  Mr.  Everett  was  a  resident  of  Wil- 
liamston until  1910,  when  he  removed  to  Greenville 
and  in  this  city  has  since  directed  his  many  inter- 
ests and   affairs.     Professionally   he   is  a   general 


^^^-^-C^L^V 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


109 


practitioner,  but  is  also  attorney  for  several  banks, 
cotton  mills  and  the  County  of  Pitt. 

He  is  a  director  of  the  Greenville  Cotton  Mill, 
the  Greenville  Banking  and  Trust  Company,  the 
Bank  of  Oak  City  at  Oak  City,  North  Carolina, 
the  Planters  Bank  at  Stokes,  and  organized  both 
of  the  latter  institutions  and  also  was  instrumental 
in  the  reorganization  of  the  Greenville  Bank  and 
Trust  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Greenville  Cotton  Mills.  Mr.  Everett  is  also 
president  of  the  Everett  Estate,  Incorporated,  for 
the  handling  of  his  father 's  property.  He  also 
has  farming  and  real  estate  interests. 

In  a  public  way  he  is  chairman  of  the  County 
Board  of  Elections  for  Pitt  County,  and  of  the 
Pitt  County  Federal  Fool  Administration  of  Pitt 
County,  but  anything  that  concerns  the  vital  wel- 
fare of  his  home  community  is  a  matter  of  direct 
concern  to  Mr.  Everett.  He  is  chairman  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Winterville  High  School, 
and  is  chairman  of  the  building  committee  which 
is  erecting  a  handsome  $30,000  home  for  the 
Emanuel  Baptist  Church  at  Greenville.  Mr.  Ever- 
ett is  a  member  of  the  American  Bar  Association 
and  the  Commercial  Law  League  of  America,  is 
affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order,  and  in  polities 
is  a  democrat. 

On  January  1,  1907,  at  Scotland  Neck,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Margaret  Whitmore  Shields,  daughter  of 
James  G.  and  Margaret  Shields.  Her  father  was 
a  Confederate  soldier,  afterwards  followed  farm- 
ing, and  was  a  man  of  large  means.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Everett  have  two  children:  Simon  Justus 
Everett,  Jr.,  born  October  12,  1907;  and  Margaret 
Shields  Everett,  born  April  2,  1914.  In  the  matter 
of  ancestry  Mr.  Everett  is  of  English  descent. 
His  father 's  forefathers  came  from  England  and 
landed  in  Massachusetts  prior  to  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  since  then  the  people  of  the  name  have 
become  distributed  throughout  that  state,  Virginia, 
and  North  Carolina. 

Thomas  Finch  Pettus.  During  the  twelve 
years  of  its  existence  the  buggy,  wagon,  harness, 
bicycle  and  implement  business  of  the  T.  F. 
Pettus  Company  has  grown  from  a  commercial 
venture  of  small  proportions  to  the  position  of 
being  a  necessary  business  adjunct  of  the  City 
of  Wilson,  where,  in  its  enlargement  and  exten- 
sion, it  has  kept  pace  wtih  the  rapid  develop- 
ment, of  this  thriving  City  of  Wilson  County.  The 
founder  and  owner  of  this  business,  Thomas  Finch 
Pettus,  is  a  man  who  has  made  his  own  oppor- 
tunities in  the  business  world,  and  who  has  not 
been  content  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  his  own 
interests,  for  a  large  share  of  his  energies  have 
been  diverted  to  the  furtherance  of  the  com- 
munity 's   welfare. 

Mr.  Pettus  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  County, 
Virginia,  April  13,  1876,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
Finch  and  Mary  (Jeffress)  Pettus.  His  parents 
were  agricultural  people,  and  the  youth,  while 
growing  up  on  the  farm,  secured  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  country  schools,  this  later  being  sup- 
plemented by  a  three-months  commercial  course 
in  a  business  college  in  Richmond,  Virginia.  With 
this  latter  training  he  was  qualified  for  en- 
trance into  business  life,  and  when  a  young  man 
he  gave  up  all  idea  of  following  an  agricultural 
career,  starting,  instead,  in  the  leaf  tobacco 
business,  as  bookkeeper  for  a  concern  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  home.  On  reaching  his  majority, 
in  1897.  he  came  to  Wilson,  where  he  accepted 
a  position  with  one  of  the  enterprises  which  were 


entering  the  tobacco  field  here,  and  after  spend- 
ing several  years  as  bookkeeper  was  advanced  to 
tne  post  ot  buyer,  which  he  neid  until  1905.  Mr. 
Pettus,  however,  was  not  satisfied  to  remain  as 
an  employe,  and  in  1905  became  the  proprietor 
of  a  business  of  his  own  when  he  founded  the 
T.  F.  Pettus  Company.  His  capital  was  not  large 
at  the  start,  but  his  energy  was  great,  his  de- 
termination strong  and  his  ambition  boundless, 
and  through  industry  and  able  management  of 
his  affairs  ne  soon  found  himself  in  possession  of 
a  gratifying  prosperous  enterprise.  As  a  re- 
ward for  his  hard  and  persistent  work  his  estab- 
lishment has  grown  and  developed  to  important 
proportions,  and  is  now  one  of  the  leading  firms 
of  Wilson  County  dealing  in  wagons,  buggies, 
harness,  bicycles  and  farm  implements.  He  car- 
ries a  full  line  of  modern  goods  in  his  field,  and 
is  the  representative  here  of  some  of  the  leading 
manufacturing  concerns.  He  is  also  interested 
in    the    Hackney    Wagon    Company. 

Since  entering  business  affairs  on  his  own  ac- 
count, Mr.  Pettus  has  steadfastly  been  one  of 
the  most  helpful  factors  in  the  foundiug  and 
maintenance  of  organizations  which  have  con- 
tributed to  Wilson 's  commercial  prestige.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wilson  Rotary 
Club,  an  association  of  leading  business  men,  of 
which  he  has  been  president  since  its  inception. 
He  has  also  been  treasurer  and  a  director  of 
the  Wilson  Merchants '  Association  since  its  or- 
ganization, and  has  been  a  director  of  the  Wil- 
son Chamber  of  Commerce  since  1910.  His  serv- 
ices have  always  been  at  the  command  of  move- 
ments which  have  promised  to  benefit  trade  and 
commerce,  and  public-spirited  movements  of  a 
civic  nature  have  found  him  not  lacking  in  his 
support.  One  of  the  organizers  of  the  Planters 
Bank,  he  has  held  a  position  in  its  directory 
since  the  commencement  of  business  by  this  in- 
stitution.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Country  Club. 

Mr.  Pettus  was  married  April  23,  1902,  to  Miss 
Sue  Egerton  Blount,  daughter  of  George  and  Sal- 
lie  Blount,  of  Wilson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pettus  are 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  of  which 
Mr.  Pettus  has  been  clerk  and  deacon  since  1905. 

Judge  Robert  W.  Winston.  As  an  example  of 
the  great  and  good  lawyer  being  one  of  the  forces 
that  move  and  control  society,  North  Carolina  can 
offer  none  better  than  the  life  and  character  of 
Judge  R.  W.  Winston  of  Raleigh. 

As  a  terse  and  dignified  estimate  of  his  career 
the  words  used  when  Wake  Forest  College  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  LL.  B.  are  especially  appro- 
priate :  ' '  Robert  W.  Winston,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina;  an  eloquent  speaker; 
a  brilliant  lawyer;  an  intrepid  judge;  a  cultured 
and  patriotic  citizen,  with  varied  gifts  and  cosmo- 
politan interests;  in  season  and  out  of  season  giv- 
ing himself  without  stint  and  with  marvelous  effect 
to  constructive  work  of  his  state  and  his  people. 
It  is  my  privilege  to  present  this  loyal  and  distin- 
guished son  of  our  commonwealth  for  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws." 

Robert  W.  Winston  was  born  in  Windsor,  North 
Carolina,  in  September,  1860.  After  completing  his 
education  at  the  Horner  School  and  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  he  began  practice  at 
Oxford,  where  he  was  a  partner  of  Judge  A.  W. 
Graham.  In  1885  he  served  as  state  senator,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  was  elevated  to  the  Su- 
perior Court  bench.  He  left  the  bench  in  1895  to 
locate  in  -Durham,  where  he  was  associated  with 


110 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


W.  W.  and  Frank  L.  Fuller,  his  kinsmen,  and  after- 
wards was  a  partner  of  V.  S.  Bryant.  On  coming 
to  Raleigh  in  1909  Judge  Winston  became  asso- 
ciated in  practice  with  his  former  friend  and  college 
mate  Gov.  Charles  B.  Aycock.  After  the  death  of 
Governor  Aycock  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Judge  J.  Crawford  Biggs. 

In  the  volume  and  quality  of  his  practice  he  is 
without  doubt  one  of  the  strongest  members  of  the 
bar  in  the  South.  He  is  the  trusted  counsel  for 
many  banks,  insurance  companies  and  corporations. 
His  advice  has  been  extensively  sought  in  the  set- 
tlement of  large  estates  and  in  great  financial 
transactions.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  note 
that  some  of  his  first  clients  in  Granville  and 
Orange  counties  still  employ  his  legal  services.  He 
does  a  general  practice,  and  for  years  it  has  been 
his  rule  not  to  prosecute  any  litigation  in  the  courts 
in  which  his  will  and  conscience  do  not  approve. 
His  practice  extends  from  the  Trial  Court  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  through  all  the  United  States 
eourts. 

Judge  Winston   has   had  active   and   influential 
associations    with    all    the    larger    movements    for 
progress   in   North    Carolina.      He   has   served   as 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  Literary  and  His- 
torical Association,  is  a  member  of  the  North  Car- 
olina Bar  Association  and  the  National  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, and  through  these  and  other  organizations 
has   accepted  many   opportunities   to    address   the 
people  of  the  South  and  further  the  cause  of  im- 
provement  and   enlightenment.     Many   of  his   ad- 
dresses have  served  a  vital  purpose  in  increasing 
state  pride,  in  broadening  the  movement  for   the 
public   welfare,   and   he   has   been    and   is    closely 
interested  in  the  work  of  the  public  schools,  in  the 
facilitation  and  improvement  of  court  methods,  in 
good   roads,   in    encouraging   a  conscience   in   our 
literature,  and  in  all  those  more  modern  improve- 
ments which  affect  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
the  rural  districts.     His  home  life  has  been  ideal 
and  it  has  been  shared  with  a  host  of  friends.    His 
residence  on  Blount  Street  in  Raleigh  has  been  the 
center    where    men    and    women    of    literary    and 
musical  talents  gather  for  recreation  and  pleasure. 
Judge  Winston  suffered  a  great  bereavement  four 
years   ago  in   the  death   of   his  beloved  wife  and 
companion.     He  is  the  father  of  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.     James  H.   Winston,   his   oldest  child, 
has  gained  distinction  in  the  bar  in  the   City  of 
Chicago,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  one  of  the 
foremost    firms    of    that    city,    Winston,    Payne, 
Strawn  &  Shaw.     His  second  son,  R.  W.  Winston, 
Jr.,  is  also  a  young  attorney  and  a  captain  now 
preparing  to  join  the  forees  of  freedom  in  Europe. 
The   daughters    are   Miss    Gertrude,   who    married 
Frank  B.  Webb,  of  Durham;  and  Miss  Amy,  wife 
of  Watts  Carr,  living  at  Durham,  North  Carolina. 
Since  the  United   States  entered  the  great  war 
Judge  Winston  has  thrown  his  time  and  means  in 
with  his  country's.     He  has  canvassed  for  Liberty 
bonds  and  in  other  ways  has  done  his  part.  His  son 
Robert  W.  resigned  a  ' '  bomb  proof ' '  place  as  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  Legislature  to  join 
the  forces  being  now  a  captain  of  the  Field  Ar- 
tillery. 

Paul  Cameron  Graham  is  a  lawyer  at  Durham. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  bar 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  is  widely  known 
in  several  counties  of  the  state.  Mr.  Graham  has 
enjoyed  some  very  distinctive  places  of  trust  and 
responsibility  which  are  marks  of  thorough  public 
esteem    and    confidence    and    an    opportunity    for 


public    spirited    service    more    than    any    personal 
emoluments. 

Mr.  Graham  was  born  December  5,  1869,  son 
of  John  Washington  and  Kebecca  B.  (Cameron) 
Graham.  He  comes  of  a  prominent  old  family  of 
the  state.  His  grandfather,  Gen.  Joseph  Granam, 
was  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army  and  as 
commander  of  North  Carolina  troops  took  part 
in  some  of  the  battles  of  the  Revolution  fought 
around  Charlotte.  Mr.  Graham  through  his 
mother  is  a  great-grandson  of  a  chief  justice  of 
North  Carolina  and  one  of  the  eminent  lawyers 
of  his  time  in  the  United  States.  John  W.  Gra- 
ham, his  father,  was  for  many  years  a  successful 
attorney  at  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina. 

Paul  C.  Graham  received  his  early  education 
in  private  schools,  attended  Fray  and  Morton 
Academy  at  Baleigh,  and  from  1887  to  1891  was 
a  student  in  the  literary  and  law  departments  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  September,  1892,  and  then 
returned  to  Hillsboro  and  became  a  partner  with 
his  father  in  the  firm  of  Graham  &  Graham.  In 
January,  1895,  he  removed  to  Oxford,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  January,  1897,  came  to  Durham, 
where  he  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  bar  for 
the  past  twenty  years.  During  the  first  year  the 
firm  was  Graham,  Green  &  Graham,  until  the 
death  of  Mr.  Fred  Green.  Since  then  it  has  been 
Graham  &  Graham. 

Mr.  Graham  served  as  chairman  of  the  County 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  during  the  Con- 
stitutional amendment  campaign  of  1900.  From 
1901  to  1905  he  was  county  attorney,  and  dur- 
ing the  same  period  was  member  of  tne  Board  of 
Education  of  Durham  County.  From  May,  1905, 
to  May,  1909,  he  filled  the  office  of  mayor  of  Dur- 
ham for  two  terms.  He  is  now  in  his  third 
successive  term  as  recorder  of  the  Recorder 's 
Court  at  Durham,  having  begun  his  first  term  in 
January,  1915,  and  his  third  in  January,  1918. 
Mr.  Graham  is  an  active  member  and  former 
vestryman  of  St.  Philip's  Episcopal  Church. 

November  19,  1901,  he  married  Mary  Courtenay 
Chestney  of  Macon,  Georgia.  Mrs.  Graham  is  a 
daughter  of  Major  Theodore  O.  and  Kate  P. 
(Murphey)  Chestney,  her  father  a  prominent 
Georgia  banker.  Her  great-grandfather  was  Archi- 
bald Debow,  and  she  is  a  granddaughter  of  Capt. 
Peter  Umstead  Murphey,  one  of  the  gallant  naval 
commanders  of  the  Confederacy.  He  was  com- 
mander of  the  Confederate  Man  of  War  Selma, 
and  was  captured  during  the  battle  of  Mobile 
Bay.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham  have  one  daughter, 
Kate  Chestney  Graham. 

Solomon  Gallert,  a  resident  of  North  Caro- 
lina since  1890,  is  a  northern  man  by  birth  and 
training.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  his  name 
and  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  leader  in  public 
affairs  have  been  steadily  growing,  and  he  is  well 
known  over  the  state  as  well  as  in  his  home  Town 
of  Rutherfordton. 

Mr.  Gallert  was  born  at  Waterville,  Maine,  Oc- 
tober 19,  1868,  son  of  a  substantial  merchant  of 
that  place,  David  Gallert,  and  his  wife,  Rosalie 
Gallert.  Solomon  Gallert  prepared  for  college  in 
the  Waterville  Classical  Institute.  In  1888  he 
graduated  from  Colby  University,  now  Colby  Col- 
lege. Following  his  collegiate  career  he  had  some 
interesting  experience  in  journalism,  being  staff 
correspondent  for  the  Boston  Globe  in  1889,  and 
for  the  Boston  Advertiser  in  1890.  From  there 
lie   came   to   Rutherford   County,   North   Carolina, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


111 


and  for  several  years  was  engaged  in  lumbering 
and  gold  mining.'  He  had  in  the  meantime  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  North  Carolina  Bar 
in  September,  1893.  For  fourteen  months  he  was 
a  partner  with  J.  A.  Forney,  until  the  latter 's 
death  in  December,  1894.  Since  then  he  has  con- 
ducted a  general  practice  alone,  and  besides  his 
large  private  clientage  has  served  for  many  years 
as  county  or  city  attorney.  In  1907  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  almost  con- 
tinuously since  1896  has  been  a  member  of  the 
State  Democratic  Committee.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  at  Kansas 
City  in  1900,  and  to  that  at  Denver,  Colorado,  in 
19H8. 

Mr.  Gallert  served  as  commissary  general  on  the 
military  staff  of  Governors  Aycoek  and  Glenn.  He 
is  an  active  member  and  also  a  student  of  Mason- 
ry and  gives  much  of  his  time  to  that  order.  He 
is  a  Thirty-Second  Degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason, 
and  as  a  Shriner  was  chosen  representative  to  the 
Imperial  Council  of  the  Shrine  of  North  America. 
He  is  also  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  past  counsellor  of  the  Junior  Order 
United  American  Mechanics,  and  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Phi  Delta 
Theta  college  fraternity. 

Samuel  Sanders  Toler.  Of  the  contracting 
builders  of  wide  and  well-established  reputations 
who  have  contributed  much  to  the  past  of  Rocky 
Mount,  and  who,  because  of  their  superior  per- 
sonal equipment  and  progressive  ideas,  may  be 
counted  on  to  share  in  the  development  of  the 
future,  particular  mention  is  due  Samuel  Sanders 
Toler.  The  trade  of  building,  of  housing  the 
people  and  enterprises  which  make  up  a  com- 
munity, is  not  only  one  of  the  oldest  known  to 
man,  but  its  ranks  have  included  a  far  greater 
number  than  those  of  any  other  kind  of  skilled 
labor.  There  is  no  place  in  the  civilized  world 
where  the  builder  is  not  an  absolute  necessity, 
and  as  the  possibilities  of  the  calling  include  few 
cross-cuts  to  wealth  and  influence,  its  followers  al- 
most invariably  are  men  of  moderate  and  tem- 
perate habits,  calm  judgment  and  patient  indus- 
try. Possessing  genuine  ability  in  his  line  of 
work,  the  journeyman  advances  to  the  highest 
compensations  of  his  calling,  in  which  event  the 
remuneration  often  places  him  on  a  financial  basis 
at  par  with  successful  men  in  other  avenues  of 
business  endeavor.  Mr.  Toler  undoubtedly  be- 
longs to  the  most  skilled,  capable  and  intelli- 
gent class  of  contracting  builders,  and  evidence 
of  his  ability  and  good  workmanship  abound  on 
every  side  at  Rocky  Mount,  although  his  opera- 
tions have  also  taken  him  to  numerous  other  com- 
munities throughout  the  southeastern  states,  from 
Delaware  to  Florida. 

Samuel  Sanders  Toler  was  born  in  Johnston 
County,  North  Carolina,  February  22,  1867,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Nathan  and  Dizy  (Stevens)  Toler. 
His  parents  were  farming  people  and  he  remained 
on  the  home  place  until  he  was  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  in  the  meantime  securing  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  and  at  Fremont  Mil- 
itary Institute.  As  a  young  man  he  mastered 
the  carpenter  trade,  and  when  he  left  the  home- 
stead came  to  Rocky  Mount,  where  he  accepted 
a  position  with  D.  J.  Rose,  a  contractor  and 
builder  of  standing  here,  who  took  him  into  part- 
nership in  1900,  under  the  firm  style  of  D.  J. 
Rose  &  Company.     During  the  ten  years  that  this 


association  continued  in  existence  the  reputation 
of  the  firm  extended  all  over  this  section,  Mr. 
Toler  being  usually  in  charge  of  the  construction 
end  of  the  business,  in  which  capacity  he  built 
the  shops  at  South  Rocky  Mount,  the  Hales  & 
Edwards  Building,  the  residence  of  Judge  Taylor, 
the  Masonic  Temple,  the  Bank  of  Rocisy  MOuut 
Building,  the  Shore  Building,  the  store  of  W.  D. 
and  O.  A.  Cochran,  the  Ricks  Hotel,  the  Cam- 
bridge Hotel,  and  numerous  other  structures; 
factories  lor  the  F.  S.  Royster  Guano  Company, 
the  works  of  the  Button  Phosphate  Company  at 
Jacksonville,  Florida,  and  numbers  of  buildings 
the  completion  of  which  called  tor  the  expendi- 
ture of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  In 
1910  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  since 
that  time  Mr.  Toler  has  continued  alone,  his  op- 
erations as  a  contractor  having  gained  him  a 
position  among  the  foremost  men  in  his  line  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  He  built,  among  others, 
the  \  oung  Men 's  Christian  Association  Building, 
the  Textile  Building,  the  buildings  of  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  at  Raleigh,  and 
the  residences  of  Dr.  J.  P.  Battle,  T.  W.  Cole- 
man and  J.  W.  Hines.  A  writer,  in  comment- 
ing upon  Mr.  Toler 's  success,  has  said:  "In 
every  case,  Mr.  Toler  has  conclusively  proven  that 
he  has  been  equal  to  the  situation,  and  that  he 
has  known  how  to  satisfactorily  complete  the 
largest  contracts,  and,  moreover,  that  he  has  known 
how  to  handle  men.  One  tiling  that  has  been 
characteristic  of  his  work  and  partly  accounts 
for  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
business  firms  and  corporations  for  which  he  has 
worked,  is  the  fact  that  he  so  constructs  his  build- 
ings and  other  works  that  they  not  only  may  be 
satisfactory  at  the  time  of  construction,  but  that 
in  the  future  they  may  evidence  that  every  toot  of 
material  and  labor  put  into  them  was  honest 
work. ' '  Mr.  Toler  has  been  financially  successful 
and  has  a  number  of  business  interests.  He  is 
fraternally  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is 
a  man  of  strong  and  forceful  personality  and  solid 
merits  of  character,  and  his  standing  in  business 
circles  is  evidenced  by  the  high  esteem  in  which 
he  is  held  by  his  associates  and  all  those  who 
have  had  business  dealings  with  him  in  any  way. 
He  belongs  to  the  Stony  Creek  Club,  takes  a  help- 
ful interest  in  civic  movements  and  the  cause 
of  education,  and  is  a  man  who  touehes  and  im- 
proves life   on  many  sides. 

Mr.  Toler  was  married  December  22,  1896,  to 
Miss  Carrie  E.  Stevens,  of  Goldsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children: 
Carrie  Louise,  who  is  a  student  at  Saint  Mary's 
School,  Raleigh;  Samuel  S.,  Jr.,  and  William 
Henry.  The  beautiful  family  residence  is  lo- 
cated on  Rose  Street,  in  one  of  the  finest  resi- 
dential  districts   of  the  city. 

Hon.  William  T.  Carter.  A  better  known  busi- 
ness man  and  citizen  in  Western  North  Carolina 
does  not  exist  than  William  T.  Carter  of  Winston- 
Salem.  He  was  one  of  the  early  merchants  at  old 
Winston,  and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  head 
of  the  leading  brick  and  tile  manufacturing  busi- 
ness in  that  city.  He  has  also  served  his  people 
faithfully  as  a' member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
his  public  spirit  has  been  prominent  in  many  ways. 

Mr.  Carter  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Spring 
Garden  in  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia,  November 
30,  18o3.     He  is  of  worthy  American  ancestry.   He 


112 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA  ' 


traces  his  lineage  back  to  Thomas  Carter,  who  with 
his  two  brothers  Eobert  and  William  emigrated 
from  England  and  settled  in  Virginia  in  1646.  Mr. 
Carter 's  grandfather  married  Rebecca  Winn,  and 
both  of  them  spent  all  their  lives  in  Virginia. 

Gapt.  Eeuben  H.  Carter,  father  of  William  T., 
was*  born  near  Halls  Crossroads  in  Pittsylvania 
County,  Virginia,  and  as  a  youth  learned  the  trade 
of  tanner.  For  some  years  he  operated  a  tannery 
in  Pittsylvania  County,  subsequently  bought  a 
large  farm  reaching  from  White  Oak  River  to  the 
mountains  and  tended  its  fields  with  the  aid  of  his 
numerous  slaves.  He  served  with  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain in  the  Virginia  State  Militia,  and  would  have 
given  his  active  service  to  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment had  it  not  been  for  ill  health.  He  died  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  when  only  forty -nine  years  of  age. 
Captain  Carter  married  Pamelia  Fallin.  She  was 
born  in  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  and  died  in 
1857.  Her  six  children  were  named  Mary,  Eliza- 
beth, Phoebe,  Robert,  Reuben  and  William  Thomas. 

William  T.  Carter  was  early  left  an  orphan, 
being  four  at  the  time  of  his  mother  's  death  and 
only  nine  when  his  father  died.  After  the  death 
of  his  father  he  went  to  the  home  of  an  uncle,  with 
whom  he  lived  until  he  was  thirteen.  There  were 
many  circumstances  that  conspired  to  limit  his  edu- 
cational opportunities,  though  such  as  there  were 
he  wisely  improved  and  has  benefited  much  by 
constant  attendance  in  the  school  of  experience. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen,  going  to  Chatham,  the 
county  seat  of  Pittsylvania  County,  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  business  career  by  working  as  a 
clerk  in  a  general  store.  Seven  years  were  given 
to  the  duties  of  clerking,  and  with  what  he  was 
able  to  save  from  his  earnings  he  became  an  in- 
dependent merchant  in  his  native,  county.  Under 
the  firm  name  of  William  T.  Carter  &  Company 
he  carried  a  stock  of  general  merchandise  and  was 
in  business  there  until  1879,  when  he  came  to  Win- 
ston, North  Carolina. 

At  Winston  Mr.  Carter  engaged  in  the  dry  goods 
business  under  the  name  of  Carter,  Reeves  &  Com- 
pany. A  year  later  he  bought  his  partner's  inter- 
est and  was  alone  for  three  years.  Other  local  mer- 
chants at  the  time  were  T.  J.  Brown  and  W.  B. 
Carter.  Mr.  Carter  finally  consolidated  all  these 
interests  under  the  firm  name  W.  T.  Carter  &  Com- 
pany. This  firm  flourished,  developed  its  trade 
over  a  wide  section  of  the  surrounding  country,  and 
improved  the  stock  until  general  merchandise  was 
carried  sufficient  in  quantity  and  classification  to 
meet  every  demand  made  by  the  home  or  the  farm. 
After  seven  years  Mr.  Carter  sold  his  part  in  the 
W.  T.  Carter  &  Company  and  since  then  has  been 
largely  a  manufacturer  of  brick.  He  began  mak- 
ing brick  and  tile  at  Bethania  Station,  his  partner 
being  B.  J.  Shephard.  In  1900,  having  bought  Mr. 
Shephard's  interest,  he  incorporated  the  Winston 
Brick  &  Tile  Company.  This  company  has  a  large 
investment  in  land,  kilns  and  other  equipment,  and 
has  supplied  much  of  the  demand  for  high  grade 
brick  and  tile  in  this  section  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Carter  is  president,  treasurer  and  general  manager 
of  the  company. 

Outside  of  business  Mr.  Carter  is  widely  known 
over  his  part  of  the  state  for  his  leadership  ill  the 
democratic  party.  He  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  Samuel  J.  Tilden  in  1876.  Before  coming 
to  North  Carolina  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff  in 
Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia.  In  1906  Mr.  Carter 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  attending  the  regular  session  which 
convened  in  January,  1907,  and  the  special  session 


of  1908.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
appropriations,  town,  city  and  county  committee, 
public  building  committee,  committee  for  the  deaf, 
dumb  and  blind  and  the  liquor  traffic  committee. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Carter  is  affiliated  with  Salem 
Lodge  No.  36,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  with   Salem   Encampment  No.  20. 

On  March  25,  1883,  Mr.  Carter  married  Miss 
Hattie  Gaskins.  Mrs.  Carter  died  in  1884,  and  her 
only  child  died  in  infancy.  On  June  28,  1890,  he 
married  Mrs.  Ada  S.  (Slater)  Masten.  Mrs. 
Carter,  who  is  a  woman  of  distinctive  culture,  is  also 
a  member  of  an  old  and  prominent  family  of  the 
South.  She  was  born  in  Salisbury,  North  Carolina. 
Her  grandfather,  Fielding  Slater,  was  a  native  of 
Maryland,  when  a  young  man  came  to  North 
Carolina,  locating  in  Rowan  County,  and  there 
acquired  a  large  plantation,  which  was  operated 
with  the  aid  of  his  slaves.  He  was  also  elected 
sheriff  of  the  county,  but  died  before  his  term 
expired.  Fielding  Slater  married  Alice  Smith, 
daughter  of  Col.  James  Smith,  who  served  with 
that  rank  and  title  in  the  American  army  during 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Mrs.  Carter 's  father, 
James  A.  Slater,  was  born  in  Salisbury,  fought 
with  the  North  Carolina  troops  in  the  Confederate 
army,  and  was  in  Gen.  Jubal  Early's  brigade. 
Following  the  war  he  removed  to  New  York  City, 
where  for  many  years  he  was  a  successful  merchant. 
In  1903,  having  retired,  he  came  to  Winston- 
Salem  and  lived  with  his  daughter  Mrs.  Carter 
until  his  death  in  1912,  in  his  eightieth  year.  He 
married  Adelia  Von  Ritter.  She  was  a  native  of 
New  York  City,  daughter  of  Carl  and  Charlotte 
Augusta  (Wells)  Von  Ritter.  Carl  Von  Ritter 
was  a  native  of  Wiirttemberg,  Germany,  came 
to  America  when  a  young  man  and  was  a  merchant 
in  New  York  City  until  his  death.  His  wife  was 
a  native  of  New  York,  while  her  father,  John 
Wells,  came  from  Wales  to  this  country  when  a 
young  man  and  at  New  York  City  owned  one  or 
more  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade.  His 
last  years  were  spent  in  New  York.  Another 
connection  of  this  family  was  the  grandfather  of 
Augusta  Wells,  Maj.-Gen.  John  Henry  Tuttle,  who 
was  born  on  Long  Island  and  took  part  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mrs.  Carter 's 
mother  died  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  at  the 
age  of  forty-nine,  leaving  four  children:  Ada, 
Henry  Fielding,  James  H.  and  Florence  Wells. 

Mrs.  Carter  married  for  her  first  husband  Lee 
W.  Masten.  He  was  a  native  of  Salem,  North 
Carolina,  son  of  Col.  Joseph  and  Antoinette 
(Shultz)  Masten.  Lee  W.  Masten  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four.  Mrs.  Carter  reared  one  daughter 
by  her  first  husband,  Ada  Lillie.  This  daughter 
married  De  Bruce  Cutler,  and  both  are  now  de- 
ceased. They  left  an  infant  daughter,  Lillie 
Fielding  Cutler,  who  is  now  being  reared  by  her 
grandparents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carter. 

While  Mrs.  Carter  is  of  the  Episcopal  faith, 
Mr.  Carter  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Winston-Salem.  He  served  as 
trustee  of  the  local  church  for  twenty-five  years 
and  as  treasurer  for  fifteen  years.  When  a  young 
man  he  began  teaching  in  the  Sunday  school,  and 
was  superintendent  of  the  Baptist  Sunday  School 
at  North  Winston  for  several  years. 

C.  F.  Will  Rehder  has  one  of  the  finest  green- 
houses and  floral  businesses  in  North  Carolina, 
located  at  Wilmington.  He  is  an  old  and  expert 
hand  at  the  business,  as  were  his  father  and 
mother  before  him. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


113 


Born  at  Wilmington  October  17,  1872,  he  is  a 
son  of  Henry  and  Johanna  (Koeper)  Render. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Bremen,  Germany,  and 
arrived  in  America  October  26,  1856,  and  soon 
afterward  located  at  "Wilmington,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  It  was  his  wife, 
Mrs.  Eehder,  who  started  on  a  small  scale  the 
growing  of  llowers,  and  through  her  unusual  skill 
and  success  in  that  line  was  developed  the  large 
Kehder  floral  industry. 

Will  Eehder  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Wilmington,  for  a  time  clerked  in  the  general 
store  of  his  brother  J.  H.  Rehder,  and  he  then 
spent  two  years  in  New  York  learning  in  all  its 
details  the  florist  business.  On  returning  to  Wil- 
mington he  became  associated  with  his  father 
and  mother  in  the  greenhouse,  and  in  1905  pur- 
chased the  business,  which  is  now  conducted  as 
Will  Rehder,  Florist.  His  greenhouses  have 
seventeen  thousand  square  feet  under  glass  and 
the  service  is  taxed  to  the  uttermost  to  meet  the 
demands  for  the  Rehder  grown  flowers. 

Mr.  Rehder  is  not  only  a  successful  business 
man  but  is  widely  known  in  Wilmington  through 
his  social  connections.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  of  St. 
Johns  Lodge  No.  1,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  Jefferson  Lodge  of  the  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Germania  Club, 
the  Hanover  Seaside  Club,  the  Rotary  Club  and 
the  German  American  Alliance.  He  and  his  family 
are  communicants  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church. 

In  1905,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  he  married 
Miss  Jessie  C.  Stewart.  They  have  three  children 
in  their  home:  Jessie  Clifford,  Henry  Burbank 
and  William  Stewart. 

John  Davidson  Brevard  McLean,  former  sher- 
iff of  Gaston  County,  is  one  of  the  leading  repre- 
sentatives of  a  family  that  for  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half  has  been  identified  with  the  community 
around  Belmont.  Mr.  McLean 's  fine  farm  and 
plantation  is  known  as  ' '  Seven  Oaks ' '  and  is  lo- 
cated about  seven  miles  south  of  Belmont. 

It  was  not  far  from  his  present  home  in  South 
Point  Township,  Gaston  County,  that  Mr.  McLean 
was  born  in  1852.  He  is  a  son  of  Dr.  John  and 
Martha  E.  (Bigger)  McLean.  Besides  his-  own 
family  name  he  bears  the  names  that  have  a  dis- 
tinction in  North  Carolina  genealogy.  His  grand- 
father married  a  member  of  the  noted  Brevard 
family  of  Lincoln  County,  and  through  that  family 
Mr.  McLean  is  also  connected  with  the  Davidsons, 
and  with  the  Alexander  and  Morrison  families,  all 
distinguished  names  in  North  Carolina. 

The  McLean  family  of  this  state  was  founded 
by  his  great-grandfather,  William  McLean.  He 
was  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  on  coming  from 
Pennsylvania  first  located  in  what  is  now  Robeson 
County,  North  Carolina.  A  few  years  before  the 
Revolution  he  moved  to  what  is  now  Gaston  but 
was  then  Lincoln  County.  The  locality  where  he 
established  his  home  has  been  the  scene  in  which 
the  McLean  family  has  lived  ever  since,  for  about 
150  vears.  The  McLeans  are  a  splendid  race  of 
people,  betokening  an  origin  of  historic  promi- 
nence in  Scotland,  and  their  record  in  North  Caro- 
lina has  lost  them  none  of  the  prestige  of  ancient 
times.  Before  the  war  thev  were  extensive  planters 
and  slave  owners,  and  nearlv  all  of  the  race  have 
lived  close  to  the  soil. 

Mr.  McLean's  grandfather  was  Dr.  William  Mc- 
Lean, a  prominent  physician  of  early  times.  He 
was   one  of   the  Revolutionary  patriots   from  Gas- 

.      Vol.  v— s 


ton,  then  a  part  of  Lincoln  County,  and  served  as 
assistant  surgeon  with  the  American  troops  at  the 
battle  of  King's  Mountain.  That  famous  Revo- 
lutionary battlefield  was  only  a  few  miles  from 
his  home. 

Mr.  McLean's  father,  Dr.  John  McLean,  added 
to  his  duties  and  responsibilities  as  a  planter  the 
profession  of  physician.  He  practiced  more  than 
sixty  years  in  Gaston  County.  He  was  one  of 
the  fine  and  upright  characters  of  his  day.  The 
country  doctor  has  been  celebrated  in  literature, 
and  justly  so,  and  it  had  no  better  representa- 
tive in  this  section  of  North  Carolina  in  the  early 
days  than  Dr.  John  McLean.  He  practiced  far 
and  wide,  rode  horseback  through  all  kinds  of 
weather  and  over  every  class  of  roads,  and  in 
the  absence  of  apothecaries  he  carried  his  medi- 
cines in  the  saddle  bags.  During  the  war  he  was 
beyond  the  age  for  active  military  service,  but 
none  the  less  proved  his  devotion  to  his  country 
by  attending  to  the  women  and  children  left  at 
home  and  furnishing  medical  attention  to  wounded 
soldiers  who  returned  from  the  front. 

The  McLean  locality,  where  several  members  of 
the  family  still  live,  is  in  the  southeast  part  of 
Gaston  County,  between  Catawba  Creek  and  the 
South  Fork  River,  near  the  South  Carolina  line. 
It  is  in  South  Point  Township  and  about  seven 
miles  southwest  of  the  Town  of  Belmont.  Mr. 
McLean's  fine  plantation  there  consists  of  some- 
thing over  600  acres  of  land.  He  is  a  prosperous 
and  high  class  farmer  and  knows  his  business  in 
that  line,  as  has  been  true  of  so  many  of  his  fam- 
ily and  ancestors. 

Again  and  again  he  has  been  honored  by  his 
fellow  citizens  and  has  shown  both  efficiency  and 
ability  in  offices  of  responsibility.  In  1908  he  was 
elected  county  commissioner,  filling  the  post  for 
two  terms.  In  1910  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
Gaston  County  and  was  reelected  in  1912,  being  a 
very  efficient  and  very  popular  sheriff  for  four 
years. 

Mr.  McLean  married  Miss  Annie  Erwin,  of 
Chester  County,  South  Carolina.  Their  seven  chil- 
dren are  named  John  D.  McLean ;  Dr.  C.  E.  Mc- 
Lean, a  physician;  Mrs.  Bessie  King;  Mrs.  Edith 
Stringfellow;  Mrs.  Margaret  Nichols;  Mrs.  Annie 
Guion ;  and  Mrs.  Nellie  McKenzie.  The  family 
are  all  active  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Neill  A.  Thompson,  M.  D.  The  profession  of 
medicine  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  to  mankind, 
but  it  has  been  given  to  the  physicians  of  the 
past  half  a.  century  to  make  more  valuable  dis- 
coveries and  to  reach  greater  heights  of  useful- 
ness than  did  all  who  went  before  them,  eminent 
1  hough  they  were.  Wonderful  scientific  achieve- 
ments have  startled  the  world  and  wrought  mighty 
revolutions  in  the  treatment  and  cure  of  diseases. 
Men  of  profound  learning  have  spent  their  lives 
in  research  that  has  been  rewarded  by  discovery, 
and  even  the  most  humble  worker  in  the  medical 
field  is  entitled  to  the  applause  and  gratitude  of 
mankind  for  the  humane  labor  in  which  he  is 
engaged.  Prominent  among  the  men  who  have 
raised  the  calling  of  medical  and  surgical  sen-ice 
to  a  high  plane  in  Robeson  County  is  Dr.  Neill 
A.  Thompson,  of  Lumberton.  whose  career,  stretch- 
ing over  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  has 
been  characterized  by  an  ever-increasing  success, 
and  among  whose  numerous  achievements  has 
been  the  founding  of  the  Thompson  Hospital  at 
Lumberton.   of    which   he    is    now   the   owner. 

Doctor   Thompson   was   born   on   a   farm   about 


114 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


nine  miles  southwest  of  Lumberton,  in  Robeson 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1872,  being  a  son 
of  Neill  A.  and  Julia  A.  (Smith)  Thompson,  both 
of  whom  are  at  present  deceased.  This  family 
is  of  Scotch  Irish  origin,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest 
ones  in  the  County  of  Robeson,  where  was  born 
Jacob  Thompson,  the  doctor 's  grandfather.  Ja- 
cob Thompson  was  a  life  long  agriculturist  and 
for  some  years  carried  on  ■  operations  on  a  farm 
which  was  located  on  the  Lumber  River,  between 
Lumberton  and  Maxton,  in  Robeson  county,  and 
was  known  as  the  old  Thompson  Place.  There 
he  passed  away,  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  and 
substantial  men  of  his  community.  Neill  A. 
Thompson,  the  elder,  was  born  on  the  old  Thomp- 
son place  on  the  Lumber  River  in  1830,  but  in 
young  manhood  removed  to  a  property  about  nine 
miles  southwest  of  Lumberton.  He  had  been 
reared  as  a  farmer  and  made  that  his  occupation 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  states, 
at  which  time  he  joined  the  forces  of  the  Confed- 
eracy as  a  private  in  the  Fifty-first  Regiment, 
North  Carolina  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  contin- 
ued to  serve  with  this  regiment  throughout  the 
period  of  the  war  and  established  an  excellent 
record,  as  a  faithful  and  courageous  soldier.  At 
the  resuming  of  peace,  he  returned  to  his  home 
in  Robeson  County  and  again  took  up  planting, 
following  that  occupation  until  his  retirement 
some  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1908,  when  he  was  seventy-eight  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Thompson  was  widely  and  favorably  known 
in  the  community  in  which  he  made  his  home  for 
so  many  years,  and  his  reputation  was  that  of  a 
sterling  business  man  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
and  a  kind  and  considerate  friend  and  neighbor. 
Mrs.  Thompson,  who  was  related  to  the  Townsend 
family,  which  has  been  well  known  in  Robeson 
County  for  many  years,  died  in  that  county  in 
1913. 

The  local  schools  of  Robeson  County  furnished 
Neill  A.  Thompson  with  his  preliminary  educa- 
tional training,  and  his  collegiate  training  was 
commenced  at  Davidson  College,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  curriculum  of  the  freshman  and  sopho- 
more years.  He  also  studied  for  his  calling  in 
the  medical  department  of  Davidson  College  and 
completed  his  professional  course  at  the  Maryland 
Medical  College,  Baltimore,  from  which  institu- 
tion he  was  graduated  in  1905.  Subsequently, 
Doctor  Thompson  took  post-graduate  work  in  gen- 
eral and  operative  surgery  at  the  Marvland  Post 
Graduate  School  and  the  New  York  Post.  Grad- 
uate School  of  Medicine.  His  professional  labors 
were  commenced  at  Whiteville.  the  county  seat  of 
Columbus  County,  where  he  carried  on  a  general 
practice  for  91,^>  years,  and  then  came  to  his  pres- 
ent place  of  residence,  Lumberton,  which  has  con- 
tinued to  be  his  home  without  interruption.  Here 
he  built  up  a  large  general  practice,  and  in  1906, 
having  realized  the  need  for  an  institution  of  the 
kind,  established  the  Thompson  Hospital,  a  high- 
class  modern  hospital  of  the  best  equipment  and 
facilities  for  caring  for  all  kinds  of  cases,  but 
especially  for  those  demanding  surgery,  a  field 
in  which  Doctor  Thompson  specializes,  and  in 
which  he  has  gained  an  enviable  and  something 
more  than  local  reputation.  He  has  made  a  splen- 
did success  of  his  profession.  The  modern  hospital 
is  too  often  looked  upon  as  a  convenience  or  a 
luxury  of  the  rich,  but  this  theory  is  both  in- 
jurious and  unfounded.  The  modern  hospital 
should    be    designated    for    what    it   is,    not    only 


the  highest  development  of  science  for  the  alle- 
viation and  cure  of  the  swarming  bodily  ills  of 
mankind,  but  a  wonderful  organization  into  which 
the  best  thought  and  experience  of  experts  at 
work  the  world  over  have  entered,  and  a  great 
philanthropic  enterprise.  Doctor  Thompson  be- 
longs to  the  various  organizations  of  his  pro- 
fession and  stands  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low-practitioners. 

Doctor  Thompson  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  Sallie  Townsend,  who  died 
in  1906,  the  daughter  of  Neill  Townsend,  of  Robe- 
son County.  By  this  marriage  there  are  three 
daughters :  Miss  Sadie,  who  graduated  from  the 
Eastern  Carolina  Training  School  at  Greenville, 
North  Carolina,  in  1918;  Miss  Ruth,  who  is  a 
student  at  Flora  Maedonald  College,  at  Red 
Springs,  this  state;  and  Miss  Julia,  who  is  at- 
tending the  public  school  at  Lumberton.  The 
present  Mrs.  Thompson  was  before  her  marriage 
Miss  Catharine  Monroe,  a  native  of  Cumberland 
County,  North  Carolina.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son have  one  son,  Neill  Archer,  Jr. 

Burton  Craige  has  gained  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion as  a  lawyer,  being  a  prominent  member  of 
the  bar  of  North  Carolina.  Scotch  hardihood  and 
other  sterling  virtues  of  that  race  have  distin- 
guished the  Craiges  since  pioneer  times.  The 
lineage  goes  back  in  direct  line  to  Archibald  and 
Mary  Craige,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  living  as  tradition  has  it, 
in  the  Town  of  Inverness.  Archibald  Craige  was 
a  supporter  of  the  beloved  ' '  Prince  Charles ' '  in 
his  pretensions  to  the  throne  and  when  the  Battle 
of  Culloden  dissipated  and  destroyed  the  hopes  of 
his  followers  Archibald  Craige  was  exiled  from 
Scotland  and  settled  in  America  on  the  Yadkin 
River  in  the  wilds  of  what  is  now  Rowan  County, 
North  Carolina,  about  1750.  He  survived  the  hard- 
ships of  this  transplanting  from  his  native  land 
only  a  few  years,  dying  May  20,  1758;  but  he 
established  his  family  as  one  of  the  earliest 
and  soon  to  be  one  of  the  largest  property  owners 
in  the  county.  He  was  one  of  the  first  purchasers 
of  lots  in  Salisbury  and  his  oldest  son  married  in 
the  family  of  Hugh  Foster  who  was  one  of  Earl 
Granville 's  township  trustees  for  the  635  acres 
of  land  on  which  the  town  was  built,  the  date  of 
this  deed  being  February  11,  1755.  He  left  two 
sons,  David  and  James,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
sheriff  of  Rowan  County,  the  southern  boundary 
of  which  at  that  time  being  Earl  Granville  's  line, 
the  northern,  the  Virginia  line,  the  eastern,  Anson 
County,  including  what  is  now  Guilford  and 
Randolph  counties,  and  the  western,  as  far  as 
habitation  extended.  David,  the  next  in  direct 
line,  married  Polly  Foster  July  23,  1776,  nineteen 
days  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  hav- 
ing been  appointed,  therefore,  by  the  Colonial 
Congress,  on  Anril  16.  1776.  as  2d  lieutenant  in  the 
Colonial  Militia.  Wheeler 's  History  of  North 
Carolina  states,  quoting  his  Colonel,  William  Temple 
Cole,  that  "he  was  distinguished  for  his  bravery 
and  patriotic  daring. ' '  He  bore  an  active  and 
patriotic  part  in  the  struggle  for  independence 
and  died  in  November, .  1784.  David  and  James 
Craige  appear  on  the  record  as  the  purchasers  of 
considerable  landed  interests  in  Rowan  County, 
which,  in  addition  to  the  early  grants  of  their 
father  gave  them  a.  good  estate.  Craige 's  son 
David  was  born  on  January  27,  1780.  David 
Craige  married  his  cousin  Mary  Foster.     Hon.  Bur- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


115 


toil  Craige,  the  son  of  David  Craige,  junior,  was 
the  grandfather  of  Burton  Craige,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Burton  Craige,  senior,  was  born  on  a  plantation 
on  the  south  fork  of  the  Yadkin  River  five  miles 
above  Salisbury,  in  Eowan  County,  March  13, 
1811,  soon  after  -which  his  father  died,  leaving 
him  a  good  estate.  He  was  prepared  for  college 
at  a  private  school  taught  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Otis 
Freeman,  and,  following  his  graduation  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  in  1829,  he  edited  the 
Western  North  Carolinian,  at  the  same  time, 'study- 
ing law  with  Judge  D.  F.  Caldwell.  Admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1832,  in  that  year  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature  to  represent  Salis- 
bury and  was  one  of  the  last  Borough 
representatives  from  that  town.  He  then  spent  a 
year  abroad  and  returned  to  North  Carolina  to 
resume  active  practice  and  was  eminently  success- 
ful at  the  bar,  taking  foremost  rank  among  the 
leading  advocates  of  his  day.  In  1853  he  was 
honored  by  election  to  Congress  and  was  a  member 
of  Congress  from  North  Carolina  until  1861.  In 
that  year  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  con- 
vention at  Raleigh  to  pass  upon  the  ordinance  of 
secession,  and  he  offered  the  ordinance  which  sub- 
sequently was  adopted.  As  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  North  Carolina,  at  the  time,  he  was  elected 
to  the  first  Confederate  Congress,  but  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  he  retired  to  private  life  and 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  died  December 
30,  1875.  Hon.  Burton  Craige  married  Elizabeth 
(Phifer)  Erwin,  daughter  of  Col.  James  Erwin 
and  his  wife  Margaret  (Phifer)  Erwin,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Gen.  Matthew  Locke  and  his  wife 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Richard  Brandon,  of 
Rowan  County.  Their  son,  Hon.  Kerr  Craige, 
father  of  Burton  Craige,  was  born  in  Catawba 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  14,  1843,  where 
his  parents  had  large  landed  interests.  He  was 
given  all  the  advantages  his  early  ambitions  craved 
and  after  a  preparatory  course  at  Catawba  College, 
entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  The  war 
broke  out  before  he  had  completed  his  university 
covirse,  and  in  August,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  Company  F  of  the  First  Regiment,  North  Caro- 
lina Cavalry.  This  regiment  formed  a  part  of 
Hampton's,  later  Gordon's  Brigade  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia.  He  was  made  sergeant 
and  on  October  1,  1861,  promoted  to  second  lieu- 
tenant. On  his  transfer  to  Company  I,  he  was 
promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and  then  captain  of  the 
company.  He  was  tendered  the  office  of  adjutant  of 
the  regiment  by  Col.  Thomas  Ruffin  just  a  few 
days  before  that  gallant  officer  was  killed.  He 
was  appointed  aide  de  camp  to  Gen.  James  B. 
Gordon  and  served  under  him  until  that  com- 
mander 's  death.  The  First  North  Carolina 
Cavalry  was  almost  constantly  in  action  and  was 
distinguished  for  its  dash  and  courage.  Kerr 
Craige  was  himself  an  intrepid  cavalry  officer 
and  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  hard  scout- 
ing, skirmishing,  and  the  larser  battles  in  which 
his  command  participated.  He  had  two  horses  shot 
under  him  while  in  the  service.  He  and  his  com- 
mand were  captured  on  April  3,  1865.  and  he 
remained  a  prisoner  of  war  on  Johnson 's  Island, 
Lake  Erie,  until  the  following  July.  After  the 
war  Kerr  Craige  took  up  the  studv  of  law  under 
Chief  Justice  Pearson,  and  his  father,  with  whom 
he  was  associated  from  1867  until  his  father's 
death  in  1875.  Public  promotion  and  honor  came 
rapidlv.  In  1870  he  was  elected  reading  clerk  of 
the    House    of    Representatives    and    at    the    nest 


election  was  selected  to  represent  Rowan  County. 
In  1884  he  was  chosen,  without  solicitation,  demo- 
cratic, nominee  for  Congress  in  a  district  over- 
whelmingly democratic,  but  declined  the  nomi- 
nation. In  1887  he  was  appointed  collector  of 
internal  revenue  for  the  western  district  of  North 
Carolina  and  in  1893  was  called  to  Washington 
to  become  third  assistant  postmaster  general  in 
President  Cleveland 's  administration.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  trustee  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  For  several  years  prior  to  his 
death  in  September,  1904,  he  was  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Salisbury.  He  was  not 
ambitious  of  public  office  but  preferred  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  which  he  was  eminently 
successful  and  in  which  he  took  and  held  high  rank 
until  his  death.  He  was  married  in  1871  to 
Josephine  Branch,  daughter  of  Gen.  L.  O'B.  Branch 
and  Nancy  (Haywood)  Branch,  the  latter  being 
the  daughter  of  Gen.  William  A.  Blount  and 
Nancy  (Haywood)  Blount  and  granddaughter  of 
John  Guy  Blount  and  Mary  (Harvey)  Blount. 
General  Branch  was  killed  at  Sharpsburg,  being 
then  ranking  Brigadier  General  in  A.  P.  Hill 's 
Corps,  Jackson 's  Division.  Their  seven  children 
were:  Nannie,  who  died  in  1898;  Burton  Branch, 
an  eminent  physician  of  El  Paso,  Texas;  Josephine, 
who  married  Dr.  Clarence  Kluttz;  Elizabeth,  who 
married  John  E.  Ramsay;  Kerr,  and  William,  who 
died  in  infancy. 

Burton  Craige  was  born  at  Salisbury  in  Rowan 
County  December  23,  1875,  was  educated  in  private 
and  public  schools  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
entered  Davis  Military  Academy  at  Winston,  and 
was  then  prepared  for  college  at  Horner 's  Mili- 
tary Academy  in  Oxford.  Entering  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  he  was  graduated  with  high 
honors  in  1897.  His  first  active  experience  after 
leaving  the  university  was  in  newspaper  work,  and 
subsequently  he  was  instructor  in  Horner  Military 
Academy.  He  read  law  under  Kerr  Craige,  his 
father  and  also  at  the  University  Law  School  and 
after  being  licensed  was  associated  with  his  father 
until  his  death  in  1904.  He  served  a  term  in  the 
Legislature  representing  Rowan  County  and  has 
since  enjoyed  an  extensive  and  varied  practice  being 
now  associated  in  the  practice  of  the  law  with  his 
brother  Kerr  Craiee  who  maintains  offices  at  Salis- 
bury, North  Carolina,  and  being  also  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Craige  &  Vogler  at  Winston-Salem, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  takes  an  active  interest 
in  the  life  of  that  community. 

Burton  Crai«e  was  married  November  9,  1911.  to 
Jane  Caroline  Henderson  Boyden.  She  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Archibald  Henderson  and  May  Wheat  (Sho- 
ber)  Boyden.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Craige  have  had 
three  children :  Burton,  who  recently  died,  and 
Jane  ami  Archibald,  who  are  still  living. 

Benehan  Cameron,  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school  by  instinct  and  associations,  a  lawyer  by 
trainine,  Benehan  Cameron,  of  Stagville,  has 
found  his  greatest  joy  in  tasks  of  large  and  broad 
accomplishment,  as  a  farmer,  a  leader  in  countrv 
life  movements,  a  builder  of  highways  and  rail- 
ways, and  a  consistent  and  constant  worker  for 
the  public  good  through  all  his  varied  relation- 
shins  with  his  home  community,  his  state  and  the 
nation  at  large. 

He  owns  and  occupies  the  old  family  seat  of 
Fairntosh  at  Stagville  in  Durham  County.  He 
was  born  there  September  9,  1854,  son  of  Paul 
Carrineton  and  Anne  (Ruffin)  Cameron.  He  ;s 
descended  from  Scotch  Highlanders  of  the  famous 


116 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Cameron  elan.  His  great-grandfather,  the  Rev. 
John  Cameron,  was  a  minister  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  located  at  Petersburg,  Virgiria,  in 
1771.  He  was  a  local  preacher  for  some  years 
and  afterwards  was  supervising  clergyman  of  the 
state  of  Virginia. 

Judge  Duncan  Cameron,  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Camer- 
on married  Miss  Benehan,  of  Orange  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  was  the  founder  of  the  Fairn- 
tosh  country  estate  at  Stagville. 

Benehan  Cameron  is  a  fortunate  man  not  only 
as  to  the  inheritance  and  environment  to  which 
he  was  born  but  by  reason  of  the  possession  of 
abilities  and  ambition  that  have  made  him  a  dis- 
tinctive leader  among  men.  He  was  liberally  edu- 
cated, attending  successively  the  Hughes  School, 
the  Horner  Military  Academy,  the  Eastman  Busi- 
ness College  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and 
the  Virginia  Military  Institute.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  last  named  institution  in  1875.  Two 
.years  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  never 
took  up  practice. 

The  one  pursuit  which  he  has  steadily  main- 
tained since  early  youth  has  been  farming.  He  has 
made  Pairntosh  one  of  the  most  beautiful  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  progressively  managed  farms  of 
North  Carolina.  What  he  has  done  as  an  agri- 
culturist has  not  been  altogether  for  personal 
profit.  It  has  served  as  an  inspiration  and  source 
of  encouragement  to  the  farmers  and  stock  raisers 
of  the  state  and  many  a  successful  experiment  has 
been  carried  out  at  Pairntosh  to  demonstrate  new 
and  improved  methods  of  handling  the  resources 
of  the  soil. 

He  has  served  as  president  of  the  Farmers 
National  Congress,  and  due  to  his  influence  that 
Congress  met  at  Raleigh  in  1909.  He  is  also  a 
director  of  the  Southern  Cotton  Growers  Protec- 
tive Association  and  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England.  He  has  been  president  of 
the  North  Carolina  State  Agricultural  Society. 

A  great  many  people  know  him  best  as  a  rail- 
way builder  and  official.  He  was  interested  in 
the  building  of  the  Lynchburg  &  Durham  Railway, 
the  Oxford  &  Clarksville  Railroad,  the  Durham  & 
Northern  Railroads  and  the  Knoxville  &  Dieker- 
son  branch  line;  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway  Company,  was  a 
director  in  the  Raleigh  and  Augusta  Air  Lines, 
and  served  as  president  from  1911  to  1913  of  the 
North  Carolina  Railroad.  His  financial  assistance 
has  also  gone  to  support  some  of  the  leading 
industries  of  North  Carolina. 

In  the  nation-wide  movement  for  the  building 
of  good  roads  there  has  been  no  abler  champion  in 
all  the  South  than  Colonel  Cameron.  Through 
every  avenue  of  his  influence  he  has  sought  to 
build  good  roads,  not  only  locally  but  as  part 
of  a  general  scheme  of  national  progress.  While 
representing  Durham  County  in  the  Legislature 
in  1913  he  procured  the  passage  of  the  bill  pro- 
viding for  the  Central  Highway  of  North  Caro- 
lina. This  highway  extends  from  Morehead  City 
on  the  Atlantic.  Coast  to  the  Tennessee  line  across 
the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  connection  with  the 
Southern  National  Highway,  a  continuous  road 
from  Washington,  D.  C,  to  San  Diego,  California. 
It  was  Colonel  Cameron  who  conceived  the  idea  of 
the  great  highway  through  the  South  which 
resulted  in  the  building  of  the  Southern  National 
Highway,  of  which  he  is  vice  president.  He  was 
one  of  those  who  explored  this  route  by  automo- 
bile. Colonel  Cameron  is  one  of  the  organizers 
and  a  director  in  the  Quebec-Miami  International 


Highway,  which  connects  with  the  Southern 
National  Highway,  and  is  part  of  a  large  and 
comprehensive  circuit  of  automobile  highways 
extending  from  Quebec  to  the  eastern,  southern 
and  western  states  around  to  Vancouver,  British 
Columbia,  Another  feature  of  his  legislative 
record  was  his  authorship  of  the  bill  establishing 
the  North  Carolina  Highway  Commission,  of 
of  which  he  is  a  member. 

He  is  a  director  of  the  American  Automobile 
Association;  is  vice  president  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Sons  of  the  American  Revolution;  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati; 
ex-president  of  the  Scottish  Society  of  America. 
For  years  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
North  Carolina  military  organizations,  has  served 
as  captain  of  the  Orange  County  Guards  and  was 
a  member  of  the  staff  of  Governors  Vance,  Jarvis 
and  Scales  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  on  the 
staffs  of  Governors  Fowle,  Holt  and  Carr  with 
the  rank  of  colonel.  Colonel  Cameron  recently 
became  a  candidate  for  the  State  Senate  from  the 
districts  composed  of  Durham,  Orange,  Alamance 
and  Caswell  counties. 

In  1891  he  married  Miss  Sallie  T.  Mayo,  of 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Their  two  daughters  are 
Isabelle  M.  and  Sallie  T.  Cameron. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Keith,  Sk.,  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Margaret  Larkins  Keith,  was  born  May 
20,  1820,  near  Moores  Creek  Battle  Ground.  He 
died  January  15,  1895,  near  Keith,  North  Carolina, 
and   is    buried    at   Bethlehem    Church. 

He  was  of  noble  Scottish  descent.  As  the  his- 
torian Buchan  says  in  writing  of  the  noble  family 
of  Keiths,  they  were  one  of  the  most  noted  fam- 
ilies'Scotland  ever  produced — noted  for  their  fine 
diplomacy,  honesty,  justice   and  bravery. 

The  grandfather,  William  Keith,  landed  at 
Fernandina,  Florida,  when  his  son  William  was 
an  infant.  William  Keith  ■  and  wife  with  two 
other  sons  and  one  daughter,  Lydia,  first  settled 
on  the  St.  Mary 's  River  in  Florida.  They  finally 
made  their  way  into  South  Carolina,  near  Charles- 
ton. During  the  Revolution  William,  Jr.,  was  a 
lad  of  sixteen  years,  and  with  his  father  was 
fighting  with  Marion's  army  when  the  war  closed. 
William,  Jr.,  though  but  sixteen  years  old,  was 
designated  by  General  Marion  to  grind  meal  at 
an  old  water  mill  near  Marion,  South  Carolina. 
He  ground  at  this  mill  day  and  night  until  the 
rocks  finally  became  so  hot  that  they  crumbled 
like   clay. 

Finally  coming  to  the  Cape  Fear  section  of 
North  Carolina  soon  after  the  war  he  and  his 
two  brothers  entered  large  tracts  of  laud  from 
Southport  to  where  Newberlin  is  today  and  in 
the  Lyon  Swamp  section,  now  Pender  County. 
His  last  home  was  near  Moores  Creek  Battle 
Ground,  between  Moores  Creek  and  Caledonia,  the 
latter  place  he  having  named  after  the  old  Keith 
home  in   Scotland. 

B.  F.  Keith,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  only 
fifteen  years  old  when  his  father  died.  The  coun- 
try being  almost  uninhabited  at  this  time  the  ad- 
vantages of  schooling  were  very  limited.  Conse- 
quently this  branch  of  the  family  was  deprived 
of  the  privileges  of  his  progenitors  when  for  700 
years  the  family  held  the  most  important  office 
-.'fter  the  king  of  Scotland,  that  of  Earl  of  Mari- 
chal.  But  being  a  great  student  and  reader  he 
acquired  a  fair  education  and  was  capable  of 
fine  business  qualities.  He  was  open  and  noble 
in  his  character  and  his  life  was  such  as  to  prove 


^.^7i 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


117 


that  noble  ancestors'  blessings  will  follow  their 
children.  He  was  kindhearted  and  spurned  every- 
thing that  pertained  to  dishonesty  and  littleness. 
He  always  said  it  was  no  disgrace  to  be  poor 
if  honor  and  frugality  accompanied  it,  as  for- 
tune had  wings  and  could  soon  fly  away.  He 
knew  how  his  kindred  in  Scotland  had  lost  their 
vast  estates  as  well  as  himself  during  the  war 
between  the  states. 

He  was  married  three  times.  His  first  wife  was 
a  daughter  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Corbitt,  with  whom  he 
was  associated  in  business  at  Wilmington  in  later 
years.  He  had  one  son  by  this  marriage,  William 
C.  Keith.  After  her  death  he  marr.ied  Mrs.  Mary 
Pridgen  Marshall.  He  then  moved  back  to  the 
country  where  he  was  born.  He  had  three  chil- 
dren by  this  union,  two  daughters,  Hattie  and 
Eliza,  and  one  son,  B.  F.  Keith,  Jr.  After  her 
death  he  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Cor- 
bett.  There  are  no  children  by  this  marriage. 
His  last  wife,  Mrs.  Martha  Keith,  is  still  living 
at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-three  years. 

He  and  his  brother  William  were  not  in  favor 
of  the  Civil  war,  thinking  a  compromise  would  be 
better,  still  a  devotion  to  their  homeland  caused 
them  to  take  up  arms  in  its  defense.  While  the 
older  brother  was  too  old  to  join  the  regular 
army  he  volunteered,  leaving  his  large  estate  in 
charge  of  his  overseer.  He  died  suddenly  at  Fort 
Fisher  without  having  married. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  B.  F.  Keith,  served 
throughout  the  war  in  the  commissary  depart- 
ment. He  was  captured  at  Lumberton  and 
marched  through  the  country  to  Newbern,  where 
he  was  transported  to  Point  Lookout.  There  he 
was  kept  a  prisoner  nearly  a  year  after  the  war 
had  closed.  When  he  returned  to  his  home  broken 
in  health  and  spirits  he  saw  nothing  of  the  beauty 
and  luxuries  that  he  formerly  had,  his  slaves  all 
being  free  and  nothing  left  but  his  farm  and 
old  debts  that  had  accumulated  during  slavery  for 
securities,  etc.  Only  having  his  farm  and  home 
left,  with  his  health  broken  and  heavy  debts 
worrying  his  mind,  it  was  enough  to  discourage 
the  strongest.  When  his  creditors  began  to  pile 
in  he  told  them  to  take  what  he  had,  as  he 
would  not  take  advantage  of  the  bankruptcy 
oath,  as  many  of  his  friends  advised  him,  but 
told  them  if  they  would  wait  he  would  give  them 
all  that  could  be  made  on  his  farm  except  a  fru- 
gal living  for  his  family.  About  twelve  or  fifteen 
years  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  had  paid  100 
cents  on  the  dollar  on  all  that  he  owed.  Though 
having  been  almost  an  invalid  all  this  time,  he 
having  seen  his  farm  but  a  few  times  after  the 
first  few  years  he  was  fortunate  in  having  a  son, 
though  young,  to  manage  it,  and  through  provi- 
dence he  always  raised  fine  crops. 

His  name  was  a  synonym  for  honesty  in  his 
community.  His  measures  and  weights  were  never 
disputed  but  always  commended.  Those  who  knew 
him  best  and  were  capable  saw  the  finer  qualities 
that  it  takes  to  make  a  gentleman.  He  carried  no 
malice  in  his  heart  towards  anyone.  In  his  older 
days  he  and  his  old  pastor.  Rev."  Julian  Faison,  one 
of  the  noble  of  the  noblest,  were  so  much  attached 
to  each  other  that  they  were  called  sweethearts 
in  their  community.  They  knew  and  loved  each 
other  as  men  seldom  do.  "  When  beggars  entered 
his  home  they  were  as  cordially  received  as  any 
one  that  entered  and  were  the  first  to  be  served 
at  the  table. 

Thus  lived  and  died  one  of  the  noble  characters 
of  our  country. 


Benjamin  Franklin  Keith.  The  important 
materials  of  biography  are  not  mere  dates  and 
achievements,  but  the  records  of  experience,  and 
especially  those  experiences  which  bring  out  and 
test  human  character.  It  is  man 's  reaction  to 
his  environment  and  circumstances  that  furnish 
interest  to  his  personality  and  life. 

An  individual  career  that  may  be  read  with 
profit  in  the  light  of  the  preceding  statements  is 
that  of  Benjamin  Franklin  Keith  of  Keith,  Pen- 
der County.  Even  judged  by  the  ordinary  stan- 
dards he  is  one  of  the  men  of  prominence  in  the 
state.  He  is  a  large  planter  and  land  owner,  is 
accredited  with  much  of  the  agricultural  and  in- 
dustrial development  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear  sec- 
tion, being  in  particular  the  originator  of  the 
Lyon  Swamp  Drainage  District,  under  which  a 
large  body  of  rich  land  has  been  brought  under 
cultivation.  During  his  residence  at  Wilmington 
in  former  years  Mr.  Keith  was  a  prominent  whole- 
sale merchant,  served  as  collector  of  customs,  as 
a  city  official,  and  was  a  determined  and  resolute 
leader  in  many  of  the  important  movements  in 
city  life. 

He  was  born  March  31,  1858.  His  birthplace 
was  three  miles  from  his  present  home,  near 
the  Black  River  in  the  southwest  part  of  what  is 
now  Pender  County,  but  formerly  New  Hanover 
County.  He  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
Mary  (Pridgen-Marshall)  Keith.  He  is  a  de- 
scendant of  the  Keiths  of  noble  Scotch  lineage. 
Their  ancestral  home  was  Donnough  Castle  near 
Aberdeen.  The  Keiths  were  and  are  a  race  of 
strong  and  powerful  people,  and  have  been  valiant 
fighters  in  all  the  wars.  Sirs  James,  William 
and  John  Keith  and  other  leaders  of  the  clan  were 
influential  in  the  courts  of  Spain,  Russia,  Prussia, 
and  other  European  monarchies  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  and  helped  mold  the 
destinies  of  modern  Europe.  The  name  William 
was  always  given  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  Keith 
families. 

Soon  after  the  fall  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  with 
whose  fortunes  the  Keiths  were  closely  affiliated 
the  great-grandfather  of  Benjamin  F.  Keith 
brought  his  family  to  America.  This  ancestor 
was  of  the  same  family  that  kept  the  seal  of 
Scotland  at  Donnough  Castle  for  centuries.  He 
finally  landed  on  American  soil  at  Fernandina, 
Florida.  William  Keith,  grandfather  of  Benja- 
man  F.,  was  born  only  a  day  or  two  either  prior 
to  or  following  this  landing.  A  part  of  the  family 
moved  northward  to  South  Carolina,  and  William 
Keith's  father  was  a  patriot  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier under  General  Marion,  the  "Swamp  Fox" 
of  the  Revolution.  William  Keith  himself,  a  boy 
of  only  sixteen,  was  miller  boy  for  General 
Marion 's  army,  and  at  a  small  and  crudely  built 
grist  mill  near  Darlington,  South  Carolina,  ground 
the  corn  and  wheat  until  the  stones  were  crumbled 
almost  entirely  to  dust. 

About  1800  William  Keith  came  to  the  Lower 
Cape  Fear  District  of  North  Carolina  and  entered 
large  tracts  of  land.  Among  others  he  entered 
about  two  square  miles  of  land  in  New  Hanover 
County,  in  what  is  now  the  Lyon  Swamp  Drainage 
District,  about  thirty  miles  above  Wilmington. 
Near  here  his  son  Benjamin  Franklin  and  his 
grandson  Benjamin  Franklin,  Jr.,  were  both  born, 
and  that  locality  has  been  the  home  of  the  Keiths 
continuously  for  over  a  century,  since  1800. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Keith,  Sr.,  was  born  in  the 
locality  mentioned  in  1820.  The  creek  nearby, 
emptying  into  Black  River,  was  called  Caledonia 


118 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Creek  in  honor  of  the  ancestral  home  of  the 
Keiths  in  Scotland.  This  locality  is  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  Moore's  Creek  Battle  Ground, 
where  the  first  decisive  battle  of  the  American 
Revolution  was  fought  in  February,  1776.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  Keith,  Sr.,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Confederate  Army  throughout  the  war  and  an 
officer  in  the  commissary  department.  He  was 
captured  at  Lumberton,  North  Carolina,  and  was 
held  a  prisoner  at  Point  Lookout  for  several 
months  after  the  war  closed.  He  died  January 
15,  1895. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Franklin  Keith,  Jr.,  was  only 
an  infant  when  his  mother  died.  He  was  seven 
years  old  when  the  war  closed.  Thus  he  was 
introduced  to  life  at  a  time  when  the  fortunes 
of  the  South  were  shattered  and  when  many  men 
had  neither  physical  resources  nor  the  courage  to 
restore  the  land  that  had  been  devastated.  In 
those  critical  times  Mr.  Keith  plowed  in  the  field 
barefooted  until  his  feet  were  so  sore  and  his 
body  so  full  of  aches  and  pains  that  only  the  re- 
sisting power  of  youthful  blood  enabled  him  to 
sleep  and  go  on  at  his  work  from  day  to  day. 
He  grew  up  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  money 
in  the  country,  no  industries  to  furnish  employ- 
ment, and  prices  for  farm  products  so  low  as  to 
debase  agriculture  to  a  plane  from  which  it  has 
been  redeemed  only  by  the  remarkable  prosperity 
of  recent  years.  His  father,  a  typical  big-hearted 
and  generous  man,  had  been  practically  ruined 
not  ouly  by  the  fortunes  of  war  but  also  by  going 
on  security  and  other  debts  contracted  when  he 
bad  slaves.  Benjamin  Keith,  Jr.,  was  about  nine- 
teen or  twenty  years  old  when  the  last  of  his 
father's  serious  obligations  had  been  met  and  paid, 
100  cents  on  the  dollar  niqst  of  them  with  in- 
terest. 

Having  contributed  his  own  services  to  the  fam- 
ily so  long,  Mr.  Keith  then  determined  to  take 
advantage  of  whatever  opportunity  there  was  to 
secure  an  adequate  education.  Up  to  that  time 
he  had  had  intermittent  schooling  in  local  country 
schools.  With  about  $20  in  cash,  which  he  had 
saved,  he  went  to  Warsaw  in  Duplin  County  and 
for  what  tuition  he  could  not  pay  down  he  went 
in  debt  and  was  enrolled  as  a  student  of  the 
school  conducted  by  Dr.  J.  N.  Stallings  and  Fleet- 
rose  Cooper.  He  remained  in  that  school  mostly 
on  ' '  credit ' '  for  about  two  years.  While  there 
he  prepared  for  college.  But  the  hard  work  of 
his  earlier  youth  and  his  strenuous  diligence  as  a 
student  brought  about  a  serious  breakdown  of 
health  and  physicians  advised  him  that  he  could 
not  live  if  he  continued  in  school.  It  was  his 
plan  to  enter  Wake  Forest  College,  but  this  cher- 
ished purpose  had  to  be  abandoned.  Returning 
home,  he  resumed  work  on  the  farm.  However, 
under  the  advise  of  his  able  and  conscientious 
tutors  at  Warsaw  he  supplied  himself  with  suita- 
ble books  and  literature  and  continued  self-study 
at  home,  with  the  result  that  in  time  he  became 
a.  well  educated  man,  a  fluent  and  forceful  writer, 
and  an  effective  public  speaker. 

In  1882  Mr.  Keith  moved  to  Wilmington,  a  city 
where  he  was  destined  to  become  a  successful  and 
prominent  merchant  and  a  leader  in  civic  affairs, 
and  for  a  time  at  least  he  made  himself  one  of 
the  most  admired  and  most  cordially  hated  citi- 
zens. The  first  three  months  there  he  was  book- 
keeper in  the.  general  offices  of  the  Singer  Sewing 
Machine  Company.  He  went  into  business  for 
himself  as  a  commission  merchant,  and  along  this 
line    his   success    was    pronounced.      His    business 


grew  and  gradually  expanded  throughout  a  wider 
field  as  a  wholesale  grocery  house  under  the  name 
B.  F.  Keith  Company.  Mr.  Keith  built  up  a  great 
trade,  handling  specialities  in  connection  with  gro- 
ceries, throughout,  the  Wilmington  commercial  ter- 
ritory, kept  several  traveling  salesmen  and  brokers 
on  the  road,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  big 
merchants  of  North  Carolina.  His  success  was 
due  to  the  employment  of  modern  business  meth- 
ods, and  in  all  his  career  hrs  name  has  been  a 
synonym  for  enterprise  and  progressiveness.  He 
also  branched  out  into  other  lines.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  prominent  in  the  shingle  industry, 
developed  a  large  local  trade  and  also  went  into 
the  export  business.  For  a  time  he  practically 
controlled  the  shingle  trade  of  Wilmington.  It 
was  his  custom  to  charter  vessels  and  ship  shingles 
to  the  West  Indies,  bringing  back  carloads  of 
fruit  for  his  commission  and  grocery  establish- 
ment. 

On  retiring  from  commercial  life  Mr.  Keith  in 
1904  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  for  the 
Port  of  Wilmington  by  President  Roosevelt.  He 
was  reappointed  by  President  Taft  and  served  in 
that  position  12%  years,  until  1913.  His  serv- 
ices as  customs  collector  were  marked  by  the  same 
activity  and  energy  that  had  characterized  his 
individual  business.  He  made  a  number  of  trips 
to  New  York  and  other  northern  seaport  cities 
and  was  instrumental  in  diverting  ocean  going 
traffic  to  the  port  at  Wilmington  which  had"  pre* 
viously  gone  to  other  ports.  Thus  he  was  an  im- 
portant factor  in  developing  the  great  volume  of 
commerce  that  now  goes  in  and  out  of  Wilming- 
ton. It  was  in  recognition  of  this  rapidly  in- 
creasing importance  of  Wilmington  as  a  port 
that  Mr.  Keith  secured,  after  the  expenditure  of 
much  time  and  effort,  an  appropriation  of  $600  000 
from  Congress  to  build  the  present  new  custom 
house  at  Wilmington,  a  stately  and  magnificent 
public  building,  one  of  the  finest  government 
structures  in  the  country,  and  a  source  of  par- 
ticular pride  to  the  people  of  Wilmington.  Dur- 
l'f  ™  t.""elve  years  he  1T*>s  collector  of  the  port 
of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  the  office  was 
never  better  managed,  so  the  public  said  and  the 
receipts  increased  425  per  cent  during  this  period. 
Ine  following  is  what  our  principal  historian, 
Dr.  James  Sprunt,  in  his  book,  "The  Cape  Fear 
Chronicles,"  in  speaking  of  the  new  custom  house 
says:  After  serving  for  over  twelve  vears  as 
collector  of  customs,  Mr.  Keith  with  persistent 
dogged  determination  and  constant  effort  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  $600,000  in  all  for  the  new 
custom  house.  In  his  retirement  to  private  life 
with  clean  hands  Mr.  Keith  is  entitled  to  the 
commendation  'well  done'  by  an  appreciative 
public' 

For  a  while  Mr.  Keith  was  a  member  of  the 
board  ot  aldermen  of  Wilmington.  As  head  of 
some  of  its  committees  he  worked  steadilv  for 
public  improvement  and  especiallv  those  improve- 
ments that  raised  Wilmington  from  the  countrv 
town  class  to  a  city  of  metropolitan  proportions. 
Much  credit  is  due  him  for  the  establishment  of 
Wilmington  s  first  paid  fire  department,  its  equip- 
ment with  fire  apparatus,  and  its  operation  bv 
professional  firemen.  His  constructive  leadership 
also  deserves  credit  for  starting  the  covering  of 
many  of  the  old  shell  paved  streets  with  modern 
pavings.  He  was  the  original  advocate  at  Wil- 
mington of  municipally  owned  waterworks  and 
other  public  utilities.  He  battled  for  these  and 
other   reforms   and   improvements   in   the   face   of 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


119 


what  was  often  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of 
selfish  and  unprogressive  citizens.  But  detraction 
and  opposition  have  never  served  to  turn  Mr. 
Keith  from  a  course  which  he  believed  to  be 
right  and  for  the  best  advantage  of  all  concerned. 
In  order  to  give  expression  to  his  progressive 
ideals  he  established  a  weekly  paper  known  as 
The  New  Era,  which  he  owned  and  edited  for  sev- 
eral years. 

After  retiring  from  the  wholesale  grocery  and 
commission  business  Mr.  Keith  made  extensive 
experiments  with  ground  phosphate  of  lime  as  a 
fertilizer.  These  experiments  were  conducted 
with  a  view  to  proving  its  desirability  over  the 
burnt  lime  which  for  years  had  been  employed 
as  a  fertilizer  ingredient  throughout  the  South. 
His  results  proved  that  the  ground  phosphate  was 
ideal  in  many  respects  and  had  none  of  the  ob- 
jections alleged  to  burnt  lime.  His  characteris- 
tic energy  then  caused  him  to  establish  a  mill  for 
grinding  lime,  and  he  thus  became  as  far  as 
known,  the  originator  of  the  present  industry  in 
the  United  States.  He  successfully  and  exten- 
sively manufactured  this  product  until  the  break- 
ing "out  of  the  World  war  put  a  stop  to  such  in- 
dustries. His  plant  was  at  Neil 's  Eddy  on  the 
Cape  Fear  River  in  Columbus  County,  not  far 
from  the  Town  of  Acme  on  the  Seaboard  Air 
Line  Railroad.  This  business  was  conducted  un- 
der the  name  B.  F.  Keith  Company  and  supplied 
a  large  demand  in  commercial  fertilizers.  The 
phosphate  of  lime  for  the  grinding  was  obtained 
from  extensive  deposits  of  the  material  on  Mr. 
Keith 's  own  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  plant. 
This  useful  industry,  which  furnished  a  large  total 
of  much  needed  fertilizer  to  the  farmers  of  the 
South,  was  begun  in  1900  and  continued  for 
fourteen  years,  until  1914.  Mr.  Keith 's  lands  in 
that  vicinity  contain  extensive  deposits  of  blue 
marl,  another  source  of  valuable  fertilizer  ingre- 
dient. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  Lyon 
Swamp  Drainage  District,  in  the  formation  of 
which  Mr.  Keith  was  the  originator  and  leader. 
The  movement  reclaimed  and  made  tillable  a  large 
body  of  the  richest  agricultural  lands  in  the 
state.  Preparatory  to  launching  the  movement, 
Mr.  Keith  made  trips  to  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois, and  investigated  some  of  the  famous  drain- 
age districts  of  those  states.  What  he  saw  and 
learned  convinced  him  that  such  projects  were 
feasible  and  in  fact  indispensible  to  the  con- 
tinued future  development  of  North  Carolina,  es- 
pecially in  the  eastern  counties.  The  organization 
of  the  Lyon  Swamp  Drainage  District  was  begun 
in  1907  and  in  about  three  years  the  project  was 
completed.  The  Lyon  Swamp  lies  between  the 
Black  and  Cape  Fear  rivers  in  Pender  and  Bladen 
counties.  The  main  canal  extends  for  seventeen 
miles  through  the  swamp,  is  from  twenty  to 
twenty-four  feet  wide  and  from  nine  to  eleven 
feet  deep.  The  main  swamp  embraces  10,500 
acres  of  land,  but  a  large  additional  acreage  is 
subject  to  drainage  by  means  of  the  watershed. 
As  this  enterprise  has  served  to  ' '  make  a  blade 
of  grass  grow  where  none  grew  before, ' '  its  value 
and  importance  can  correspondingly  be  appreci- 
ated. For  many  years  Mr.  Keith  had  studied  and 
realized  the  possibilities  of  such  development  and 
it  was  obviously  a  source  of  great  gratification 
when  the  plans  were  carried  out. 

In  connection  he  also  put  into  practice  some 
ideas  about  forestry,  a  subject  in  which  he  has 
been   deeply   interested   for   a   long   time.      It   was 


largely  the  recommendation  of  Doctor  Pratt,  head 
or  uie  Otate  ueparuuent  oi  forestry  ami  j.\ecia- 
mauuii,  aiong  vvixn  many  otner  foresters,  that 
urougut  auout  tne  necessary  legislation  Ironi  the 
ireneral  Assembly.  The  financing  of  the  Lyon 
Swamp  project  was  successfully  carried  out  un- 
der in.  xveitn  s  management,  and  while  its  gen- 
eral value  and  purpose  is  now  everywnere  recog- 
nized tne  actual  construction  aroused  vigorous 
opposition  ijecauae  oi  seinsnness  anu  ignorance, 
tne  same  toes  Mr.  Keith  has  had  to  right  on  other 
occasions.  Ml.  Keith  is  chairman  or  the  board 
of  commissioners  of  the  drainage  district.  The 
land  tnat  nad  been  reclaimed  and  cleared  pro- 
duced from  lorty  to  seventy-five  bushels  of  corn 
to  the  acre  and  from  a  bale  to  a  bale  and  a  half 
of  cotton  per  acre.  Farmers  have  been  known 
to  pay  tor  tueir  land  by  one  year's  crop. 

\\  mle  it  is  of  minor  importance,  as  measured 
by  his  other  activities,  one  of  the  interesting  in- 
dustries of  the  Keith  farm  is  the  Colly  Mill. 
This  produces  a  fine  grade  of  water  ground  meal 
from  select  corn,  a  corn  meal  that  has  been  highly 
praised  and  recommended  by  health  authorities  in 
recent  years.  The  mill  also  has  equipment  for 
sawing  lumber,  but  the  only  use  for  that  purpose 
is  to  make  lumber  used  oy  Mr.  Keith  himself 
and  neighbors.  The  meal,  however,  is  sold  and 
widely  distributed.  The  mill  is  on  (Jolly  Creek,  a 
branch  of  the  Black  River,  and  about  a  mile 
above  the  Keith  home.  Much  of  the  interest  that 
surrounds  it  is  due  to  its  history.  It  was  a  mill 
even  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Englishmen 
built  it  in  the  first  place,  and  when  the  Revolu- 
tion was  in  progress  its  wheels  and  machinery 
sawed  lumber  as  well  as  ground  corn.  It  was 
at  this  mill  that  Mr.  Keith 's  great-grandfather 
on  his  father's  mother's  side,  Capt.  John  Larkins, 
a  Patriot  American  officer,  was  captured  by  the 
tories  and  kept  in  a  "  bull  pen ' '  for  some  time. 
A  number  of  years  ago  Mr.  Keith  bought  this 
mill  property  and  spent  a  part  of  three  years  in 
rebuilding  and  re-equiping  it.  The  dam  is  % 
of  a  mile  long  and  into  the  frame  work  of  its 
construction  entered  about  200,000  feet  of  lumber, 
chiefly  cypress. 

Mr.  Keith  personally  owns  large  tracts  of  land, 
both  timbered  and  cleared,  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  his  home  is  the  center.  Much  of  it  is  with- 
in the  Lyon  Swamp  Drainage  District.  His  main 
farm  for  general  agricultural  purposes  is  the 
Lyon  Swamp  Farm,  three  miles  above  his  resi- 
dence, containing  about  1,500  acres,  some  500 
acres  being  cleared  and  in  cultivation.  On  his 
different  farms  he  produced  abundant  crops  of 
cotton,  corn,  hay  and  other  crops.  The  place 
on  which  his  home,  Caledonia,  is  situated  com- 
prises about  400  acres.  He  owns  large  tracts 
on  the  Cape  I'ear  River  in  Brunswick,  Columbus 
and  Pender  counties,  and  taken  altogether  is 
one  of  the  large  land  owners  and  planters  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  The  tract  where  the  Colly 
Mill  is  situated  consists  of  about  1,200  acres, 
covered  with  a  fine  second  growth  of  cypress 
trees  that  has  attained  about  the  size  of  telephone 
poles. 

Mr.  Keith  has  made  his  home  on  the  Keith 
Farm  since  1913.  His  beautiful  home,  Caledonia, 
is  on  the  banks  of  the  Black  River,  situated  in 
the  southwest  part  of  Pender  County,  four  miles 
west  of  Currie  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line,  and 
about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Wilmington.  The 
residence  is  a  handsome  and  commodious  structure, 
of  pleasing  and  even  Impressive  architecture,  and 


120 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


is  three  stories  in  height.  It  is  equipped  with 
modern  conveniences,  electric  lights,  water  system, 
sewerage  and  is  an  ideal  country  home.  The  house 
was  built  under  his  direct  supervision.  The  tim- 
ber was  selected  by  him  from  his  own  forests,  and 
none  but  the  best  and  most  lasting  materials 
went  into  its  construction.  There  is  a  boat  land- 
ing on  the  Black  River  right  at  his  lawn,  and  a 
beautiful  park  a  short  distance  from  iis  resi- 
dence, occupying  the  most  prominent  viewpoint  of 
the  river,  is'  another  prominent  feature.  He  has 
a  gasoline  launch  for  the  pleasures  of  the  river 
and  the  estate  comprises  a  natural  game  preserve 
for  wild  turkeys,  squirrels,  quail  and  other  game. 
His  gardens  and  orchards  produce  abundance  of 
fruits  and  vegetables  in  season,  which  are  canned 
and  preserved  for  other  months  of  the  year. 

This  record  so  far  has  indicated  some  of  the 
points  emphasized  at  the  beginning  as  evidence  of 
how  Mr.  Keith  has  made  his  clear  sighted  ideals 
predominate  over  material  and  personal  circum- 
stances. That  part  of  his  character  stands  out 
particularly  prominent  in  his  record  in  politics 
and  public  affairs.  He  has  always  had  advanced 
and  progressive  ideals.  In  political  faith  his  fam- 
ily for  generations  have  been  democrats.  But  it 
is  characteristic  of  Mr.  Keith  that  he  would  not 
be  held  nor  bound  down  by  traditional  precedence. 
Following  the  leading  of  his  own  ideas  and  judg- 
ment he  left  the  democratic  party  in  the  late 
'90s  and  turned  republican.  In  a  city  and  state 
like  Wilmington  and  North  Carolina,  where  tra- 
ditional party  ties  are  held  so  strongly,  such  a 
conversion  in  politics  is  certain  to  arouse  hos- 
tility, suspicion,  and  often  bring  about  alienation 
from  long  standing  friendships.  These  results 
were  accentuated  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Keith  because 
of  his  active  leadership  in  civic  and  municipal  af- 
fairs at  Wilmington.  Old  time  partisans  did  not 
hesitate  to  go  outside  political  lines  to  fight  him, 
but  even  made  it  a  personal  matter  and  finally 
there  came  an  acute  stage  where  his  wholesale 
mercantile  business,  then  at  the  height  of  its 
prosperity,  was  subjected  to  so  many  reports  and 
defamations  proceeding  from  enemy  sources  as  to 
amount  practically  to  boycott  and  blackmail.  The 
climax  was  reached  in  the  race  riots  of  1898,  when 
not  only  was  Mr.  Keith 's  business  threatened 
with  destruction  but  his  life  as  well.  Although 
these  sensational  events  compelled  Mr.  Keith  to 
abandon  his  mercantile  work  at  Wilmington,  they 
did  not  in  the  least  baffle  him  personally,  and  he 
remained  at  his  post  night  and  day,  unafraid  and 
ready  at  every  moment  to  meet  all  comers.  Cour- 
age is  one  of  the  ancestral  traits  of  the  Keiths 
and  its  quality  has  never  been  lacking  in  any  situ- 
ation in  which  Mr.  Keith  has  been  placed.  Even 
in  the  face  of  the  destruction  of  his  business 
and  life  work  he  never  made  the  slightest  com- 
promise of  his  principles  during  that  tragic  peri- 
od. He  has  remained  an  adherent  of  the  pro- 
gressive wine  of  the  republican  party,  and  during 
the  year  1918  was  prominently  mentioned  as  that 
party's  candidate  for  Congress.  Mr.  Keith  was 
larp-elv  instrumental  in  having  President  Taft  visit 
Wilmington  one  full  day  during  his  term  of  presi- 
dency. 

Personally  Mr.  Keith  is  a  man  of  most  rest- 
less enerev,  always  busy,  and  always  having  some- 
thing useful  to  accomplish.  For  all  that  and  for 
the  long  record  of  achievements  briefly  noted 
above  he  has  borne  up  under  frail  health  since 
boyhood.  During  several  periods  of  enforced  con- 
finements in  hospitals  he  has  gratified  his  natural 
taste   for  literary  composition  by  writing  poems. 


Some  of  his  close  friends  have  cherished  and  ad- 
mired these  verses,  a  few  of  which  have  been 
printed,  and  one  of  which  ' '  Caledonia ' '  follows 
this  sketch. 

Mr.  Keith  married  at  Wilmington.  Miss  Lillian 
Rulfs,  a  native  of  that  eity.  They  have  eight 
children:  B.  F.  Keith,  Jr.;  Lila,  wife  of  Mr. 
Julius  Smith;  Miss  Adeline;  Julian;  Marion; 
Frederick;   James  and  Theodore  Keith. 

"CALEDONIA" 

Oh,  sweet  old  Caledonia,  the  sacred  home, 
Where  the  passing  river  kisses  the  sacred  shore, 
The   land    where   sacred   memories    dwell, 
With  its  forest  tinged  with  beauty  throwing  kisses 
to   the   skies. 

No,  we  can  never  forget  the  beautiful  Caledonia, 
Never   while   life  ebbs   and  flows  on   earth, 
For  such  sacred  places  have  their  finals  in  Heaven, 
Then    why    not    rejoice    when    its    beauty    is    so 
sublime  ? 

Oh,  sweet  Caledonia,  where  the  sun  and  moon 
First   peep    from   the   East   out   in    their   radiant 

light, 
Will  ever  hold  the  place  next  to  eternal  life, 
May  its  beauty  and  sacredness  ever  hold  the  key 

of  right. 

Sweet  Caledonia,  the  home  nearest  to  the  skies, 
Where  the  beautiful  old  river  goes  gleaming  by, 
Noted   for  its   traffic   as  with  fish   and   game, 
Where   the   anglers   and   hunters   can   find   no 
complaint. 

The  flowing  Spring  at  old  Caledonia,  always  so 

pure   and  sweet, 
Brings   us   back   to   the    sweet,   innocent   days   of 

our   youth, 
Where  pain  and  sorrow  had  no  light  in  our  life, 
Where  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  the  light  so 

beautiful  and  bright. 

Old  Caledonia  was  the  sweet  home  on  Scotland 's 

heights, 
Where  the  first  Earl  Mariehal  saw  first  the  light, 
For  centuries  there  the  Seal  of  Scotland  was  kept 

right, 
Until   the   love   of  liberty   gave   the  chatties  new 

life    and   light. 

Thence    to   America   some   did   flee    for   liberty 
and   rights, 
While  others  to  Spain,  Bussia  and  Prussia, 
There  to  give  counsel  to  the  kings  and  rulers  of 

their   day, 
Holding   the    highest    positions   in   all    their    day. 

Those  to  America  have  always  been  true  to  their 

adopted  home, 
The  young   lads,   with   their   dads,   shoulder   their 

guns, 
When  the  Revolution  was  over,  we  had  won, 
Battled,    with    bare    feet,    lads    along    with    their 

dads. 

Caledonia,  for  centuries  the  home  of  our  noble 

sires, 
Until  no  more  in  old  Scotland,  beautiful  land, 
Now    transplanted    on    Caledonia    Creek    in 

Carolina, 
Where   for   century   its   sacredness   held   by  noble 

descendants    of    William    Catti. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


121 


Oh,   sing  of   sweet   Caledonia  the  sacred   place, 
It's  home  the  child  should  learn  to  love, 
It  brings  love  and  tenderness  to  dear  ones 
Whose  toils  and  anxiety  have  worn  them  away. 

— Benjamin  Franklin   Keith. 

Howard  M.  Howe,  who  is  serving  his  second 
term  as  sheriff  of  Wilson  County,  was  born  at 
Wilson,  North  Carolina,  September  3,  1867.  His 
parents  were  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Edith  Jane 
(Barnes)  Howe.  During  tue  war  between  the 
states  Thomas  Jefferson  Rowe  enlisted  for  mili- 
tary service,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Forty- 
second  North  Carolina  Confederate  Volunteer  In- 
fantry and  later  served  in  the  eavah-y  under  Gens. 
Hoke  Smith  and  Wade  Hampton.  In  the  Battle  of 
Burgess  Hill,  near  Richmond,  Virginia,  Mr.  Rowe 
was  seriously  wounded  in  the  leg  and  through  the 
cruel  neglect  that  left  him  uncared  for  on  the 
battle  tield  for  three  days  his  leg  had  to  be  am- 
putated. No  one  of  a  younger  generation  can 
think  calmly  of  the  agonies  that  their  fathers 
endured  during  that  long  struggle  because  of 
medical  and  surgical  lack  of  knowledge  and  be- 
cause lagging  science  had  not  yet  discovered  the 
marvelous  methods  and  ameliorations  of  today. 
Mr.  Kowe  passed  away  Easter  Sunday,  1901.  He 
was  one  of  Wilson 's  honored  citizens.  In  1870 
he  was  elected  register  of  deeds  for  Wilson  Coun- 
ty and  served  continuously  for  live  terms  and 
then  declined  re-election. 

Howard  May  Bowe  was  primarily  educated  in 
the  Maggie  Hearne  Private  School,  where  he  was 
prepared  for  college  and  in  1884  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  He  afterward  be- 
came identified  with  the  Southern  Express  Com- 
pany and  was  messenger  at  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
for  two  months  and  later  was  stationed  at  Rich- 
mond, Raleigh,  Hamlet  and  Charlotte,  his  last 
station  being  at  Atlanta,  Georgia.  In  1903  Mr. 
Rowe  embarked  in  farming  and  continued  a  tiller 
of  the  soil  until  in  July,  1908,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  sheriff,  in  which  office  he  served 
for  five  years.  In  1913  he  was  elected  sheriff 
of  Wilson  County  and  he  has  been  in  office  ever 
since  but  still,  to  some  degree,  is  interested  in 
farming.  Sheriff  Rowe  has  made  a  fine  official 
record  and  the  people  of  Wilson  County  have 
proved  that  they  are  appreciative. 

Sheriff  Rowe  was  married  November  18,  1890, 
to  Miss  Esther  Virginia  Ury,  who  was  born  at 
Concord,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Andrew  Jackson  and  Esther  (Young)  Ury.  Her 
father  is  interested  in  merchandising  and  farm- 
ing and  is  an  old  resident  of  the  county. 

Sheriff  Rowe  has  been  active  in  the  ranks  of 
the  democratic  party  and  has  ever  been  loyal  to 
its  principles  and  candidates.  He  is  identified 
with  the  leading  fraternities  and  is  a  member 
of  numerous  other  organizations  such  as  attract 
a  man  of  sterling  character  and  social  instincts. 
He  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  belongs  also 
to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
to  the  Junior  Order  of  the  United  American  Me- 
chanics. He  belongs  to  the  Sons  of  America,  a 
patriotic  order,  to  the  Wilson  Country  Club  and 
to   the  Commonwealth   Club. 

Lieut.  Roswell  A.  Wommack.  The  title  which 
precedes  his  name  Mr.  Wommack  won  by  valiant 
and  courageous  service  as  a  Confederate  soldier 
during  the  war  between  the  states.    More  than  half 


a  century  has  passed  since  that  great  conflict,  and 
that  time  the  lieutenant  has  filled  in  with  work  as 
a  planter  and  in  commercial  lines,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  has  been  one  of  the  most  widely  known 
and  most  popular  citizens  of  Winston-Salem  and 
Forsyth  County. 

Mr.  Wommack  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina 
and  was  born  at  Lexington,  July  26,  1837.  His 
paternal  ancestors  were  early  settlers  in  Prince 
Edward  County,  Virginia.  His  grandfather, 
James  Wommack,  was  born  it  is  thought  in  that 
part  of  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  now  in- 
eluded  in  Davidson  County.  He  owned  and  operated 
a  plantation  near  Lexington,  where  he  spent  his 
last  years.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was 
Mary  Wiseman,  who  probably  spent  all  her  life 
in  the  vicinity  of  Lexington.  She  was  a  woman 
widely  known  in  the  community.  She  had  made 
a  special  study  of  obstetrics  and  in  her  community 
she  assisted  in  bringing  many  children  into  the 
world. 

Wilson  W.  Wommack,  father  of  Lieutenant 
Wommack,  was  born  on  a  plantation  two  miles 
below  Lexington  in  1811.  As  a  youth  he  learned 
the  trade  of  hatter,  serving  his  apprenticeship 
at  Lexington.  In  Lexington  he  built  a  home  which 
is  still  standing  and  is  now  used  as  a  parsonage 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  He 
died  at  Lexington  when  thirty-five  years  of  age.  He 
was  twice  married.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had 
a  daughter  named  Elizabeth.  The  mother  of 
Lieutenant  Wommack  was  Rebecca  Romminger.  She 
was  born  ten  miles  south  of  Salem,  daughter  of 
Cornelius  and  Rosa  (Clouse)  Romminger.  After 
the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Mr.  Wommack, 
she  married  John  Mickle,  of  Clemmons  Township, 
Forsyth  County.  She  lived  to  be  very  old,  passing 
away  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  Her  children,  all 
by  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Wommack,  were  six  in 
number :  Roswell  A.,  Sarah  O,  Mary  Jane,  James 
O,  Wesley  W.  and  Wilson. 

Roswell  A.  Wommack,  as  a  boy,  attended  school 
at  Clemmonsville.  When  thirteen  years  of  age  he 
entered  an  apprenticeship  under  E.  A.  Vogler  to 
learn  the  jeweler 's  trade.  He  served  about  three 
years.  He  then  made  up  for  some  of  the  early 
deficiencies  of  his  educational  opportunities,  at- 
tending high  school  at  East  Bend  two  years. 
Going  to  Salisbury,  Lieutenant  Wommack  worked  at 
his  trade  two  years,  and  then  returned  to  his 
mother's  farm  and  was  busily  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  fields  when  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded. 
April  9,  1861,  Mr.  Wommack  enlisted  in  Company 
A,  of  the  Twenty-first  Regiment,  North  Carolina 
troops.  In  the  following  May  he  was  promoted  to 
first  sergeant,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  to 
second  lieutenant.  In  the  meantime  he  had  followed 
his  command  in  its  various  maneuvers  and  cam- 
paigns, participated  in  numerous  battles  and  was 
part  of  that  heroic  body  of  Confederates  led  by 
Stonewall  Jackson.  Lieutenant  Wommack  still 
has  the  stirrups  from  a  saddle  which  was  presented 
to  him  by  General  Jackson.  After  his  promotion 
to  second  lieutenant  he  served  mostly  in  detached 
duty.  Part  of  the  time  he  was  in  charge  of  an 
ambulance  corps,  and  for  two  years  had  charge  of 
ordnance  train,  and  was  also  in  command  of  various 
foraging  parties.  He  was  on  a  foraging  excursion 
in  Eastern  North  Carolina  when  the  news  came  of 
General  Lee 's  surrender.  At  that  news,  with  his 
comrades,  he  started  to  join  President  Davis,  whom 
he  found  at  Charlotte.  *  Mr.  Davis  advised  his 
loyal     followers     to     return     home.        Lieutenant 


122 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Wommack  then  selected  two  good  mules  and  rode 
back  with  them  to  the  plantation  of  his  father-in- 
law  in  Lewisville  Township  of  Forsyth  County.  A 
few  days  later  there  came  along  a  party  of  Yankee 
soldiers.  They  took  away  one  of  the  mules  and 
also  a  gray  horse.  Lieutenant  Wommack  was 
not  the  type  of  man  to  sit  quietly  by  when  an  in- 
justice was  done  him.  Going  to  Salem,  he  called 
on  Major  Felkin  of  the  Tenth  Ohio  Regiment,  then 
in  command  at  Salem.  He  told  of  the  taking  of  the 
horse  and  mule  and  explained  that  according  to 
the  terms  of  surrender  he  was  entitled  to  his 
property.  Major  Felkin  said  that  if  he  could 
assure  him  of  his  loyalty  to  the  United  States 
Government  his  property  would  be  restored.  Lieu- 
tenant Wommack  replied  that  he  had  proved  his 
loyalty  to  the  Confederacy  by  fighting  the  Union 
four  years  and  that  if  such  unjust  treatment  was 
to  be  meted  out  to  him  and  his  people  as  had 
been  since  the  surrender  he  would  be  glad  to  fight 
four  years  more.  The  major,  pleased  with  this 
spirited  reply,  said  that  he  liked  the  man  not  afraid 
to  express  his  sentiments  and  at  once  wrote  an 
order,  handing  it  to  Mr.  Wommack,  permitting  him 
to  take  possession  of  any  horse  or  mule  which  he 
might  claim  as  his  own. 

Following  that  war,  Mr.  Wommack  resumed  work 
on  his  father-in-law 's  farm,  remaining  there  one 
year,  and  then  built  a  cotton  mill  in  Yadkin 
County.  He  operated  this  mill  a  year  and  then 
took  a  commission  with  a  Baltimore  wholesale 
house  as  a  traveling  salesman.  He  has  continued  as 
a  commercial  traveler,  over  his  native  state  and 
various  sections,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
since  the  Civil  war.  He  has  a  large  acquaintance 
and  is  one  of  the  most  popular  traveling  salesmen 
in  the  state. 

Lieutenant  Wommack  first  married  Georgia  P. 
Hart.  She  was  born  in  Halifax  County,  Virginia, 
daughter  of  Henry  Hart,  a  native  of  the  same  state. 
Henry  Hart  came  to  North  Carolina  and  settled 
in  Lewisville  Township  of  Forsyth  County,  where 
he  acquired  a  large  plantation,  operating  it  with 
slave  labor  until  the  war.  He  remained  there  until 
his  death.  Mr.  Wommack 's  first  wife  died  in 
1863,  while  he  was  away  in  the  army.  For  his 
second  wife  he  married  Letitia  Lehman.  Mrs. 
Wommack  was  born  in  Forsyth  County,  daughter 
of  William  E.  and  Catherine  (Miller)  Lehman. 
To  their  marriage  have  been  born  six  children : 
James  E.,  Mary,  Paul  L.,  Eoswell  A.,  Jr.,  Bessie 
and  Ralph  L.  James  married  Sallie  Belle  Jack- 
son, daughter  of  T.  J.  Jackson,  of  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina.  Mary  is  the  wife  of  James  A. 
Thomas,  chief  of  police,  Winston-Salem.  Paul  L. 
married  Bertha  Hancock,  Danville,  Virginia,  and 
has  a  daughter  named  Letitia  Frances.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wommack  are  active  members  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  at  Winston-Salem.  He  has  been 
identified  with  the  Masonic  order  for  fifty  years 
and  his  membership  is  in  Winston  Lodge  No.  167, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  His  interest 
Jias  always  been  keen  for  his  old  army  comrades 
of  the  Confederacy  and  he  sustains  that  interest 
by  membership  in  Norfleet  Camp  of  the  United 
Confederate  Veterans. 

Evekett  Webster  Cates.  Distinguished  not 
only  for  the  honored  ancestry  from  which  he 
traces  his  descent,  but  for  his  own  life  and  works, 
Everett  W.  Cates,  of  Thomasville,  cashier  of  the 
People's  Bank,  is  well  known  in  financial  circles 
as  a  man  of  ability,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem 


throughout  the  community.  A  Virginian  by  birth, 
he  was  born  in  Danville  in  May,  1859,  of  sub- 
stantial English  ancestry,  being  a  direct  descend- 
ant in  the  seventh  generation  from  the  immigrant 
ancestor,  the  line  of  descent  being  as  follows: 
Joshua,  Joseph,  Joseph,  Barnard,  David  H.,  Peter, 
and  Everett  Webster.  Joshua  Cates  emigrated 
from  England  to  America  in  1715,  locating  in 
North  Carolina,  and  casting  his  lot  with  the 
Elizabeth   City   Colony. 

David  H.  Cates,  grandfather  of  Everett  W. 
Cates,  was  born  in  Hillsboro,  Orange  County,  this 
state,  and  as  a  young  man  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  the  shoemaker 's  trade,  all  shoes  at  that 
time  having  been  made  to  order,  and  by  hand. 
Both  he  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Elizabeth  Morris,  spent  their  last  years  in  Thomas- 
ville. 

Peter  Cates  was  born  in  Hillsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1826.  Working  in  his  father 's  shop,  he 
learned  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  which  he  sub- 
sequently followed  for  a  few  years  in  Danville, 
Virginia.  Returning  to  North  Carolina  in  1861, 
he  located  in  Thomasville,  which,  on  account  of 
its  many  shoe  factories,  was  then  known  as  ' '  Shoe 
Town, ' '  or  the  ' '  Lynn  of  the  South. ' '  A  few 
years  later  the  shoe  shops  were  superseded  by 
chair  factories,  and  Thomasville  was  rechristened 
"Chair  Town"  or  the  "Garden  of  the  South." 
After  settling  here  Peter  Gates  was  for  a  while 
employed  in  the  factory  of  the  Shelley  Brothers, 
and  was  afterward  with  the  firm  of  C.  M.  &  G. 
Lines  until  the  business  was  closed  out.  Subse- 
quently, in  partnership  with  his  son,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  under  the  firm  name 
of  P.  C.  Cates  &  Son  until  1890,  when  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  burned  out.  From  that  time 
until  his  death,  in  1903,  he  lived  retired  from 
active  business. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Peter  Cates 
was  Margaret  Elizabeth  Adams.  She  was  born  at 
Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Adams,  who  married  a  Miss  Hunt.  She  was  of 
distinguished  New  England  ancestry,  having 
had  for  her  immigrant  ancester  the  same  Eng- 
lishman as  did  two  of  the  presidents  of  the 
United  States,  John  Adams  and  John  Quincy 
Adams.  She  died  in  January,  1907,  leaving  two 
children,  Harriet.  Augusta  and  Everett  W. 

Everett  W.  Cates  was  fitted  for  college  at  Pro- 
fessor Wright 's  school,  which  was  located  two 
miles  south  of  Thomasville,  and  later  attended 
Old  Trinity  in  Randolph  County.  During  his 
earlier  life  he  was  associated  in  business  with 
his  father,  as  above  mentioned,  being  junior 
member  of  the  firm  of  P.  C.  Cates  &  Son.  In 
1900,  in  company  with  F.  S.  and  J.  W.  Lambeth, 
Mr.  Cates  organized  the  Standard  Chair  Com- 
pany, No.  1,  and  later  the  Standard  Chair  Com- 
pany, No.  3.  In  1906  he  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  chair  business,  and  in  1910  became  treas- 
urer of  the  Bard  Lumber  Company,  chair  manu- 
facturers. This  position  Mr.  Cates  resigned  at 
the  end  of  a  few  months,  and  in  1911  embarked 
in  the  mercantile  business  with  his  former  clerk, 
C.  A.  Boggs,  and  as  head  of  the  firm  of  Cates 
&-  Boggs  carried  on  business  until  the  death  of 
the  junior  member  of  the  firm  in  May,  1913.  A 
year  later  Mr.  Cates  sold  out,  and  in  1916  he 
organized  the  People's  Bank,  of  which  he  has 
since  been  the  cashier,  a  responsible  position,  for 
which   he   is  eminently  qualified. 


AJ-  3,  &&fhjc 


jU^S^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


123 


In  June,  1889,  Mr.  Cates  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Blanche  Bailey  Pendleton.  She 
was  born  in  Margarettsville,  North  Carolina,  a 
daughter  of  Arthur  S.  and  Amanda  (Bailey)  Pen- 
dleton. She  is  a  direct  descendant  of  the  paternal 
side  of  Biram  Pendleton,  a  native  of  England, 
and  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  and 
on  the  maternal  side  she  is  related  to  two  of  the 
more  prominent  families  of  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, the  Chapins  and  the  Days.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cates  have  two  children,  Margaret  and 
Everett  W.,  Jr.  Religiously  both  are  members 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Cates 
is  a  non-affiliated  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, having  taken  all  the  degrees  up  to  aud 
including  the  Shrine. 

Daniel  Edward  Hudgins  rounded  out  a  quarter 
of  a  century  of  experience  and  achievement  as  a 
member  of  the  Marion  bar,  and  these  have  been 
years  filled  with  the  duties  and  obligations  of  the 
successful  lawyer  and  also  numerous  business  and 
civic  responsibilities. 

Mr.  Hudgins  was  born  at  Warrenton,  North 
Carolina,  October  9,  1869,  son  of  a  merchant  and 
farmer,  Patrick  Henry  Hudgins  and  his  wife  Jen- 
nie Diggs  Hudgins  of  Anson  County.  As  a  boy 
at  Warrenton  he  attended  the  local  academy  and 
in  1892  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  Soon  afterward  he 
located  at  Marion  and  from  that  year  to  the 
present  has  been  engaged  in  a  growing  and  in- 
fluential general  practice.  He  is  a  director  and 
attorney  for  the  First  National  Bank,  is  president 
of  the  Cross  Cotton  Mills,  is  executor  for  the 
W.  P.  Jones  Estate  in  McDowell  County,  and  is 
one  of  the  organizers  and  director  and  attorney 
for  the  McDowell  Building  and  Loan  Association 
and  an  organizer  and  director  of  the  Marion  In- 
surance and  Trust  Company. 

Mr.  Hudgins  has  always  been  a  devoted  friend 
of  education  and  for  twelve  years  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  McDowell  County  Board  of  education. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, is  a  Mason,  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  a  member  of  the  "Woodmen  of  the 
World,  and  is  a  steward  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

September  28,  1898,  he  married  Miss  Josephine 
Carter  of  Marion,  but  a  native  of  Buncombe 
County.  North  Carolina.  They  have  five  children, 
Mary  Douglass  and  Sara,  both  students  in  Ran- 
dolph-Macon College  in  Virginia:  Carter,  Frank 
Edward  and  Mildred,  who  are  students  in  public 
and  local  schools. 

Charles  Michael  Brown  is  one  of  the  oldest 
active  business  men  of  Washington,  where  he 
has  been  identified  with  mercantile,  banking  and 
other  affairs  for  upwards  of  half  a  century. 

Mr.  Brown  was  born  at  Salisbury,  North"  Caro- 
lina, October  15,  1848,  and  is  a  lineal  descendant 
of  that  Charles  Michael  Brown  or  Braun  who  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  section  of  North  Car- 
olina in  1759  and  established  a  large  frame  house 
near  Salisbury  which  long  stood  as  a  landmark. 
Mr.  Brown  is  a  son  of  Jeremiah  M.  and  Char- 
lotte (Verble)  Brown.  His  father  was  a  general 
contractor  in  the  building  of  residences  and  other 
construction,  served  with  the  rank  of  colonel  in 
the  State  Militia,  and  for  many  years  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 

Charles  M.  Brown  received  his  education  in  the 


public  schools  and  in  the  private  school  of  S.  H. 
Wiley.  He  early  learned  and  took  up  the  trade 
ot  pharmacist,  and  in  1869  he  opened  at  Wash- 
ington the  first  exclusive  drug  store  in  the  place. 
He  continued  as  a  merchant  until  lssu,  and 
since  that  year  has  been  prominently  connected 
as  a  banker. 

He  first  established  Brown's  Banking  House, 
a  private  institution.  In  1892  he  organized  and 
became  president  of  the  Beaufort  County  BanK 
and  in  1895  organized  the  First  National  Bank, 
with  which  the  Beaufort  County  Bank  was  merged. 
Mr.  Brown  continued  as  vice  president  of  the 
First  .National  Bank  firteen  years  and  then  be- 
came president. 

His  connection  with  local  affairs  includes  va- 
rious honors  and  responsibilities,  such  as  mayor 
of  Washington  for  four  years  and  member  of  the 
county  board  of  commissioners  six  years.  He  is 
a  ruling  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  is  a 
trustee  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  and  a  trustee  of  Peate  Institute  at  Ra- 
leigh. Mr.  Brown  is  a  Mason  and  former  grand 
warden  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 

.On  November  19,  1871,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Martin,  of  Washington,  daughter  of  Edwin  and 
Elizabeth  (Cooper)  Martin.  Her  father  was  a 
well  known  Washington  merchant.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  two  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter. Edwin  Martin,  the  oldest,  is  a  successful 
physician.  Charlotte  Caroline  is  the  wife  of  Frank 
C.  Kugler,  a  prominent  lumber  manufacturer  in 
this  part  of  North  Carolina.  Charles  Michael,  Jr., 
the  youngest,  is  in  the  lumber  manufacturing  busi- 
ness. 

Edwin  Martin  Brown,  M.  D.,  a  prominent 
physician  and  surgeon  of  Washington,  is  a  son 
of  Charles  M.  Brown. 

Doctor  Brown  was  born  at  Washington,  North 
Carolina,  May  10,  1873,  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  the  Bingham  School  and  studied 
medicine  in  the  Bellevue  Medical  Hospital  Col- 
lege of  New  York,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
March,  1896.  He  has  now  lived  at  Washington 
for  over  twenty  years  and  has  a  large  clientage 
and  well  established  reputation.  He  has  served 
the  community  as  health  officer,  is  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  the  Washington  Hospital  and  be- 
longs to  the  Beaufort  County,  the  North  Caro- 
lina State,  the  First  District  and  the  Seaboard 
Medical  societies.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

Doctor  Brown  married  for  his  first  wife  Jessie 
Burbank,  of  Washington,  now  deceased.  Their 
three  children  are  Dorothy  V.,  Harriett  Olivia  and 
Jessie  Burbank.  On  November  18,  1915,  Doctor 
Brown  married  Ruth  Butler,  of  Lynchburg,  Vir- 
ginia.    They   have   one   child,   Edwin   Martin,   Jr. 

Elmer  F.  McNeer.  Intimately  associated  with 
the  advancement  of  the  mercantile  prosperity  of 
Surry  County,  Elmer  F.  McNeer,  of  Elkin,  has 
met  with  signal  success  as  a  hardware  merchant, 
winning  a  high  position  among  the  leading  business 
men  of  his  community,  and  being  everywhere  re- 
spected as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  worth. 
A  son  of  William  R.  and  Laura  C.  McNeer,  he 
was  born  in  Monroe  County,  of  honored  ancestry, 
and  reared  in  Lynchburg,  Campbell  County,  Vir- 
ginia.   His  grandfather,  John  McNeer,  was  born  in 


124 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


West  Virginia,  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  continued 
a  resident  of  this  state  during  his  entire  life,  having 
been  a  planter   by   occupation. 

Born  near  Monroe,  West  Virginia,  William  E. 
McNeer  was  educated  at  Emory  &  Henry  College, 
in  Emory,  Virginia.  During  his  earlier  life  he 
was  principal  of  classic  schools  in  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  but  is  now  a  resident  of  Lynchburg,  Vir- 
ginia. He  married  Laura  C.  Anderson,  a  daughter 
of  Jno.  Anderson  and  America  Anderson,  of  fin- 
castle,  Virginia,  and  to  them  six  children  were 
born  and  reared,  as  follows:  Elmer  P.,  with  whom 
this  sketch  is  chiefly  concerned;  Preston  W.,  first 
lieutenant  United  States  Navy;  W.  Stanley,  a 
soldier  in  the  Canadian  army,  is  now  in  France; 
Harry  G.,  deceased;  Euby,  wife  of  W.  P.  Billion; 
Eula,  single,  of  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  and  Cordelia, 
wife  of  Julian  W.  Brown. 

At  the  early  age  of  thirteen  years,  Elmer  F. 
McNeer  began  his  active  career  as  a  clerk  in  a 
hardware  establishment  in  his  native  city.  During 
the  five  years  that  he  was  thus  employed,  he 
gained  a  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  business, 
and  subsequently  went  on  the  road  as  commercial 
traveller,  selling  hardware  to  the  trade  throughout 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  In  1897,  desirous,  of 
starting  in  business  on  his  own  account,  Mr.  Mc- 
Neer opened  a  hardware  store  in  Elkin,  and  in  its 
management  has  been  exceedingly  fortunate,  hav- 
ing, through  his  enterprise,  energy,  and  business 
sagacity,  built  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  trade. 

The  business  grew  rapidly  from  the  start,  and 
1902  Mr.  McNeer  erected  the  building  in  which 
his  business  is  now  located,  it  being  a  substantial 
brick  structure,  52  feet  by  245  feet,  and  two  stories 
in  height.  Here  he  carries  a  complete  stock  of 
hardware,  and  in  addition  keeps  constantly  on 
hand  agricultural  implements  and  machinery  of 
all  kinds.  With  characteristic  enterprise,  f  orseeing 
the  demands  made  by  autoists,  he  opened  a  garage, 
and  is  operating  that  successfully,  too.  In  1915  Mr. 
McNeer  erected,  of  brick,  a  tobacco  warehouse, 
100  feet  by  200  feet,  and  this,  like  his  other 
building,  is  practically  fire  proof.  In  the  super- 
vision of  his  different  lines  of  industry  he  has 
accumulated  valuable  city  and  country  property, 
being  the  owner  of  considerable  farm  land  in 
addition  to  his  city  holdings. 

On  August  11,  1896,  Mr.  McNeer  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Maude  Alma  Fields,  who  was 
born  in.  Alleghany  County,  North  Carolina,  a 
daughter  of  William  C.  and  Jennie  (Smith) 
Fields.  Her  father,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Sparta, 
is  active  in  public  affairs,  and  has  represented 
Alleghany  County  in  the  State  Legislature.  Re- 
ligiously  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNeer  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Fraternally, 
Mr.  McNeer  is  a  member  of  Piedmont  Lodge  No. 
96,  Knights  of  Pythias;  and  of  Elkin  Camp, 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  A  straightforward  demo- 
crat in  politics,  he  has  served  acceptably  as  a 
member  of  the  Elkin  Board  of  Commissioners. 

Lindsay  Patterson  has  been  a  prominent  law- 
yer at  Winston-Salem  for  over  thirty  years.  He 
early  came  into  prominence  in  public  affairs,  and 
his  work  has  continually  identified  him  as  a  high- 
minded  lawyer,  a  courageous  citizen,  and  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  finest  bearing  and  character. 

Mr.  Patterson  was  bom  May  16,  1858,  at  Bland- 
wood,  the  residence  of  former  Governor  John  M. 
Morehead  in  Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  Mr. 
Patterson 's  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Governor 
Morehead. 


His  grandfather,  Samuel  Finley  Patterson,  was 
born  in  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  March  11, 
1799.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  moved  to  Wilkes- 
boro,  North  Carolina.  He  was  the  founder  of  this 
branch  of  the  Patterson  family  in  North  Caro- 
lina. At  Wilkesboro  he  began  his  career  as  clerk 
in  the  store  of  Waugh  &  Finley.  He  remained 
there  applying  himself  with  diligence  to  his  duties 
until  he  reached  his  majority.  For  many  years 
he  was  a  well  known  figure  in  public  life.  For 
fourteen  years  he  was  clerk  of  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1835  became  chief  clerk  of  the  Senate. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  public  treasurer 
of  the  state  and  at  the  same  time  discharges  his 
duties  as  treasurer  of  the  State  Bank.  He  retired 
from  this  office  in  1837,  returning  to  his  home  in 
Wilkesboro.  In  1840  he  moved  to  Raleigh,  hav- 
ing been  elected  to  the  office  of-  president  of  the 
Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad.  This  was  the  first 
railroad  line  completed  in  the  State  of  North  Car- 
olina. In  1845  he  again  retired  from  the  burdens 
and  responsibilities  of  public  life  and  went  back 
to  the  Yadkin  Valley  to  supervise  his  farming  in- 
terests. Soon  afterward  he  was  elected  chair- 
man of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter 
Sessions,  and  made  that  office  the  immediate  ob- 
ject of  his  painstaking  service  until  1868.  He 
was  twice  elected  to  represent  his  county  in  the 
Senate.  Through  his  position  as  a  private  citizen 
and  in  the  Legislature  he  was  instrumental  in 
solving  many  of  the  complicated  questions  con- 
nected with  railroad  affairs  of  his  home  county. 
Various  other  positions  of  local  and  state  respon- 
sibility came  to  him  and  for  many  years  he  served 
as  a  trustee  of  the  State  University.  The  death 
of  this  honored  North  Carolinian  occurred  Janu- 
ary 20,  1874.  He  was  married  in  May,  1824,  to 
Phebe  Caroline  Jones,  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Edmond 
Jones,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Gen.  William  Le- 
noir. They  had  two  sons,  Rufus  L.  and,  Samuel 
L.  Patterson. 

Rufus  L.  Patterson,  father  of  Lindsay  Patter- 
son, was  born  June  22,  1830,  on  a  farm  called 
Palmyra  in  the  locality  designated  Happy  Valley 
in  what  is  now  Caldwell  County.  When  he  was 
five  years  of  age  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Ra- 
leigh, though  his  summers  were  usually  spent 
back  in  Happy  Valley.  His  primary  education 
was  acquired  in  the  Raleigh  schools,  but  after  his 
return  to  the  farm  he  entered  the  school  of  Rev. 
T.  S.  W.  Mott,  a  scholarly  Episcopal  minister, 
whose  home  was  near  the  county  seat  of  Caldwell. 
In  1847  after  his  preparatory  course  he  entered 
the  State  University  and  was  graduated  A.  B.  in 
1851.  He  then  pursued  the  study  of  law  under 
John  A.  Gilmer.  Following  his  marriage  Rufus 
Patterson  took  up  his  home  in  Greensboro  and 
while  there  had  considerable  experience  in  bank- 
ing. Soon  afterward  he  removed  to  Salem,  and  in 
that  section  of  Western  North  Carolina  became 
owner  and  manager  of  three  manufacturing  en- 
terprises. For  five  years  he  was  chairman  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  resigning  that  office 
to  be  elected  mayor  of  Salem. 

Rufus  Patterson  was  married  in  1852  to  Marie 
L.  Morehead,  daughter  of  ex-Governor  John  M. 
Morehead.  By  this  marriage  there  were  five  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  is  Mr.  Lindsay  Patterson.  The 
first  wife  died  in  1862  and  in  1864  he  married 
Mary  E.  Fries,  daughter  of  Francis  Fries  of 
Salem.  The  six  children  of  this  union  were  Frank 
F.,  Samuel  F.,  Andrew  H.,  Rufus  L.,  John  L.  and 
Edmond   V.     Rufus   L.   Patterson   died   at   Salem 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


125 


in  1879.  He  was  familiary  known  as  Colonel  Pat- 
terson, not  for  military  service  but  because  of 
his  martial  bearing  and  the  distinguished  position 
he  long  occupied  in  the  community.  His  parents 
were  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  but  be- 
cause of  his  long  residence  at  Salem  and  associa- 
tion with  the  Moravians  he  took  up  that  faith 
and  practiced  it  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

Lindsay  Patterson  spent  his  early  years  at  Sa- 
lem, attended  the  primary  schools,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  entered  the  Finley  High  School  at  Le- 
noir, going  thence  to  Davidson  College,  and  after 
four  years  graduating  in  1878  second  in  his  class. 
His  college  course  ended  he  attended  law  lectures 
at  Greensboro  under  Judges  Dick  and  Dillard,  and 
in  1881  passed  his  examinations  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar. 

Since  then  Mr.  Patterson  has  been  located  at 
Winston-Salem,  as  a  lawyer,  and  for  many  years 
has  enjoyed  a  commanding  place  in  the  profes- 
sion. He  was  early  elected  solicitor  of  the  County 
Criminal  Court,  and  the  performance  of  the  duties 
of  that  office  gave  him  valuable  experience.  He 
has  always  been  a  democrat  but  favored  the 
sound  money  wing  of  that  party  and  in  1896  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Indianapolis  Convention  which 
nominated  Palmer  and  Buckner  as  the  national 
candidates,  and  in  the  same  year  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  Congress.  ' 

Mr.  Patterson  was  married  in  1888  to  Miss 
Lucy  Bramlette  Patterson,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Wil- 
liam Houston  Patterson  of  Philadelphia.  Mrs. 
Patterson  's  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812  and  afterwards  became  a  major-general 
in  both  the  Mexican  and  Civil  wars.  Mrs.  Patter- 
son has  been  distinguished  for  the  possession  of 
unusual  literary  ability,  and  has  done  much  to 
encourage  literary  enterprise  and  output  in  her 
native  state. 

Herbert  Augustus  White,  of  Greenville,  en- 
tered business  life  at  a  very  early  age,  and  has 
not  only  attained  successful  position  in  business 
affairs  but  has  exerted  his  means  and  influence  in 
various  ways  to  upbuild  and  contribute  to  the  wel- 
fare of  his  home  town  and  state. 

Mr.  White  was  born  in  Guilford  County,  North 
Carolina,  March  25.  1877,  a  son  of  Augustus  Bry- 
an and  Emma  Flora  (McMurray)  White.  His 
father  snent  most  of  his  active  years  as  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Southern  Bailroad.  The  son  had  a 
public  school  education  and  when  only  fifteen 
years  of  age  found  work  in  a  small  and  unimpor- 
tant role  with  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany at  Greensboro.  He  made  a  study  of  the 
insurance  business,  was  rapidly  promoted  in  suc- 
cessive responsibilities,  and  in  1895,  when  still  a 
very  young  man,  was  sent  to  Greenville,  where 
he  established  an  office  and  has  since  developed  a 
large  and  important  agency  in  handling  general 
insurance. 

He  is  also  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  North 
Carolina  Cotton  Seed  Crushers  Association,  and 
has  been  actively  identified  with  that  notable  in- 
stitution in  North  Carolina  industry  for  seven 
years.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Greenville  Banking 
&  Trust  Company,  the  Greenville  Cooperage  and 
Lumber  Company,  and  the  Home  Building  and 
Loan   Association. 

In  a  public  way  his  services  have  been  chiefly 
appreciated  through  his  work  on  the  board  of 
aldermen,  where  he  served  four  years,  and  three 
years  as  chairman  of  the  Municipal  Water  and 
Light  Commission.     Mr.  White  is  a  Knight  Temp- 


lar Mason,  is  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  a  member  of  the  social  order  Dramatic 
Order  of  the  Knights  of  Khorassan.  He  is  a  junior 
warder  in   St.  Paul 's   Episcopal  Church. 

February  10,  1S97,  he  married  Miss  Jennie 
James,  of  Greenville.  Their  three  children  are 
Nelle  Douglas,  Julian  and  Dorothy. 

Thomas  Arrington  Avera.  Among  the  young 
men  of  Boeky  Mount  there  will  be  found  few 
who  have  no  serious  purpose  in  life.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  a  body,  they  are  active,  enterprising 
and  public  spirited.  They  have  been  subjects  of 
the  trend  of  modern  education,  trained  in  head, 
heart  and  hand,  and  where  one  has  made  a  rec- 
ord in  manufacturing,  in  mechanics  or  merchan- 
dising, another  has  surprised  his  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances by  ability  in  one  of  the  professions 
and  has  taken  a  place  of  prominence  among  the 
representative  citizenship.  In  this  connection  may 
be  mentioned  Thomas  Arrington  Avera,  who  is  one 
of  the  youngest  but  by  no  means  the  least  able 
member  of  the  Bocky  Mount  bar,  and  is  also  a 
factor  in  banking  circles. 

Thomas  Arring-ton  Avera  was  born  at  Bockv 
Mount,  North  Carolina,  February  20,  1890.  His 
parents  are  H.  D.  and  Mary  Tempie  (Arrington) 
Avera,  His  father  attended  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege and  until  his  death  was  a  leading  business 
man  of  Boeky  Mount. 

Thomas  A.  Avera  was  afforded  excellent  edu- 
cational advantages  and  there  was  no  compelling 
force  to  make  it  necessary  for  him  to  hasten 
through  his  academic  and  collegiate  courses.  He 
attended  the  excellent  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive city  and  then  entered  Wake  Forest  College, 
where  he  completed  his  course  in  law  in  August, 
1914,  and  his  general  academic  course  in  1915, 
when  he  w-as  graduated  with  the  degrees  of  A. 
B.   and  LL.  B. 

Mr.  Avera  returned  to  Bocky  Mount  with  his 
collegiate  honors  and  shortly  afterward  opened 
his  law  office  there  and  has  had  his  full  share  of 
the  legal  business  of  the  city.  He  has  proved 
himself  a  young  man  of  lesal  worth  and  personal 
probity  and  has  steadily  advanced  honorably  and 
legitimately  in  his  profession.  He  is  a  valued 
member    of   the   North    Carolina    Bar   Association. 

Devoted  as  he  is  to  his  profession,  Mr.  Avera 
has  additional  interests,  for  he  is  keenly  alive 
to  the  moment  and  with  diversified  talents 
is  able  to  accept  responsibilities  in  several  lines. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Farmers  & 
Merchants  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount  and  at  present 
is  vice  president  of  this  institution,  which  bears 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  carefully 
officered  and  soundly  financed  in  Eastern  North 
Carolina,  The  same  attributes  and  qualities  that 
make  him  able  as  a  financier  contribute  also  to 
his  success  as  a  lawyer.  He  has  not  displayed  any 
patricular  activity  in  political  life  and  has  sought 
no  political  office,  but  his  sentiments  on  public 
questions  are  well  known  and  his  fellow  citizens 
recognize  their  value  and  know  just  where  to 
place  him  when  questions  of  right  or  wrong  are 
to  be  adjusted.  While  at  Wake  Forest  he  was 
one  of  the  most  interested  members  of  the  Phi 
Society  and  he  retains  membership  in  the  same 
and  belongs  also  to  the  Order  of  Knights  of  Py- 
thias. He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  a  deacon  in  the  same  and  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school. 


126 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Clarence  Poe.  There  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
according:  to  Clarence  Poe,  of  Raleigh  rank  as 
perhaps  the  most  expert  authority  on  all  questions 
affecting  the  agricultural  and  rural  economics  of 
North  Carolina.  He  has  gone  to  the  heart  of  a 
number  of  problems  worthy  of  serious  attention 
and  knows  better  than  any  one  else,  what  the  con- 
ditions and  problems  confronting  the  North  Caro- 
lina farmer  are.  He  has  also  made  a  close  study  of 
numerous  social  and  economic  questions,  and  is 
widely  known  both  in  and  out  of  the  state  as  a 
publisher,    author,    traveler    and   lecturer. 

Born  on  a  farm  in  Chatham  County,  North 
Carolina,  January  10,  1881,  his  parents  were  Wil- 
liam B.  and  Susan  (Dismukes)  Poe.  Mr.  Poe  in 
the  way  of  formal  education  had  only  the  ad- 
vantages of  public  schools,  beginning  newspaper 
work  in  his  seventeenth  year.  On  account  of  his 
varied  attainments  Wake  Forest  College  bestowed 
upon  him  the  well  deserved  degree  Litt.  D.  in  1914. 

He  has  been  an  editor  for  a  longer  time  than 
he  could  vote.  He  became  editor  of  the  Pro- 
gressive Farmer  in  1899,  has  since  held  that  post, 
and  from  1903  has  been  president  of  the  Pro- 
gressive Farmer  Company,  which  now  maintains 
offices  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  Birmingham, 
Alabama,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  Dallas,  Texas, 
the  paper  having  a  circulation  around  200,000 
weekly. 

Mr  Poe  has  served  as  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  Conference  for  Social  Service,  the  North 
Carolina  Commission  on  Rural  Rate  Problems,  the 
North  Carolina  Press  Association,  the  North  Caro- 
lina Literary  and  Historical  Association,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
North  Carolina  Board  of  Agriculture,  the  North 
Carolina  Farmers  Union,  the  North  Carolina  Anti- 
Saloon  League,  the  Southern  Conference  of  Educa- 
tion and  Industry,  and  the  National  Conference 
of  Marketing  and  Farm  Credits,  the  National 
League  to   Enforce  Peace,   etc. 

Mr.  Poe  is  author  of  the  following  titles :  Cotton, 
1906;  The  Southerner  in  Europe,  1908;  Where 
Half  the  World  is  Waking  Up  (Oriental  travel), 
1911 ;  Life  and  Speeches  of  Charles  B.  Ayeoek, 
1912;  How  Farmers  Cooperate  and  Double  Profits, 
1915.  He  is  also  author  of  a  number  of  pamphlets 
and  as  a  lecturer  has  been  heard  on  various  topies 
connected  with  rural  problems  and  southern  ques- 
tions. In  1910-11  Mr.  Poe  circumnavigated  the 
globe,  studying  industrial  and  social  conditions  in 
the  Orient.  In  1912  he  was  again  abroad,  studying 
agricultural  co-operation  in  Ireland  and  Denmark. 

Mr.  Poe.  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  and 
In  politics  a  democrat.  He  was  married  in  1912 
to  Alice  Aycock,  daughter  of  Governor  C.  B. 
Ayeoek.  Two  sons  and  a  daughter  have  been  born 
to  them. 

Hon.  Jesse  Franklin,  who  distinguished  him- 
self as  one  of  the  most  fearless  of  the  patriotic 
leaders  from  the  mountains  of  Western  North  Caro- 
lina during  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently 
gained  the  highest  post  at  the  gift  of  his  fellow 
citizens  in  North  Carolina,  serving  both  as  United 
States  senator  and  governor  of  the  state,  was  born 
in  Orange  County,  Virginia,  March  24,  1760.  He 
was  a.  son  of  Bernard  and  Mary  (Cleveland) 
Franklin.  His  mother  was  a  sister  of  Col.  Ben 
Cleveland  of  Wilkes  County,  North  Carolina. 
Bernard  Franklin  was  a  son  of  Lawrence  and  Mary 
(Payne)  Franklin  of  Virginia.  Bernard  Frank- 
lin   and    wife    had    six    sons:    Jeremiah,    Bernard, 


Jesse,  Shadrach,  Meshach  and  Abednego,  and  one 
daughter  Mary. 

Governor  Jesse  Franklin  married  Meeky  Per- 
kins. Their  family  consisted  of  three  sons  and 
five  daughters :  James  Macon,  Hardin  Perkins 
and  Bernard,  the  sons;  while  the  daughters  were 
Sarah  Panill,  Ann  P.,  Mary  Cleveland  (who  mar- 
ried Gen.  Solomon  Graves)  and  was  the  mother 
of  the  late  Judge  Jesse  Franklin  Graves  of  Surry 
County),   Elizabeth,   and   Matilda  C. 

In  order  to  present  the  career  of  Governor 
Franklin  more  fully  to  the  readers  of  this  publica- 
tion the  following  paragraphs  largely  follow  the 
language  of  Prof.  .1.  T.  Alderman  in  an  article 
published  in  the  ' '  North  Carolina  Booklet ' '  of 
January,  1907. 

In  1777  Jesse  Franklin,  then  seventeen  years 
of  age,  entered  the  Continental  service  and  held 
a  lieutenant 's  commission  in  Washington 's  army. 
When  his  term  of  enlistment  expired  he  returned 
to  bis  father 's  home.  Attracted  by  the  excellent 
range  and  fertile  valleys  of  Piedmont,  North  Caro- 
lina, a  large  number  of  good  people  had  before 
the  Revolution  left  their  Virginia  homes  and  moved 
to  occupy  the  unbroken  forests.  Among  them 
was  Col.  Ben  Cleveland,  brother  of  Jesse  Frank- 
lin's mother.  Before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Revolution  Bernard  Franklin  had  determined  to 
go  to  North  Carolina,  as  many  of  his  neighbors 
had  done.  He  accordingly  sent  his  son  Jesse  to 
select  lands  suitable  for  the  settlement  and  to 
erect  buildings.  Jesse  selected  for  their  future 
home  a  beautiful  valley  near  the  headwaters  of 
Mitchell 's  River  in  Surry  County  and  made  pro- 
visions for  the  coming  of  the  household.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  his  parents,  with  four  sons  and 
two  daughters  (the  two  older  sons,  Bernard  and 
Jeremiah,  remaining  in  Virginia),  moved  to  their 
home  in  Surry  County.  This  homestead  was  to 
become  the  seat  of  patriotism,  honor,  culture  and 
refinement. 

The  American  people  were  not  united  in  the 
desire  for  separation  from  the  mother  country. 
During  the  war  the  tories  in  some  sections  be- 
came so  aggressive  and  bold  in  their  depreda- 
tions that  the  whig  families  were  forced  to  build 
a  fort  for  protection.  One  of  these  was  near 
Mocksville  and  another  near  Wilkesboro.  Fortu- 
nately there  were  men  in  most  sections  of  the  state 
whose  names  struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the 
tories.  Among  them  was  Col.  Benjamin  Cleveland. 
As  a  partisan  leader  he  had  few  equals.  He  knew 
no  fear  and  seemed  ubiquitous  to  friend  and  foe. 
His  services  in  checking  organized  toryism  have 
never  been  fully  recognized. 

When  about  eighteen  years  of  age  Jesse  Frank- 
lin joined  his  uncle 's  forces  and  for  two  years 
assisted  in  maintaining  order  in  Piedmont,  North 
Carolina.  He  served  with  him  in  many  skirmishes 
with  the  tories  and  gained  the  confidence  of  his 
uncle  as  a  bold  and  fearless  patriot.  At  the  close 
of  the  summer  of  1780  the  British  had  overrun  • 
the  whole  of  South  Carolina.  Cornwallis  had  for 
months  been  arranging  to  invade  North  Carolina. 
He  sent  General  Ferguson  with  a  large  body  of 
British  troops  to  overawe  the  whigs  and  enroll 
the  tories  in  the  western  counties.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  British  among  the  hills  had  an  unex- 
pected effect.  Those  dauntless  patriots  who  knew 
no  fear  rallied  to  the  standard  of  liberty.  Led 
by  the  brave  Colonels  Shelby,  Sevier,  Campbell 
and  General  McDowell,  they  rushed  down  the 
mountain  like  a  torrent.     They  were  joined  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


127 


men  from  Surry  and  Wilkes  under  the  intrepid 
Colonel  Cleveland  with  Jesse  Franklin  as  his 
aide.  Ferguson  had  selected  the  top  of  the  ridge 
known  as  King 's  Mountain  for  the  encounter, 
from  which  he  said  God  himself  could  not  drive 
him.  The  patriots  surrounded  the  mountain  be- 
fore Ferguson  was  aware  of  their  presence  and  at- 
tacked from  all  sides.  A  cloud  of  smoke  en- 
compassed the  mountain,  shutting  the  British 
army  from  sight.  Jesse  Franklin  rode  forward 
through  the  smoke  and  finding  the  British  in  con- 
fusion and  shooting  above  the  heads  of  the  patriots 
called  to  his  men  to  charge,  assuring  them  of  vic- 
tory. They  advanced  till  within  range  and  fired. 
Colonel  Ferguson  fell  and  confusion  overwhelmed 
the  enemy.  Captain  Dupeyster,  the  ranking  of- 
ficer, assumed  command,  but  was  unable  to  restore 
order.  Captain  Ryerson  's  efforts  were  alike  fu- 
tile. He  surrendered  and  handed  his  sword  to 
Captain  Franklin,  saying  to  him,  "Take  it,  you 
deserve  it,  sir."  This  sword  was  in  the  Franklin 
family  many  years.  In  1854  the  hilt  was  in  the 
possession  of  Ambrose  Johnson  of  "Wilkes  County. 

Captain  Franklin  was  a  conspicuous  actor  at 
Hillsboro  on  February  25,  1781.  He  led  a  band 
of  mountaineers  who  did  good  serviee  and  was 
the  last  to  leave  the  ground  when  General  Greene 
ordered  a  retreat.  Many  other  thrilling  narra- 
tives have  been  told  of  Jesse  Franklin  during  these 
years  of  ceaseless  vigilance.  The  plundering  tories 
feared  him  ami  trembled  for  their  lives  when  it 
was  known  that  Franklin  was  in  their  community. 
They  well  knew  that  if  taken  they  would  be  pun- 
ished according  to  their  crimes  and  they  de- 
termined to  destroy  him.  One  evening  he  was 
attempting  to  reach  home  by  a  circuitous  route 
when  suddenly  he  was  surrounded  by  a  strong 
band  of  tories.  Resistance  was  futile.  They  tied 
his  hands  behind  him  and  using  his  bridle  as  a 
halter  made  ready  to  hang  him  to  an  overhanging 
limb.  They  commanded  him  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance.  He  refused  and  they  strung  him 
up.  One  of  the  men  struck  the  horse  upon  which 
he  sat  to  make  it  move  from  under.  The  halter 
broke  and  Franklin  retaining  his  seat  in  the 
saddle  dashed  away  to  safety. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Jesse  Franklin  settled 
in  "Wilkes  County  and  in  1784  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  and  re-elected  each  year  until  1793, 
when  he  moved  to  Surry  Countv.  The  same  year 
he  was  elected  to  represent  Surrv  County.  In 
1795  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  and 
served  two  vears.  He  was  again  chosen  to  the 
State  Legislature  in  1797  and  in  1798.  The 
Legislature  of  1799  elected  him  United  States 
senator  and  he  served  the  full  term  until  1805.  In 
1806-07  he  was  again  a  member  of  the  State 
Senate  and  at  the  close  of  his  term  was  elected 
United  States  senator  for  the  term  which  expired 
in  1813.  As  a  legislator  he  was  universally  trusted 
and  though  one  of  the  youngest  members  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  important  committees.  As 
earlv  as  1785  he  was  found  nublicly  advocating 
more  opportunities  for  educating  the  people.  He 
was  a  close  student  and  acquired  a  broad  fund 
nf  information.  He  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the 
War  of  1812  and  urged  Congress  to  grant  per- 
mission to  individuals  to  put  out  vessels  for 
privateering  and  destroying  British  commerce. 
He  declined  a  re-election  to  the  Senate  in  1813. 
Tn  1815  President  Monroe  appointed  Jesse  Frank- 
lin. Andrew  Jackson  and  General  Merriwether 
commissioners    to    treat    with    the    Chickasaw    In- 


dians. The  treaty  was  made  near  the  present  site 
of  Memphis,   Tennessee. 

In  1820  he  was  eleeted  governor  of  the  state. 
When  his  term  of  office  expired  he  returned  to 
the  quiet  of  his  mountain  home  and  resided  there 
until  his  death,  September  29,  1823.  His  remains 
now  repose  in  the  National  Park  at  Guilford 
battle  ground. 

Jesse  Franklin  was  a  product  of  the  times,  but 
like  others  who  were  born  to  co-operate  in  shap- 
ing the  destinies  of  the  nation,  his  horizon  was 
broad,  his  conception  of  a  government  for  the 
masses  was  clear,  and  his  good  judgment  gave 
him  power  in  the  state  and  national  assemblies. 
His  astute  statesmanship  won  him  the  admiration 
of  his  peers.  For  thirty  consecutive  years  he  rep- 
resented his  people  and  was  a  conspicuous  figure 
in  the  state  and  national  capitals. 

Some  interesting  details  concerning  his  personal 
and  family  life  are  presented  in  a  letter  written 
by  Governor  Franklin 's  great-granddaughter, 
Miss  Isabel  Graves,  to  Professor  Alderman. 

' '  Governor  Franklin  would  not  have  a  portrait 
made  of  himself.  He  said  he  preferred  to  be 
remembered  by  what  he  had  done  and  not  by  how 
he  looked.  In  looking  over  the  old  records  I 
rind  that  Meeky  Perkins  was  born  in  1765  and 
died  February  20,  1834.  I  have  not  been  able 
to  find  the  date  of  her  marriage  to  Jesse  Frank- 
lin, but  from  other  dates  given  it  was  probably 
some  time  before  1790.  He  had  been  prominent 
as  a  soldier  during  the  Revolution  and  it  is  quite 
probable  he  was  sent  on  missions  of  importance 
to  Philadelphia  before  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution in  1789.  In  passing  to  and  from  Phila- 
delphia on  horseback  with  his  wardrobe  in  his 
saddlebags,  he  happened  to  stop  over  at  Mr.  Per- 
kins '  and  saw  his  daughter  Miss  Meeky,  a  tall, 
graceful,  black-haired  and  black-eyed  maid,  very 
handsome  and  accomplished  for  that  period.  He 
fell  in  love  with  her  and  after  the  usual  court- 
ship married  her.  There  were  very  limited  modes 
of  conveyance  then,  indeed  much  of  the  country 
did  not  have  even  so  much  as  a  wagon  road.  After 
the  marriage,  which  was  celebrated  with  a  wedding 
feast,  a  Presbyterian  minister  officiating,  Jesse 
Franklin  and  his  bride  rode  on  horseback  by 
way  of  Lynchburg  to  his  home  in  North  Carolina. 
On  the  way  they  were  given  receptions  at  the 
residences  of  several  of  the  relatives  of  the  bride, 
the  Redds  and  the  Pannills,  and  also  at  the  home 
of  the  uncle  of  the  groom.  The  baggage  came 
later  in  a  sort  of  two-horse  wagon. 

" Notwithstanding  Jesse  Franklin  was  a  demo- 
crat and  took  great  pride  in  the  wearing  apparel 
made  at  home,  his  daughters  indulged  in  silk 
dresses  made  in  Philadelphia  on  occasions  re- 
quiring such  dress.  One  of  these  dresses  is  pre- 
served in  the  family.  Governor  Franklin,  while 
not  a  member,  inclined  to  the  Baptist  Church.  His 
wife  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  denomination. 
He  did  not  care  for  hunting  and  other  sports,  but 
was  a  great  student  and  reader  and  in  his  leisure 
from  public  duties  and  private  business  was 
devoted  chiefly  to  reading.  His  correspondence 
was  extensive  for  that  time,  and  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters usually  assisted  as  his  secretary.  He  was 
noted  for  kindness  to  his  neighbors  and  considera- 
tion for  people  less  fortunate  than  he.  He  re- 
strained his  children  from  jokes  at  the  expense 
of  other  people 's  feelings. 

"Mrs.  Franklin  was  occasionally  in  Washington 
with    her    husband,    but    not    often.      The    journey 


128 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


from  her  mountain  home  to  Washington  was  a 
long  and  tiresome  one,  the  meager  pay  of  the 
members  of  Congress  (at  that  time  not  more  than 
$5  per  day)  would  not  well  support  two  in  good 
style.  She  became  a  noted  housekeeper.  Her 
home-made  cotton  dresses  for  herself  and  daugh- 
ters were  always  of  the  neatest  make  and  finest 
shades  of  coloring.  The  homemade  jeans  and 
linsey  were  the  best,  her  linen  the  finest  and 
whitest  made  in  the  county  from  flax  grown  on 
the  farm  and  spun  with  her  own  hands.  M}-  father 
had  often  seen  his  grandmother 's  old  flax  wheel 
at  the  homestead  of  his  uncle  Hardin  Franklin 
on  Fish  River,  where  she  died.  She  was  a  most 
elegant  hostess  and  entertained  her  friends  and 
her  husband's  friends  in  the  best  style  possible. 
She  had  several  daughters  and  sons,  and  they 
had  much  company.  Governor  Franklin  lived  in 
an  isolated  neighborhood ;  about  four  families 
made  up  the  community — Jesse  Franklin,  Micajah 
Oglesby,  Meshack  Franklin  and  Mr.  Edwards,  and 
they  were  all  intelligent  and  well-to-do.  They 
kept  up  the  most  cordial  social  relations;  they 
visited  and  had  parties  and  dances  to  which  their 
friends  from  a  distance  were  invited.  From  all 
the  concurrent  traditions  there  was  never  any- 
where a  happier  community  during  the  lifetime 
of  Governor  Franklin.  His  wife  was  the  leader 
and  chief  spirit  among  the  ladies.  There  are 
other  traditions,  but  these  will  serve  to  give  a 
picture  of   the  times." 

Hon.  Jesse  Franklin  Graves.  Of  a  dis- 
tinguished family,  the  late  Jesse  Franklin  Graves 
made  his  own  career  distinctive  as  an  upright 
and  capable  lawyer,  a  wise  counsellor,  a  courageous 
leader  in  public  life,  and  one  of  the  ablest,  most 
painstaking,  and  conscientious  judges  who  ever  sat 
on  the  Superior  Court  bench  of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  born  in  August,  1829,  and  death  came 
to  him  in  the  maturity  of  his  usefulness,  on 
November  9,  1894. 

His  lineage  is  traced  back  to  Capt.  Thomas 
Graves,  who  was  a  native  of  England  and  arrived 
in  the  Virginia  colony  very  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  not  long  after  the  landing  of 
Captain  Smith  at  Jamestown.  He  located  in 
Accomac  County,  and  his  numerous  posteritv  is 
now  found  in  many  of  the  Southern  and  West- 
ern states.  His  son  John  was  born  in  Virginia 
and  located  in  Elizabeth  County  of  that  colony, 
where  he  spent  his  last  years..  He  married  a  Miss 
Perrin.  Their  son  John  was  also  a  native  of 
Virginia,  but  the  name  of  his  wife  has  not 
been  preserved.  In  the  next  generation  was  also 
a  John  Graves,  who  was  born  in  Virginia  and 
married  Isabella  Lee,  of  Virginia.  They  came  to 
North  Carolina  in  1770  and  settled  on  County  Line 
Creek  in  Caswell  County,  near  where  the  Town 
Yanceyville  now  stands. 

Barzillai  Graves,  grandfather  of  the  late  Judge 
Jesse  Franklin  Graves,  was  born  in  1759.  He  be- 
came a  Baptist  minister,  distinguished  for  his  elo- 
quence and  powerful  intellect.  He  married  a  lady 
of  like  mind  and  heart  and  culture,  Ursula  Wright. 
Their  seven  children  were:  Solomon;  Barzillai, 
who  died  unmarried;  Elizabeth,  who  married 
James  Lea;  Isabella,  who  married  Hosea  McNeill; 
Marsraret,  who  married  William  Lipscomb;  Jer- 
emiah, who  married  Belil.-'h  Lea;  and  Mary,  who 
married  Thomas  W.  Graves.  Rev.  Barzillai 
Graves  died   July  14,  1827. 

General  Solomon  Graves,  father  of  Jesse  Frank- 
lin Graves,  was  born  in  1784,  and  died  April  28, 


1862.      He   acquired    the   title    of   general   through 
his   service   in   the   state  militia. 

After  completing  his  literary  education  Solomon 
Graves  studied  law  under  Hon.  Bartlett  Yancey 
of  Caswell  County.  When  admitted  to  the  bar  he 
moved  from  Caswell  and  located  in  Surry  County. 
There  he  soon  became  prominent  as  a  lawyer  of 
sterling  worth  and  ability,  and  for  several  terms 
was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  serving 
both  in  the  House  and  Senate.  For  thirty-two 
years  he  was  clerk  and  master  in  equity  for  Surry 
County,  and  was  also  for  many  years  a  trustee 
of  the  State  University.  Patriotism  was  a  key- 
note to  his  character  and  he  possessed  a  depth 
and  sincerity  of  conviction  beyond  most  of  his 
contemporaries. 

In  a  time  when  little  attention  was  given  to 
the  subject  he  was  a  strong  advocate  for  tem- 
perance. About  1818  General  Graves  married 
Mary  Cleveland  Franklin,  daughter  of  Jesse 
Franklin,  whose  career  as  an  early  governor  of 
North  Carolina  and  subsequently  United  States 
senator  is  the  subject  of  a  sketch  for  other  pages 
of  this  publication.  Mrs.  Solomon  Graves  died 
about  four  years  before  her  husband.  They  had 
seven  children:  Meeky  Ann,  who  married  Rev. 
Miles  Foy;  Sarah  Emily,  who  married  Maj. 
J.  W.  Hackett;  Mary  Ursula,  who  married  Col. 
Harrison  M.  Waugh;  Elizabeth  Franklin;  Jesse 
Franklin;  Margaret  Isabella;  and  Barzillai 
Yancey. 

Jesse  Franklin  Graves  spent  his  boyhood  and 
youth  in  a  home  which  furnished  every  incentive 
to  the  attainment  and  realization  of  his  best 
inbred  talents.  He  completed  his  education  at 
Emory  and  Henry  College  in  Virginia,  and  read 
law  with  Judge  Richmond  M.  Pearson,  afterwards 
chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  Rockford. 
Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1852,  he  at  once  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Mount  Airy,  and 
continued  a  resident  of  that  town  until  his  death 
more  than  forty  years  later. 

He  was  a  student,  patient,  systematic  and  un- 
tiring; he  loved  his  work  and  determined  at  the 
outset  to  make  of  himself  a.  proficient  lawyer.  He 
delighted  in  the  study  of  law  as  a  great  science, 
had  a  contempt  for  the  superficial,  and  in  his 
research  and  analysis  sought  to  go  to  the  very 
bottom  and  find  truth  and  right  in  their  essence. 
Not  only  did  he  store  his  mind  with  strictly  legal 
learning,  but  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  the 
world's  greatest  authors  and  thus  acquired  a  lit- 
erary style  which  made  his  utterances  and  writ- 
ings both  accurate  and  pleasing.  His  conception 
of  the  essentials  in  life  and  in  his  profession  may 
be  more  easily  illustrated  than  expressed:  On 
occasion  when  a  young  attorney  asked  him  what 
were  the  most  important  and  valuable  books  for 
the  lawyer's  library,  he  immediately  answered, 
"The  Bible,  Blackstone's  Commentaries  on  the 
English  Law  and  Shakespeare 's  works, ' '  and  he 
used  them  more  than  any  other  in  his  own. 
Thus  upon  the  broadest  foundation  he  built,  with 
cleanness  of  thinking,  soberness  of  opinion,  ac- 
curacy of  judgment  and  conscientious  conduct  of 
life's  affairs,  personal   and  professional. 

In  the  earlier  days  the  older  and  more  experi- 
enced lawyers  would  make  the  round  with  the 
iudsre  holding  the  courts  of  the  district,  appear- 
ing in  counsel  with  the  younger  brethren  in  the 
several  counties.  Among  those  with  whom  Jesse 
Franklin  Graves  practiced  for  many  years,  and 
whose  companionship  he  enjoved  were,  Col.  R.  M. 
Armfield,    Col.    George    N.    Folk,    Judge    D.    M. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


129 


Finches,  Col.  E.  L.  Vaughn,  Hon.  Marsh  Clement, 
Hon.  E.  Z.  Linney,  Col.  A.  H.  Joyce,  Col.  James 
Morehead,  Hon.  John  A.  Gilmer,  Maj.  Quiney  F. 
Seal,  Capt.  J.  W.  Todd,  Hon.  Joseph  Dobson, 
Hon.  Cyrus  B.  Watson,  Hon.  W.  B.  Glenn  and 
others  equally  prominent  in  the  profession  in.  this 
section  of  the  state.  Intimate  association  during 
the  many  weeks  they  were  traveling  the  circuit, 
interchange  of  opinions  on  all  sorts  of  questions, 
legal,  scientific,  political,  moral  and  ethical,  and 
hard  fought  battles  in  the  court-room,  broadened 
and  developed  and  made  yet  stronger  lawyers  and 
advocates. 

His  law  practice  was  varied,  as  was  that  of 
all  lawyers  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  he  at- 
tended courts  in  Surry,  Stokes,  Yadkin,  Alle- 
ghany, Wilkes,  Davie  and  Ashe,  appearing  occa- 
sionally in  Davidson,  Forsyth  and  Guilford 
counties. 

Only  once  did  he  yield  and  accept  nomination 
for  a  political  office.  The  matter  of  extending 
the  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  Railway  to 
his  home  county  and  town  came  up,  and  at  the 
instance  and  solicitation  of  friends  who  felt  he 
might  be  of  peculiar  service,,  he  accepted  nomina- 
tion at  the  hands  of  his  party  and  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1875-6.  He 
aided  in  securing  the  construction  of  the  railroad 
and  went  back  to  his  practice. 

In  1878  he  was  nominated  by  the  democratic 
convention  of  the  then  Ninth  Judicial  District,  the 
delegates  composing  it  being  largely  the  lawyers 
with  whom  he  had  been  associated  for  many 
years,  judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  to  which 
honorable  position  he  was  elected  for  a  term 
of  eight  years.  Upon  the  completion  of  this 
term  he  was  renominated  and  re-elected,  and  had 
served  on  the  bench  nearly  sixteen  years  at  the 
date  of  his  death.  He  presided  over  the  Superior 
Court  in  every  county  in  Xorth  Carolina  at  least 
two  terms  and  thus  came  to  know  every  lawyer 
in  the  state.  He  had  high  sense  of  appreciation 
of  the  ethics  of  the  profession,  and  in  main- 
taining the  dignity  of  the  court  he  never  forgot 
the  courtesies  due  the  attorney's  and  other  of- 
ficers of  the  court. 

He  was  especially  considerate  of  the  young 
lawyer  and  smoothed  over  many  a  rough  place 
for  the  new  attorney  with  his  first  case,  relieving 
his  embarrassment  and  giving  him  confidence.  He 
had  a  fine  vein  of  humor  and  enjoyed  sallies  of 
wit.  but  never  did  he  indulge  his  sense  of  the 
amusing  to  the  discomfiture  or  humiliation  of 
either  lawyer  or  witness. 

Being  naturally  of  a  judicial  temperament, 
possessing  abundant  patience  and  capacity  for 
work,  always  painstaking  and  diligent,  enjoying 
the  study  of  law,  having  a  clear,  strong,  intellect 
and  nearly  absolute  self  control,  he  earned  the 
high  esteem  and  approbation  of  the  bar  and  peo- 
ple, and  won  exalted  position  among  the  illustrious 
judges  of  Xorth  Carolina.  He  justly  deserves 
the  tribute  paid  him  by  the  distinguished  Judge 
David  Sehenck  in  his  History  of  Xorth  Caro- 
lina, who  in  referring  to  Judge  Graves  says: 
' '  Than  whom  no  better  man  nor  purer  judge 
adorns  the  bench  of  our  state. ' '  Of  him,  also, 
George  Davis,  one  of  the  South 's  most  cultured 
and  beloved  sons,  attorney-general  of  the  Con- 
federacy, wrote:  "I  know  of  no  life  presenting 
a  fairer  and  brighter  example  of  all  that  human 
life  at  its  best  and  noblest  ought  to  be  than  that 
of  my  cherished  and  honored  friend.  He  was 
indeed  an  accomplished  lawyer,   an  able  and  up- 

Vol.  V— 9 


right  judge,  and  a  truly  good  man.  And  if  I 
knew  any  higher  praise  I  would  utter  it  of  him. ' ' 

His  was  a  well-ordered  life,  free  from  selfish- 
ness, '  self -promotion,  self -laudation,  self-interest, 
abounding  in  kindness,  gentleness,  charity  and 
good- will  to  men;  his  character  was  pure  and  un- 
sullied, his  love  of  home  and  family  was  beauti- 
ful,  his   Christian  faith   was   sublime. 

On  January  26,  1858,  Jesse  Franklin  Graves 
married  Mary  Elizabeth  Porter,  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Margaret  (McXutt)  Porter  of 
Wythe  County,  Virginia.  Her  grandfather,  An- 
drew Porter,  married  Mary  Gleaves. 

Judge  Graves  and  wife  had  seven  children: 
Mary  Blanche,  Margaret  Virginia,  Bernard  Frank- 
lin, Lillian  McXutt,  Stephen  Porter,  Susan  Isabel 
and  Malvina ;  Margaret  Virginia  and  Lillian  Mc- 
Xutt died  in  infancy.  Mary  Blanche  graduated 
with  distinction  from  Greensboro  Female  Oollege 
and  married  Arch  Hines  of  Surry  County;  their 
three  children  are:  Mary  Graves,  who  married 
Luther  Montrose  Carlton  of  Boxboro;  Margaret 
who  married  John  Worth  McAlister  of  Ashboro ; 
and  Jesse  Franklin,  now  in  the  United  States 
army.  Mrs.  Hines  was  especially  gifted  in  music 
and  for  many  years  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band conducted  a  music  school  in  Mount  Airy. 
Bernard  Franklin  was  a  student  at  the  University 
of  Xorth  Carolina,  but  was  compelled  to  give 
up  his  college  career  on  account  of  ill  health. 
He  engaged  in  farming  as  a  means  of  recupera- 
tion, and  while  so  engaged  wrote  many  valuable 
articles  for  agricultural  journals.  Regaining  his 
health,  he  became  associated  with  his  uncle,  Col. 
B.  Y.  Graves,  in  the  warehouse  business  and  con- 
tinued in  that  work  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
October  2,  189-t.  He  was  twice  elected  mayor  of 
the  Town  of  Mount  Airy.  Stephen  Porter  was 
educated  at  Bingham  School  and  the  University 
of  Xorth  Carolina.  After  completing  his  law 
course  at  the  same  institution,  he  located  in 
his  home  town  for  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
His  career  is  the  subject  of  another  sketcn  in  this 
publication.  Susan  Isabel  was  graduate  1  at  St. 
Mary 's  in  Baleigh  as  valedictorian  of  her  class, 
won  two  medals  offered  by  the  Teachers'  Assembly 
of  the  state  for  best  examination  on  history  of 
Xorth  Carolina  and  history  of  the  United  States, 
contests  being  open  to  every  teacher  in  the  state. 
She  is  a  teacher  in  the  graded  schools  of  Mount 
Airy  and  is  regarded  as  a  veritable  encyclopedia 
of  information  on  almost  all  subjects.  She  is  a 
member  of  Baleigh  Chapter  of  Daughters  of  the 
Bevolution.  Malvina  received  her  education  at 
St.  Mary's  in  Baleigh,  also,  and  became  quite  an 
accomplished  pianist.  She  married  Barzillai 
Shuford  Graves,  of  Caswell  County,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Mary  Elizabeth  Graves,  now  study- 
ing music  in  Xew  York.  Mrs.  Graves  has  for 
many  years  been  president  of  the  Daughters  of 
the  Confederacy  of  Caswell  County. 

Hon'.  Stephen  Porter  Graves.  To  be  well 
born  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that  can 
come  to  man  or  woman.  The  possession  of  a 
worthy  ancestry  is  a  rich  heritage  which  carries 
with  it  a  dignified  responsibility,  and  it  becomes 
an  honor  and  distinction  when  its  possessor  him- 
self has  lived  not  without  credit  and  distinction. 
Successful  in  the  law,  and  with  a  brilliant  record 
of  capable  services  in  public  affairs,  Stephen  Por- 
ter Graves  has  proven  himself  a  worthy  descend- 
ant of  a  distinguished  family  in  Xorth  Carolina. 
He   is    a    son   of   the   late   Judge    Jesse   Franklin 


130 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Graves,  whose  career  has  been  sketched  elsewhere, 
and  is  also  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  early 
governor  and  United  States  senator,  Jesse  Frank- 
lin of  North  Carolina. 

Porter  Graves,  by  which  name  he  is  best 
known,  was  born  in  Mount  Airy,  Surry  County, 
North  Carolina,  attended  the  public  schools 
there  and  was  for  two  years  under  the  tutelage 
of  Mr.  W.  F.  Carter,  a  most  efficient  teacher,  who 
was  at  the  time  reading  law  under  Judge  Graves 
and  is  now  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Surry 
County.  He  was  further  prepared  for  college  at 
the  long  established  Bingham  School,  Mebane,  now 
located  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina.  His  first 
year  he  won  the  declaimer's  medal  offered  by  the 
Polemic  Literary  Society,  and  the  next  year  was 
the  representative  of  his  society  in  the  commence- 
ment exercises,  winning  the  medal  for  the  best 
original  oration.  His  last  year  at  Bingham 's  he 
was  a  lieutenant  in  Company  B. 

He  then  entered  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, taking  the  regular  literary  course,  and  aft- 
erwards read  law  under  Hon.  John  Manning,  head 
of  the  law  department  of  the  institution.  He 
was  elected  one  of  the  editors  of  the  University 
Magazine  and  was  the  recipient  of  other  college 
honors.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Sigma  Alpha 
Epsilon  fraternity. 

He  was  granted  license  to  practice  law  at  the 
February  term,  1887,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the 
first  session  of  the  court  after  attaining  his  ma- 
jority, and  at  once  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Mount  Airy.  He  early  established 
himself  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple of  his  county,  and  by  application  to  his  chosen 
work  earned  high  position  with  the  bar  and  peo- 
ple as  a  lawyer  of  exceptional  ability  and  an 
advocate  of  unusual  power. 

In  1902  he  was  nominated  by  the  democratic 
party  for  the  office  of  solicitor  of  the  Eleventh 
Judicial  District,  a  district  normally  republican  at 
that  time,  but  to  which  position  he  was  elected  by 
a  good  majority.  Such  has  been  his  conduct  of 
public  affairs,  the  character  of  his  dealings  with 
the  bar  and  the  people,  that  he  has  four  times 
since  been  nominated  for  the  position  without 
opposition  and   by  acclamation. 

It  is  rather  an  unusual  happening  that  his 
father,  the  late  Hon.  Jesse  Franklin  Graves,  was 
elected  judge  of  practically  the  same  district  in 
1878  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  and  was  re-elected 
judge  of  the  same  district  in  1886  for  a  term  of 
eight  years,  and  that  exactly  eight  years  after 
the  completion  of  his  sixteen  years '  service  on 
the  bench,  ending  with  his  death,  Porter  Graves 
was  elected  solicitor  of  the  same  district,  and 
that  by  terms  of  four  years  each  he  will  have 
served  exactly  sixteen  years  in  December,  1918. 

And,  too,  it  is  rather  remarkable  that  three 
generations  of  lawyers,  Solomon  Graves,  Jesse 
Franklin  Graves  and  Porter  Graves,  grandfather, 
father  and  son,  all  should  have  lived  in  and 
practiced  the  profession  in  the  same  county,  and 
that  each  in  turn  should  have  rendered  so  long 
and  efficient  service  in  public  life.  In  this  con- 
nection it  should  be  added  that  William  Graves, 
eldest  son  of  Porter  Graves,  obtained  license  to 
practice  law  at  the  February  term,  1917,  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Surry  County  at  the  April  term,  1917,  and  after 
.arguing  and  winning  his  first  case,  volunteered  for 
service  in  the  army  the  next  day  and  is  now 
' '  Somewhere  in  France, ' '  having  arrived  ' '  Over- 
seas" in  May,  1918. 


The  Eleventh  Judicial  District  is  the  largest 
in  the  state  and  no  bar  in  North  Carolina  ranks 
higher  in  ability;  there  is  demand,  therefore,  for 
a  thoroughly  competent  solicitor  to  care  for  the 
interests  of  the  state.  By  reason  of  natural  fit- 
ness, diligence,  a  wonderful  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  ability  to  discover  truth,  familiarity  with 
the  rules  of  evidence,  power,  to  array  facts  in 
argument,  pleasing  manner  of  speech,  wide  experi- 
ence in  the  court-room  and  high  sense  of  fairness 
in  the  eonduct  of  trials,  he  is  recognized  as  the 
ablest  prosecuting  attorney  in  North  Carolina. 
While  he  possesses  oratorical  power,  and  while 
people  say  he  sometimes  wins  cases  by  the  last 
speech,  he  says  that  in  his  opinion  90  per  cent 
of  all  cases  are  either  won  or  lost  before  the 
argument  begins,  the  development  of  the  evidence 
being  the  determining  factor.  As  a  trial  lawyer, 
in  the  examination  and  cross-examination  of  wit- 
nesses, in  alertness  to  grasp  the  salient  features 
of  a  case  and  to  rivet  the  attention  of  juries  to 
them,  in  keeping  his  head  in  times  of  stress  and 
storm,  he  excels.  During  his  service  as  solicitor 
he  has  prosecuted  thousands  of  cases,  and  there 
never  has  been  a  ease  on  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court  reversed  or  remanded  because  of  improper 
argument  on  his  part. 

Mr.  Graves  was  married  February  11,  1891,  to 
Miss  Kate  Hollingsworth,  of  Mount  Airy,  North 
Carolina,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  R.  and  Susan 
Eleanor  Hollingsworth.  Her  father,  a  graduate 
of  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  was 
a  man  of  fine  intellect,  noble  impulses  and  love 
of  his  profession,  possessing  those  tender  and 
gentle  qualities  so  essential  to  those  who  minister 
to  the  sick  and  afflicted.  Miss  Kate  Hollingsworth 
was  educated  at  Greensboro  Female  College, 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  There  have  been 
born  unto  their  marriage  five  children:  William, 
Mary  Franklin,  Jesse  Franklin,  Kate  and  Stephen 
Porter,  Jr.  All  are  living  except  Kate,  who  died 
in  infancy.  William  received  his  education  in 
the  Mount  Airy  graded  school,  Guilford  College 
and  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  receiving 
the  A.  B.  degree  with  the  class  of  1912.  He  read 
law  at  the  university,  also,  completing  his  course 
in  February,  1917.  He  left  Camp  Sevier,  South 
Carolina,  with  the  first  detachment  of  the  Thir- 
tieth Division  the  first  of  May,  1918,  for  France. 
Mary  Franklin,  after  receiving  her  diploma  from 
the  Mount  Airy  High  School,  pursued  her  course 
of  training  at  St.  Mary's  in  Raleigh,  North  Caro- 
lina, for  two  years  aud  completed  her  college 
work  at  Converse  College,  Spartanburg,  South 
Carolina.  Jesse  Franklin  attended  the  graded 
school  in  Mount  Airy,  continued  his  studies  at 
Horner  Military  School,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina, 
and  more  recently  took  a  business  course  at  Sad- 
ler 's  Bryant  &  Stratton  College,  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. Returning  from  school  he  volunteered  and 
is  now  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States.  S. 
Porter,  Jr.,  a  boy  of  eleven  years,  is  now  in  the 
city   schools. 

Mr.  Graves  had  hardly  turned  his  majority  when 
he  was  called  into  active  service  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  and  made  a  canvass  of  the  county 
in  the  campaign  of  1888  as  county  elector,  since 
which  time  he  has  ever  been  ready  to  contribute 
of  his  time  and  talent  for  the  success  of  his 
party,  not  only  in  his  own  county  and  district 
but  elsewhere  in  the  state. 

While  he  served  efficiently  as  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee  of  Surry  County  for  many 
years,  he  never  sought  nomination  for  office  from 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


m 


the  people  other  than  for  the  position  he  now 
so  ably  fills,  -which  is  more  judicial  than  political. 
The  truth  is  that  politics  as  a  business,  as  a 
science  or  as  a  game  does  not  appeal  to  him,  and, 
however  old-fashioned  the  notion  may  be  in  these 
days  of  self-promotion,  he  yet  believes  the  office 
should  seek  the  man  and  not  the  man  the  office. 

His  attractive  home,  the  ancestral  homestead, 
is  presided  over  by  one  of  the  noblest  and  best  of 
women,  where  is  dispensed  the  most  delightful 
hospitality.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  are 
identified  with  every  welfare  movement.  Mr. 
Graves  is  a  member  of  Blue  Eidge  Council  No.  73, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics, 
Granite  Lodge  No.  322,  Ancient  Free  &  Accepted 
Masons,  Mount  Airy  chapter  No.  68,  Eoyal  Arch 
Masons,  Piedmont  Commandery  No.  6,  Knights 
Templar,  and  Oasis  Temple,  Mystic   Shrine. 

John  Gofton  Anderson  has  had  a  wide  ex- 
perience as  a  lawyer,  has  practiced  successfully 
in  several  localities  of  the  state  for  the  past  twelve 
years,  and  is  now  one  of  the  recognized  leaders 
of  the  bar  at  Snow  Hill. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  born  at  Tarboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, August  31,  1883,  a  son  of  John  and  Martha 
(Pittman)  Anderson,  his  parents  being  farmers. 
He  grew  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  country  life, 
attended  district  schools  in  Halifax  County,  and 
his  higher  education  was  acquired  in  the  Oak 
Eidge  Institute,  and  from  1904  to  1906  he  was  a 
student  in  Wake  Forest  College  law  department. 
He  was  graduated  LL.  B.,  and  had  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  August,  1905.  For  one  year 
Mr.  Anderson  practiced  at  Halifax,  then  for  two 
years  was  located  at  Elm  City  in  "Wilson  County 
and  in  March,  1909,  removed  to  Snow  Hill. 

Mr.  Anderson  is  affiliated  with  Lodge  No.  132 
of  the  Masonic  order  and  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America.  On  September  16,  1911,  he  married 
Pearl  Herring  of  Greene  County. 

Levin  Carl  Blades,  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
lumber  industry  of  the  state,  with  business  head- 
quarters at  Elizabeth  City,  belongs  to  a  family  of 
lumber  manufacturers  and  the  name  and  activi- 
ties associated  with  it  have  long  been  prominent 
in  this  state. 

Levin  C.  Blades  was  born  in  Worcester  County, 
Maryland,  January  24,  1881.  He  is  a  son  of 
J.  B.  Blades,  of  New  Bern,  North  Carolina.  He 
was  educated  in  private  schools  at  Elizabeth  City, 
and  finished  his  education  in  Swarthmore  College 
in  Pennsylvania.  As  a  youth  he  spent  much  of 
his  time  around  lumber  mills  and  in  the  lumber 
offices  of  his  father  at  Elizabeth  City,  and  now 
for  a  number  of  years  has  been  an  active  factor  in 
the  lumber  industry  located  there,  being  treas- 
urer of  the  Foreman-Blades  Lumber  Company, 
which  company  operates  saw  and  planing  mills 
with  a  capacity  of  125,000  feet  per  day.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  Elizabeth  City  Brick  Com- 
pany, vice  president  of  the  J.  B.  Blades  Lumber 
Company  of  New  Bern,  and  secretary  of  the  Ply- 
mouth Brick  Company  of  Plymouth,  North  Car- 
olina. He  is  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Elizabeth  City  and  a  member  of  the  Lum- 
bermen's organization  of  Hoo  Hoos.  He  also  be- 
longs to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  First  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

Mr.  Blades  married  October  6.  1909.  Miss  Es- 
telle  D.  Farrior,  of  Wilson,  North  Carolina.    Then- 


two    children    are    Margaret   Ann    and    Carl    Far- 
rior. 

Burwell  Henry  Woodell.  No  man  in  the 
Southland  has  sacrificed  more  for  the  cause  of 
Odd  Fellowship  than  has  Burwell  Henry  Woodell, 
for  nine  years  editor  of  the  North  Carolina  Odd 
Fellow  and  for  thirty-two  years  grand  secretary  of 
the  Grand  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  North  Carolina.  From  the  date  of  his 
election  to  the  office  of  grand  secretary,  in  1885,  to 
the  present  time,  the  biography  of  Mr.  Woodell 
and  the  history  of  Odd  Fellowship  in  North  Caro- 
lina have  been  so  closely  intertwined  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  write  the  one  without  the  other. 

Burwell  Henry  Woodell,  son  of  Mark  and  Jennie 
(Cox)  Woodell,  was  born  August  15,  1839,  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Chatham  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  there  grew  to  manhood,  receiving  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  locality.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  he  left  the  home  place  and 
accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store  in 
the  City  of  Raleigh,  where  he  was  working  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  states.  In  the 
spring  of  1863  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Tenth 
Battalion,  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  the  cause 
of  the  Confederacy  faithfully  until  peace  was 
declared.  At  that  time  he  was  home  on  a  furlough 
on  account  of  sickness,  and  surrendered  to  General 
Morgan,  of  Kentucky,  at  Avent  's  Ferry,  Chatham 
County,  April  19,  1865,  not  having  received  a 
single  wound  during  his  two  years  of  service. 
Because  of  his  particular  knowledge  in  this  direc- 
tion, he  was  generally  left  in  charge  of  the  com- 
missary and  quartermaster 's  stores  while  his 
battalion  was  engaged  in  active  service,  and  at- 
tained the  rank  of  corporal,  but  declined  higher 
honors,  preferring  service  in  the  private  ranks. 

On  November  22,  1866,  Mr.  Woodell  was  married 
to  Miss  Emily  Buchanan,  a  native  of  the  same 
section  of  Chatham  County,  and  to  this  union  six 
children  were  born,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 

For  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  between 
the  South  and  the  North  B.  H.  Woodell  labored 
on  his  father  's  farm,  helping  the  elder  man  to  re- 
claim it  for  cultivation.  In  1868,  however,  he 
returned  to  Ealeigh  where  he  again  became 
identified  with  the  mercantile  business,  and  by  the 
year  1873  had  accumulated  sufficient  capital  so 
that  he  was  able  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own 
account.  It  was  while  he  was  thus  engaged  that 
he  received  his  introduction  to  Odd  Fellowship,  for 
in  March  of  the  year  mentioned  he  was  initiated 
in  Seaton  Gales  Lodge,  No.  64,  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has  held  con- 
tinuous membership  for  more  than  forty-five  years 
and  in  the  work  of  which  he  has  been  exceedingly 
active.  As  soon  as  he  had  received  the  fifth  degree 
Mr.  Woodell  was  appointed  conductor,  and  was 
then  elected  vice  grand  and  noble  grand  in  succes- 
sion. On  May  10,  1876,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State,  and  was  appointed 
district  deputy  grand  master  by  Grand  Master 
Richard  J.  Jones.  Later  in  that  same  year  he  was 
appointed  assistant  grand  secretary,  and  filled  that 
position  for  three  consecutive  sessions.  In  1878  he 
visited  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  in  session  at 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  there  was  honored  by 
appointment  to  grand  guardian. 

At  the  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North 
Carolina  held  at  Wilmington  in  May,  1882,  Mr. 
Woodell  was  elected  grand  master  from  the  floor 
of  the  grand  lodge,  without  having  filled  the  sub- 
ordinate offices,  as  is  customary,  and  at  the  close 


132 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  his  term  in  office  as  grand  master  in  1883,  was 
elected  grand  representative  to  the  , Sovereign 
Grand  Lodge  for  two  years,  a  capacity  in  which 
he  attended  the  session  of  1883  at.  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  and  that  of  1884  at  Minneapolis, 
Minnesota.  At  the  latter  session  Mr.  Woodell 
nominated  Hon.  Charles  M.  Busbee,  of  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  for  deputy  grand  sire,  and  this 
proved  the  beginning  of  what  finally  resulted  in 
the  election  of  the  only  member  of  the  order 
from  North  Carolina  who  has  ever  held  the  office 
of  grand  sire.  Mr.  Busbee  was  elected  deputy 
grand  sire  in  1888,  and  two  years  later  was  sent 
to  the  chair  of  grand  sire,  serving  two  years  in 
each  position. 

Mr.  Woodell  attended  the  session  of  the  Sovereign 
Grand  Lodge  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  in  1901, 
at  which  time  he  memorized  ' '  The  Unwritten 
Work ' '  of  Odd  Fellowship,  being  the  first  in  North 
Carolina  to  memorize  the  revised  work.  He  was 
also  very  active  at  this  same  session  in  providing 
means  whereby  the  members  of  the  order  could 
become  more  familiar  with  the  secret  work. 

At  the  Grand  Lodge  session  of  1885  at  Wilson, 
North  Carolina,  Mr.  Woodell  was  elected  grand 
secretary,  to  succeed  Mr.  J.  J.  Litchford,  who  had 
served  in  that  capacity  for  fourteen  years  and  who 
had  declined  reelection  because  of  failing  health. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Woodell  has  been  absolutely 
devoted  to  his  secretarial  duties.  He  has  sacrificed 
time,  money  and  almost  everything  else  for  the 
welfare  of  this  great  order  which  he  loves  so 
sincerely,  and  has  been  a  great  contributing  factor 
in  its  forwarding  of  the  cause  of  friendship,  love 
and  truth.  He  has  burned  the  midnight  oil;  and 
has  sacrificed  the  pleasures  of  home  life  to  a 
large  degree;  he  has  refused  to  accept  good 
business  propositions  whereby  he  might  have 
accumulated  wealth — and  many  other  things,  too 
numerous  to  mention — and  all  this  for  the  sake  of 
his  fellow  man. 

Mr.  Woodell  has  personally  organized  a  large  per 
cent  of  the  Odd  Fellow  lodges  in  North  Carolina, 
and  his  voice  has  been  heard  in  almost  every  lodge 
room  in  the  state.  In  1885,  when  he  was  elected 
grand  secretary,  there  were  forty-two  lodges  in 
North  Carolina,  with  1,208  members.  In  June, 
1916,  there  were  240  lodges,  with  more  than  15,000 
members,  and  a  large  part  of  this  gain  in  member- 
ship may  be  directly  attributed  to  his  faithful  and 
untiring  efforts.  He  has  traveled  thousands  of 
miles  in  teaching  the  members  the  secret  work  of 
the  order  as  well  as  instructing  them  in  the  tenets 
and  jurisprudence  of  the  fraternity.  He  has  com- 
piled two  state  digests  of  Odd  Fellows  laws,  and 
has  framed  a  large  portion  of  the  laws  and  regula- 
tions under  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  its  subordinates  are  now  working.  He 
was  the  originator  of  what  is  known  as  the  "Club 
Plan ' '  of  admitting  members  into  the  order. 

Mr.  Woodell  had  almost  lived  out  his  allotted 
three-score-and-ten  years  when,  in  October,  1908, 
he  was  elected  editor  of  the  North  Carolina  Odd 
Fellow,  the  state  organ  of  the  order,  a  position 
which  he  continued  to  hold  for  more  than  eight 
years,  discharging  its  duties  faithfully  in  addition 
to  those  strenuous  ones  pertaining  to  the  office  of 
grand  secretary,  and  through  this  medium  has 
imparted  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  to 
the  membership  of  the  Odd  Fellows  order  in  the 
Old  North  State. 

Mr.  Woodell  has  been  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Edenton  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  for  more  than  forty  years.     He  served  on 


the  official  board  of  this  church  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  has  ever  been  ready  to  contribute  his 
share  to  the  institutions  of  his  church,  having 
also  been  active  and  generous  in  his  support  of 
enterprises  making  for  civic,  educational  or  moral 
betterment. 

James  Francis  Post.  The  discipline  of  the 
railway  service  has  developed  some  of  the  greatest 
figures  in  American  commercial  and  industrial 
affairs.  When  James  Francis  Post  was  nineteen 
years  of  age  he  began  working  in  a  minor  posi- 
tion in  the  freight  department  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railroad,  and  rose  to  the  position  of 
treasurer  of  the  entire  Atlantic  Coast  Line  system. 
He  was  a  native  of  Wilmington,  and  spent  all 
his  life  in  that  city,  which  takes  the  more  pride, 
therefore,  in  his  achievements  and  career.  Born 
at  Wilmington  February  24,  1851,  he  was  a  son 
of  James  F.  and  Mary  Ann  (Russell)  Post.  His 
father,  who  served  with  distinction  as  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  war, 
was  one  of  the  first  men  to  devote  himself  ex- 
clusively to  the  practice  of  architecture  in  North 
Carolina. 

James  Francis  Post  had  a  good  education, 
though  he  was  not  a  college  man,"  and  his  first 
experience  in  business  life  was  as  bookkeeper  for 
a  building  company.  Then  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  became  connected  with  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
Railroad,  and  filled  all  the  positions  in  the  freight 
department  up  to  and  including  agent.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  he  was  appointed  to  the  respon- 
sibilities of  through  freight  agent,  and  held  that 
office  eight  years.  At  thirty-four  he  became  as- 
sistant treasurer  for  all  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
and  subsidiary  lines  and  companies.  Then  in 
1887  he  was  made  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
company,  and  was  treasurer  for  the  entire  system 
from  1902  to  the  date  of  his  death. 

Recognized  as)  a  man  of  splendid  financial 
ability,  and  burdened  with  heavy  responsibilities. 
Mr.  Post  was,  nevertheless,  deeply  devoted  for 
many  years  to  the  welfare  of  his  home  city  and 
to  many  larger  projects  of  educational  and 
benevolent  work.  He  served  four  years  as  alder- 
man of  Wilmington,  filled  the  position  of  mag- 
istrate ten  years,  and  was  also  mayor  pro  tern. 
For  fourteen  years  Mr.  Post  was  chairman  of  the 
Wilmington  City  School  Board.  His  efforts  in 
behalf  of  education  were  not  confined  to  his  home 
city.  He  was  a  former  trustee  of  the  agricultural 
School  for  Negroes,  and  served  as  trustee  of  the 
State  Normal  for  Women  for  seven  years.  He 
was  vice  president  and  director  of  several  com- 
panies, and  was  a  director  of  the  Peoples  Bank. 

Outside  of  home  and  business  perhaps  his  great- 
est interest  was  the  Grace  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  for  twenty-five  years  he  was  chair- 
man of  its  board  of  trustees,  and  filled  all  other 
positions  and  was  one  of  the  largest  contributors 
to  the  new  edifice  of  that  church. 

Mr.  Post  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Rail- 
way Financial  Officials  of  America.  He  was  hon- 
orary fellow  of  the  American  Geological  Society 
and  a  member  of  the  National  Society  of  Political 
Economy.  For  twenty-five  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  St.  John  Lodge  No.  1,  Ancient  Free  & 
Accepted  Masons,  and  was  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason.  He  was  also  a  Knights  of  Pythias,  a 
member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  was 
identified  with  the  Cape  Fear  Club  and  the  Cape 
Fear  Country  Club. 

On  April  6,  1876,  Mr.  Post  married  Miss  Sarah 


L-  L.  X- 


1 


«^> 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


133 


Virginia  Jacobs,  of  an  old  and  prominent  Xorth 
Carolina  family.  Seven  children  were  born  to 
them,  one  of  whom,  Virginia,  died  at  the  age  of 
four  years.  Those  still  living  are:  Eobert  E., 
James  F.,  Jr.,  William  N.,  Mary  Eussell,  Julia 
B.,  and  Lydia,  Mrs.  Herbert  Scott  Snead.  James 
Francis  Post  died  at  his  home  in  Wilmington, 
Xorth  Carolina,  on  January  5,  1918. 

Abel  C.  Lineberger.  During  the  fifteen  years 
that  Abel  C.  Lineberger  has  figured  prominently 
in  the  cotton  mill  industry  of  Gaston  County  he 
has  proven  his  ability  as  an  executive  and  his 
worth  as  a  man.  Upon  no  other  class  do  the 
responsibilities  of  this  community  rest  30  heavily 
:is  they  do  on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  who  direct 
the  operations  of  this  industry.  As  the  cotton 
mills  of  the  various  towns  and  cities  are,  so  are 
the  communities  themselves,  so  do  they  prosper, 
or  so  do  they  sink  into  decay.  The  very  life  of 
this  section  depends  upon  the  strength  and  probity 
of  those  who  control  the  cotton  mills.  Every  man 
is  not  fitted  by  nature  and  training  to  assume 
the  duties  pertaining  to  the  handling  of  these 
interests,  so  that  it  is  a  self-evident  fact  that 
when  a  man  makes  a  success  of  this  kind  of 
work  he  must  be  possessed  of  unusual  ability  and 
strict  probity  of  character. 

Abel  C.  Lineberger  belongs  to  one  of  the  earliest 
families  of  Gaston  County,  and  was  born  in  this 
county  on  his  father's  farm,  about  l1?  miles  from 
the  present  industrial  Town  of  Lowell,  in  1859, 
his  parents  being  Caleb  J.  and  Fannie  CLine- 
berger)  Lineberger.  The  parents  were  of  the 
same  remote  ancestral  origin,  but  of  no  immediate 
relationship.  The  Linebergers  are  one  of  the  fam- 
ilies of  German  origin  which  settled  in  what  are 
now  Catawba,  Gaston  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
ties many  years  before  the  Revolutionary  war. 
They  were  of  the  same  stock  that  in  Pennsylvania 
is  known  as  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch.  Through 
their  character,  industry  and  progressiveness  they 
have  played  a  decidedly  important  part  in  the 
settlement  of  Western  Xorth  Carolina.  Three 
Lineberger  brothers,  Peter,  Lewis  and  John,  came 
from  Germany  and  probablv  lived  for  a  time  in 
Pennsylvania,  near  York  and  Lancaster,  and  came 
to  what  is  now  Gaston  County.  Xorth  Carolina 
about  1765.  They  had  lost  their  parents  at  sea. 
Of  these  three  brothers  Abel  C.  Lineber°-er  is  de- 
scended in  direct  line  from  Capt.  Lewis"  Lineber- 
ger, who  was  one  of  the  Revolutionary  patriots  of 
North  Carolina,  and  captain  of  his  district  in 
the  Continental  line.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
strength  and  force  of  character,  of  unblemished 
reputation,  and  one  who  left  his  impress  upon  the 
affairs  of  his  day  and  community.  He  located 
upon  a  branch  of  Hoyle  's  Creek,  about  four  miles 
northeast  of  the  present  Town  of  Dallas  in  Gaston 
<  ounty,  and  several  generations  of  his  descendants 
lived  on  the  same  place,  the  house  that  he  erected 
still  standing,  although  not  in  use  at  this  time 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  Abel  C.  Linebero-er 
was  John  Lineberger.  and  his  maternal  grandfather 
bore  the  name  of  Lewis  Lineberger. 

Caleb  J.  Lineberger,  father  of  Abel  C.  lived 
tor  a  long  number  of  years  on  his  farm  in  Gaston 
•  ounty,  about  1%  miles  from  the  Town  of  Lowell 
He  is  noted  in  local  history  for  having  built  the 
first  cotton  mill  in  Gaston  County,  it  being  located 
on  the  Catawba  River,  two  miles  above  the  present 
Town  of  McAndeville,  and  was  operated  by 
water  power.  Although  lacking  the  machinery  and 
i.i'-ilities  of  the  modern  mill,  it  was  a  good   one 


for  its  day  and  Mr.  Lineberger  made  money  out 
of  it.  He  was  a  very  industrious  man,  a  trait 
which  he  inherited  from  his  ancestors,  and  it  was 
his  custom  to  go  on  horseback  every  day  from  his 
farm  to  his  mill,  starting  early  in  the  morning, 
working  all  day  and  returning  to  his  homestead 
in  the  evening.  Physically  he  was  very  active  and 
athletic,  living  a  healthful,  vigorous  life,  and 
lived  to  the  remarkable  age  of  ninety-sis  years, 
dying  in  1914.  His  mill  was  three  miles  from 
his  plantation. 

Abel  C.  Lineberger  was  reared  on  the  farm  near 
Lowell   referred    to   above,   a    property    which   he 
still  owns,  and  one  very  dear  to  him  as  the  scene 
of  his  childhood  and  a  reminder  of  many  pleasant 
memories.     When   he  was   eighteen   years   old,   in 
1886,   he   left   the   country   school    which   he   had 
been  attending  and  entered  his  father 's  mill  of- 
fice as  bookkeeper,  etc.     Subsequently  he  secured 
employment   with    Mr.    A.    P.    Rhyne,    of    Mount 
Holly,    and   was   employed  under   him   first   as   a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  the  Tuckaseege  Mill,  later  as 
bookkeeper,  and  still  later  as  general  manager  of 
the  mercantile  and  manufacturing  business  of  the 
Tuckaseege    Manufacturing    Company,    iu    which 
business  he  eventually  secured  a  financial  interest. 
Mr.  Lineberger  remained  with   these  interests  at 
Mount    Holly  until   the  year   1902,   when  he   dis- 
posed of  his  holdings  there  and  removed  to  Bel- 
mont, where  he  had  purchased  stock  in  the  Bel- 
mont Mills.     Since  that  time  there  have  been  five 
cotton  mills  built  at  Belmont,  and  Mr.  Lineberger 
has  been  elected  president  of  each  of  them  as  it 
has    been.  built,    and    still   retains    that    position. 
The  Chronicle  Mill,  built  in   1901,  has   a  capital 
stock  of   $125,000,  and  operates  10,270   spindles; 
the  Imperial  Tarn  Mill,  built  in  1906,  is  capitalized 
at  $200,000  and  operates  14,544  spindles;  the  mills 
of    the    Majestic    Manufacturing    Company    were 
built  iu  1908,  have  a  capital  stock  of  $200,000.  and 
operate  12,768  spindles;  the  Xational  Yarn  Mills, 
15,232  spindles,  were  built  in  1914;   and  in  1916 
the  Climax  Spinning  Company  Mills,  21,760  spin- 
dles, were  built.     Mr.  Lineberger  is  also  president 
of   the  Vance  Cotton  Mills   at   Salisbury.     These 
mills    operate   10,000    spindles.      The   business   of 
these   great   plants   is  highly   prosperous   and   at- 
tracts trade  from  over  a  wide  territory,  the  mills 
being  always  in  operation  and  giving  employment 
to  many  operators.     The  products  are  various  in 
their  nature  and  include  ply  yarns,  skeins,  tubes, 
combed  yarns,  combed  Egyptian   and   Sea  Island 
yarns,  and  others.     In  addition  to  being  president 
of  these  mills  Mr.  Lineberger  is  a  director  of  the 
Bank    of    Belmont    and    of   the    Bank    of    Mount 
Holly.      He   largely   confines   his   energies   to   the 
upbuilding    of    the    cotton    mills,    and    has    every 
reason  to  be   satisfied  with  the   success   that  has 
attended  his  efforts  in  this  direction. 

Mr.  Lineberger  married  Miss  Mattie  Hippe,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  seven  children :  Julia 
Elizabeth,  Archibald,  Henry.  Harold,  Martha, 
Frances  and  Joe.  Entil  moving  to  Belmont  Mr. 
Lineberger  had  always  lived  on  his  farm  place, 
where  he  has  400  acres.  The  family  now  resides 
in  a  beautiful  home  at  Belmont.  He  is  interested 
in  all  that  pertains  to  modern  progress  along 
material,  intellectual  and  moral  lines,  and  his 
charities  extend  to  many  worthy  enterprises. 

Calvin  Wooparp.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find 
in  Wilson  County  a  more  highly  esteemed  citizen 
than  C.  Woodard.  who  is  owner  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  C.  Woodard   Company,  wholesale   <rro- 


134. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


eers,  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina.  He  has  had  a 
long,  profitable  and  honorable  business  career,  and, 
as  a  home  product,  his  fellow  citizens  generally 
have  taken  interest  and  pride  in  his  success  and 
in  a  citizenship  that  exerts  a  wholesome  influ- 
ence. In  these  day  it  is  not  such  a  difficult  mat- 
ter to  accumulate  something  of  a  fortune  or  to 
succeed  to  political  place,  but  not  always  are 
these  desirable  things  brought  about,  as  in  Mr. 
Woodard  'a  case,  with  the  continued  respect  and 
confidence  that  makes  life  worth  while. 

Calvin  "Woodard  was  born  at  Wilson,  North 
Carolina,  July  17,  1865.  He  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm  and  was  afforded  educational  ad- 
vantages among  the  best,  after  completing  his 
high  school  course  entering  the  Wilson  Collegiate 
Institute  and  was  graduated  in  the  usual  branches 
and  also  in  bookkeeping  and  commercial  law. 
When  he  entered  the  business  field  he  was  fortu- 
nate in  having  as  employer  and  preceptor  such 
a  merchant  as  A.  Branch,  who  in  his  day  was 
called  the  merchant  prince  of  Eastern  North  Car- 
olina. Mr.  Woodard  remained  with  Mr.  Branch 
for  nine  years  in  the  general  mercantile  line. 
He  then  engaged  for  nine  years  more  with  the 
Howard-Graves  Company,  of  which  through  busi- 
ness changes  he  later  became  a  partner,  when  the 
firm  style  became  Howard  &  Woodard,  and  this 
partnership  continued  until  1907,  when  Mr.  Wood- 
ard withdrew  in  order  to  establish  an  individual 
business,  which  continues  under  the  title  of  the 
Woodard  Company.  This  business  is  in  a  very 
prosperous  condition  and  its  trade  connections  ex- 
tend all  over  Eastern  North  Carolina.  The  con- 
fidence reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  merchants 
may  be  noted  in  that  he  is  serving  as  chairman 
of  the  finance  committee  of  the  Merchants  As- 
sociation of  North  Carolina,  and  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Wil- 
son, but  resigned  on  account  of  business  mat- 
ters. 

Mr.  Woodard  was  married  December  3,  1890,  to 
Miss  Susan  Eugenia  Faircloth,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  J.  B.  and  Fannie  M.  (Dixon)  Faircloth,  of 
Green  County,  North  Carolina,  and  a  niece  of 
Justice  Faircloth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodard  have 
two  children :  Susie  Gray  and  William  Windsor, 
the  latter  being  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
wholesale  grocery  business. 

In  Masonic  circles  Mr.  Woodard  is  well  known 
and  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  also  be- 
longs to  the  Mystic  Shrine  at  New  Bern,  North 
Carolina.  He  has  been  active  in  Odd  Fellowship 
for  many  years  and  has  served  as  deputy  grand 
master  of  the  order  in  North  Carolina  and  on 
May  15,  1917,  became  grand  master.  He  be- 
longs also  to  the  Travelers  Protective  Association 
and  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Me- 
chanics. In  local  politics  he  has  been  a  hearty 
worker  for  progress  and  reform  and  for  six  years 
served  as  alderman  of  his  ward. 

Wesley  Norwood  Jones  of  Raleigh  has  gained 
some  of  the  high  honors  and  dignities  of  his  profes- 
sion as  a  lawyer  and  of  active  participation  in  the 
civic  and  social  affairs  of  his  home  state. 

He  was  born  in  Wake  County,  July  2,  1852,  a 
son  of  Wesley  M.  and  Leasy  (Norwood)  Jones. 
His  father  was  a  substantial  farmer  and  the  son 
grew  up  on  the  farm  with  the  environment  of  the 
country.  He  attended  public  schools  and  graduated 
A.  B.  from  Wake  Forest  College  in  1879.  He 
finished   his   studies   in   Strong 's   Law  School   and 


was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880.  Since  then  for 
more  than  thirty-five  years  he  has  been  engaged  in 
a  general  practice  at  Raleigh,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  has  had  his  choice  of  a  large  and  select 
legal  business. 

Again  and  again  he  has  been  called  upon  to 
serve  the  interests  of  his  community  and  the 
state.  He  was  at  one  time  commissioner  of  labor 
of  North  Carolina,  for  several  terms  was  an  alder- 
man of  Raleigh,  was  chairman  of  the  dispensary 
board  for  Raleigh  for  two  years,  and  for  ten  years 
was  commissioner  of  charity  for  the  state.  He  is 
now  attorney  and  vice  president  of  the  Raleigh 
Bank  &  Trust  Company  and  attorney  of  the 
Mechanics  Savings  Bank,  and  is  legal  adviser  and 
attorney  for  Wake  Forest  College. 

Mr.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  Raleigh  Country 
Club,  the  Raleigh  Cemetery  Association,  is  a  deacon 
in  the  First  Baptist  Church,  is  ex-president  of  the 
North  Carolina  State  Convention,  and  is  president 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Meridith   College. 

In  February,  1887,  he  married  Miss  Sallie 
Bailey,  daughter  of  Rev.  C.  T.  Bailey.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  Annie  B.,  Sallie  W.  and 
William  Bailey  Jones.  Sallie  W.  is  the  wife  of 
Wade  M.  Gallant,  who  lives  at  Raleigh  but  his 
duties  as  an  electric  engineer  call  him  all  over 
the  states  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia. 

Wilbert  Hugh  Young  for  nearly  twenty  years 
has  been  active  in  business,  public  and  civic  af- 
fairs, generally  at  Durham.  He  was  educated  for 
the  law,  but  owing  to  his  health  failing  him  near 
the  close  of  his  college  work,  he  followed  the 
practice  for  only  a  short  while. 

Mr.  Young  was  born  near  Cary,  Wake  County, 
North  Carolina,  September  6,  1874.  His  birth- 
place was  at  his  father 's  farm.  He  is  the  young- 
est son  of  William  and  Martha  Adams  Young. 

His  father  having  died  while  he  was  quite  small 
and  his  mother  being  left  with  six  small  children, 
with  only  limited  means  of  support,  it  fell  to  his 
lot  to  make  largely  his  own  way  in  the  world. 

While  a  small  boy  he  attended  the  public  schools 
in  his  native  county.  With  a  determination  and 
being  inspired  by  his  mother,  who  was  not  able 
to  offer  financial  aid,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
entered  Elon  College,  in  which  institution  he 
spent  nearly  three  and  one-half  years.  While  at 
Elon  Mr.  Young  was  a  very  active  member  of 
the  Philologian  Literary  Society,  and  it  was 
while  thus  associated  that  he  became  interested 
and  wished  for  all  poor  boys  the  opportunity  to 
obtain  an  education. 

So  to  him  is  due  the  honor  of  promoting  and 
organizing  what  is  known  as  The  Loan  Fund  of 
the  Phi  Society  at  Elon  College,  which  has  made 
possible  the  education  of  quite  a  large  number  of 
poor  boys. 

After  this  he  studied  law  at  the  university  and 
obtained  his  license  to  practice  in  1898.  Having 
failed  to  follow  the  practice  because  of  bad 
health,  as  before  stated,  he  engaged  in  farming 
for  a  short  time,  and  upon  partially  regaining  his 
health  he  entered  the  mercantile  business  and 
for  about  six  years  was  numbered  among  the  most 
active  merchants  of  Durham.  Following  this  he 
was  connected  with  the  Durham  Loan  and  Trust 
Company  of  Durham  for  about  two  years.  He 
has  always  shown  an  active  interest  in  school 
matters  and  things  of  public  enterprise  in  his 
community. 

On  February  27,   1900,  he  was  married  to  Miss 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


135 


Annie  Clark,  of  Durham.  Their  family  consists 
of  seven  children :  Vernon  Victor,  Foye  Louise, 
Margaret  Urdine,  Claiborne  Clark,  William  H., 
Jr.,   Adam  Deronda   and  Kenneth   "Wharton. 

In  November,  1910,  Mr.  Young  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Durham  County. 
In  July,  1917,  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
was  elected  the  first  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Association  of  Superior  Court  Clerks  of  the 
state.  This  is  an  organization  that  promises  some 
substantia]  results  through  the  active  association 
of  all  the  court  clerks  of  the  state,  and  by  inter- 
change and  co-operation  improving  the  general 
standard  of  service. 

Henry  Clay  McQueen.  An  outstanding  figure 
in  North  Carolina's  financial  and  business  affairs 
for  many  years,  Henry  Clay  McQueen  was  one 
of  the  useful  citizens  of  this  state  who  took  up 
arms  at  the  time  of  the  war  between  the  states 
and  fought  gallantly  for  the  South  until  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century 
he  has  been  prominent  in  the  banking  and  finan- 
cial life  of  Wilmington. 

Mr.  McQueen  was  born  at  Lumberton,  North 
Carolina,  July  16,  1846,  a  son  of  Dr.  Edmund  and 
Susan  Ann  (Moore)  McQueen.  He  came  of  a 
family  of  honorable  and  influential  connections 
and  was  well  educated,  attending  the  Bingham 
School  at  Oaks  and  Hillsboro  Military  Academy. 

When  only  seventeen  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  Confederate  armv  as  a  private  in  Company  D 
of  the  First  Battalion  Heavy  Artillery,  North 
Carolina  Volunteers,  in  186?.,  and  was  with  the 
fiVhtinsr  troops  of  the  state  until  June,  I860.  At 
Fort  Fisher,  North  Carolina,  in  January,  1865, 
he   was  wounded  and   taken  prisoner. 

After  the  war  he  identified  himself  with  busi- 
ness affairs,  and  in  189.1  entered  banking  at 
Wilmington. 

Mr.  McQueen  has  been  president  of  the  Murehi- 
son  National  Bank  of  Wilmington  since  1899,  and 
is  president  of  the  Bank  of^Duplin  at  Wallace, 
president  of  the  Carolina  Insurance  Company  of 
Wilmington,  vice  president  of  the  Jefferson  Stan- 
dard Life  Insurance  Company  of  Greensboro, 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Peoples 
Savings  Bank  of  Wilmington,  and  director  and 
treasurer  of  the  Wilmington,  Brunswick  &  South- 
ern Railroad  Company. 

He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  public  affairs, 
though  almost  entirely  his  service  has  been  in 
those  offices  that  carry  heavy  responsibilities  with 
no  remuneration.  For  many  years  he  was  com- 
missioner of  the  sinking  fund  of  Wilmington  and 
was  formerly  president  of  the  Produce  Exchange 
of  that.  city.  He  is  a  democrat,  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  belongs  to  the  Cape 
Fear  Club.  Mr.  McQueen  married  at  Asheville, 
North  Carolina,  November  9,  1871,  Miss  Man- 
Agnes  Hall,  who  passed  away  in  1904,  leaving  two 
daughters,  Sue  Moore  McQueen  and  Agnes  Mc- 
Queen, now  Mrs.  William  P.  Emerson,  with  two 
boys,  W.  P.  Emerson,  Jr.,  and  Henry  McQueen 
Emerson. 

Sidney  Graham  Meweorn  was  for  a  number 
of  years  actively  engaged  in  general  practice  of 
law  at  Wilson,  but  in  later  years  his  time  and 
abilities  have  been  more  and  more  taken  up  with 
official  duties  and  with  banking.  He  is  a  success- 
ful and  highly  able  financier,  and  the  energy  ac- 
cumulated in  his  youth  on  a  farm  and  from  sev- 
eral  generations  of  hard   working  and  rugged   an- 


cestors he  has  applied  to  achievement  in  profes- 
sional  and  commercial  affairs. 

Mr.  Mewborn  was  born  on  his  father 's  farm  in 
Greene  County,  North  Carolina,  November  8,  1868, 
son  of  Levi  Jesse  Hardy  and  Ruth  (Whitted) 
Mewborn.  His  father  was  a  man  of  influence  in 
Greene  County  and  at  one  time  represented  that 
district  in  the  Legislature  and  was  a  member  of 
the  County  Board  of  Education. 

Sidney  Graham  Mewborn  received  his  early  ed- 
ucation in  the  public  schools,  and  subsequently 
entered  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  was  graduated  in  Aug- 
ust, 1895.  From  that  year  until  1906  he  prac- 
ticed actively  at  Wilson  and  then  was  made  clerk 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Wilson  County.  He  was 
engaged  in  those  official  duties  until  August,  1915, 
when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Branch 
Banking  and  Trust  Company.  He  now  gives  all 
his  time  to  banking  and  keeps  a  law  office  only 
for  the  transaction  of  an  office  practice.  In  1895 
Mr.  Mewborn  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Leg- 
islature from  Greene  County.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Wilson  Country  Club,  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics,  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
and  is  an  elder  in  the  Disciples  Church. 

He  was  married  April  19,  1904,  to  Miss  Ava 
Gray,  of  Lenoir  County,  North  Carolina.  They 
have   one   daughter,   Ava   Mewborn. 

Isaac  A.  Pike  has  long  been  an  industrious 
citizen  of  Western  North  Carolina,  was  a  successful 
farmer  many  years,  and  is  now  engaged  in  his 
business  as  a  building  contractor  at  Winston-Salem. 

His  family  and  all  his  connections  have  been 
identified  with  North  Carolina  since  pioneer 
times.  Mr.  Pike  was  born  near  the  Virginia  line 
in  Stokes  County,  North  Carolina,  July  22,  1857. 
His  grandfather  was  named  Isaac  Pike  and  was  a 
resident  of  Stokes  County.  His  father,  Gabriel 
Pike,  was  born  in  Stokes  County  and  was  a  natural 
mechanic,  having  an  ability  to  handle  almost  any 
kind  of  tools.  He  learned  the  trade  of  black- 
smith and  carriage  making,  and  was  busily  engaged 
in  those  occupations  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
in  1861.  He  then  enlisted  in  the  Fife  and  Drum 
Corps  for  the  Confederate  army,  but  was  stricken 
with  fever  just  before  ready  to  leave  home  and 
died.  He  married  Frances  Fry,  who  survived  her 
husband  about  two  years.  She  left  two  sons,  Wil- 
liam J.  and  Isaac  A.  William  is  now  living  at 
Damascus,  Virginia. 

At  the  death  of  his  mother  Isaac  A.  Pike  went 
to  live  with  an  uncle,  John  Fry.  From  the  age 
of  nine  until  fourteen  he  lived  with  this  uncle's 
daughter  in  Patrick  County,  Virginia.  He  had 
limited  advantages  in  the  way  of  schooling  and 
is  strictly  a.  self-made  man.  Returning  to  Stokes 
County  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  worked  on  a 
farm  a  part  of  the  year  and  the  rest  of  the  season 
sold  tobacco.  It  was  his  custom  to  start  out  with  a 
wagon  and  team  from  Stokes  County  and  make 
long  journeys  through  South  Carolina,  peddling 
tobacco  on  the  road.  This  business  he  kept  up  for 
a  number  of  years  and  from  its  proceeds  he  bought 
in  1882  a  farm  in  Surry  County.  There  he  pros- 
pered as  a  general  farmer  and  went  steadily  ahead 
with  his  work  until  1901.  In  that  year  he  sold 
his  Surry  County  place  and  bought  another  farm 
in  Stokes  County.  With  the  operation  of  this 
place  he  was  concerned  for  six  years. 

Mr.  Pike  then  removed  to  Winston-Salem  and 
for    about    five    years    worked    as    a    journeyman 


136 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


carpenter,  and  from  that  entered  the  contracting 
business,  which  he  has  continued  successfully  to  the 
present  time. 

In  1882,  the  year  he  bought  his  farm  in  Surry 
County,  Mr.  Pike  married  Laura  E.  Boyles,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Henry  and  Sarah  (Needham)  Boyles. 
Her  great-grandfather  was  Hughey  Boyles,  a 
native  or  North  Carolina  and  of  very  early  Scotch 
ancestry.  He  owned  and  occupied  a  farm  in 
Yadkin  Township  of  Surry  County.  He  married 
Miss  Hughes,  and  both  lived  to  old  age  and  reared 
five  sons,  Noah,  Alexander,  Solomon,  Carey  and 
William.  Alexander  Boyles,  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Pike,  was  born  in  Yadkin  Township  of  Stokes 
County,  May  7,  1813,  was  reared  on  a  farm  and 
inherited  part  of  his  father's  estate  and  subse- 
quently bought  a  farm  adjoining  that.  He  was 
successfully  engaged  in  farming  and  spent  all  his 
life  in  Yadkin  Township,  where  he  died  at  the  age 
of  sixty-four.  His  wife,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two,  was  Nancy  Culler.  She  was  born  in 
Yadkin  Township  of  Stokes  County,  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Sally  (Moser)  Culler,  both  natives 
and  life  long  residents  of  Stokes  County.  Alex- 
ander Boyles  and  wife  reared  ten  children:  John 
Henry,  Robert,  Julia,  Annie,  Sarah,  Irena,  Solomon, 
Louisa,  Mary  and  Pauline.  Mrs.  Pike's  father, 
John  Henry  Boyles,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Yadkin 
Township  June  12,  1838,  and  after  he  reached 
manhood  he  received  a  tract  of  land  from  his 
father  in  Surry  County.  He  located  upon  that 
place  in  1853,  and  by  purchase  of  additional  land 
acquired  a  somewhat  extensive  estate.  During  the 
war  he  was  detailed  by  the  Confederate  Government 
to  work  at  the  iron  forges  in  Snrry  County.  With 
the  close  of  hostilities  he  resumed  farming  and 
remained  a  resident  of  Surry  County  until  1914, 
when  he  sold  his  possessions  there  and  came  to 
Winston-Salem,  where  he  is  now  living  retired. 
He  was  married  in  1858  to  Sarah  Needham,  who 
was  born  in  Bandolph  County,-  North  Carolina,  in 
June,  1836.  Her  parents  were  Rev.  James  and 
Hannah  (Frazier)  Needham.  Rev.  James  Need- 
ham was  converted  in  his  youth,  and  after  being 
licensed  to  preach  joined  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
ference and  was  active  in  the  ministry  for  seventy- 
six  years.  He  was  born  in  Randolph  County  and 
moved  from  there  to  Surry  County.  The  last 
text  from  which  he  preached  was  taken  from  the 
last  chapter  in  the  Bible.  This  venerable  minister 
died  in  his  hundredth  year.  John  Henry  Boyles 
and  wife  reared  nine  children:  Laura,  Lucy, 
William,  Isaac  S.,  Frank,  David  F.,  Edna,  Jennie 
and  Nealy.  Mrs.  Pike's  parents  were  very  active 
members  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church  and 
reared  all  their  children  in  the  same  faith.  Her 
father  was  a  deacon  in  the  church  for  forty  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pike  are  also  members  of  the 
Missionary  Baptist  Church  and  he  has  been  a 
deacon  for  a  number  of  years.  He  is  also  affiliated 
with  Liberty  Council  No.  3,  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics.  The  six  children  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pike  are  William  Albert,  Hughes  L., 
Emmet  Luraco,  Cordie  May,  Clarence  Franklin 
and  Laura  Dorothy. 

A.  Homer  Ragan.  A  man  of  forceful  indi- 
viduality, possessing  good  business  judgment  and 
discrimination,  A.  Homer  Ragan,  of  Thomasville, 
has  ever  been  associated  with  interests  of  a  vital 
nature,  and  as  president  of  the  People's  Building 
and  Loan  Association  is  officially  connected  with 
one  of  the  more  active  and  important  enter- 
prises of  this  part  of  Davidson  County.     A  native 


of  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina,  he  was  born 
on  a  plantation  lying  about  two  miles  from  High 
Point,  in  the  locality  formerly  known  as  Bloom- 
ington. 

His  father,  Amos  Ragan,  was  born  in  Thomas- 
ville Township,  Davidson  County,  in  1824,  and 
as  a  boy  and  youth  received  a  practical  train- 
ing in  agriculture.  After  his  marriage  he  bought 
a  plantation  in  Guilford  County,  and  immediately 
began  putting  in  practice  the  knowledge  he  had 
previously  obtained.  During  the  Civil  war  he 
carried  the  mail  between  Winston  and  Ashboro, 
going  by  way  of  the  plank  road,  and  in  that 
capacity  was  exempt  from  military  duty.  Success- 
ful in  his  agricultural  operations,  he  continued  on 
the  farm  which  he  had  improved  until  his  death, 
in  1904.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Martha  E.  English,  was  born  in  Thomasville 
Township,  Davidson  County,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Mildred  (Tomlinson)  English,  and  she  still 
resides  on  the  old  home  farm.  To  her  and  her 
husband  the  following  children  were  born:  Susan; 
Minnie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty  years; 
Walter,  who  died  when  forty  years  of  age;  Ed- 
ward; Joseph,  who  died  when  thirty  years  old; 
William;  Robert;  James;  Horace;  A.  Homer; 
Kate;  and  Martha,  who  lived  but  twelve  years. 
The  father  was  reared  in  the  Baptist  faith,  but 
the  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  brought  up  her  children  in  that  be- 
lief. 

Obtaining  the  rudiments  of  his  education  in 
the  school  at  Springfield  Church,  A.  Homer  Ragan 
subsequently  attended  the  graded  school  at  High 
Point,  and  was  graduated  in  1902  from  Guilford 
College,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science. 
Returning  home,  he  superintended  the  manage- 
ment of  the  parental  farm  for  two  years.  Then, 
desirous  of  a  broader  field  of  action,  Mr.  Ragan 
located  in  Mount  Gilead,  where  he  organized  the 
Bank  of  Mount  Gilead,  of  which  he  was  made 
cashier,  a  position  he  filled  ably  and  well  for 
the  next  four  years.  Coming  from  there  to 
Thomasville  he  organized  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Thomasville,  and  subsequently  served  as 
cashier  of  that  institution  until  1916.  In  the 
meantime,  in  1906,  Mr.  Ragan,  who  is  a  man  of 
versatile  talents  and  good  executive  ability,  had 
organized  the  People 's  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, and  had  established  a  lucrative  insurance 
business.  Resigning  his  position  in  the  bank  in 
1916,  he  has  since  devoted  his  time  and  energies 
to  the  affairs  of  the  loan  association,  and  as  its 
president  is  managing  its  affairs  intelligently  and 
efficiently.  He  is  also  identified  with  other  busi- 
ness organizations  of  note,  being  president  of 
the  North  State  Veneer  Company  and  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Hughes-Peace  Lumber  Company, 
both  of  which  are  carrying  on  a  substantial  busi- 
ness. 

Religiously  Mr.  Ragan  is  true  to  the  faith  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  Thomasville  Lodge  No.  214,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Order  of  Masons;  and  of  Unity  Council, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Hon.  John  Duncan  Currie.  Among  North 
Carolina's  distinguished  men  of  the  past  few  have 
made  a  more  profound  impression  upon  their  com- 
munities than  did  the  late  Hon.  John  Duncan 
Currie,  of  Bladen  County,  merchant,  editor,  farmer 
and  legislator,  and  constructive  promoter  of  move- 
ments which  led  to  advancement  and  progress 
along  many  lines.     More  than  sixteen  years  have 


AA>.  /v< 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


137 


passed  since  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest,  but  so 
valuable  were  his  labors  and  so  well  established 
with  a  view  to  the  future  that  he  still  lives  in 
them  and  continues  to  be  remembered  as  one  of  his 
county 's  real  benefactors. 

John  Duncan  Currie  was  born  near  the  present 
Town  of  Clarkton  in  Bladen  County,  Xorth  Caro- 
lina, January  12,  1835,  his  parents  being  Xeill  and 
Sallie  (Lennon)  Currie.  The  Curries  are  of  pure 
Scotch  ancestry,  the  ancestors  of  the  present  family 
having  come  from  Scotland  to  the  Cape  Fear  sec- 
tion of  North  Carolina  about  the  year  1760.  The 
members  bearing  this  name  are  noted  for  their 
nigged  and  sturdy  traits,  intellectual  strength, 
unblemished  character  and  high  sense  of  honor.  The 
old  home  where  John  D.  Currie  was  born  is  located 
1%  miles  from  the  present  Town  of  Clarkton, 
to  the  south,  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  back- 
woods of  Bladen  County,  but  the  new  county  line 
placed  it  in  the  adjoining  County  of  Columbus. 
However,  after  the  close  of  the  war  between  the 
Xorth  and  the  South  his  home  was  at  Clarkton. 
His  boyhood  days  were  passed  on  the  farm,  or 
in  his  father's  blacksmith  shop,  or  tending  the 
old  water  mill.  In  the  winter  months  he  attended 
school  at  the  little  log  sehoolhouse  of  the  com- 
munity. Full  of  life  and  vigor,  he  loved  to  play, 
could  run  faster,  jump  higher  and  wrestle  better 
than  any  of  his  fellows,  and  at  either  work  or 
play  his  ambition  was  to  lead.  As  a  youth  he 
wisely  decided  to  bend  every  effort  toward  the 
gaining  of  an  education,  and  after  being  taught 
the  rudiments  he  prepared  himself  for  college,  en- 
tering the  sophomore  class  at  the  University  of 
Xorth  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill.  Here  he  made  an 
exceptional  record  as  a  student,  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1861.  During  his  senior  vacation,  the  war 
having  broken  out  in  the  meantime,  he  joined  the 
Confederate  Army,  in  which  he  remained  until  he 
was  literally  shot  out  of  the  service.  The  Uni- 
versity did  not  forget  him,  however,  and  honored 
him  with  a  graduation  diploma  in  later  years. 

Mr.  Currie  joined  the  Eighteenth  Xorth  Caro- 
lina Infantry,  Company  K.  in  his  home  county  in 
April,  1861,  this  regiment  forming  a  part  of  Gen. 
A.  P.  Hill's  Division,  Stonewall  Jackson's  Corps. 
As  a  soldier  he  was  brave  almost  to  the  point  of 
recklessness,  and  never  shirked  a  duty.  He  was 
brought  home  on  a  litter,  wounded,  on  three  dif- 
ferent occasions.  In  the  second  day 's  fight  around 
Richmond  he  was  shot  in  the  right  leg,  above  the 
knee,  at  Frazier's  Farm,  June  30,  1862.  He  was 
shot  through  the  right  thigh  while  storming  the 
Federal  breastworks  at  Chancellorsville,  on  the 
morning  of  May  3,  1863.  He  was  shot  through  the 
right  shoulder  on  the  evening  of  Mav  5,  1864,  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness.  The  latter  was  the 
most  serious  of  these  wounds,  from  which  he 
suffered  much  in  after  years. 

After  the  war,  although  physically  handicapped 
and  penniless,  his  good  name  and  character  and 
determination  enabled  him  to  engage  in  business, 
he  becoming  associated  with  the  late  John  H.  Clark 
in  a  store  at  Clarkton,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Clark  &  Currie.  For  twenty  years  or  more  these 
two  were  partners,  never  having  the  slightest  dis- 
agreement. At  the  time  of  dissolving  this  com- 
bination Mr.  Currie  prepared  on  paper  an  equal 
division  of  the  firm 's  assets,  offering  his  partner 
the  choice,  and  this  was  the  manner  of  settlement. 
After  retiring  from  business  he  devoted  most  of 
his  time  and  energies  to  the  cause  of  stirring  up 
his  people  in  behalf  of  education.  To  help  in 
this  work  he  established  and  edited  the  Clarkton 


Express,  a  weekly  newspaper  founded  in  1S89, 
and  in  charge  of  which  he  remained  actively  al- 
most up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  For  about  four 
years  he  was  superintendent  of  schools  of  Bladen 
County. 

Mr.  Currie  was  the  first  democratic  state  senator 
from  his  district  after  the  war,  representing  the 
district  composed  of  Bladen  and  Columbus  coun- 
ties, and  sat  in  the  famous  Holden  impeachment 
trial.  He  was  likewise  a  member  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  that  redeemed  the  county 
from  the  corruption  and  misgovernment  of  carpet 
bag  rule,  this  board  bringing  the  county  out  of 
bankruptcy  and  placing  it  upon  a  sound  financial 
basis.  Always  one  of  the  county's  most  pro- 
gressive and  public-spirited  citizens,  he  took  the 
lead  in  all  beneficial  measures.  Morally,  he  was 
pure,  temperate  in  all  things,  honest  in  the  broad- 
est sense  of  the  term.  He  was  noted  for  his  ex- 
treme generosity  toward  those  who  were  under 
obligations  to  him,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion 
was  known  to  have  returned  a  note  or  mortgage  to 
the  widows  of  men  who  had  been  indebted  to  him, 
voluntarily  cancelled.  Perhaps  the  greatest  am- 
bition of  his  later  years  concerned  the  welfare  of 
his  boys,  to  whom  he  afforded  every  advantage 
for  educational  training  and  business  preparation. 
Xext,  as  a  close  second,  was  his  interest  in  the 
children  of  others.  He  wished  to  see  them  edu- 
cated not  only  in  books,  but  in  morals;  educated 
so  as  to  be  honest,  truthful,  industrious  and  intel- 
ligent citizens.  He  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the 
Clarkton  Presbyterian  Church  and  a  pillar  thereof: 
and  a  member  for  years  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina. 

Mr.  Currie  married  Amanda  Louise  Cromartie, 
who  survives  him  and  still  resides  at  Clarkton. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  George  Cromartie  and  a 
member  of  one  of  the  honored  Scotch  families  who 
have  lived  in  Bladen  County  since  ante-Revolu- 
tionary days.  The  two  sons,  Xeill  Alexander  and 
George  Hendon  Currie,  are  most  worthily  carrying 
on  their  father's  work  and  fulfilling  his  wishes  in 
their  careers  at  Clarkton.  The  sketches  of  these 
two  sons  occupy  other  pages  of  this  work.  The 
death  of  their  father  occurred  at  Clarkton  July 
16,  1901,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

Hox.  George  Hexdon  Cfrrie.  It  is  not  every 
son  of  a  distinguished  father  who  is  capable  of 
perpetuating  the  reputation  established  by  the 
elder  man,  but  in  the  case  of  Hon.  George  Hendon 
Currie,  of  Clarkton,  it  would  seem  that  the  mantle 
of  his  father 's  eminence  had  fallen  upon  his  shoul- 
ders. One  of  the  leading  and  influential  citizens 
of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  a  man  of  state- 
wide acquaintance  and  influence  in  all  public  and 
political  affairs,  he  has  been  prominent  and  success- 
ful in  business  and  agriculture,  is  an  ex-repre- 
sentative and  ex-state  senator,  and  at  present  is 
serving  in  the  capacity  of  postmaster  of  his  home 
city  of  Clarkton. 

George  Hendon  Currie  was  born  at  Clarkton, 
Bladen  County,  Xorth  Carolina,  in  1872,  his  par- 
ents being  Hon.  John  Duncan  and  Amanda  Louise 
(Cromartie)  Currie,  and  his  grandparents  Xeill 
and  Sallie  (Lennon)  Currie.  He  comes  of  a  family 
of  pure  Scotch  ancestry,  the  founder  of  which  in 
America  came  to  the  Cape  Fear  community  of 
Xorth  Carolina  about  the  year  1760.  His  father, 
who  passed  his  entire  life  at  Clarkton,  became  one 
of  the  most  eminent  men  of  this  locality,  a  gallant 
soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  a  leading  and  prosperous 
business  man   and   farmer,  editor  of   a  newspaper 


138 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


largely  devoted  to  the  cause  of  education,  a  prom- 
inent figure  in  public  life,  and  a  man  universally 
respected  and  honored.  A  review  of  his  career 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  work.  George  H. 
Currie  received  a  most  liberal  education  in  his 
youth,  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1891,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Har- 
vard Law  School  graduating  class  of  1895.  While 
he  was  fully  prepared  for  the  practice  of  law,  he 
never  took  up  that  profession,  although  a  knowl- 
edge of  jurisprudence  has  been  of  great  benefit  to 
him  in  his  business  operations  at  Clarkton,  where 
lie  has  been  associated  in  a  number  of  enterprises 
with  his  brother,  Neill  A.  Currie.  As  an  agri- 
culturist Mr.  Currie  has  also  been  successful,  and 
is  the  owner  at  this  time  of  a  splendid  farm  at 
Armour,  Bladen  County,  twenty-four  miles  below 
Clarkton,  although  Clarkton  is  the  scene  of  his 
home,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  this  part  of 
the  county. 

Mr.  Currie  has  served  efficiently  and  faithfully 
in  the  office  of  postmaster  since  1913,  in  which  year 
he  received  his  appointment  from  President  Wil- 
son. In  1899  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Lower  House  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  in 
1901  was  sent  to  the  State  Senate.  In  the  latter 
body  it  was  largely  through  his  individual  efforts 
that  there  was  enacted  the  now  universally-ap- 
proved stock  law  for  his  county,  in  addition  to 
which  he  also  took  an  active  part  in  all  essential 
constructive  legislation.  Mr.  Currie  is  one  of  the 
leading  democrats  of  his  community  and  a  helpful 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Clarkton. 

Mr.  Currie  was  married  to  Miss  Marie  Sloan, 
of  Davidson,  Mecklenburg  Countv.  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  J.  Lee  and  Ida  (Withers)  Sloan  of 
that  place,  both  families  being  prominent  in  the 
Piedmont  region  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Sloan  for 
several  years  has  been  engaged  successfully  in  the 
cotton  manufacturing  business  at  Davidson,  and 
was  an  attendant  of  Davidson  College.  Mrs.  Cur- 
rie has  been  active  in  all  public  movements  in  the 
county,  particularly  so  in  those  concerning  the 
'  health  and  education  of  its  inhabitants.  She  is 
also  active  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Clark- 
ton. She  had  charge  of  the  ladies'  campaign  for 
raisin?  the  funds  for  the  Liberty  Loan.  She  was 
a  graduate  from  the  Presbvterian  College,  now 
Queens  College  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  in  the 
class  of  1907.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Currie  there  have 
been  born  two  children:  Tda  Withers  and  George 
Hendon   Currie  TIT. 

Clarence  Alexander  Johnson.  Now  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  forceful  business  men 
of  Tarboro,  Clarence  Alexander  Johnson  beo-an 
his  career  as  a  stenographer.  He  had  made  the 
best  of  his  rather  limited  advantages  to  secure 
an  education,  at  first  in  the  public  schools  and 
later  in  a  business  college.  He  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  "Rowan  Countv.  North  Carolina.  September  1, 
187fi,  son  of  Caleb  Webb  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
(Dixon')    Johnson. 

Altogether  he  worked  six  industrious  years  as 
a  stenographer,  and  with  widening  experience  and 
growing  capability  he  then  be^an  to  fill  more 
important  niches   in   business   affairs. 

Tn  1898  he  was  made  local  manager  of  F.  S. 
Royster  Company,  guano  manufacturers  at  Tar 
boro.  He  is  now  secretary-treasurer  of  the  P.  S. 
Royster  Mercantile  Company,  vice  president  of 
the1  Farmers  Banking  and  Trust  Company,  an  of- 
ficial   in    the    Pamlico    Savings    and    Trust    Com- 


pany, is  president  of  the  Edgecombe  Homestead 
and  Loan  Association,  vice  president  of  the  Car- 
olina Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  and  is 
one  of  three  men  interested  in  the  ownership  and 
operation  of  large  tracts  of  farming  land  in  Pitt 
and  Edgecombe  counties. 

Mr.  Johnson  is  chairman  of  the  County  Board 
of  Education  and  was  formerly  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Public  Works  of  Tarboro.  He  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Tar  Heel  Club  and  a  deacon  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

June  15,  1898,  he  married  Miss  Cora  Lee  Brown. 
daughter  of  Capt.  I.  C.  and  Annie  Elizabeth 
Brown.     They  have   one  child,  Annie   Elizabeth. 

Edward  A.  Welfare.  The  people  of  Forsyth 
County  have  long  learned  to  esteem  the  good  quali- 
ties, the  genial  character  and  the  wholesome  citizen- 
ship of  Edward  A.  Welfare,  one  of  the  surviving 
veterans  of  the  great  war  between  the  states.  He 
is  now  living  semi-retired  at  Winston-Salem,  has 
enough  employment  to  break  the  monotony  of  com- 
plete leisure,  and  at  the  same  time  has  opportunity 
to  enjoy  the  riches  of  friendships  both  old  and 
new. 

Mr.  Welfare  was  born  at  Clemmonsville  in 
Forsyth  County,  North  Carolina,  May  24,  1839. 
His  father,  Reuben  A.  Welfare,  was  born  near 
Friedberg,  North  Carolina,  in  1812.  The  grand- 
father, Samuel  Welfare,  was  born  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  He  learned  the  trade  of  coppersmith, 
which  he  followed  in  Davidson  County  until  his 
death.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Betsy 
Fisher,  and  both  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 

Reuben  A.  Welfare  also  learned  the  trade  of 
coppersmith  and  established  a  shop  at  Clemmons- 
ville. One  of  his  principal  outputs  was  the  copper 
stills  which  were  then  in  such  common  use.  He 
also  did  general  blacksmith  ing.  A  farm  which 
he  bought  three  quarters  of  a  mile  northeast  of 
Clemmonsville  was  the  scene  of  his  last  years,  and 
there  he  died  in  1900.  He  married  Eliza  Rominger, 
who  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Friedberg  Church. 
They  reared  seven  children:  Edward  A.,  Jane  C, 
Anna  E.,  Thomas  D.,  Charles  R.,  Mary  Rosina  and 
Cornelia. 

Mr.  Edward  A.  Welfare  grew  up  in  the  Clem- 
monsville community,  attended  school  there  and 
made  himself  a  practical  assistant  on  his  father's 
farm.  Like  Cincinnatus  of  old  he  practically  left 
his  plow  in  the  field  when  the  war  broke  out  between 
the  states.  He  enlisted  at  the  first  call  for  troops 
and  became  a  member  of  Company  A  of  the 
Twenty-first  North  Carolina  Regiment.  He  went 
with  his  command  into  Virginia  and  fought  in  the 
glorious  victory  at  Bull  Run  or  Manassas.  After 
that  he  was  in  many  of  the  hardest  fought  cam- 
paigns in  Virginia  and  was  constantly  on  duty 
and  ever  ready  for  danger  or  hazard  up  to  the 
month  of  June,  1864.  Tn  that  month  he  partici- 
pated in  an  engagement  on  the  present  site  of 
Bedford,  once  Liberty,  Virginia,  and  was  severely 
wounded.  That  wound  incapacitated  him  for 
further  active  field  service,  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
able  he  became  an  assistant  in  the  hospital  at 
Wilson,  North  Carolina.  Thus  he  continued  with 
the  Confederate  army  in  some  capacity  until  the 
close  of  hostilities. 

The  war  over,  he  went  back  to  his  father's  farm 
and  after  his  marriage  he  removed  to  Davidson 
County  to  superintend  his  father-in-law's  farm. 
Mr.  Welfare  was  a  farmer  in  that  community 
until  1873,  when  he  located  on  the  part  of  the  old 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


139 


farm  which  was  Mrs.  Welfare 's  inheritance.  In 
1884  they  leased  the  farm,  which  they  still  own, 
and  have  since  lived  at  Salem.  Here  Mr.  Welfare 
was  connected  in  a  clerical  capacity  with  a  general 
store  for  twenty-two  years,  and  filially  resigned  to 
accept  a  subordinate  position  with  the  Southern 
Railroad  Company.  His  duties  are  light  and 
pleasant,  but  give  him  occupation  for  his  leisure 
hours  and  serve  to  keep  up  the  tone  of  vigorous 
life. 

Mr.  Welfare  was  married  February  3,  1867, 
to  Miss  Susan  E.  Rominger.  She  was  born  on  a 
farm  a  mile  west  of  Friedberg,  January  25,  1848. 
Her  father  was  Rev.  Jordan  Rominger  and  was 
born  in  Davidson  County.  This  is  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  his  father,  Jacob  Rominger,  was 
placed  by  the  United  States  census  of  1790  as  a 
resident  of  Davidson  County.  Jacob  Rominger 
owned  and  operated  a  grist  "and  saw  mill  and  a 
plantation  in  Davidson  County.  Jordan  Rominger, 
father  of  Mrs.  Welfare,  was  converted  in  his 
early  youth  and  became  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  and  held  a  number  of  pastorates 
in  the  Iredell  circuit.  He  had  his  share  of  old 
time  circuit  work  and  made  his  rounds  from  settle- 
ment to  settlement  and  church  to  church  on 
horseback  and  endured  privations  in  his  efforts  to 
propagate  the  gospel.  Besides  the  ministry  he 
cultivated  a  large  and  splendid  farm  in  Davidson 
County,  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  fifty-five. 
Mrs.  Welfare's  mother  was  Catherine  Hanes,  a 
native  of  Davidson  County  and  a  daughter  of 
Phillip  and  Susan  (Frye)  Hanes.  Phillip  Hanes 
was  the  owner  of  a  large  plantation  and  many 
slaves  and  kept  a  large  equipment  of  teams  which 
served  in  the  days  before  railroads  for  the  trans- 
portation of  produce  to  Fayetteville,  118  miles 
distant.  He  took  local  produce  to  market  and  on 
the  return  trip  brought  back  such  merchandise  as 
was  required  by  the  local  stores.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  Mrs.  Welfare's 
parents  reared  five  children:  Louisa,  Jacob,  Susan, 
Mary  and  Roswell  P. 

An  interesting  and  impressive  event,  and  one 
that  was  made  much  of  in  local  society  at  Winston- 
Salem,  was  the  celebration  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wel- 
fare of  their  golden  wedding  anniversary  in  Janu- 
ary, 1917.  In  their  home,  made  festive  for  the 
occasion,  gathered  all  their  six  living  children, 
four  grandchildren  and  a  great  many  of  their 
warm  and  cherished  friends.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wel- 
fare had  eight  children :  Cora  Lee,  Roswell  P., 
Charles  R.,  Rupert  C,  Carrie  May,  Samuel  E., 
Willie  and  Hattle  L.  Cora  Lee  is  still  at  home 
with  her  parents.  Roswell  P.  and  Charles  R.  each 
died  at.  the  age  of  twenty-eight.  Rupert  C.  married 
Lossip  Woodward.  Carrie  May  is  the  wife  of 
Pharles  C.  Shoffner  and  has  a  son,  Charles  C,  Jr. 
Samuel  married  Margaret  Smith,  and  their  two 
children  are  Samuel  and  Edward.  Willie  married 
Evelyn  Hooten.  Hattie  L.  is  the  wife  of  Howard 
Bagby  and  has  a  son,  Howard.  Jr.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Welfare  are  active  members  of  the  Home  Moravian 
Church.  He  keeps  up  old  associations  with  his 
army  comrades  in  the  Norfleet  Camp  of  United 
Confederate  Veterans. 

Joel  Williams  Murchisox.  A  very  consid- 
erable part  at  least  of  the  creditable  achieve- 
ments associated  with  the  name  Murchison  in 
commercial  affairs  at  Wilmington  has  been  due  to 
the  long  and  successful  career  of  Joel  Williams 
Murchison.  head  of  the  J.  W.  Murchison  Com- 
pany,  wholesale   hardware   merchants.      Mr.   Mur- 


chison has  been  in  active  business  forty-five  years, 
and  his  name  is  a  synonym  of  that  commercial 
integrity  which  is  an  asset  far  beyond  the  mere 
value  of  stock  and  store. 

Mr.  Murchison  was  born  at  Manchester,  North 
Carolina,  March  20,  1853,  a  son  of  John  Reid  and 
Jane  (Williams)  Murchison.  His  father  was 
both  a  manufacturer  and  merchant.  Mr.  Murchi- 
son completed  his  education  in  the  noted  Bingham 
Military  School,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  began 
his  mercantile  career.  In  1873  he  engaged  in  the 
wholesale  and  retail  hardware  business,  and  many 
consecutive  years  of  close  application  have 
enabled  him  to  build  up  the  great  concern  of  which 
he  is  now  the  head.  His  hardware  business  is 
now  conducted  in  one  of  the  leading  establish- 
ments of  the  wholesale  district  at  Wilmington, 
and  the  home  of  the  concern  is  a  three-story  build- 
ing 185  by  66  feet. 

Mr.  Murchison  has  been  an  active  member  of 
the  Carolina  Yacht  Club  for  the  past  forty  years. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  Cape  Fear  Club,  the  Cape 
Fear  Country  Club,  the  Masonic  Order  and  is  a 
vestryman  of  St.  James '  Episcopal  Church. 

On  November  25,  1880,  he  married  Miss  Loulie 
Atkinson,  of  Wilmington.  They  are  the  parents 
of  five  children :  Jennie  Atkinson ;  Fannie,  wife 
of  M.  A.  Curtis,  Jr.,  a  paint  manufacturer  at 
Wilmington;  John  R.,  who  is  associated  with  the 
J.  W.  Murchison  Company;  Dr.  David  Reid,  a 
successful  physician  at  Detroit,  Michigan ;  and 
Lucy  Atkinson. 

Edwix  T.  Burton'  has  made  rapid  progress  since 
beginning  the  practice  of  law  at  Wilmington  in 
August,  1914.  and  is  now  serving  as  solicitor  for 
Wilmington  and  New  Hanover  County,  an  office 
to  which  he  was  elected  in  1916.  He  has  also 
identified  himself  with  local  business  affairs,  and 
is  treasurer  of  the  Lassiter-McDuffie  Company,  and 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Newtune  Fisheries 
Company. 

He  was  born  in  Pender  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, May  19,  1891,  a  son  of  Amos  B.  Burton. 
His  father  has  been  both  farmer  and  merchant. 
After  his  early  training  in  private  schools  and  in 
the  academy  at  Burgaw  in  his  native  county, 
Edwin  T.  Burton  entered  the  law  department  of 
Wake  Forest  College,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
the  law  in  February,  1914.  Before  beginning  prac- 
tice he  took  special  English  courses  in  Valparaiso 
University  in  Indiana. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  As- 
sociation in  good  standing,  and  fraternally  is  af- 
filiated with  Wilmington  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons :  the  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics:  with  Cornelius  Harnell  Coun- 
cil No.  2.37.  of  the  Royal  Arcanum ;  with  Cherokee 
Tribe  No.  9,  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
and  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Wilmington.  On  April  29,  1914,  Mr.  Burton 
married  Miss  Eulah  Higgs,  of  Calhoun,  Kentucky. 
Thev  have  two  children,  Marv  Lamar  and  Edwin 
T.,  Jr. 

Robert  Edgar  Ci-rrier,  of  Black  Mountain,  out 
of  a  srreat  varietv  of  experience  has  achieved 
something  more  than  a  local  reputation  as  an 
able  insurance  man.  banker  and  an  exnert  on 
business  detail,  and  is  one  of  the  live  spirits  both 
in  business  and  civic  affairs  at  Black  Moun- 
tain. 

He  was  born  in  Milford,  Massachusetts,  August 


140 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


11,  1884,  a  son  of  Edgar  and  Ella  Florence  (Un- 
derbill) Currier.  His  father  was  a  merchant. 
The  son  was  educated  both  in  the  public  and  pri- 
vate schools,  and  his  first  business  experience 
was  two  years  spent  with  a  trunk  and  bag  man- 
ufacturing establishment.  For  five  years  Mr.  Cur- 
rier was  clerk  in  the  traffic  department  of  the 
Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railway  on  the  division  be- 
tween Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  Tarboro,  North 
Carolina.  He  resigned  this  position  to  become 
special  agent  for  the  Pamlico  Insurance  and  Bank- 
ing Company,  but  three  years  later,  in  1910,  re- 
moved to  Black  Mountain.  Here  his  work  has 
been  in  the  general  field  of  insurance  and  real 
estate  and  he  is  also  auditor  for  Perley  &  Crock- 
ett, a  leading  lumber  firm,  and  is  also  auditor  for 
the  Mount  Mitchell  Railroad.  For  two  years  he 
served  as  town  clerk,  treasurer  and  alderman  of 
Black  Mountain.  Mr.  Currier  is  vestryman  and 
treasurer  of  St.  James'  Episcopal  Church.  De- 
cember 21,  1911,  he  married  Sarah  Marie  Parkin- 
son, of  Bellevue,  Ohio. 

William  Jackson  Mock.  Reference  to  the 
career  of  William  J.  Mock,  who  has  long  been  ac- 
tively concerned  with  public  affairs  in  Forsyth 
County,  brings  into  notice  a  number  of  well  known 
families  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Mock  himself  is  a  native  of  Davidson 
County,  having  been  born  on  a  farm  at  the  junction 
of  Muddy  Creek  and  Yadkin  River  January  1, 
1872.  His  grandfather,  Jesse  Mock,  a  native  of 
the  same  county,  owned  and  developed  a  large 
plantation  bordering  on  Muddy  Creek.  Both  he 
and  his  wife,  Mary,  were  active  members  of  the 
Moravian  Church  at  Friedberg  in  that  county 
and  are  buried  in  the  churchyard  there.  Their 
four  children  were:  Mary,  Matilda,  Alexander  B. 
and  Lewis.  Lewis  entered  the  service  of  the  Con- 
federate army  early  in  the  war  and  lost  his  life 
when  about  twenty  years  of  age. 

Alexander  B.  Mock,  father  of  William  J.,  was 
born  on  his  father 's  plantation  on  Muddy  Creek 
about  four  miles  above  its  mouth,  grew  up  in  the 
country  district  and  had  only  the  quiet  and  peaceful 
environment  of  the  farmer  boy  until  the  war  broke 
out  between  the  states.  He  volunteered  his  services, 
and  did  his  part  in  defending  the  South.  With  the 
close  of  the  war  he  went  back  home  and  again 
resumed  farming.  His  farm  was  more  than  a 
scene  of  agricultural  activities.  It  was  the  site 
of  a  saw  and  grist  mill  and  a  cotton  gin.  All 
these  were  operated  under  his  management  and  he 
did  a  prosperous  business  for  a  number  of  years 
through  these  mills  and  his  farm.  In  1880  he  sold 
his  possessions  in  Davidson  County  and  removed 
to  Winston,  which  was  then  a  small  but  promising 
town.  Here  he  acquired  200  acres  of  land.  Its 
east  boundary  was  between  Cherry  and  Spring 
streets  and  the  tract  extended  westward  so  as  to 
include  a  large  part  of  the  now  beautiful  west  end 
section  of  Winston-Salem.  Thirty-five  years  ago 
the  west  end  was  almost  an  unbroken  forest. 
Alexander  Mock  built  his  private  residence  at  the 
southeast  cornor  of  Spring  and  West  Fourth 
streets.  He  became  one  of  the  early  contractors 
and  builders  of  the  town,  but  subsequently  bought 
a  farm  of  400  acres  on  the  Shallow  Ford  Road 
four  miles  west  of  Winston  and  that  was  the 
family  home.  His  business  as  contractor  and 
builder  he  continued  to  the  end  of  his  active  career. 
His  death  occurred  in  March,  1901,  when  he  was 
about  sixty-seven  years  of  nge.  Alexander  B. 
Mock   married    Louisa    Rominger.      She   wns   born 


near  Friedberg  Church  in  Davidson  County,  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Jordan  Rominger,  a  native  of  the 
same  locality,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Jacob 
Rominger,  whose  extensive  interests  as  a  farmer 
made  him  a  man  of  note  in  Davidson  County.  Rev. 
Jordan  Rominger  became  a  minister  of  the  Metho- 
dist Protestant  Church  and  for  a  number  of  years 
rode  the  Iredell  circuit,  preaching  the  gospel  in 
many  isolated  communities.  While  devoted  to  the 
ministry,  its  pursuits  did  not  prevent  his  man- 
agement of  an  extensive  farm.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  fifty-five.  Rev.  Jordan  Rominger  married 
Catherine  Hanes,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Susan 
(Frye)  Hanes,  her  father  having  a  large  plantation 
which  before  the  war  was  operated  by  numerous 
slaves.  Both  Philip  Hanes  and  wife  lived  to  a 
good  old  age.  Mrs.  Louisa  Mock  died  in  1886,  leav- 
ing six  children :  C.  Jacob,  William  Jackson, 
Jesse  L.,  Wesley  E.,  Lillie  and  Sarah.  The  father 
married  for  his  second  wife,  Alice  Norman,  who  is 
still  living. 

William  J.  Mock  spent  his  early  life  partly  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Davidson  County,  partly  in  Wins- 
ton, and  also  on  the  homestead  west  of  that  town. 
He  attended  public  school  at  Winston,  and  found 
plenty  to  do  on  his  father's  place.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  left  home  and  took  the  role  of  a  com- 
mercial traveler.  He  did  well  in  this  business 
and  sold  goods  on  the  road  until  1898. 

In  that  year  Mr.  Mock  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Spanish-American  war.  He  became  a  member  of 
Company  L  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  Fourth  New 
York  Immunes.  He  went  with  that  highly  efficient 
command  to  Cuba  and  remained  on  duty  on  the 
island  fourteen  months.  Though  the  regiment  was 
all  this  time  under  a  tropical  sun,  exposed  to  the 
terrors  of  disease  in  a  southern  climate,  more 
frightful  than  any  enemy's  bullets,  not  one  of  the 
1200  men  of  the  regiment  died  while  on  the  island 
and  the  only  mortality  of  the  regiment  was  one 
who  died  during  the  trip  back  to  the  United  States. 
After  receiving  his  honorable  discharge,  Mr.  Mock 
returned  to  Winston  and  for  a  season  worked  on 
his  father's  farm. 

For  five  years  he  was  conductor  on  the  local 
street  railway,  and  then  went  on  the  police  force 
of  Winston-Salem.  After  three  years  as  a  police- 
man, in  September,  1913,  he  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment as  superintendent  of  the  County  Home  and 
Farm  of  Forsyth  County.  These  are  his  responsi- 
bilities at  present  and  he  is  earning  the  gratitude 
of  the  entire  community  by  his  just  and  efficient 
administration  of  one  of  the  county's  most  im- 
portant institutions. 

Mr.  Mock  was  married  October  12,  1900,  to 
Miss  Cora  Norman.  She  was  born  in  Oldtown 
Township  of  Forsyth  County.  Her  father,  Julius 
Norman,  was  born  in  South  Fork  Township,  where 
her  grandfather,  Joshua  Norman,  had  a  large 
plantation  and  spent  all  his  active  years.  Mrs. 
Mock's  father  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  now  owns 
and  occupies  a  well  improved  place  in  South  Fork 
Township.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Regina 
Conrad,  a  native  of  South  Fork  Township.  Her 
father,  Isaac  Conrad,  was  born  in  the  same  locality, 
a  son  of  Gideon  Conrad,  one  of  the  very  early 
settlers  of  what  is  now  Forsyth  County.  Two 
brothers  of  Gideon  were  also  pioneers  in  this  local- 
ity and  their  descendants  are  now  numerous.  Isaac 
Conrad  had  a  farm  in  South  Fork  Township.  He 
married  Sarah  Shamell,  whose  father,  Peter 
Shamell,  at  one  time  owned  and  occupied  a  planta- 
tion a  mile  and  a  half  from  Mount'Tabor  Church. 
Isaac    Conrad    and    wife    were    active    Methodists 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


143 


bought  land  near  Moravian  Falls,  and  there  lived 
until  his  death,  in  June,  1916. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Coffey  Laws 
was  Amanda  Roberson.  She  was  born  in  Wilkes 
County,  near  Poors  Knob,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Almedia  (Williams)  Roberson,  and  since  the  death 
of  her  husband  makes  her  home  with  her  children, 
of  whom  she  had  seven,  namely:  R.  Don,  Mattie, 
Leonard  B.,  Bynum,  Alice,  Curtis  B.  and  Jones. 
She  is  a  most  estimable  woman  and  a  faithful 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Having  obtained  his  elementary  education  in 
what  was  called  the  ' '  Old  Field  School, ' '  R,  Don 
Laws  continued  his  studies  at  the  Moravian  Falls 
Academy,  in  which  Prof.  George  W.  Greene  and 
Prof.  R.  L.  Patton,  noted  educators,  were  in- 
structors. As  a  boy  he  exhibited  a  great  love  for 
books,  and  ere  entering  his  teens  wrote  some  very 
good  poetry,  stories  and  compositions,  in  his  lit- 
erary efforts,  being  greatly  encouraged  by  his 
father.  He  also  possessed  considerable  mechanical 
ability  and  inventive  genius,  and  some  skill  in  de- 
signing and  wood  carving.  Putting  his  native  born 
talents  to  good  use,  Mr.  Laws  manufactured,  after 
his  own  designs,  the  first  printing  press  he  ever  saw, 
and  with  his  pocket  knife  carved  several  fonts  of 
type.  Manufacturing  some  ink  from  the  bark  of 
walnut  roots,  he  began  experimenting,  and  a  speci- 
men of  the  very  first  printing  he  ever  did  is  care- 
fully treasured  by  the  editor  of  the  Yellow  Jacket, 
holding  an  honored  position  beside  the  rude  wooden 
printing  press  that  he  constructed  when  a  lad. 

Although  Mr.  Laws '  educational  advantages 
were  but  limited,  he  acquired  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  books  through  home  study  and  good  read- 
ing, and  after  attaining  his  majority  taught  school 
several  winter  terms,  in  the  summer  working  on  the 
farm.  In  1895,  still  ambitious  to  enter  the  field 
of  journalism,  he  bought  a  second  hand  printing 
press  and  some  type,  and  in  the  cellar  of  his  home 
issued  the  first  numbers  of  the  Yellow  Jacket, 
a  three-column,  four  page  paper,  which  he  adver- 
tised to  publish  once  a  month  for  the  small  price 
of  10  cents  a  year.  The  growth  of  the  paper  was 
very  slow  for  a  time,  scarce  paying  expenses,  but 
in  1898  its  merits  began  to  be  appreciated,  and  ere 
long  its  circulation  was  greatly  increased.  The 
necessities  of  his  business  soon  after  demanded 
more  commodious  quarters  and  better  machinery 
and  equipments,  and  Mr.  Laws  installed  new  print- 
ing presses,  which  he  ran  by  water  power.  In 
April,  1899,  Mr.  Laws  changed  the  paper  from  a 
monthly  to  a  weekly  publication,  advancing  the 
price  to  -50  cents  a  year.  Subsequently  its  circu- 
lation grew  to  enormous  proportions,  and  in  order 
to  increase  its  supply  he  introduced  a  Country 
Campbell  cylinder  press,  and  a  kerosene  motor.  In 
December,  1900,  the  Yellow  Jacket  was  changed  to 
a  bi-weekly  journal,  an  arrangement  that  allowed 
the  proprietor  to  give  much  more  time  to  his 
nditorial  work.  In  August,  1901,  Mr.  Laws  trans- 
ferred his  plant  to  the  Village  of  Moravian  Falls, 
where  he  is  still  doing  business  on  a  large  scale, 
being  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  highly  re- 
spected journalists  of  Wilkes  County.  He  has  one 
of  the  best  equipped  offices  and  plants  in  this  part 
of  North  Carolina,  his  machinery  being  up-to-date 
in  every  respect,  while  his  office  equipment  has 
reached  a  point  of  efficiency  rarely  found  outside 
of  the  larger  cities.  An  expert  manager,  Mr.  Laws 
has  done  all  of  his  planning,  and  the  almost  un- 
precedented growth  of  his  business  bears  evidence 
of  his  wisdom  and  good  judgment. 

In  1895  Mr.  Laws  was  united  in  marriage  with 


Miss  Dora  Wallace,  who  was  born  near  Poors 
Knob,  Wilkes  County,  a  daughter  of  Franklin  and 
Mary  (Broyhill)  Wallace.  Six  children  have 
brightened  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laws, 
namely:  Barney  W.,  Shatter  R.,  Thelma  M., 
Frances  A.,  Mattie  Rose  and  R.  Don,  Jr.  In  his 
political  affiliations  Mr.  Laws  is  a  stanch  repub- 
lican, and  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  protec- 
tion for  home  industries.  Although  he  has  ever 
been  too  busy  to  accept  public  office,  he  has  served 
acceptably  as  a  member  of  the  local  school  board, 
and  is  now  chairman  of  the  Wilkes  County  Good 
Roads  Commission. 

Henry  Emil  Bonitz,  an  architect  at  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina,  whose  work  is  widely  known 
all  over  our  state  and  South  Carolina,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  graduating  class  of  the  State  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture  and  Engineering,  and  he  now 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  native 
North  Carolinian  in  the  architectural  profession  in 
the  state  who  received  his  technical  training  in 
North   Carolina. 

He  was  born  in  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina, 
April  16,  1872,  a  son  of  John  Henry  William  and 
Mary  Elise  Bonitz.  His  father,  a  native  of  Han- 
over, immigrated  to  America  in  1856,  at  which 
time,  Hanover  was  not  a  province  of  Germany, 
being  an  independent  principality  and  ruled  by 
Prince  Albert,  consort  of  the  beloved  Queen  Vic- 
toria of  England.  Mr.  Bonitz 's  father  was  well 
known  as  a  hotel  proprietor  in  Goldsboro  and 
Wilmington. 

Mr.  Bonitz  was  a  student  in  the  Goldsboro 
graded  school,  which  was  the  first  graded  school 
established  in  our  state.  His  uncle,  Mr.  Julius 
A.  Bonitz,  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  establish- 
ment of  this  school.  In  Wilmington  he  was  a 
student  in  the  Bradley  School,  and  in  1889  he  en- 
tered the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Engi- 
neering at  Raleigh,  and  was  among  the  first 
twelve  students  who  entered  that  institution.  He 
graduated  second  in  his  class,  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Engineering,  in  the  year  1893.  He 
was  l1/*  years  in  the  office  of  James  F.  Post, 
a  well  known  architect  in  Wilmington.  In  1894 
lie  entered  business  for  himself,  and  he  has  pre- 
pared plans  and  supervised  the  construction  of 
much  important  architectural  work  in  the  state, 
his  specialty  for  a  number  of  years  having  been 
the  designing  and  construction  of  schools,  eollegef 
and  churches.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation Building  that  stands  on  the  campus  of 
the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Engineering 
in  Raleigh  attests  his  skill,  and  there  are  many 
examples  of  his  work  in  schools  and  churches  all 
over  the  state. 

Mr.  Bonitz  served  at  one  time  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  College  of  Agri- 
culture and  Engineering.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  and  is  a  great  exponent  of  fra- 
ternity, being  member  of  many  fraternal  societies 
and  having  occupied  responsible  positions  in  these 
societies.  He  is  a  past  grand  regent  in  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  and  is  at  this  time  grand  secretary  for 
the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

January  12,  1898,  he  married  Miss  Katherine 
Burnett,  of  Wilmington,  and  their  children  are: 
John  Henry  William,  a  junior  with  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant  at  the  State  College;  Katherine 
Marie,  Marjorie  and  Katharine  Louise. 

Thomas  Everett  Bardtx.  It  can  scarcely  be 
denied  that  some  communities  all  over  the  countrr 


144 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


make  more  rapid  progress  than  others.  There 
must  be  a  reason.  Location  perhaps  is  a  factor 
and  climate  may  have  influence  in  a  community's 
development  in  some  directions,  but  undoubtedly 
the  real  explanation  of  favorable  growth  lies  in 
the  personality  of  the  business  men  through  whose 
energy  and  foresight  enterprises  are  founded  and 
fostered.  Every  community  must  have  men  of 
this  class  in  order  to  advance  at  all,  and  when,  to 
their  business  acumen  and  commercial  vision  is 
added  the  sterling  traits  of  character  that  bring 
them  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  their  fellow 
citizens,  the  necessary  elements  for  community 
progress  are  at  hand  and  it  is  not  unusual  to 
find  that  these  are  the  men  who  largely  control 
public  affairs  as  well  as  business  interests.  The 
same  good  judgment  that  has  brought  success  to 
their  private  undertakings  is  used  to  further  the 
public  movements  that  must  be  carefully  looked 
after  by  honest  and  competent  officials  in  order  that 
the  public  welfare  may  be  conserved.  The  above 
lines  came  to  mind  in  considering  the  business  and 
official  importance  of  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Columbus  County,  North  Carolina,  Thomas  Everett 
Bardin,  who  is  prominent  here  both  in  business 
and  official  life. 

Thomas  Everett  Bardin  was  born  in  Sampson 
County,  North  Carolina,  February  22,  1863.  The 
date  may  be  considered  one  of  happy  augury, 
especially  as  his  father's  name  is  Thomas  Wash- 
ington Bardin.  The  name  of  his  mother  is 
Elizabeth  (Bass)  Bardin.  The  father  is  a  mer- 
chant and  a  turpentine  operator. 

Thomas  Everett  Bardin  was  given  careful  edu- 
cational superintendence  in  his  youth,  attending 
private  schools  only.  In  1865,  when  he  was  but 
two  years  old,  his  parents  moved  to  Cerro  Gordo, 
in  Columbus  County,  and  this  county  has  been 
his  home  ever  since.  After  completing  his  educa- 
tion he  turned  his  attention  to  business  and  in  the 
mercantile  field  found  an  outlet  for  his  activities, 
building  up  a  large  business  as  a  merchant  at 
Cerro  Gordo.  He  became  a  man  of  public  affairs 
there  also  and  for  a  number  of  years  served  as 
mayor,  and  the  record  of  his  long  administration 
shows  a  large  amount  of  progressive  work  accom- 
plished in  the  way  of  street  paving  and  public 
utilities  installed. 

In  December,  1912,  Mr.  Bardin  located  in  Chad- 
bourne.  He  was  already  widely  known  over  the 
county  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  county 
treasurer.  He  returned  to  Cerro  Gordo  in  1917 
to  take  charge  of  his  farming  interests,  where  he 
has  built  a  fine  new  home  and  continues  to 
be  interested  in  agricultural  pursuits  quite  exten- 
sively, owning  valuable  farm  land.  In  1914  he 
was  re-elected  treasurer  of  Columbus  County,  and 
for  twenty  years  has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Cerro  Gordo 
Bank. 

On  October  5,  1889,  Mr.  Bardin  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Maggie  Riddick,  a  native  of 
Columbus  County  and  a  daughter  of  "William 
Edward  and  Rebecca  (Barnes)  Riddick,  both 
parents  coming  from  old  Virginia  families. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bardin  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Cerro  Gordo  and 
he  belongs  to  its  board  of  trustees.  His  name 
"frequently  appears  as  a  leader  in  benevolent 
movements,  whether  local  or  otherwise,  while  his 
numerous  private  charities  prove  that  his  church 
profession  and  membership  are  matters  of  chris- 
tian conviction.     He  may  justly  be  numbered  with 


the  representative  men  of  his  community  and,  as 
indicated,  is  one  of  the  solid  and  useful  citizens 
of  Columbus  County. 

Elijah  Thomas  Dickinson,  M.  D.  To  the 
field  of  surgery  Doctor  Dickinson  has  given  his 
talents  and  superior  attainments  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  has  taken  first  rank  in  that  de- 
partment of  his  profession. 

He  was  born  in  Wayne  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, August  10,  1870.  His  parents,  Leonard  and 
Phoebe  (Smith)  Dickinson,  were  substantial  farm- 
ers of  Wayne  County.  Reared  on  a  farm  and  in 
a  country  atmosphere,  Doctor  Dickinson  acquired 
health  and  strength,  and  was  also  well  educated. 
He  attended  private  school  at  Fremont,  North 
Carolina,  and  in  1894  graduated  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
ence from  Trinity  College.  He  had  already  taken 
up  the  study  of  medicine,  and  entering  the  Med- 
ical College  of  Virginia  he  graduated  M.  D.  in 
1895.  Thus  his  experience  in  the  profession  cov- 
ers a  period  of  over  twenty  years.  For  a  year 
he  practiced  at  High  Point,  North  Carolina,  and 
in  1896  removed  to  Smithfield,  where  he  had  a 
general  practice  with  an  increasing  attention  to 
surgery  for  six  years.  Doctor  Dickinson  removed 
to  Wilson  in  May,  1902.  Here  he  bought  an  in- 
terest in  the  Wilson  Sanatorium,  and  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Wilson  Sanatorium  Company,  is  its 
chief  surgeon,  and  he  now  gives  all  his  time  to 
his    practice. 

Doctor  Dickinson  is  a  member  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railway  Association  of  Surgeons,  of 
the  North  Carolina  Surgeons  Clinic  Club,  and  be- 
longs to  the  Wilson  County,  the  North  Carolina 
State,  the  Fourth  District  and  the  Seaboard  and 
Tri-State  Medical  societies  and  the  American  Med- 
ical Association.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Country  and  Rotary  clubs  at  Wilson  and  he  and 
his  family  are  members  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal   Church,   South. 

On  August  11,  1903,  he  married  Miss  Willie 
Watson,  of  Henderson,  North  Carolina.  Her  par- 
ents were  William  and  Mrs.  Louise  (Wright') 
Watson.  They  have  five  children:  Frances,  Lou- 
ise Wright,  Nellie  Bond,  Rowena  Sharp  and 
Alice. 

Winston  L.  Reece.  A  well  known  and  highly 
successful  member  of  the  legal  fraternity  of  Surry 
County,  Winston  L.  Reece,  attorney  at  law  in  Dob- 
son,  is  a  fine  representative  of  the  native  sons  of 
North  Carolina.  He  was  born  September '22,  1862, 
in  Booneville  Township,  Yadkin  County,  which  was 
likewise  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Winston 
Reece,  and  of  his  grandfather,  John  Reece.  His 
great-grandfather  on  the  paternal  side  came  from 
England,  where  his  ancestors  settled  on  leaving 
Wales,  to  North  Carolina  in  colonial  days,  and  as 
a  pioneer  settler  of  Yadkin  County  was  an  active 
and  able  assistant  in  the  development  of  its  agri- 
cultural resources. 

A  life-long  resident  of  Booneville  Township, 
John  Reece  became  the  owner  of  a  plantation 
which  he  operated  with  slave  labor  until  his  death, 
at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Elizabeth  Crutchfield. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Richard  Crutchfield,  who 
improved  a,  fine  plantation  on  the  Yadkin  River  in 
Booneville  Township,  and  there  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days,  his  body  at  his  death  being  laid  to  rest 
on  the  home  farm.    Mrs.  John  Reece  survived  her 


^r\4r  ^£-e~~^ 


HISTORY  OF  XOETII  CAROLINA 


145 


husband,  dying  at  the  age  of  four  score  and  four 
years. 

Winston  Eeece  was  born  and  brought  up  on  the 
home  plantation,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years  received  from  his  father  as  a  gift  ninety 
acres  of  the  old  Crutchfield  homestead  farm.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
army,  and  going  with  his  command  to  Virginia  re- 
mained in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  con- 
flict. Returning  home,  he  resumed  farming,  and 
as  an  agriculturist  met  with  eminent  success.  At 
the  death  of  his  parents  he  purchased  the  interest 
of  the  remaining  heirs  in  the  old  Eeece  plantation, 
thus  becoming  sole  owner.  Preferring,  however,  to 
continue  to  occupy  the  Crutchfield  homestead,  he 
erected  a  good  set  of  buildings,  and  there  resided 
until  his  death,  February  20,  1911. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Winston  Reece 
was  Mary  Jane  Dobbins.  She  was  born  in  Boone- 
ville  Township.  Yadkin  County,  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  and  Susanna  (Burcham)  Dobbins,  the 
latter  of  whom  was  a  native  of  Surry  County. 
Joshua  Dobbins,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  early 
families  of  North  Carolina,  some  of  whose  mem- 
bers omit  the  final  "  s ' '  in  spelling  the  name,  was 
a  pioneer  school  teacher  of  Yadkin  County,  and  in 
addition  to  following  his  profession  was  also  a 
cabinet  maker  and  a  farmer.  Late  in  life  he 
migrated  to  Iowa  and  there  spent  his  last  days, 
dying  at  the  home  of  a  son  in  Hardin  County.  Mrs. 
Reece  passed  to  the  higher  life  February  19,  1907, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  To  her  and  her 
husband  nine  children  were  born,  namely:  Mont- 
gomery, a  physician  in  Elkin,  North  Carolina ; 
Collie:  Winston  L.;  Cornelia:  Minnie:  Ada: 
Viola:  Lelia;  and  Mabel. 

Winston  L.  Reece  acquired  his  first  knowledge 
of  books  in  the  rural  schools  of  his  native  town- 
ship, and  after  continuing  hi?  studies  at  the  Boone- 
ville  High  School  was  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Globe  Academy  in  Caldwell  County.  The  ensuing 
year  he  spent  at  Wake  Forest  College,  after  which 
he  took  a  course  of  two  years  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  Entering  then  the  law  department 
of  that  institution,  Mr.  Reece  was  there  graduated 
with  the  class  of  1886.  Beginning  the  practice  of 
his  chosen  profession  in  Surry,  he  has  met  with  well 
merited  success,  his  legal  skill,  ability  and  knowl- 
edge being  recognized  throughout  this  section  of 
the  state. 

Mr.  Reece  married,  December  18,  1905,  Miss 
Dora.  P.  Shore,  a  daughter  of  Wiley  and  Sarah 
(William')  Shore.  Three  children  have  blessed 
their  union,  Gertrude,  Emma  and  Edith.  Fra- 
ternallv  Mr.  Reece  is  a  member  of  Dobson  Lodge 
No.  117,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Re- 
ligiously Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reece  are  active  members  of 
the  Baptist  Church  in  which  he  has  served  as  deacon 
for  the  past  four  years,  while  for  a  number  of 
years  he  has  been  superintendent  of  its  Sunday 
school  and  for  the  past  five  years  moderator  of 
the  Surry  Baptist  Association.  Mr.  Reece  is  also 
an  active  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptist 
Conference. 

Thomas  Atkinson  Jones  is  a  prominent  Ashe- 
villo  lawyer.  He  studied  law  at  Washington, 
T>.  C,  at  Asheville  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1S84.  and  with  a  large  private  practice  has  filled 
some  onerous  public  positions.  He  was  judge  of 
the  Criminal  Court  of  Buncombe  County  from 
1S92  to  1895,  and  from  1904  to  1906  was  judge 
of  the  Police  Court  of  Asheville. 

Judge   Jones    was    born    in    Danville,   Virginia, 

Vol.  v— 10 


October  8,  1860,  son  of  Benjamin  Moseley  and 
Agnes  Poythress  (Atkinson)  Jones.  His  early 
education  was  supplied  by  the  public  schools 
until  1875.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  private 
offices.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  Bar  Association.  In  1886  he  attained 
the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  in  the  Asheville 
Light  Artillery  Company.  Judge  Jones  is  a 
thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason,  a 
Knight  of  Pythias  and  an  Elk  and  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church. 

He  takes  proper  pride  in  the  talents  and  achieve- 
ments of  his  three  children.  The  oldest,  Thomas 
A.  Jr.,  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  and  is  now  a  second  lieutenant  in 
artillery,  serving  with  the  United  States  Army  in 
France!  The  daughter  Janie  is  a  graduate  of  St. 
Genevieve  Convent.  The  younger  son,  Charles 
Myers,  graduated  from  the  United  States  Naval 
Academy  at  Annapolis  in.  1917  and  is  now  captain 
in  the  United  States  Marine  Corps  on  the  U.  S.  S. 
Florida.  Capt.  C.  M.  Jones  married  November 
15,  1917,  Susannah  Busbee,  of  Raleigh. 

Andrew  G.  Holmes.  For  almost  100  years  the 
Holmes  family  has  lived  in  the  northern  part  of 
Columbus  County,  North  Carolina.  It  is  of  Eng- 
lish origin.  As  a  family  it  has  been  devoted  to 
quiet  pursuits,  to  the  building  of  substantial  homes, 
to  broadening  its  field  of  knowledge  and  to  mak- 
ing the  most  of  life  through  industry  that  brings 
a  competency  and  the  cultivation  ancl  preservation 
of  those  sterling  qualities  that  dignify  and  sweeten 
life. 

Andrew  G.  Holmes,  who  for  many  years  has 
been  a  prominent  merchant  at  Council  in  Bladen 
County,  was  born  in  1855,  but  a  few  miles  south  of 
Council,  in  the  northern  part  of  Columbus  County, 
which  had  been  the  home  of  his  great-grandfa- 
ther, Gabriel  Holmes,  and  the  birthplace  of  his 
grandfather  and  his  father.  His  parents  were 
George  and  Sarah  (Nye)  Holmes.  Mr.  Holmes 
grew  to  the  age  of  ten  years  with  but  meager 
educational  advantages  because  of  disturbed  con- 
ditions incident  to  the  progress  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  states.  Naturally  industrious,  he  sought 
early  to  be  self-supporting,  and  found  his  first 
earning  position  on  a  farm,  where,  as  plough-boy, 
he  was  given  his  board  and  a  salary  of  $8  per 
month.  Following  this  he  worked  in  the  turpentine 
industry  for  about  five  years,  ancl  then  bought  a 
photographic  outfit  and  for  four  years  traveled 
through  the  country  taking  pictures. 

In  1886  Mr.  Holmes  established  himself  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Council,  selecting  this  point 
on  account  of  the  railroad  facilities  afforded  by 
the  Seaboard  Air  Line,  and  also  because  of  the 
contiguous  large  extent  of  agricultural  country 
and  timber  lands  that  had  to  be  supplied  with 
commodities.  His  store,  conducted  under  the  name 
of  A.  G.  Holmes,  is  a  large  establishment.  He 
carries  a  complete  line  of  general  merchandise  and 
supplies  of  agricultural  and  mill  machinery  and 
enjoys  an  extensive  trade.  For  several  years  he 
was  also  extensively  concerned  in  the  manufacture 
of  turpentine  tools  at  Council,  the  products  of  his 
factory  being  found  in  all  turpentine  distilling 
sections  of  the  South,  but  this  feature  of  his  busi- 
ness he  has  discontinued. 

Mr.  Holmes  was  married  first  to  Miss  Sarah 
M.  Pate,  who  is  survived  by  six  children :  Andrew 
Byron,  Avery  Giles,  Alonzo  Herbert,  Cuthbert  Bell, 
Clayton  Carr  and  Beulah.  The  eldest  son,  Dr. 
Andrew  Bvron  Holmes,  is  a   graduate  of  Trinitv 


146 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


College  and  of  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Phila- 
delphia, class  of  1910.  He  entered  into  practice 
at  Council,  but  shortly  after  his  country  became 
involved  in  the  World  war  with  Germany  he  sacri- 
ficed his  brilliant  prospects  and  volunteered  his 
services  in  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  National 
Army,  and  at  the  time  this  record  is  prepared 
(February,  1918)  is  a  surgeon  with  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  stationed  at  Camp  Beauregard,  Louisi- 
ana. The  second  son,  Dr.  Avery  Giles  Holmes, 
like,  his  patriotic  brother,  gave  up  a  promising 
professional  career  as  a  dental  surgeon  to  serve 
his  country  in  her  hour  of  need.  He  also  is  a 
Trinity  man  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Atlanta  Den- 
tal College.  '  In  competition  with  150  applicants 
Doctor  Holmes  was  one  of  the  thirty  selected  sur- 
geon dentists  commissioned  lieutenant,  bis  present 
rank  in  the  National  Army.  The  third  son,  Alonzo 
Herbert  Holmes,  who  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  business  and  additionally  was  postmaster 
of  Council,  is  also  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Army  and  is  at  Camp  Jackson.  The  next  younger 
brother,  Cuthbert  Bell  Holmes,  is  an  enterprising 
business  man  and  is  agent  at  Council  for  the  Sea- 
board Air  Line  Railway.  The  two  younger  chil- 
dren are  yet  in  school. 

Mr.  Holmes  was  married  second  to  Miss  Mattie 
Edwards,  who  is  a  daughter  of  George  A.  Edwards, 
of  Bladen  County,  and  they  have  five  children: 
Selena  Hazel,  Mattie  Hilda,  Caroline  Evelyn, 
Sarah  Minnie  and  Edith  Estelle.  Mr.  Holmes 
owns  a  beautiful  home  at  Council  and  also  valu- 
able agricultural  properties  in  Columbus  County. 
As  a  merchant  he  has  high  standing  in  the  com- 
mercial field  and  his  long  record  of  integrity  in 
business  has  brought  him  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  all  who  have  had  business  relations  with  him, 
and  this  attitude  of  his  fellow  citizens  he  values 
highly.  During  the  many  years  that  he  has  re- 
sided at  Council  he  has  assisted  in  the  develop- 
ment of  her  best  interests  and  has  never  been  un- 
mindful of  his  citizenship  responsibilities,  although 
unwilling  at  all  times  to  serve  in  public  office. 

Richard  Henry  Lewis,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.  When 
on  May  8,  1912,  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
conferred  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  upon  its 
honored  alumnus  Doctor  Lewis,  Dean  Raper  in  pre- 
senting him  for  the  degree  used  the  following 
words:  "I  have  the  honor  to  present  for  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  Richard  Henry  Lewis, 
secretary  of  the  North  Carolina  Board  of  Health, 
1892-1909;  president  of  the  National  Conference  of 
State  and  Provincial  Boards  of  Health  of  North 
America  in  1906;  president  of  the  American 
Public  Health  Association  in  1908;  distinguished 
for  a  rare  charm  of  personality,  for  excellence  as 
a  physician  and  teacher  of  medicine,  and  above  all 
for  a  long  and  valued  service  in  the  promotion  of 
public  health." 

For  over  forty  years  Doctor  Lewis  has  lived  at 
Raleigh  and  confined  his  private  practice  to  his 
specialty  in  treatment  of  the  diseases  of  the  eye 
and  ear.  Conspicuous  as  he  has  been  in  his  pro- 
fession as  a  specialist,  his  work  in  the  broader 
field  of  public  health  has  transcended  all  other 
service.  It  is  not  difficult  to  find  abundant  evi- 
dence to  testify  this.  The  first  paragraph  of  the 
report  on  North  Carolina  in  Dr.  Charles  V.  Chapin  's 
"Report  of  State  Public  Health  Work  based  on  a 
Survey  of  State  Boards  of  Health,"  reads:  "The 
present  activities  and  progressive  attitude  of  the 
North  Carolina  Department  of  Health  are  largely 
due  to   the   self-sacrificing   efforts   of   the   fonr.er 


secretary,  Doctor  Lewis,  who  voluntarily  resigned 
so  that  a  full  time  executive  might  be  appointed." 
Another  partial  quotation  should  be  made  from 
the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  North  Carolina.  The  preamble  of 
those  resolutions  reads :  ' '  Our  former  and  most 
efficient  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Health,  Dr.  R. 
H.  Lewis,  has  decided  it  necessary  to  resign  from 
the  position;  for  the  long  period  of  nearly  seven- 
teen years  of  arduous  and  difficult  labor  he  has 
accomplished  so  much  by  unfaltering  zeal  and  de- 
votion for  the  upbuilding  and  honor  of  the  pro- 
fession both  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina  and 
of  the  nation,  he  has  so  carefully  safeguarded  the 
people  against  the  threatened  inroad  of  disease 
as  to  save  innumerable  lives,  the  suffering  incident 
thereto  and  great  pecuniary  loss;  and  during  these 
strenuous  years  we  have  seen  and  appreciated  the 
results  of  his  great  labors;  now  wishing  to  express 
the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  not  alone  by  the 
profession  but  by  the  laity  be  it  hereby  resolved 
that  this  society  expresses  its  conviction  that  he  has 
done  more,  both  in  his  official  and  individual 
capacity,  than  would  have  been  possible  for  any 
other  one  to  have  done. ' ' 

Richard  Henry  Lewis  was  born  February  18, 
1850,  at  Greenwreath,  the  Foreman  place  on  the 
Tar  River,  eight  miles  above  Greenville  in  Pitt 
County.  He  was  the  only  son  of  the  marriage  of 
Richard  Henry  Lewis  and  Martha  Elizabeth  Hos- 
kins.  His  father  died  in  January,  1857,  and  the 
mother  moved  to  Tarboro,  where  Doctor  Lewis 
spent  his  youth.  He  attended  the  Owen  School,  the 
Tarboro  Male  Academy,  and  the  well  known  school 
conducted  by  R.  H.  Graves  in  Granville  County. 
In  1866  he  entered  the  State  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  was  a  first  honor  man  in  his 
classes.  The  university  was  closed  as  a  result  of 
political  changes  in  1868,  and  he  then  continued 
his  studies  for  one  year  in  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia. In  1869  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  at 
the  University  of  Virginia,  but  in  the  following 
year  entered  the  University  of  Maryland,  where  he 
graduated  M.  D.  March  1,  1871.  He  was  then 
elected  assistant  and  later  resident  physician  of 
Baltimore  Infirmary  of  the  University  of  Maryland 
Hospital. 

After  a  brief  practice  at  Tarboro  Doctor  Lewis 
determined  to  specialize  on  diseases  of  the  eye  and 
ear.  Part  of  his  training  was  obtained  in  the 
office  of  Doctor  Chisolm  of  Baltimore,  and  also  at 
the  Royal  Ophthalmic  Hospital  at  Moorfields, 
London. 

Doctor  Lewis  began  the  practice  of  his  specialty 
at  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  1875.  He  was  soon  elected 
to  the  Chair  of  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear  in  the 
Savannah  Medical  College.  Returning  to  his  native 
state  in  1877,  he  has  practiced  at  Raleigh  since 
that  year  and  since  1886  has  been  associated  with 
his  brother-in-law  Dr.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  Jr.  The 
firm  is  now  Lewis,  Battle  &  Wright,  the  junior 
member  being  Dr.  J.  B.  Wright. 

Doctor  Lewis  has  been  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  of  North  Carolina  since  1877.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Medical  Ex- 
aminers from  1880  to  1884,  as  president  of  the 
society  in  1890-91,  and  was  chairman  of  its  com- 
mittee on  legislation  for  about  twenty  years  until 
he  resigned  in  1912.  Doctor  Lewis  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  in  1885,  and 
in  1892  succeeded  Dr.  Thomas  Fanning  Wood  as 
secretary  of  the  Board  of  Health.  Doctor  Wood 
had  been  first  secretary  from  1877  to  1892.  In  the 
dual   capacity   of   chairman   of   the   committee   on 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH   CAROLINA 


147 


legislation  of  the  medical  society  and  as  secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Health  Doctor  Lewis  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  securing  valuable  amendments  to 
the  medical  license  law,  in  preventing  threatened 
legislation  that  would  have  greatly  impaired 
that  most  important  statute  and  in  placing 
upon  the  statute  books  laws  bearing  upon  the 
public  health  which  placed  North  Carolina  in 
the  forefront  of  the  Southern  States.  From  1885 
the  total  annual  appropriation  for  the  work 
of  the  State  Board  of  Health  had  been  only 
$2,000.  Necessarily  a  physician  of  high  standing 
could  not  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  duties  of 
secretary  of  the  board.  For  years  Doctor  Lewis 
had  worked  steadily  to  extend  the  power  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health,  and  finally  secured  the  pas- 
sage of  a  bill  in  1909  providing  for  an  appropria- 
tion of  $6,000  and  requiring  the  secretary  to  give 
his  entire  time  to  the  work.  Feeling  that  he  could 
not  sacrifice  his  own  private  practice  in  order  to 
continue  the  duties  of  secretary,  Doctor  Lewis  re- 
signed after  obtaining  the  positive  promise  of  a 
first  class  man  to  accept  the  office -of  secretary. 
Thus  he  resigned  July  1,  1909,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Dr.  W.  S.  Rankin.' 

A  very  interesting  and  instructive  account  of 
Doctor  Lewis'  administration  in  the  development 
of  the  State  Board  of  Health  is  found  in  a  bulletin 
of  the  North  Carolina  Board  of  Health  for  June, 
1913.  A  review  of  even  the  more  important  fea- 
tures of  his  administration  could  not  be  well  at- 
tempted in  this  sketch.  His  attention  was  early 
directed  to  the  securing  of  proper  legislation  pro- 
viding for  the  better  protection  of  various  com- 
munities from  the  introduction  of  infectious  dis- 
eases, safeguarding  the  health  of  school  children, 
and  protecting  the  drinking  waters  of  the  state. 
After  nearly  ten  years  of  a  propaganda  led  by 
Doctor  Lewis,  the  American  Publie  Health  Asso- 
ciation placed  North  Carolina  with  only  three  other 
states  in  the  first  class  as  regards  the  wholesome- 
ness  and  purity  of  its  publie  and  private  water 
supplies.  Doctor  Lewis  also  had  a  prominent  part 
in  the  anti-tuberculosis  campaign  in  North  Car- 
olina. Of  the  efficiency  and  benefit  of  his  admin- 
istration in  general,  the  words  quoted  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  article  are  a  degree  of  praise  which, 
though  entirely  merited,  make  one  of  the  rare  dis- 
tinctions that  come  to  men  who  unselfishly  devote 
themselves  to  the  publie  welfare. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact 
that  Doctor  Lewis  was  elected  president  in  1905 
of  the  National  Conference  of  State  and  Provincial 
Boards  of  Health  of  North  America  (  United 
States  and  Canada).  In  1907  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Public  Health  Association, 
comprising  the  countries  United  States,  Canada, 
Mexico  and  Cuba.  In  appreciation  of  his  labors  the 
State  Health  Officers  Association  presented  him 
with  a  handsome  gold-headed  cane.  For  twenty 
years  Doctor  Lewis  was  professor  of  diseases  of 
the  eye  and  ear  in  the  Leonard  Medical  School  and 
of  diseases  of  the  eye  in  the  graduate  department 
of  the  Medical  School  of  the  State  University  as 
long  as  it  was  maintained.  He  has  been  a  leader 
in  more  than  one  department  of  human  activity. 
For  years  he  has  been  devoted  to  farming  along 
modern  scientific  lines.  He  was  the  first  in  his 
part  of  the  country  to  build  a  silo  and  the  first  to 
use  cream  separators  in  his  dairy.  He  has  always 
been  prominent  in  good  roads  movements  and  legis- 
lation, and  fathered  that  movement  in  Wake 
County.  He  was  also  influential  in  securing  the 
first  legislation  for  the  betterment  of  countrv  roads 


in  North  Carolina.  Doctor  Lewis  was  president  of 
the  North  Carolina  Association  for  the  Prevention 
of  Tuberculosis  in  1910-12,  and  has  been  president 
of  the  State  Audubon  Society  since  1902.  He  is  a 
trustee  of  the  State  University,  of  St.  Mary's 
School,  St.  Augustine  Normal  School  and  of  the 
school  committee  of  Raleigh  Township.  He  is  a 
director  in  the  State  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis, 
a  director  in  the  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Raleigh, 
and  is  senior  warden  in  Christ  Church  parish.  On 
February  13,  1877,  he  married  Cornelia  Viola  Bat- 
tle, who"  died  in  1886.  On  April  16,  1890,  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Long  Gordon,  who  died  August  30,  1895. 
October  27,  1897,  he  married  Mrs.  Annie  Blackwell 
Foreman,  who  died  October  30,  1917.  To  a  large 
degree  Doctor  Lewis  attributes  his  successful 
career  to  the  splendid  influence  of  his  devoted 
mother  and  the  encouragement  she  gave  him  for  a 
broad  and  resourceful  life. 

To  conclude  this  sketch  there  should  be  quoted  a 
characterization  of  Doctor  Lewis  written  by  Bishop 
Joseph  Blount  Cheshire.  This  characterization  is 
as  follows: 

' '  Dr.  Lewis  is  a  man  of  strong  natural  under- 
standing, of  clear  and  penetrating  intellect,  of  just 
and  accurate  discrimination,  and  of  a  capacious 
mind  well  stored  with  the  fruits  of  study  and  ob- 
servation. Diligence  and  perseverance  in  youth  im- 
proved the  opportunities  afforded  by  the  best  insti- 
tutions at  home  and  abroad.  An  unusual  native 
endowment  of  courage,  patience,  frankness,  gen- 
erosity and  unclouded  sincerity  have  been  developed 
and  strengthened  into  permanent  qualities  of 
matured  character,  under  the  best  influences  of  early 
Christian  nurture,  and  by  the  discipline  of  years 
of  vigorous  exercise  in  close  contact  with  the  real- 
ities of  domestic,  social  and  public  life. 

"Eminent  in  his  profession,  he  is  equally 
eminent  for  the  best  and  most  attractive  qualities 
in  social  life,  and  for  a  practical  publie  spirit  and 
benevolence  which  have  for  years  made  him  a 
strong  personal  influence  in  support  of  every  move- 
ment for  the  best  interests  of  his  city,  county  and 
state.  Dear  to  his  friends,  a  welcome  guest  in  all 
companies,  he  is  of  that  genial,  kindly,  responsive 
and  wholly  unaffected  nature  which  commands  in- 
stantaneous recognition  even  from  strangers;  sin- 
gular clearness  and  perspicuousness  in  thought  and 
in  expression,  intelligence  and  knowledge,  illum- 
inated by  an  adequate  and  not  excessive  sense  of 
humor,  render  his  conversation  as  instructive  as  it 
is  entertaining ;  and  the  same  genuine  qualities  give 
him  an  unusual  effectiveness  as  a  speaker,  espe- 
cially in  his  own  line  of  popular  Scientific  Exposi- 
tion. 

"That,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  man  may 
perhaps  be  expressed  most  adequately  by  the 
words,  Balance,  Equipoise.  The  best  qualities  of 
heart  and  mind  are  so  admirably  combined,  and 
have  been  so  fairly  and  evenly  developed  in  the 
varied  discipline  of  a  broad  and  sympathetic  life 
experience  that  they  have  produced  the  simple, 
unaffected,  unconscious  excellence  of  Normal  Chris- 
tian manhood." 

Rev.  John*  Alexander  Beam.  During  the  past 
five  years  Rev.  John  Alexander  Beam  has  served 
as  superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  Person 
County  and  now  ranks  with  the  leading  educators 
in  this  part  of  the  state.  His  interest  in  his 
work  has  been  deep,  sincere,  zealous  and  unabat- 
ing,  the  present  excellent  school  system  being 
largely  due  to  his  labors.  His  work  has  been  pro- 
gressive   and    practical    in    character,    proving    of 


148 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  greatest  benefit  to  the  county,  and  likewise  he 
has  been  true  to  every  public  and  private  trust. 

Mr.  Beam  was  born  December  23,  1857,  in 
Cleveland  County,  North  Carolina,  a  son  of  Martin 
and  Susan  (Petty)  Beam.  His  parents  were 
agricultural  people,  and  the  youth  was  reared  in 
a  farming  atmosphere,  his  early  education  being 
secured  in  the  Black  Eock  Academy,  while  later 
he  attended  the  Shelby  High  School.  Possessed 
of  but  meagre  finances,  he  worked  out  his  own 
education  from  that  point  forward,  and  by  accept- 
ing employment  in  Cleveland  County  and  assisting 
other  students  he  managed  to  secure  a  course  in 
Wake  Forest  College,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1885,  and  also  to  secure 
instruction  at  the  Louisville  (Kentucky)  Seminary. 
Upon  leaving  the  seminary  in  1886  he  accepted  a 
field  of  ■  county  churches  and  located  in  Barboro. 
In  1888  he  became  the  founder  of  Bethel  Hill 
Institute,  which  he  owned  and  conducted  for 
eighteen  years,  during  which  time  he  prepared 
more  than  100  young  men  for  work  in  the  ministry 
and  sent  them  forth  upon  their  labors.  For  four 
years  he  was  principal  of  the  Leaksville-Spray 
Institute,  and  for  two  years  was  Ideated  at 
Prestonsburg,  Kentucky,  where  he  was  in  charge 
of  the  Baptist  Institute.  In  1913  he  returned  to 
Bethel  Hill,  his  old  home  as  county  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  a  position  which  he  has 
since  retained.  The  cause  of  education  in  him  has 
indeed  found  a  warm  friend.  With  a  just  appre- 
ciation of  its  value  as  a  preparation  for  life's 
responsibilities  he  has  made  it  his  constant  aim 
to  so  improve  the  schools  that  the  instruction  is 
of  the  best  possible  benefit  to  the  young.  He 
has  been  continually  elevating  the  standard  of  the 
schools  until  Person  County  has  every  reason  to  be 
proud  of  its  educational  system,  which  is  most 
thorough,  practical  and  beneficial.  Mr.  Beam  also 
continues  his  ministerial  work,  filling  the  pulpits 
of  Bethel  Hill  and  Mayo  Chapel. 

Mr.  Beam  was  married  September  3,  1889,  to 
Miss  Mollie  Lucas,  of  Blenheim,  South  Carolina, 
and  to  this  union  there  were  born  four  children : 
Hugh  Martin,  educated  at  Wake  Forest  College, 
Bachelor  of  Arts  and  Master  of  ArtB  and  is 
finishing  his  course  in  the  medical  department  of 
Columbia.  University,  New  York  City,  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  class  of  1918;  Gaither  Mclntyre,  gradu- 
ate Wake  Forest  College,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Master 
of  Arts,  and  of  the  law  department  and  is  now 
located  at  Louisburg,  North  Carolina ;  Beryl  Bertie, 
a  graduate  of  Averett  College,  Danville,  Virginia, 
who  taught  school  for  three  years  prior  to  her 
marriage  to  Thomas  W.  Smith,  a  tobacconist  of 
Richmond,  Virginia ;  and  Gladys  May,  who  is  now 
in  her  second  year  at  Meredith  College,  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina.  The  mother  of  these  children, 
a  woman  of  splendid  intellectual  powers  and 
marked  talents,  has  been  engaged  in  educational 
work  since  1885.  At  the  present  time  she  is 
principal  of  the  Bethel  Hill  High  School. 

Elijah  Jesse  Barnes.  The  modern  legist,  un- 
less he  be  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  possessed  of 
a  liberal  education  and  stern  training,  combined 
with  keen  insight  into  human  nature  and  motives, 
stands  little  chance  of  meeting  with  success.  Mod- 
ern jurisprudence  has  become  more  and  more  in- 
tricate, and  experience,  study  and  natural  incli- 
nation are  necessary  in  the  attainment  of  position 
and  profitable  practice.  These  acquirements  are 
characteristic  of  Elijah  Jesse  Barnes,  of  Wilson, 
whoso  career  has  been  marked  with  many  success- 


ful outcomes  for  his  clients.  But  while  he  has 
been  successful  in  the  field  of  law,  Mr.  Barnes 
is  probably  equally  well  known  in  educational 
circles,  and  in  the  capacity  of  chairman  of  the 
board  of  education,  a  position  which  he  will  re- 
tain until  19112,  he  is  working  energetically  and 
fruitfully  in  elevating  the  standards  of  the  pub- 
lie  schools  of  Wilson  County. 

Mr.  Barnes  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Wilson 
County,  North  Carolina,  August  20,  1870,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  Lewis  and  Nancy  (Boyett) 
Barnes,  natives  of  North  Carolina  and  lifelong 
agriculturists.  His  early  education  was  secured 
in  the  Thompson  and  Turlington  schools  in  his 
home  locality,  and  he  grew  up  on  the  home  farm. 
After  some  further  preparation  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  in  February,  1899, 
was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  that 
institution,  but  did  not  immediately  enter  upon 
the  practice  of  his  calling,  the  first  year  after  his 
graduation  being  passed  in  teaching  school  in 
Wilson  County.  His  first  active  practice  was  at 
Dunn,  where,  he  remained  for  one  year,  and  in 
1902  he  came  to  Wilson,  where  shortly  there- 
after he  was  elected  county  attorney,  a  post  which 
he  filled  acceptably  for  one  year.  He  next  re- 
sumed his  professional  business,  but  in  1905  gave 
up  his  practice  to  become  county  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  an  office  of  which  he  was 
the  incumbent  until  October,  1913.  He  then 
again  took  up  private  practice,  but  was  not  left 
long  out  of  public  life,  for  he  was  chosen  county 
judge  of  Wilson  County  and  occupied  the  judicial 
position  one  year,  when  he  resigned  his  place  on 
the  bench  to  accept  the  appointment  as  clerk  of 
the  Superior  Court.  After  one  year  he  again  re- 
signed and  returned  to  his  practice,  but  in  1916 
was  elected  chairman  of  the  County  Board  of  Ed- 
ucation, and  a  subsequent  appointment  of  the 
State  Legislature  extended  his  term  in  this  of- 
fice to  six  years.  Mr.  Barnes  is  an  active,  ener- 
getic official,  conscientiously  striving  to  elevate 
educational  standards,  and  through  his  unselfish 
work  has  won  the  confidence  and  admiration  of 
his  fellow-citizens.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Branch  Bank.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Wil- 
son Co-Operative  and  Gardening  Association,  and 
is  an  active  member  of  the  Wilson  ■  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  He  belongs  likewise  to  the  County 
Club,  to  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics   and   to   the  Woodmen. 

Mr.  Barnes  was  married  May  7,  1899,  to  Miss 
Minnie  R.  Adams,  of  Johnson  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  the}'  have  four  children:  Margaret 
McDonald,  Edwin  Justin,  Jesse  Albert  and  Wil- 
liam Toomer.  Mr.  Barnes  is  clerk  and  deacon  of 
the  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Wilson. 

Maj.  Charles  Pattison  Bolles,  who  gave  more 
than  half  a  century  of  his  life  to  the  service  of 
the  United  States  Government,  was  a  distinguished 
naval  officer  for  the  United  States  and  in  the 
Confederacy,  and  was  a  scholar,  scientist  and  en- 
gineer of  the  highest  attainments.  From  early 
manhood  he  considered  Wilmington  his  home,  and 
he  died  in  that  city  December  IP,  1909,  when  past 
eighty-six  years  of  age. 

He"  was  born  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  May 
13,  1823,  son  of  Abiel  and  Hannah  (Pattison-) 
Bolles.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Joseph 
Bolles  who  came  to  America  from  England  in 
1640  and  was  deputy  commissioner  for  the  Prov- 
ince of  Maine.  Joseph  Bolles  founded  a  family 
that  in  its  various  branches  has  furnished  a  num- 
ber of  distinguished  names  to  American  life  and 


t:*:Wfcw 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


149 


affairs.  One  branch  of  the  family  still  in  New 
England  spells  the  name  Bowles.  A  member  of 
this  branch  is  Samuel  Bowles,  founder  of  the 
Springfield  Republican  and  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
greatest  of  American  journalists. 

Abiel  Bolles,  father  of  Major  Bolles,  was  born 
near  New  Loudon,  Connecticut,  July  13,  1786.  He 
graduated  from  Brown  University  in  1808  with  the 
degree  Master  of  Arts  and  soon  afterward  came 
South  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  For  many 
years  he  was  professor  of  mathematics  in  Charles- 
ton College.  His  wife,  Hannah  Pattison,  was  first 
cousin  of  Commodore  Morris  of  the  United  States 
navy.  Commodore  Morris  was  with  Stephen  De- 
catur when  the  latter  performed  the  exploits 
famous  in  American  history  by  which  the  nest  of 
pirates  on  the  Barbary  Coast  of  Africa  ceased  for 
all  time  to  annoy  and.  harass  American  shipping. 
Louise  Morris,  a  daughter  of  Commodore  Morris, 
married  W,  W.  Corcoran,  founder  of  the  Corcoran 
Art  Gallery  at  Washington. 

Charles  Pattison  Bolles  graduated  from  Charles- 
ton College  with  the  degree  A.  B.  in  1844.  He 
was  soon  afterward  appointed  on  the  United  States 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  During  the  years  be- 
fore the  war  he  earned  a  place  of  high  standing 
particularly  as  a  hydrographer,  aud  even  then  was 
a  man  of  marked  ability  in  naval  circles.  For 
that  reason  he  was  entrusted  with  many  important 
commissions  on  naval  vessels  making  charts  and 
deep-sea  soundings  on  the  waters  in  North,  Cen- 
tral and  South  America.  In  1851,  then  a  lieuten- 
ant in  the  United  States  navy,  he  came  to  Smith- 
ville,  now  Southport,  Xorth  Carolina,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  on  the  schooner  Gallatin 
of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  commanded 
by  Capt.  John  Newland  Maffitt.  Under  Captain 
Maffitt  young  Bolles  made  exhaustive  charts  of 
the  Cape  Fear  Bar  and  Lower  River,  and  the  name 
of  Major  Bolles  appeared  on  all  of  the  old  charts 
of  this  region.  Dr.  James  Sprunt  in  his  recently 
published  "Cape  Fear  Chronicles"  speaks  of  Ma- 
jor Bolles  as  a  "master  in  the  art  of  triangulation 
u nd  topography." 

Mr.  Bolles  was  assistant  superintendent  of  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  when 
in  April,  1861,  he  resigned  and  offered  his  services 
to  the  Confederate  States  of  America.  In  the 
southern  government  he  was  given  the  rank  of 
captain  of  engineers  and  soon  promoted  to  major 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  in  command 
of  the  Cape  Fear  River  and  its  approaches.  Major 
Bolles  was  detailed  to  lay  out  the  fortifications  of 
Port  Fisher,  built  the  first  battery  at  that  point, 
and  it  was  named  in  his  honor  Battery  Bolles.  The 
dedication  and  naming  of  this  battery  was  made 
a  formal  military  ceremony,  carried  on  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Wilmington  Light  Infantry.  Ma- 
jor Bolles  remained  in  service  at  Fort  Fisher  for 
something  over  a  year,  when  he  was  assigned  to 
take  charge  of  the  arsenal  at  Fayetteville.  While 
there  his  professional  skill  was  given  an  unusual 
test  when  he  successfully  devised  a  peculiar  bolt 
to  he  used  as  a  projectile  in  the  Whitworth  guns, 
which  had  been  sent  to  the  Confederacy  by  the 
British  government  without  either  ammunition  or 
projectiles. 

Major  Bolles  remained  in  the  Confederate  serv- 
•  ice  during  the  entire  period  of  the  war,  but  soon 
afterward  was  doing  duty  for  the  United  States. 
For  many  years  he  was  with  the  navy  in  hydro- 
sraphic  and  scientific  work.  Some  of  these  years 
were  spent  with  Captain,  afterwards  Admiral. 
Philip,  especially  known  to  fame  as  commander  of 


the  Texas  in  the  Spanish-American  war.  With 
Captain  Philip,  Major  Bolles  did  special  work 
along  the  Pacinc  from  Mare  Island  southward  to 
the  Panama,  and  he  made  a  great  many  hydro- 
grapinc  charts  of  the  Pacific  from  his  own  sound- 
ings. His  technical  skill  and  highly  specialized 
knowdedge  in  making  soundings  received  the  most 
generous  commendations  from  Captain  Philip  and 
tne  higher  officials  of  the  navy  department.  On 
these  expeditions  he  also  made  astronomical  ob- 
servations and  was  constantly  employed  in  some 
phase  of  scientific  investigation.  As  a  diversion, 
and  illustrating  his  unusual  talents  in  other  direc- 
tions, he  made  a  large  number  of  pencil  drawings, 
many  of  them  touelied  up  with  water  colors,  of 
scenes  in  wild  and  unknown  places  of  the  tropics. 
He  was  so  modest  about  all  of  his  work  that  he 
kept  these  exclusively  beautiful  drawings  among 
his  private  papers,  and  they  were  only  discovered 
after  his  death. 

In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  was  stationed 
at  Washington  m  the  hydrographie  department  of 
the  navy.  Here  his  special  duty  was  to  correct 
and  issue  all  charts  turnished  to  ships  of  the 
United  States  Navy  before  going  on  a  cruise. 
When  the  Atlantic  Squadron  was  sent  on  its  famous 
cruise  around  the  world  a  dozen  years  ago  Major 
Bolles  made  the  charts  that  were  issued  to  all  of 
these  vessels.  It  was  not  alone  his  great  skill  and 
knowledge  which  secured  for  him  the  admiration 
of  the  staff  of  the  hydrographie  department,  but 
he  was  personally  beloved  and  esteemed  by  his 
co-ordinates  on  account  of  the  kindly  fatherly  in- 
terest he  showed  in  their  welfare  and  in  their 
work. 

Few  men  find  it  in  their  power  or  inclination 
to  continue  work  into  the  deepening  shadows  of  old 
age  so  long  as  Major  Bolles.  When  he  finally 
parted  with  his  friends  and  severed  his  cherished 
associations  with  his  charts  and  instruments  at 
Washington  he  was  eighty-four  years  and  seven 
months  old,  and  even  then  he  resigned  only  at 
the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  children.  In  response 
to  his  resignation  the  secretary  of  the  navy  wrote 
him  a  letter  expressing  regret  and  stating  that 
Major  Bolles  had  the  best  record  of  any  man  in 
the  naval  department  in  respect  to  length  of  serv- 
ice, efficiency  and  punctuality.  Although  his  duties 
in  the  navy  kept  him  away  from  his  family  for 
long  periods  he  always  considered  his  home  at  Wil- 
mington, and  to  that  city  he  returned  after  his 
resignation. 

Major  Bolles  married  for  his  first  wife  Eliza 
Walker.  On  her  mother's  side  she  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  Gen.  Thomas  Davis,  who  commanded 
the  famous  Fayetteville  Independent  Light  In- 
fantry during  the  War  of  1812.  Maj.  John  Walker, 
father  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Bolles,  was  an  officer  in  the 
War  of  1812  and  was  the  nephew  of  Col.  Jack 
Walker,  aide  to  General  Washington  in  the  Revo- 
lution. Maj.  John  Walker  in  his  day  owned  great 
bodies  of  land  devoted  to  rice  and  cotton  cul- 
ture on  the  Lower  Cape  Fear,  including  Smith  'a 
Island.  Major  Bolles  by  his  first  marriage  had 
two  children,  John  Walker  Bolles  and  Miss  Han- 
nah Pattison  Bolles.  Their  mother  died  at  Fay- 
etteville in  1862,  where  Major  Bolles  was  stationed 
at  the  time  as  an  officer  of  the  Confederacy. 

In  1873  he  married  Louise  (DeBrutz)  Reston, 
who  survives  him  and  makes  her  home  in  Wil- 
mington. Mrs.  Bolles  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph 
and  Catharine  (Beck)  DeBrutz,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Fayetteville,  Xorth  Carolina,  and  son  of 
Gabriel  de  Bmtz.      Gabriel  de  Brutz,  a  native  of 


150 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


France,  was  a  French  naval  officer  and  came  to 
America  with  the  French  expeditionary  forces  to 
aid  the  cause  of  the  Revolution.  He  "was  at  the 
Battle  of  Yorktown  with  General  Lafayette  and 
was  wounded  there.  After  the  war  he  remained  in 
America,  locating  at  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina, 
He  found  a  bride  in  this  country,  the  talented 
Deborah  Montgomery,  daughter  of  John  Montgom- 
ery, who  commanded  the  American  forces  in  the 
Battle  of  Alamance,  North  Carolina,  May  16,  1771. 
A  brother-in-law  of  John  Montgomery  was  John 
"Wilcox,  another  American  officer  who  gained  re- 
nown in  the  Revolutionary  period.  Dr.  Joseph 
DeBrutz  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  became  a  successful  physician,  and 
prior  to  the  war  moved  to  Alabama,  locating  at 
Demopolis,  where  his  daughter,  Louise,  was  born. 
The  five  children  of  Maj.  and  Mrs.  Louise  Bolles 
are:  Dr.  Charles  Pattison  Bolles;  Mary  Mont- 
gomery Wilcox,  wife  of  Dr.  Andrew  H.  Harris; 
Edith' Hemenway,  wife  of  Dr.  B.  R.  Graham; 
Frederick  DeBrutz  Bolles ;  and  Miss  Bessie  Bolles. 

Charles  Pattison  Bolles,  M.  D.  During  the 
twenty  years  since  he  graduated  from  medical  col- 
lege Doctor  Bolles  has  proved  his  attainments  and 
successful  ability  in  a  difficult  and  most  exacting 
profession  in  such  a  manner  as  to  justify  the 
name  which  he  bears  and  his  honored  and.  dis- 
tinguished ancestry. 

Doctor  Bolles  was  born  at  Wilmington,  the 
city  of  his  present  residence,  on  February  18,  1874, 
a  son  of  Major  Charles  Pattison  and  Mary  Louise 
(DeBrutz)  Bolles.  A  review  of  the  life  and 
achievements  of  the  late  Major  Bolles  is  contained 
in  a  separate  article. 

Doctor  Bolles  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Wilmington,  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  from 
the  medical  department  of  which  he  graduated  in 
1897,  and  further  took  post-graduate  work  for  one 
year  at  Cornell  University.  Then  followed  a  resi- 
dence of  several  years  in  New  York  City,  where 
unusual  opportunities  and  experience  awaited  him. 
He  was  connected  with  the  New  York  Health 
Department  in  contagious  disease  work,  and  was 
also  associated  with  the  Roosevelt  Hospital  and 
the  Good  Samaritan  Dispensary.  Later  he  served 
a  period  as  house  surgeon  at  St.  Joseph 's  Hos- 
pital at  Providence.  Rhode  Island,  and  from  that 
city  returned  to  Wilmington  in  1901.  In  Wilming- 
ton he  devoted  a  year  to  the  work  of  the  City  Hos- 
pital  before   taking  up   private  practice. 

Doctor  Bolles  is  a  widely  known  specialist  in 
obstetrics  and  diseases  of  women,  a  branch  of  the 
profession  for  which  his  long  and  serious  study 
and  experience  have  admirably  equipped  him  for 
successful  work.  He  is  a  member  of  the  New 
Hanover  County  Medical  Society,  which  he  has 
served  as  president,  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
Medical  Society,  is  a  fellow  of  the  American  Med- 
ical Association  and  is  a  member  of  the  New  York 
Geriatric  Society,  whose  limited  membership  is 
made  of  physicians  interested  in  or  specialists  in 
treating  the  diseases  of  old  age.  Doctor  Bolles  is 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

He  married  for  his  first  wife  Abbie  Ellis  Chad- 
win,  of  Wilmington.  She  became  the  mother  of 
four  children:  Blanche  Chadwin,  James,  Charles 
Pattison.  3d,  and  Marie  Louise.  Doctor  Bolles 
married  for  his  present  wife  Miss  Christine  Black. 
Thev  have  one  daughter,  Mary. 

Henry  Blottnt  Best.  M.  D.  To  lead  an  hon- 
orable and  useful  life  is  undoubtedly  the  aim   of 


every  young  man  of  character  as  he  enters  trade, 
business  or  profession,  and  that  this  is  a  most 
cherished  ambition  of  those  who  make  choice  of 
medicine  as  a  career  is  certain.  They  enter  upon 
no  easy,  flower-strewn  path  when  they  take  up 
this  science  and,  though  professional  eminence 
and  great  emoluments  may  come  to  them  in  time, 
they  will  be  called  upon  to  earn  them  through 
physical  endurance  and  unbelievable  strain  of 
mind  and  spirit.  The  physicans  in  a  community 
are  recognized  to  be  the  most  progressive,  de- 
pendable and  representative  citizens,  and  one  of 
this  class  who  occupies  a  position  of  esteem  and 
confidence  at  Wilson,  North  Cholina,  is  Dr. 
Henry  Blount  Best. 

Henry  Blount  Best  was  born  April  30,  1883,  in 
Greene  County,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  Hayward  and  Mary  (Blount)  Best. 
Thomas  H.  Best  was  a  business  man  and  for  many 
years  was  a  traveling  salesman.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1915. 

When  twelve  years  old  Henry  B.  Best  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Wilson  and  practically 
this  pleasant  city  has  been  his  home  ever  since. 
He  attended  a  well  known  private  school  here  for 
two  year's  before  entering  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  and  was  graduated  from  the  medical 
department  of  this  institution  in  1907  and  imme- 
diately afterward  established  himself  in  prac- 
tice at  Wilson,  where  he  has  built  up  a  profes- 
sional reputation. 

Doctor  Best  has  shown  great  interest  in  the 
Wilson  County  Medical  Society  and  worked  hard 
for  its  success.  He  has  held  all  the  offices  in  the 
society,  has  been  its  president  and  for  four  years 
was  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  also  has  been 
treasurer  of  the  Fourth  District  Medical  Society 
of  Wilson  County,  and  is  a  member  also  of  the 
North  Carolina  State  Medical  Society  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  In  all  these  or- 
ganizations he  is  a  leading  spirit  and  is  ever  on 
the  alert  concerning  modern  discoveries  in  his 
beloved  science.  He  takes  merely  a  good  citi- 
zen's interest  in  politics  and  has  never  accepted 
any  political  office  except  that  of  city  physician, 
in  which  he  served  faithfully  and  effectively. 

Doctor  Best  is  a  member  of  the  First  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  and  belongs  to  the  Baraca- 
hee  class  connected  with  this  church.  Frater- 
nally he  has  long  been  identified  with  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World  and  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  re- 
tains membership  in  his  old  college  Greek  letter 
fraternities,  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  and  the  Phi 
Chi.  He  believes  in  moderate  recreation  for 
every  one,  even  the  hard-worked  physician,  and 
in  a.  reasonable  amount  of  outdoor  sport,  and 
values  his  membership  highly  in  the  Country  and 
the  Rotary  clubs. 

Walter  A.  Montgomery.  While  many  of  the 
highest  honors  of  his  profession  and  public  life 
have  been  showered  upon  him  in  the  past  half  cen- 
tury, the  distinctive  part  of  Judge  Montgomery's 
long  career  was  his  brilliant  service  as  a  boy  soldier 
in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  war  between 
the  states. 

Born  at  Warrenton,  North  Carolina,  February 
17,  1845,  he  was  only  sixteen  when  he  enlisted  in 
1861  as  a  private  in  Company  E  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina First  Cavalry.  A  month  later  he  was  dis- 
charged because  of  physical  disability.  Within  ten 
days,   however,   he   had   again   enlisted,   this   time 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


151 


in  Company  A  of  the  Second  North  Carolina  In- 
fantry. With  that  organization  he  remained 
throughout  the  struggle  of  the  war  and  at  the 
end  of  four  years,  coming  home  a  veteran,  he  was 
still  under  age.  The  Second  Regiment  was  known 
after  its  reorganization  in  May,  1862,  as  the 
Twelfth  North  Carolina  Infantry  and  its  service 
was  with  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia.  In  1862 
Mr.  Montgomery  was  promoted  to  sergeant,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1864  became  second  lieutenant  of 
Company  F,  formerly  Company  A.  He  was  in  the 
Battle,  of  Hanover  Courthouse  in  May,  1862,  at 
Fredericksburg  in  December,  1862,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  sanguinary  Battle  of  Chancellorsville, 
where  he  was  wounded,  and  at  Brandy  Station  on 
the  9th  of  June,  I860.  A  month  later  he  fought 
on  the  first  day  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  and 
there  again  was  wounded.  In  the  closing  month 
of  that  year  he  was  at  Kelly  's  Ford,  and  Mine  Run. 
In  1864  he  participated  in  the  battles  of  the  Wild- 
erness, Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Winchester  and 
Belle  Grove.  He  was  at  the  Hatches  Run  battle 
on  the  6th  of  February,  1865,  and  in  March,  1865, 
he  was  in  the  trenches  at  Petersburg.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  famous  sortie  under  General  Gordon 
on  March  25,  1865,  and  was  in  the  fight  at  Sailor's 
Creek  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1865.  He  followed 
with  the  armies  of  Lee  until  the  surrender  at  Ap- 
pomattox, where  he  was  paroled. 

After  the  war  Judge  Montgomery  took  up  his 
studies  at  Warrenton  Academy  and  in  June,  1867, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  began  practice  at 
Warrenton,  was  a  member  of  the  bar  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  in  1873-75,  but  with  that  exception  has 
spent  all  his  professional  career  in  his  native  state. 

In  1894  Mr.  Montgomery  was  elected  associate 
justice  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  the  Supreme  Bench 
and  in  1896  was  elected  for  the  full  term  of  eight 
vears. 

On  the  27th  of  September,  1871,  Mr.  Montgom- 
ery and  Miss  Lizzie  Wilson,  of  Salem,  Virginia, 
were  married  at  Roanoke,  Virginia.  There  are  two 
children  of  the  marriage,  Walter  A.,  who  is  now 
professor  of  Latin  at  Richmond  College,  Virginia, 
and  Elizabeth,  who  now  resides  with  her  father 
and  mother  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 

Willard  Franklin  Trogdon.  In  North  Wilkes- 
boro  very  little  inquiry  is  needed  to  establish  the 
fact  that  the  citizen  who  is  credited  with  the  most 
important  constructive  enterprise  in  the  founding 
and  upbuilding  of  that  commercial  and  civic 
center  is  Willard  Franklin  Trogdon,  whose  work 
ajid  influence  justify  more  than  a  local  reputation. 
North  Carolina  is  a  very  old  state,  aud  therefore 
Mr.  Trogdon  is  one  of  the  few  living  men  who 
can  be  credited  with  the  founding  of  an  important 
town.  He  has  been  a  very  successful  business 
man,  and  has  used  his  means  and  personal  influence 
largely  to  advance  and  extend  the  prosperity  of  his 
home  community.  It  is  said  between  1900  and 
191 0  he  spent  of  his  own  means  $50,000  building 
up  and  advertising  North  Wilkesboro,  thereby 
causing  the  population  to  more  than  double  in 
ten  years. 

Mr.  Trogdon  was  born  in  Randolph  County, 
North  Carolina,  February  5,  1854,  a  son  of  .Solo- 
mon F.  and  Dorcas  Aretta  (Odell)  Trogdon, 
grandson  of  Samuel  Trogdon,  great-grandson  of 
Samuel  M.  Trogdon  and  great-great-grandson  of 
William  Trogdon.  His  father,  Solomon  Franklin 
Trogdon,  born  July  17,  1828,  married  his  second 
cousin,  Dorcas  Aretta  Odell,  April  10,  1853,  and 
died  September  19,  1860,  before  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  war.      His  mother,   Mrs.  Dorcas   Aretta 


(Odell)  Trogdon-Swain,  is  still  living  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety  years.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  well  known  Odell  family  of  this  state. 
Her  brother,  Wm.  B.  Odell  of  Iowa  and  J.  A. 
Odell,  founder  of  the  Odell  Hardware  Company 
of  Greensboro,  and  another  brother,  Major  Laban 
Odell  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville, 
Va.,  and  another  brother,  J.  M.  Odell,  pioneer 
cotton  manufacturer  and  banker  of  Concord.  The 
ancestors  of  the  Odells  came  to  this  state  from 
the  State  of  New  York.  The  Trogdon  generations 
have  been  large  land  and  slave  owners  in  Ran- 
dolph County,  North  Carolina,  since  long  before 
the   Revolutionary   war. 

Willard  Franklin  Trogdon  has  only  one  brother, 
Cicero  Laban  Trogdon,  born  February  26,  1857. 
He  has  never  married  but  is  a  very  successful 
farmer,  owning  the  old  Trogdon-Odell-Trogdon 
Farm  near  Millboro,  North  Carolina,  which  has 
been  in  the  family  for  more  than  150  years. 
Mr.  Trogdon 's  twice  widowed  mother  lives  with 
her  son,  Cicero,  in  her  ninetieth  year,  where  she 
has  lived  nearly  all  of  her  life.  Mr.  Trogdon 's 
grandmother  on  his  father's  side  was  Susan  Ferree 
from  near  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  His  grand- 
mother on  his  mother's  side  was  Anna  Trogdon, 
daughter  of  Solomon  Trogdon,  original  owner  of 
the  Trogdon-Odell-Trogdon  Farm.  Mr.  Trogdon 's 
widowed  mother,  Dorcas  Aretta  (Odell)  Trogdon, 
married  Joshua  Swain  February  1,  1866,  by  whom 
she  had  one  daughter,  Nancy  Jane  Swain,  now 
the  wife  of  Rev.  C.  F.  Sherrill,  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Methodist  Conference.  To  this 
union  have  been  born  five  children,  Ollie  Lenoir, 
Nannie  Belle,  Frank,  Charles  M.  and  James  Edgar. 
Of  the  above  Sherrill  children,  Nannie  Belle  mar- 
ried J.  D.  Lineberger,  of  Shelby,  North  Carolina, 
by  whom  she  has  two  children,  viz. :  John  Trogdon 
and  Sherrill  Munday. 

Willard  Franklin  Trogdon  grew  up  at  the  old 
Trogdon  homestead,  a  farm  two  miles  east  of  Mill- 
boro in  Randolph  County.  In  that  environment  he 
lived  until  he  was  sixteen,  and  then  going  to 
Greensboro,  made  his  home  with  his  uncle  J.  A. 
Odell,  head  of  the  big  wholesale  hardware  firm 
which  bears  his  name,  one  of  the  leading  concerns 
of  its  kind  in  the  South.  Mr.  Trogdon  worked  as 
a  clerk  in  his  uncle's  establishment  aud  later  be- 
came a  traveling  salesman.  For  twenty-two  years 
he  was  on  the  road  in  the  South  Atlantic  states, 
selling  confectionery,  representing  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore  and  New  York  houses.  For  two  years 
of  this  time  he  traveled  for  E.  Larribee  &  Son, 
wholesale  leather  and  tannery  products  of  Balti- 
more, with  a  large  tannery  in  West  Virginia. 

In  1890  Mr.  Trogdon  left  the  road  and  became 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Winston  Land  & 
Improvement  Company  of  Winston,  now  Winston- 
Salem.  Acting  in  this  position  he  became  the 
active  promoter  in  establishing  for  his  company 
the  new  town  of  North  Wilkesboro.  In  that  year, 
1890,  he  and  his  associates  bought  something  over 
a  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Wilkes  County  on  the 
Yadkin  River,  where  the  Town  of  North  Wilkes- 
boro now  stands.  More  than  ten  miles  of  streets 
were  laid  out  and  graded,  other  improvements 
made,  and  the  place  was  christened  North  Wilkes- 
boro. The  railroad,  now  the  North  Wilkesboro 
branch  of  the  Southern  System,  was  just  then 
being  completed.  Mr.  Trogdon  entered  vigorously 
into  the  work  of  building  up  and  developing  this 
promising  new  site,  and  he  can  tell  more  of  the 
earlv  historv  of  North  Wilkesboro  than  anv  other 


152 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Some  years  ago  Mr.  Trogdon  had  occasion  to 
address  himself  to  the  public  arid  recall  some  of 
the  interesting  early  things  in  connection  with 
the  transactions  and  activities  that  brought  about 
the  establishment  of  North  Wilkesboro.  From 
what  he  wrote  at  the  time  some  sentences  are 
quoted   for   their  historical  value. 

' '  In  June,  1890,  I  came  to  Wilkes  county  by 
team,  prospecting  for  a  site  on  which  to  build 
a  town.  A  railroad  was  then  being  built  along  up 
the  north  side  of  the  Yadkin  River  from  Winston 
to  a  point  one  mile  north  of  Wilkesboro,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  I  immediately  began 
negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  the  farms  at  and 
near  the  proposed  terminus  of  this,  Wilkes 
county's  only  railroad.  During  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1890,  G.  W.  Hinshaw  and  I  secured 
$125,000  worth  of  subscriptions  to  the  capital 
stock  of  the  corporation,  which  Mr.  Hinshaw  had 
had  chartered  under  the  name,  of  the  Winston 
Land  &  Improvement  Company.  On  November 
30,  1890,  the  Winston  Land  &  Improvement 
Company  was  organized  by  the  election  of  a  board 
of  directors,  who  elected  6.  W.  Hinshaw  president 
and  W.  F.  Trogdon  secretary  and  treasurer,  for 
the  purpose  of  completing  purchases  of  the  above 
farm  lands  and  building  thereon  a  town.  The 
purchases  were  completed,  and  in  November,  1890, 
I  immediately  entered  upon  my  duties  as  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  company  and  in  addition 
thereto  had  general  supervision  of  the  entire 
development  of  the  town.  The  company  spent 
more  than  $200,000  in  the  work  of  a  staff  of 
engineers  in  surveying  and  laying  out  the  land 
into  streets  and  blocks,  in  establishing  grades 
of  streets,  grading  ten  miles  of  highway,  building 
bridges,  and  in  erecting  the  first  structures  of  the 
new  town.  The  first  lot  was  sold  January  10,  1891, 
and  the  first  general  lot  auction  sale  was  held 
December  4,  1891.  The  town  was  incorporated  as 
the  town  of  North  Wilkesboro,  North  Carolina, 
by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  March  4,  1891, 
On  April  30,  1891,  the  town  government  was  for- 
mally organized  and  a  postoffice  was  established 
in  September,  1891.  The  railroad  was  completed 
to  North  Wilkesboro  in  August,  1890." 

In  addition  to  handling  the  formidable  array 
of  duties  imposed  upon  him  by  The  Winston  Land 
and  Improvement  Company  Mr.  Trogdon  was  also 
at  the  head  of  the  American,  Home,  Mineral  & 
Timber  Land  Company,  the  North  Wilkesboro 
Publishing  Company,  The  State  Company,  the 
Wilkes  Industrial  Company,  in  all  which  he  owned 
ninety  per  cent  of  all  the  capital  stock,  and  he 
personally  became  owner  and  builder  of  one- 
third  of  the  brick  buildings  in  the  town  and 
many  of  the  dwelling  houses.  From  the  first  he 
utilized  his  individual  position  and  the  companies 
with  which  he  was  connected  in  making  North 
Wilkesboro  a  center  of  industry.  It  is  said  that 
his  name  is  attached  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the 
deeds  for  town  lots  in  North  Wilkesboro.  Mr. 
Trogdon  assisted  very  materially  in  establishing 
the  Bank  of  North  Wilkesboro  and  was  one  of  its 
first  stockholders.  He  is  still  one  of  the  largest 
property  owners  of  that  city.  He  was  one  of  the 
owners  and  publishers  of  the  North  Wilkesboro 
News,  the  first  newspaper  published  in  North 
Wilkesboro,  and  later  became  sole  owner  and 
editor. 

In  addition  to  the  building  operations  and 
other  developments  thus  briefly  noted,  Mr.  Trogdon 
had  constantly  in  mind  the  plan  for  the  location 
of  some  substantial  manufacturing  industry   that 


would  put  the  town  upon  a  solid  foundation  of 
prosperity.  When  he  was  with  the  leather  firm 
mentioned  above  he  had  been  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  the  tanning  industry.  It  now 
occurred  to  him  that  the  enormous  quantities  of 
chestnut  oak  bark  in  the  region  surrounding  North 
Wilkesboro  would  make  the  new  town  an  ideal 
location  for  a  large  tannery.  He  accordingly 
wrote  to  Messrs.  Lees  &  McViddy,  tanners  of 
Philadelphia,  to  know  if  they  could  locate  a 
tannery  here.  Mr.  McViddy  of  that  firm  came 
to  North  Wilkesboro,  investigated,  found  the  con- 
ditions satisfactory,  but  subsequently  on  account 
of  failure  to  make  satisfactory  arrangements 
as  to  freight  rates  with  the  railroad  company, 
decided  not  to  establish  a  tannery.  After 
this  failure  Mr.  Trogdon  entered  into  nego- 
tiations with  the  C.  C.  Smoot  Sons '  Company, 
a  large  tannery  concern  of  Alexandria,  Virginia. 
After  investigation  they  decided  to  locate  a  plant. 
The  Smoot  tannery  was  thus  established  in  North 
Wilkesboro  and  it  has  remained  the  backbone  of 
the  town's  industrial  and  commercial  life.  It  is 
one  of  the  largest  tanneries  in  the  country,  and  is 
today  one  of  the  big  southern  industries. 

Following  this  important  achievement  furniture 
factories  and  other  woodworking  plants  were 
located  at  North  Wilkesboro,  and  these,  together 
with  wholesale  houses  and  industries,  combine  to 
make  the  town  one  of  the  leading  industrial  and 
commercial  centers  of  North  Carolina.  North 
Wilkesboro  is  the  center  of  a  large  and  rich  terri- 
tory, extending  up  and  down  the  Yadkin  Valley 
and  into  the  mountain  counties  of  the  northwest 
part  of  the  state.  Its  geographical  situation  is 
most  fortunate,  and  with  the  groundwork  of  its 
industry  so  carefully  laid  by  Mr.  Trogdon  the 
town  has  a  future  promise  not  exceeded  by  any 
other  locality  in  the  state. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  record  the  original 
officers  of  The  Winston  Land  and  Improvement 
Company  should  be  named.  They  were:  Col.  G. 
W.  Hinshaw,  president;  W.  F.  Trogdon,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  P.  H.  Hanes,  Col.  F.  H.  Fries  and 
Dr.  W.  L.  Brown  of  Winston-Salem,  Col.  J.  M. 
Winstead  of  Greensboro,  Channing  M.  Bolton  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  A.  A.  Finley,  directors. 
In  the  course  of  time  Mr.  Trogdon  bought  the 
interest  of  the  other  stockholders,  and  now  for 
some  years  has  been  president  of  the  company 
and  practically  its  sole  owner.  In  1903  he 
established  the  Deposit  &  Savings  Bank,  owning 
a  majority  of  its  stock,  was  its  president  for 
more  than  seven  years.  On  November  19,  1910, 
on  account  of  his  numerous  other  interests  needing 
his  attention,  Mr.  Trogdon  sold  a  majority  of  the 
stock  of  the  Deposit  &  Savings  Bank  to  Con- 
gressman B.  L.  Doughton,  who  became  its  presi- 
dent. 

An  important  feature  of  his  business  has 
always  been  the  handling  of  real  estate,  and  the 
fact  that  he  was  first  on  the  ground  gives  him  a 
knowledge  of  real  estate  values  and  opportunities 
that  has  been  the  means  of  constituting  a  splendid 
service  in  every  local  transaction  with  which  he 
has  lmd  to  do. 

Naturally  Mr.  Trogdon  has  been  brought  into 
close  touch  with  local  affairs  to  as  great  an  extent 
as  his  time  and  inclinations  would  permit.  He 
has  served  as  town  commissioner  and  as  mayor  of 
North  Wilkesboro,  and  for  four  years  was  a  county 
commissioner  of  Wilkes  County  and  chairman  of 
the  board.     In  politics  he  is  a  republican.     Some 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


153 


years  ago  he  built  at  the  corner  of  D  and  Eighth 
streets  a  home  that  is  said  to  be  the  finest  resi- 
dence in  Wilkes  County. 

Mr.  Trogdon  is  now  president  of  the  North 
Wilkesboro  Building  and  Loan  Association,  suc- 
ceeding Col.  J.  C.  Smoot  two  years  ago  and 
before  that  for  twelve  years  he  had  been  vice 
president  and  was  one  of  the  original  promoters 
and  organizers  of  the  association.  This  organiza- 
tion has  done  much  for  the  building  up  of  the 
town.  Mr.  Trogdon  was  one  of  the  founders  and 
for  many  years  the  principal  advertiser  and  up- 
builder  of  Xorth  Wilkesboro,  North  Carolina,  for 
which  service  mention  is  due.  The  Trogdon  family 
is  a  very  old  and  honorable  one  both  in  this 
country  and  England.  The  records  in  the  Ulver- 
stone  region  of  England  on  July  23,  1546,  show 
the  christening  of  one  of  the  family.  There  were  in 
this  the  northern  part  of  England  about  this  time 
some  thirty  or  forty  families  of  this  name.  The 
name  was  spelled  variously  "Trogdon,  Troughton, 
Troghton,   Troughtown  and  Trouton. " 

In  Ulverstone,  England,  the  record  shows  that 
Francis  Troughton  was  married  to  Leona  Strick- 
land, January,  1722.  The  birth  of  their  son 
William  is  recorded  (1722)  at  Rattin  Row,  Eng- 
land. William  is  supposed  to  have  left  England 
while  yet  a  young  man  and  settled  on  Sandy 
Creek  3%  miles  northeast  of  Franklinsville,  Ran- 
dolph County,  North  Carolina.  He  became  a  large 
planter  and  mill  owner.  And  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  did  all  he  could  for  the  independence 
of  the  American  states,  and  on  this  account  was 
shot  and  killed  by  the  English  Tories  while  water- 
ing his  horse  just  below  his  mill.  His  body  was 
buried  on  the  east  bank  of  the  creek  near  his 
mill.  This  William  Trogdon  was  the  great-great- 
grandfather of  Willard  Franklin  Trogdon,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch. 

Many  of  the  Trogdon  connections  have  achieved 
success  and  renown  entitling  them  to  an  honorable 
place  in  the  history  of  this  country.  The  Trog- 
dons,  Odells,  Bowdoins  and  Ferrees,  all  ancestors 
of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  have  been  leaders 
in  peace  and  war.  In  the  Revolution  of  1812, 
in  the  Civil  and  Spanish-American  war,  and  now 
in  this  World  war  there  are  hundreds  of  Trogdons 
and  Odells.  In  1861  Capt.  J.  M.  Odell  organized 
a  volunteer  company  of  the  Twenty-second  North 
Carolina  Regiment  and  went  to  the  front.  His 
brother,  Laban  Odell,  was  first  lieutenant,  after- 
wards captain  and  after  that  promoted  to  major, 
mounted.  Major  Laban  Odell  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  ChaneeUorsville,  Virginia.  Ward  Trog- 
don had  his  leg  shot  off  at  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania.  Howell  G.  Trogdon,  a  cousin 
of  subject  of  our  sketch,  is  commended  for  gal- 
lantry and  recommended  for  promotion  by  Major 
General  Blair  and  in  a  report  to  General  Sher- 
man  says: 

• '  Howell  G.  Trogdon  was  a  member  of  the 
Eighth  Missouri  Regiment  United  States  Army 
and  at  the  battle  of  Vicksburg  carried  the  flag 
in  a  volunteer  storming  party  of  two  officers  and 
fifty  men  from  each  brigade  of  the  division  which 
led  the  assault  on  October  22,  1863,  in  the  Siege  of 
Vicksburg. "  R.  F.  Trogdon,  uncle  of  W.  F.  trog- 
don, was  sheriff  of  Randolph  County,  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1868;  his  son,  Samuel  L.  Trogdon,  was  for  twenty 
years  clerk  of  the  United  States  District  Court 
at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  Among  the  Trog- 
dons are  many  successful  farmers,  teachers,  civil 
engineers,  ministers   of   the   gospel,  builders,  con- 


tractors, factory  superintendents,  town  builders, 
advertisers,  real  estate  dealers,  lawyers,  doctors, 
merchants  and  manufacturers.  The  Trogdons  live 
in  nearly  every  state  in  the  United  States  and  so 
far  as  known  all  can  trace  their  ancestry  back  to 
William  Trogdon  of  Ulverstone,  Laneastershire, 
England,  who  settled  3  %  miles  northeast  of  Frank- 
linville,  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina,  from 
whom  are  supposed  to  have  descended  all  of  the 
Trogdons  in  this  country.  The  census  of  189U 
gives  four  Trogdon  families  living  in  Randolph 
County,  North  Carolina,  viz. :  Solomon,  John,  Wil- 
liam and  Samuel. 

On  February  16,  1886,  in  Greensboro,  North 
Carolina,  Mr.  Willard  Franklin  Trogdon  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lizzie  Scales-Lentz,  a  daughter  of 
Jackson  and  Maria  Scales,  of  Greensboro,  and 
sister  of  Mrs.  B.  H.  Merrimon,  of  Greensboro,  and 
a  brother  of  Henry  P.  Scales  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and 
a  cousin  of  Governor  A.  M.  Scales  of  North  Caro- 
lina.     Mr.    and   Mrs.    Trogdon    had   no    children. 

Mrs.  W.  F.  Trogdon  died  September  30,  1917, 
in  her  sixty-third  year.  She  was  a  noble,  good 
Christian  woman,  loved  by  those  who  knew  her, 
popular  in  social  circles,  and  generally  known 
throughout  the  state;  was  for  years  district  secre- 
tary of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Western  North  Carolina  District  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 
for  many  years  a  member  of  the  ' '  State  Board 
of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare."  Miss  Daisy 
Denson,  secretary  of  this  society,  wrote  that  the 
new  County  Home  and  new  jail  in  Wilkes  County 
were  monuments  to  Mrs.  Trogdon 's  efforts  and 
influence  in  securing  these  much  needed  public 
buildings. 

In  religion  Mr.  Trogdon  is  a  Methodist,  was 
for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Stewards  of  West  Market  Street  Church,  Greens- 
boro, and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Methodist  Church  and  Sunday  school  in  North 
Wilkesboro,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
and  a  steward  of  the  first  church  established  in 
North  Wilkesboro. 

Mr.  Trogdon  was  educated  at  old  ' '  Yorks 
School  House ' '  in  Randolph  County,  at  Yadkin 
College  and  at  Eastman 's  Business  College.  He 
has  traveled  quite  extensively  in  this  and  foreign 
countries.  Mr.  Trogdon  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Masonic  fraternities  for 
more  than  twenty  years. 

That  Mr.  Trogdon  has  progressive  ideas  is  gath- 
ered from  the  sketch  of  his  life  work,  his  belief 
in  the  Christian  religion  and  his  strong  convic- 
tion, that: 

1 '  The  great  need  of  the  nation  is  honest  per- 
severing men  and  women"  and  that  if  you  do 
harm  to  the  family  you  do  harm  to  the  nation, 
so  he  is  emphatic  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
family  relation  in  all  its  purity.  That  if  you 
destroy  the  family  relation  you  destroy  the  nation. 
He  believes  that  every  healthy  boy  and  girl  should 
marry  as  soon  as  their  nature  calls  and  cling  to 
each  other  to  the  end. 

George  Hahn  Ward  has  recently  entered  the 
practice  of  law,  and  in  less  than  five  years  has 
firmly  entrenched  himself  in  the  confidence  of  the 
profession  and  the  people  generally  in  Haywood 
County.  He  is  a  member  of  the  firm  Morgan  & 
Ward    at   Waynesville. 

Mr.  Ward  was  born  in  Waynesville  February 
28,  1892,  son  of  Albert  Eugene  and  Mary  (Long) 
Ward.     His  father  was  a  stock  raiser  and  farmer, 


154 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


and  the  son  grew  up  on  a  farm.  He  attended 
Waynesville  High  School,  finished  his  education 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  the  law 
department  in  1913,  and  after  being  licensed  to 
practice  returned  to  Waynesville  and  joined  the 
firm  of  Smathers  &  Morgan,  under  the  name 
Smathers,  Morgan  &  Ward.  Since  1915  the  part- 
nership has  been  Morgan  &  Ward,  and  they  con- 
trol a  large  general  and  corporate  practice. 

Mr.  Ward  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order, 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics.  April  3,  1915,  he 
married  Carrie  Sue  Adams,  of  Haywood  County, 
North  Carolina,  daughter  of  McD.  and  Allie  (Da- 
vis) Adams.  Her  father,  who  was  a  merchant, 
died  in  March,  1914.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ward  have 
one  daughter,  Mary   Adams  Ward. 

Eugene  Byron  Glenn,  M.  D.  Few  of  the 
capable  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  state  have 
been  distinguished  by  a  broader  application  of 
their  service  than  Dr.  E.  B.  Glenn,  of  Asheville. 
He  is  prominent  in  all  the  medical  organizations, 
has  filled  positions  of  responsibility  with  various 
hospitals  and  institutions,  and  was  the  ranking 
surgeon  in  the  North  Carolina  National  Guard 
until  June  1,  1917,  when  he  was  placed  on  the 
reserve  list,  having  held  a  continuous  commis- 
sion in  the  Guard  for  over  eighteen  years. 

Doctor  Glenn  was  born  in  Buncombe  County, 
North  Carolina,  June  21,  1871,  eldest  son  of  Marion 
Sevier  and  Martha  Ann  (Curtis)  Glenn.  Doctor 
Glenn's  Grandfather  Curtis  died  a  Confederate 
soldier  during  the  war.  His  grandfather,  Eli 
Glenn,  was  born  in  Cabarrus  County,  Eastern 
North  Carolina,  in  1812,  and  came  across  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  settled  in  Buncombe  County  about  1830. 
Both  Doctor  Glenn's  parents  are  natives  of  North 
Carolina  and  his  father  has  been  a  successful 
farmer  and  stockman.  Doctor  Glenn's  father  en- 
listed in  the  Confederate  Army,  a  mere  boy,  and 
served  until  the  war  closed.  Doctor  Glenn  lived  and 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  attending  school  in  the  fall  and 
winter  months.  Prom  1887  to  1889  he  was  a  high 
school  student,  then  followed  one  year  by  a  private 
instructor,  and  attendence  in  the  session  of  1891-92 
at  Weaver  College,  at  Weaverville,  North  Carolina. 
Doctor  Glenn  took  up  the  formal  study  of  medicine 
in  September,  1892,  at  the  Jefferson 'Medical  Col- 
lege in  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1 896.  The  same  year  he  was  licensed  to  practice 
medicine  in  North  Carolina,  and  besides  his  prep- 
aration in  one  of  the  greatest  as  well  as  the  oldest 
institutions  of  medical  learning  in  the  country  he 
was  for  a  time  resident  physician  at  St.  Timothy 's 
Hospital  at  Roxborough,  Philadelphia. 

Doctor  Glenn  is  a  life  member  of  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College  Alumni  Association.  In  May, 
1899,  he  received  another  diploma  from  the  Phila- 
delphia Polyclinic.  Doctor  Glenn  was  one  of  the 
organizers  in  1903  of  the  Asheville  Hospital  and 
served  as  president  of  its  board  of  directors.  He 
was  the  president  of  the  Buncombe  County  Medical 
Societv  in  1915-10,  was  a  member  of  the  staff  of 
the  Clarence  Barker  Memorial  Hospital,  Biltmore, 
North  Carolina,  from  1905  to  1913.  After  the 
death  of  Dr.  P.  T.  Meriwether  in.  June,  1913,  a 
staff  of  sixteen  physicians  was  organized  and  Doc- 
tor Glenn  was  elected  vice  dean  and  chief  of  the 
surgical  staff.  He  is  president  of  the  board  of 
directors  and  one  of  the  large  stockholders  of  the 
Meriwether  Hospital  and  Training  School  at  Ashe- 
ville.     In    1903-4    he    was    superintendent    of   the 


board  of  health  of  Buncombe  County,  and  was 
health  officer  of  Asheville  in  1898-99. 

Doctor  Glenn  is  widely  known  among  medical 
men  as  the  author  of  many  papers  and  addresses 
delivered  before  organizations  and  published  in 
medical  journals.  He  is  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  Surgeons'  Club,  of  the  Buncombe  County 
Medical  Society,  the  Mississippi  Valley  Medical 
Society,  the  Southern  Medical  Society,  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  Clinical  Surgeons'  Congress. 

An  article  that  appeared  in  the  Charlotte  Medi- 
cal Journal  in  July,  1916,  edited  by  Drs.  D.  W. 
and  Ernest  Bullock,  spoke  in  detail  of  Doctor 
Glenn 's  activities  in  medical  circles  from  the  time 
he  joined  the  North  Carolina  Medical  Society  in 
1899.  "Since  that  date,"  says  the  article,  "he 
has  been  a  regular  attendant  and  only  on  very  few 
occasions  has  he  failed  to  read  papers  at  the  an- 
nual meetings.  His  paper  deals  with  surgical  sub- 
jects, giving  his  experiences,  which  are  always 
listened  to  with  great  interest  and  are  considered 
invaluable  among  surgeons.  On  surgical  subjects 
his  ideas  are  excellent  and  logically  presented.  His 
style  of  writing  is  always  attractive  when  dealing 
with  his  favorite  subject." 

"In  1912,"  continues  the  same  article,  "he 
joined  the  Tri-State  Medical  Association  of  the 
Caroliuas  and  Virginia.  He  has  taken  a  great 
deal  of  interest  in  that  organization.  At  the 
Charleston  meeting  in  1915  he  read  a  paper  entitled 
'  Malignancy  of  the  Ovaries ;  Report  of  Case  Com- 
plicating Pregnancy. '  It  received  the  applause 
of  all  the  members  present. 

' '  His  has  never  been  an  idle  existence,  even  for 
a  day.  When  his  general  practice  warranted  the 
opportunity  Doctor  Glenn  has  sought  to  perfect  his 
knowledge  and  skill  by  doing  post-graduate  work 
at  Philadelphia  Polyclinic,  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege Hospital,  Mayo  Clinics,  and  various  other  hos- 
pitals in  Chicago,  Nashville,  Louisville,  Baltimore, 
Washington,  Philadelphia  and  New  "York.  Sur- 
gery has  always  been  his  principal  specialty.  His 
surgical  work  has  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds 
and  he  has  necessarily  given  up  general  practice. 

' '  The  medical  societies  have  felt  the  worth  of 
this  efficient  surgeon.  He  has  been  chairman  of 
various  sections  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  He 
was  elected  president  of  the  Buncombe.  Countv 
Medical  Society  for  the  year  1915." 

Still  another  paragraph  of  this  appreciation 
which  appeared  in  the  Charlotte  Medical  Journal 
should  be  introduced  here.  "Doctor  Glenn  has  be- 
come invaluable  in  the  civic  life  of  his  city.  About 
a.  month  after  his  location  in  Ashville,  July  16, 
1896,  lie  received  the  democratic  nomination  for 
coroner  for  Buncombe  County  by  acclamation. 
Since  that  time  he  has  held  official  and  semi- 
official positions  in  the  city  and  county  administra- 
tion, working  along  lines  of  health  and  public  and 
civic  improvements.  While  he  was  county  superin- 
tendent of  health  he  stimulated  the  interest  of  the 
county  commissioners  in  the  county  poor  and  an 
alms  house  resulted,  the  most  up-to-date  of  its 
kind  in  the  South.  He  and  his  father  have  jointly 
spread  the  gospel  of  good  roads,  and  the  building 
of  the  first  macadam  roads  and  iron  bridges  in 
his  county  were  thus  accomplished  during  the  time 
his  father  was  on  the  County  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners. Doctor  Glenn  was  one  of  the  directors  of 
the  Buncombe  County  Good  Roads  Association  for 
six  years." 

Doctor  Glenn  was  recently  re-elected  a  director 
of  the  Asheville  Motor  Club.     He  is  a  member  of 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


155 


the  Asheville  Country  Club,  the  Rod  and  Gun 
Club,  and  is  affiliated  with  all  the  Masonic  bodies, 
including  the  lodge,  Knights  Templar,  the  Thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Consistory,  and  Oasis 
Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  charter  and 
lite  member  of  Asheville  Lodge  No.  608,  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Junior  Order  United  Ameri- 
can Mechanics.  In  a  business  way,  Doctor  Glenn 
is  president  and  director  of  the  Georgia  Talc  Com- 
pany, the  home  offices  of  which  are  at  Ashville, 
while  the  mines  are  located  at  Chatsworth,  Georgia, 
and  Buncombe  and  Madison  counties,  North  Caro- 
lina. He  and  two  of  his  brothers  compose  the 
company.  Dr.  Eugene  B.  Glenn  is  president,  Dr. 
Cassius  F.  Glenn,  vice  president,  and  Judge  J. 
Frazier  Glenn  is  secretary-treasurer. 

Doctor  Glenn's  military  record  is  briefly  noted  as 
follows:  September  28,' 1898,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany F,  Second  Infantry,  as  a  private,  expecting  a 
second  call  for  volunteers,  in  the  Spanish-American 
war,  although  he  had  been  practicing  his  profes- 
sion for  two  years.  The  war  closed  before  the 
second  call  was  made.  In  1899  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  Governor  D.  R.  Russell  as  assistant  sur- 
geon with  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  in  the  North 
Carolina  National  Guard,  Second  Regiment.  The 
following  year  he  was  commissioned  captain  sur- 
geon in  the  same  regiment.  In  February,  1905,  he 
was.  commissioned  surgeon  with  the  rank  of  major 
in  the  First  Infantry  of  the  North  Carolina  Na- 
tional Guard,  by  Governor  R.  B.  Glenn.  He  was 
recommissioned  major-surgeon  by  Governor  W.  W. 
Kitchin  in  July,  1909,  and  again  recommissioned 
major-surgeon  on  April  9,  1913,  by  Governor  Locke 
Craig.  In  June,  1917,  when  the  North  Carolina 
troops  were  ordered  to  the  border  by  President  Wil- 
son, Major  Glenn  was  placed  on  the  reserve.  Doe- 
tor  Glenn  has  been  medical  examiner  for  applicants 
in  the  Medical  Reserve  Corps,  IT.  S.  A.,  since  Amer- 
ica entered  the  war  with  Germany  a  year  ago. 

On  December  21,  1905,  Doctor  Glenn  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Elliott.  Lumpkin.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Glenn  have  four  beautiful  children :  Eugene  Byron, 
Jr.,  Marion  Sevier.  Jr.,  Ann  Dudley  Lumpkin  and 
William   Wallace    Lumpkin. 

Doctor  Glenn  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Metho- 
dist Church,  South,  of  Asheville. 

As  the  paragraphs  already  indicate,  Doctor  Glenn 
may  properly  be  conceded  one  of  the  fortunate 
and  highly  accomplished  men  of  North  Carolina, 
but  nowhere  has  his  good  fortune  been  greater  than 
in  the  choice  of  his  wife.  Mrs.  Glenn  has  ancestry, 
impregnable  social  position,  and  all  the  qualities 
and  graces  that  fit  her  for  her  place  as  the  wife 
of  an  eminent  physician  and  surgeon. 

While  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Glenn  have  been  married 
over  ten  years  there  is  no  lack  of  propriety  in  quot- 
ing a.  paragraph  or  two  from  the  newspaper  ac- 
count of  their  wedding  in  her  home  town  of  Co- 
lumbia, South  Carolina,  since  all  that  was  said 
at  the  time  was  abundantly  justified  by  facts  and 
has  been  confirmed  by  subsequent  years.  Space 
forbids  more  than  the  following  quotation: 

' '  The  marriage  at  Trinity  Church  on  Thursday 
afternoon  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Elliott  Lumpkin  to 
Dr.  Eugene  Byron  Glenn  of  Ashville  attracted  the 
intense  interest  not  only  of  South  Carolina,  of 
Georgia,  the  bride's  native  state,  and  of  North 
Carolina,  where  the  name  of  Glenn  is  such  a  promi- 
nent and  distinguished  name,  but  of  the  entire 
South — for  Elizabeth  Elliott  Lumpkin  is  'the 
daughter  of  the  United  Confederate  Veterans,'  and 


wherever  there  was  an  old  soldier  there  was  a 
loving  heart  to  wish  her  happiness  on  her  wedding- 
day.  No  other  girl  in  the  South  since  the  war  has 
reached  so  many  hearts  in  which  'the  sentiment 
of  the  South '  is  a  sacred  tradition,  and  there  is 
scarcely  a  veteran  of  the  war  has  not  been  touched 
by  Miss  Lumpkin 's  reunion  address,  either  en- 
joyed in  all  the  intensity  and  brilliance  of  the 
young  woman 's  wonderful  oratorical  powers,  or 
read  in  newspaper  accounts,  deprived  of  the  force 
of  personal  delivery  but  still  possessing  a  beauty 
of  sentiment  and  interest  which  kept  the  sincerity 
of  feeling  warm  even  through  the  chilling  process 
of  press  reproduction.  So  she  won  their  hearts, 
and  every  old  soldier  of  them  felt  a  personal  pride 
and  pleasure  in  her  wedding  and  was  gratified  that 
she  planned  it  to  be  thoroughly  '  Confederate '  in 
every  feature.  Unique  it  was  of  necessity,  for 
no  other  young  woman  in  the  South  could  make 
her  wishes  commands  for  the  officers  of  the  United 
Confederate  Veterans  and  for  no  other  than  the 
daughter  of  a  veteran  would  the  old  soldiers  in 
gray  rally  from  all  parts  of  the  Southland  to 
act  as  escort  of  honor  in  the  nuptial  march.  It  is 
in  fact  doubtful  if  any  Southern  girl  of  modern 
times  ever  had  such  a  distinguished  galaxy  of  Con- 
federate officers  as  her  guard  of  honor,  no  less 
than  seven  generals  and  colonels  of  the  United 
Confederate  Veterans  marching  up  the  aisle  and 
standing  as  honored  guard  before  the  altar. 

"As  Elizabeth  Elliott.  Lumpkin  she  became 
widely  known  all  over  the  state  as  a  brilliant  girl 
orator,  and  this  fame  reached  its  climax  when  at 
the  Louisville  Reunion  of  the  Confederate  Vet- 
erans she  delivered  an  address  whieh  the  press  dis- 
patches concerning  the  convention  stated  'aroused 
more  enthusiasm  and  caused  more  intense  interest 
than  any  other  speech  or  address  during  the  re- 
union. '  After  her  brilliant  performance  on  that 
day  General  Evans  moved  that  she  be  made  a  Sister 
of  the  Confederacy,  the  highest  honor  bestowed 
upon  anyone  during  the  reunion,  and  it  received 
a  unanimous  vote.  Thereafter,  as  'the  child  of 
the  Confederacy'  Miss  Lumpkin  was  in  great  de- 
mand at  all  reunions  both  state  and  general,  and 
few  women  of  any  time  have  ever  gained  such 
enthusiastic  praise  for  effective  literary  composi- 
tion and  oratorical  delivery. ' ' 

Mrs.  Glenn  since  her  marriage  has  continued 
to  work  for  the  Confederate  veterans,  an  interest 
which  has  been  continuous  with  her  since  child- 
hood. She  has  been  made  honorary  member  of 
many  of  the  camps  in  the  South,  also  of  the 
Grand  Camp  of  Virginia,  the  Virginia  state  or- 
ganization and  the  state  organizations  of  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina.  She  is  a  Daughter  of  the 
United  Confederate  Veterans  of  the  South  and  is 
one  of  the  state  officers  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy. 

Mrs.  Glenn  is  of  most  distinguished  ancestry. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  William  Wallace 
Lumpkin,  who  died  at  her  home  in  Asheville  March 
13,  1910.  Colonel  Lumpkin  was  born  on  the  old 
Lumpkin  homestead  in  Oglethorp  County,  Georgia, 
February  14,  1849.  At  the  ase  of  fifteen  he  en- 
listed in  Company  D  of  the  Third  Georgia  Regi- 
ment and  though  a  boy  proved  the  quality  of  his 
patriotism  by  the  same  tests  as  were  imposed  upon 
and  met  by  older  men.  After  the  war,  still  a  boy 
in  years,  he  nioved  with  the  family  to  Greene 
County.  Georgia,  where  he  remained  a  number  of 
years  practicing  law  and  looking  after  a.  planta- 
tion. The  work  as  a  lawyer  which  engaged  him  for 
so   many  years   was   as  attorney   for   the  Georgia 


15(3 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Railway.  He  was  also  president  at  one  time  of  the 
old  Capitol  City  Railway  of  Milledgeville,  Georgia, 
and  finally  became  commercial  agent  of  the  Georgia 
Road.  He  lived  at  Milledgeville,  Macon,  Georgia, 
and  finally  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina. 

Colonel  Lumpkin  was  known  as  a  splendid  orator, 
and  his  formal  addresses  as  well  as  his  con- 
temporaneous wit  and  repartee  were  heard  on 
various  occasions  throughout  Georgia  and  South 
and  North  Carolina.  At  one  time  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  the  nomination  in  South  Carolina  for 
United  States  senator.  He  served  as  lieutenant 
colonel  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  C.  Irvine  Walker,  com- 
mander of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  United 
Confederate  Veterans,  and  was  always  prominent 
in  the  reunions  of  this  order.  He  was  much  inter- 
ested in  fraternal  matters,  belonged  to  the  Alpha 
Tau  Omega  college  fraternity,  was  a  Knight 
Templar  Mason  and  Shriner,  served  as  past  emi- 
nent commander  of  Columbia  Commandery, 
Knight  Templars,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  grand  generalissimo  for  South  Carolina.  He 
was  active  as  lay  reader,  vestryman,  delegate  to 
diocesan  councils,  delegate  to  missionary  councils 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  was  a  trustee  of  the  University 
of  the  South  at  Sewanee,  Tennessee. 

Colonel  Lumpkin  was  one  of  Georgia  and  the 
South 's  most  prominent  families,  and  when  a 
young  man  he  claimed  friendship  #nd  acquaintance 
with  such  immortal  characters  as  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  Robert  Toombs,  Benjamin  Hill  and 
others.  Among  his  family  connections  were  Joseph 
Henry  Lumpkin,  first  chief  justice  of  Georgia; 
Wilson  Lumpkin,  at  one  time  governor  of  Georgia 
and  United  States  senator,  and  Samuel  and  Joseph 
H.  Lumpkin  second,  who  were  associate  justices  of 
the  Georgia  Supreme  Court. 

Colonel  Lumpkin  married  March  30,  1875,  Miss 
Annie  C.  Morris,  of  Augusta,  Georgia.  They  were 
the  parents  of  three  daughters  and  four  sons,  the 
oldest  being  Mrs.  Doctor  Glenn  of  Asheville. 

Joseph  Dozier  Boushall.  A  capacity  for  do- 
ing a  great  many  things  and  doing  them  all  well 
has  been  the  distinguishing  fact  of  the  career  of 
Joseph  Dozier  Boushall  of  Raleigh.  His  brilliant 
talents  were  manifested  when  he  was  still  in  col- 
lege at  Wake  Forest,  and  before  he  reached  his 
majority  and  before  graduation  he  was  elected 
county  superintendent  of  instruction  of  Camden 
County,  North  Carolina.  Since  then,  a  period  of 
more  than  thirty  years,  he  has  found  success  in 
business,  has  filled  public  office  with  credit  and 
distinction,  and  has  been  a  prominent  Baptist  lay- 
man of  North  Carolina. 

He  is  of  old  and  honored  ancestry.  The  Bous- 
hall family  is  of  French  origin.  Joseph  Bozier 
Bousha.ll  was  born  in  Camden  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, February  20,  1864.  The  home  in  which  he 
was  born  was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father  and 
his  father's  mother.  The  land  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  family  through  the  distinguished 
service  of  his  great-grandfather,  Col.  Joseph 
Bozier,  in  the  American  War  for  Independence. 
Mr.  Boushall 's  father,  Thomas  B.  Boushall,  served 
as  a  colonel  of  militia  in  the  war  between  the 
states  and  was  a.  member  of  the  army  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  struggle.  He  was 
one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  democratic  polities 
in  Camden  County,  served  as  register  of  deeds, 
as  county  surveyor,  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners,  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
education.     By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer.     The 


mother  of  Mr.  Boushall  was  Annie  Thompson, 
daughter  of  Rev.  George  M.  Thompson,  a  pioneer 
Baptist  minister  who  came  to  North  Carolina  from 
England. 

Joseph  Dozier  Boushall  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic and  private  schools  of  his  native  county  and 
in  1886  graduated  from  Wake  Forest  College. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  public  instruction  of  Camden  County  but 
after  serving  in  that  position  three  months  re- 
signed. For  a  time  he  was  principal  of  the  Acad- 
emy at  Palmerville,  North  Carolina,  and  from  1887 
to  1893,  six  years,  he  was  chief  clerk  to  the  auditor 
of  state.  His  last  years  in  that  position  were 
under  Dr.  G.  W.  Sanderlin,  state  auditor.  Doctor 
Sanderlin  was  candidate  for  nomination  for  gov- 
ernor, with  Mr.  Boushall  as  candidate  for  auditor. 
When  Doctor  Sanderlin  failed  to  secure  the  nom- 
ination, Mr.  Boushall  also  withdrew  from  the  con- 
test for  auditor  iu  favor  of  Doctor  Sanderlin. 

In  1898  Mr.  Boushall  was  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature  in  Wake  County.  He  was  a  leader  in 
the  campaign  for  white  supremacy  and  led  the 
ticket  against  the  old  fusion  majority,  being  elected 
as  a  democrat  by  650  votes.  During  the  following 
Legislature  he  served  on  the  judiciary  and  finance 
committees  and  was  chairman  of  the  house  com- 
mittee on  insurance.  He  helped  bring  about  some 
of  the  very  important  legislation  enacted  by  that 
session.  In  1900  he  was  a  candidate  for  nomina- 
tion for  state  treasurer  and  in  1912  for  lieutenant- 
governor,  each  time  receiving  a  flattering  vote 
though  failing  of  success. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Boushall  has  been  active 
in  the  insurance  field.  He  began  his  career  as 
cashier  in  the  general  agency  of  the  Aetna  Life 
Insurance  Company  at  Raleigh  and  two  years  later 
was  made  general  agent  for  North  Carolina,  a  posi- 
tion he  resigned  in  1907.  He  then  entered  the 
lumber  business  at  Raleigh,  but  in  1908  became 
agency  manager  over  the  eastern  half  of  North 
Carolina  for  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany. In  1915  he  retired  from  the  management. 
In  1917  he  became  general  agent  for  the  State 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Indiana.  He  served 
two  years  as  a  member  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee of  the  National  Underwriters'  Association,  and 
also  as  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Life  Un- 
derwriters' Association.  He  is  president  of  the 
Federal  Trust  Company  of  Raleigh,  a  company 
making  a  specialty  of  loaning  money  on  real  estate. 
During  his  work  in  the  state  auditor 's  office  he 
also  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1887,  though  he  practiced  only  one  year. 

From  1894  to  1898  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  of  Raleigh,  and  his  service  was 
coincident  with  and  an  important  factor  in  the 
newly  awakened  spirit  of  municipal  progress.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  street  committee  and  of  various  other 
committees.  It  was  during  his  term  of  service  as 
alderman  that  Raleigh  began  its  special  era  of  im- 
provement and  much  municipal  progress  dates  from 
that  time. 

His  service  in  church  affairs  has  brought  him  a 
conspicuous  position  as  a  Baptist  layman.  He  has 
been  a  trustee  of  Meridith  College  almost  from  the 
date  of  its  founding,  and  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  secretary 
of  the  executive  committee.  He  is  a  director  and 
member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Caswell 
Training  School  at  Kinston,  North  Carolina.  He 
filled  the  post  of  deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Wake  Forest,  and  since  1889  has  been  continuously 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


157 


a  deacon  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Raleigh. 
For  six  years  he  was  also  clerk  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  and  for  eleven  years  was  treasurer  of  the 
Baptist  State  Convention.  For  four  years  he  was 
superintendent  of  the  First  Baptist  Sunday  School 
and  was  a  member  of  the  church  building  commit- 
tee when  the  first  church  remodeled  its  home  at  a 
cost  of  about  $40,000.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Country  Club  and  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

October  16,  1889,  Mr.  Boushall  married  Miss 
Mattie  Heck,  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  J.  M.  Heck, 
of  Raleigh.  Her  father  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel 
in  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  one  of  the  sign- 
ers of  Virginia's  secession  act.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Boushall  are  the  parents  of  four  children:  John 
Heck  Boushall  is  a  Raleigh  attorney;  Joseph  Dozier 
Boushall,  Jr.,  is  connected  in  an  official  capacity 
with  the  Pacific  Tea  Company  of  New  York; 
Thomas  Callendiue  is  connected  with  the  National 
City  Bank  of  New  York  City  as  head  of  one  of 
the  new  business  departments:  and  Francis  Mc- 
Gee  is  a  student  at  the  Raleigh  High  School.  John 
H.  Boushall  is  now  first  lieutenant  of  artillery, 
"United  States  National  Guard;  Joseph  Boushall, 
Jr.,  has  ,iust  graduated  from  the  United  States 
School  of  Military  Aeronautics  at  Cornell  Univer- 
sity and  is  at  a  flying  school  in  Texas;  Thomas 
C.  Boushall  is  now  a  sergeant  in  the  United  States 
Coast  Defense  Service,  stationed  at  Long  Island 
City,  New  York. 

James  Bion  Schulkfx.  To  the  successful 
lawyer  the  doors  of  many  lines  of  business  and 
opportunity  stand  open.  The  lawyer  has  always 
"been  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  during  the 
last  generation  the  excutive  responsibilities  of 
great  business  affairs  have  been  entrusted  more 
and  more  to  the  capable  guidance  of  members 
of  the  legal  profession. 

A  lawyer  whose  work  has  brought  him  intimate 
relationship  with  many  varied  interests  is  James 
Bion  Schulken  of  "Whiteville,  head  of  the  firm  of 
Schulken,  Tonn  &  Schulken.  Mr.  Schulken  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  February,  1883,  and  at 
once  entered  upon  a  general  practice  at  White- 
ville. He  served  his  clients  well,  built  up  a  splen- 
did private  practice,  and  more  and  more  in  recent 
years  his  time  has  been  commanded  by  business 
concerns. 

He  and  his  firm  are  now  counsel  for  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railway,  for  the  Whiteville  Lumber 
Company,  for  the  North  Carolina  Lumber  Com- 
pany and  the  insurance  firm  of  T.  H.  Maston  & 
Company  and  Mr.  Schulken  is  counsel  for  the 
Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway.  He  is  president  of 
the  Bank  of  Whiteville,  and  though  an  exceedingly 
busy  man  has  found  time  to  serve  the  public.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1893  and 
again  in  1897,  and  several  terms  was  honored  with 
the  office  of  mayor  of  Whiteville.  He  is  one  of 
the  best  known  members  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bar   Association. 

He  was  born  in  Brunswick  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. Mav  24,  1857.  a  son  of  Martin  and  Nancy 
(Brookshire>  Schulken.  His  father  was  a  mer- 
chant and  gave  his  son  the  best  advantages  of  a 
liberal  education.  He  attended  private  schools  in 
Brunswick  Countv  and  at  Wilmington,  finished 
his  hieher  education  in  the  University  of  North 
Carol'na,  and  studied  law  with  Dick  and  Dillard. 
Mr.  Schulken  is  a  trustee  and  steward  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  is  affiliated  witli 
the  Masonic  Order. 

On   Februarv   22.   1891.   he   married   Miss   Marv 


A.  Smith,  of  Columbus  County.  They  have  six 
living  children :  James  Bion,  Jr.,  now  with  the 
American  Trust  Company  of  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina;  Joseph  Smith,  a  student  in  Stetson 
University  in  Florida;  Charles  Franklin,  in  high 
school;  and  Robert,  Lucy  Winifred  and  Nancy 
Margaret. 

Edward  Manly  Toon,  second  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  Schulken,  Toon  &  Schulken  at  Whiteville, 
was  born  in  that  town,  June  15,  1878,  a  son  of 
Albert  Franklin  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Toon. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  graduated 
in  1903  from  the  law  department  of  Wake  Forest 
College,  and  at  once  began  practice  in  Whiteville. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar 
Association,  the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  December  20,  1910,  Mr.  Toon  married 
Miss  Gertrude  Bryan,  of  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina.    They  have  one  son,  Edward  Manly,  Jr. 

Martin  Henry  Schulken,  the  junior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Schulken,  Toon  &  Schulken,  was  born 
at  Whiteville,  North  Carolina,  July  25,  1886,  a 
son  of  Henry  F.  and  Lizzie  (Walker)  Schulken. 
After  attending  the  public  schools  he  entered 
Stetson  University  in  Florida,  studied  law  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  his  native  state  in  February,  1910. 
He  then  returned  to  Whiteville  and  soon  became 
associated  with  his  uncle  James  B.  Schulken  in 
the  firm  as  it  exists  at  present.  Mr.  Schulken  is 
a  Mason,  a.  Knight  of  Pythias  and  a  Woodman  of 
the  World,  and  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  On  July  20,  1915,  he  married  Miss  Anna 
P.  Waters,  of  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina.  Then- 
one  child,  Martin  Henrv,  Jr.,  was  born  May  22, 
1916. 

Thomas  Albert  Clark  is  both  a  lawyer  and 
banker  and  has  made  most  commendable  progress 
in  attaining  a  substantial  position  in  affairs  in 
the  few  years  he  has  been  out  of  college.  His 
home  is  at  Canton. 

He  was  born  in  Haywood  County,  North  Car- 
olina, May  16.  1888,  a 'son  of  Calvin  R.  and  Cor- 
delia (Ford)  Clark.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and 
stock  man.  Thomas  A.  Clark  was  educated  in  pub- 
lie,  schools,  attended  a  noted  institution  in  East- 
ern Tennessee,  Tusculum  College,  and  finished  his 
law  course  in  the  Chattanooga  College  of  Law 
June  6,  1911.  Since  that  date  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  a  growing  treneral  practice  at  Canton. 
He  is  also  vice  president  and  attorney  for  the 
Bank  of  Canton,  is  a  member  of  the  Haywood 
County  Bar  Association,  and  is  affiliated  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Junior  Order  of 
United    American    Mechanics. 

June  26.  1915,  he  married  Zora  Crawford,  of 
Havwood  County.  They  have  one  daughter,  Maxie 
Rae. 

Leox  T.  Yaughax.  A  gifted  lawyer  and  a  man 
of  the  highest  personal  character  is  found  in  Leon 
T.  Vaughan,  who  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  his  profession  in  Eastern  North 
Carolina.  In  educational  circles  also  and  in 
political  life  he  has  been  among  the  achieving  men 
of  this  district  and  his  name  is  well  and  honorably 
known  all  over  Nash  County. 

Leon  T.  Yaughan  was  born  in  Halifax  County, 
North  Carolina,  at  the  old  Town  of  Scotland  Neck, 
September  25.  1875.  He  had  educational  advan- 
tages that  included  an  academic  course  in  the  Vine 
Hill  Male  Academv  at  Scotland  Neck,  and  a  full 
course  at  Wake  Forest  College,  from   which  insti- 


158 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA    . 


tution  he  was  graduated  in  1902.  Had  Mr. 
Vaughan  been  less  ambitious  his  success  as  an  edu- 
cator might  have  satisfied  him,  for  he  was  a  very 
popular  teacher  for  some  years  after  leaving  col- 
lege, during  which  period  he  was  principal  of  the 
Church  Hill  High  School  in  Warren  County,  North 
Carolina.  He  had  decided,  however,  on  a  career 
in  law,  a  profession  for  which  he  was  eminently 
fitted  by  nature,  possessing  in  remarkable  degree, 
even  in  very  early  manhood,  many  of  the  distinc- 
tive qualities  which  ensure  success  at  the  bar.  He 
returned  to  Wake  Forest  for  his  law  course  and 
in  August,  1903,  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

Mr.  Vaughan  came  to  Nashville  in  May,  1904, 
and  opened  a  law  office  and  almost  immediately 
won  attention  through  his  legal  knowledge,  his 
wise  and  just  handling  of  the  business  that  came 
to  him,  and  his  dignified  and  earnest  citizenship. 
This  attitude  of  civic  responsibility  has  remained 
a  part  of  Mr.  Vaug-han  's  life  and  at  all  times  he 
has  been  ready  to  co-operate  with  others  to  bring 
about  needed  reforms  here  or  to  add  to  the  jus- 
tifiable movements  to  increase  the  prestige  and 
prosperity   of  the   city. 

All  his  life  Mr.  Vaughan  has  been  zealous  in 
his  support  of  the  principles  of  the  democratic 
party  and  since  locating  at  Nashville  has  been  one 
of  the  strongest  forces  in  every  political  campaign. 
Born  to  be  a  leader,  wise,  self -controlled  and  far- 
visioned,  Mr.  Vaughan  has  received  a  party  recog- 
nition. In  1910  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the 
Democratic  County  Executive  Committee.  The 
faith  of  the  party  was  fully  justified,  for  in  the 
campaign  that  followed  his  fine  executive  ability- 
was  an  important  factor  and  the  democratic  ma- 
jority in  the  November  election  following  was 
unprecedented.  In  1911.  when  the  State  Legisla- 
ture created  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  for 
the  recorder's  court  of  the  county,  Mr.  Vaughan 
was  unanimously  elected  to  that  office  by  the  board 
of  county  commissioners.  In  this  important  office 
his  special  talents  have  been  brought  forward  in 
marked  deeree  and,  as  noted  above,  he  is  numbered 
with  the  able  men  of  the  law  both  as  a  public  prose- 
cutor and  as  an  attorney  in  private  practice. 

Mr.  Vaughan  was  married  March  28,  1906,  to 
Miss  Mary  Laura  Ross,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
T.  T.  Ross,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Nash  County. 

John  T.  Simpson  has  a  business  relationship 
with  Winston-Salem  extending  over  a  long  period 
of  years  and  is  now  a  member  of  one  of  the  lead- 
ing firms  of  warehouse  men  in  the  city.  He  was  at 
one  time  connected  with  the  great  R.  J.  Reynolds 
Tobacco  Company,  and  he  has  utilized  his  experi- 
ences and  opportunities  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
him  a  secure  and  independent  business  position. 

Mr.  Simpson  was  born  on  a  plantation  in  what 
is  now  New  Bethel  Township  of.  Rockingham 
County,  North  Carolina,  His  greatgrandfather, 
James  Simpson,  was  a  native  of  England  and  on 
coming  to  Ameriea  became  an  early  settler  in  Rock- 
ingham County.  His  grandfather,  William  B. 
Simpson,  was  born  in  Rockingham  County  and 
spent  many  years  of  his  life  as  a  practical  farmer 
there.  He  finally  removed  to  Somerset  in  Pulaski 
County,  Kentucky,  where  his  last  years  were  spent. 
He  married  a  Miss  Beashore,  whose  father  was  a 
native  of  France  and  an  early  settler  in  North 
Carolina. 

Capt.  James  T.  Simpson,  father  of  John  T.,  was 
born  in  New  Bethel  Township  of  Rockingham 
County  in   1808.     At   that  time  New  Bethel  was 


included  in  Simpsonville  Township.  He  grew  up' 
on  a  farm  and  on  coming  to  manhood  bought 
land  in  what  is  now  New  Bethel  Township  and 
operated  it  with  the  aid  of  his  slaves.  When  the 
war  came  on  he  was  too  old  for  active  military 
duties,  but  none  the  less  he  proved  his  spirit  and 
his  loyalty  to  the  South  by  raising  a  company  and 
for  a  time  commanded  it  in  the  field.  He  was 
finally  detailed  to  command  a  company  of  Home 
Guards.  With  the  close  of  the  war  he  resumed 
farming  and  made  that  his  occupation  until  the 
end  of  his  life.  He  died  in  his  seventy-ninth  year. 
Captain  Simpson  married  first  Deliah  Layton.  Of 
the  eight  children  from  this  marriage,  five  grew 
to  maturity:  Sarah,  A.  M.,  P.  H.,  Frances  and  J.  D. 
His  second  marriage  was  to  Martha  Dwiggins.  She 
was  born  in  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  John  B.  Dwiggins  and  granddaughter 
of  Robert  Dwiggins.  The  latter  was  a  native  of 
Maryland  and  was  an  early  settler  in  Stokes 
County,  North  Carolina.  John  B.  Dwiggins  was 
born  in  1808  in  that  part  of  Stokes  County  now 
in  Forsyth  County.  He  afterward  removed  to 
Guilford  County,  buying  land  in  Oak  Ridge  Town- 
ship, where  he  followed  farming  until  his  death. 
He  married  Lacy  Pegram,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven.  She  was  born  in  Guilford  County 
and  was  descended  from  one  of  four  brothers  who 
came  to  America  in  colonial  times.  One  of  these 
brothers  settled  in  New  York,  one  in  Alabama,  one 
in  the  West  and  one  in  Virginia.  It  was  the 
Virginia  branch  of  the  family  that  sent  its  mem- 
bers into  North  Carolina  as  pioneers  in  Guilford 
County. 

Mrs.  Martha  Simpson,  wife  of  Captain  Simpson, 
died  in  1916,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  She 
reared  four  children:  John  T.;  Maryless,  wife  of 
P.  R,  Webster,  of  Rockingham  County:  Thomas 
J.,  who  occupies  the  old  homestead;  and  Eugene, 
a  resident  of  Winston-Salem. 

John  T.  Simpson  spent  iris  early  life  on  a  farm, 
attended  the  rural  schools  and  was  a  practical  and 
valuable  helper  on  the  farm  for  his  parents  until 
he  was  twenty-one.  At  that  time  he  came  to 
AVinston  and  found  employment  at  the  R.  J.  Rey- 
nolds Tobacco  Factory.  He  was  with  that  firm 
three  years,  and  then  for  seven  years  was  connected 
with  P.  H.  Hanes  in  the  same  business.  He  finally 
returned  to  R.  J.  Reynolds  and  was  one  of  the 
practical  men  in  that  great  and  growing  plant 
for  seven  years.  He  then  resigned  to  engage  in  the 
warehouse  business,  his  partner  being  A.  R.  Ben- 
nett. At  the  present  time  he  is  in  partnership  with 
Mr.  J.  H.  Glen. 

In  1891  Mr.  Simpson  married  Miss  Lula  John- 
son, who  was  born  in  Forsyth  County,  daughter 
of  Robert  D.  and  Martha  A.  'Johnson.  Mrs.  Simp- 
son died  in  1904,  leaving  two  children,  Kathleen 
and  James  R,  In  1907  Mr.  Simpson  married 
Elizabeth  Shannon,  who  was  born  in  Wythe 
County,  Virginia,  daughter  of  William  and  Martha 
(Spratt)  Shannon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  have 
five  children:  William,  Elizabeth,  Frances,  Virginia 
and  John  T.,  Jr.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  are 
active  members  of  the  West  End  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  South,  and  he  is  serving  as  a  member 
of  its  board  of  stewards.  In  fraternal  affairs  he 
is  especially  active  in  Masonry,  being  affiliated 
with  Winston  Lodge  No.  167,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons:  Winston  Chapter  No.  24,  Royal 
Arch  Masons:  Piedmont  Commandery  No.  6, 
Knights  Templar:  and  Oasis  Temple  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine  at  Charlotte. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


159 


Theodore  F.  Davidsox,  whose  career  is  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  that  enters  into  the  public 
and  professional  history  of  North  Carolina  during 
the  last  half  century,  has  now  rounded  out  half 
a  century  of  membership  in  the  bar  of  Asheville, 
and  is  one  of  that  city 's  most   honored  residents. 

It  is  only  proper  to  mention  briefly  some  other 
members  of  his  family  who  have  enacted  historic 
roles  in  North  Carolina.  The  Davidson  family, 
Scotch-Irish  in  origin,  came  to  Pennsylvania  from 
Scotland  and  thence  to  Mecklenberg  County, 
North  Carolina,  as  early  as  174S.  One  of  the 
family  who  made  that  emigration  was  William 
Davidson,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  during 
the  war  for  independence  was  a  major  of  militia 
and  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and 
otherwise  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  colonies.  He  was  a  whig,  and  a  man  of 
substantial  property,  high  standing  and  influence. 
In  1791  he  represented  Rutherford  County  in  the 
General  Assembly.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  enactment  of  that  legislation  which  created 
the  County  of  Buncombe  in  that  session.  Bun- 
combe county  was  organized,  in  pursuance  of  this 
act,  at  his  own  home  in  1792.  He  served  as  a 
member  of  the  first  court  for  Buncombe  County, 
and  for  several  years  represented  the  county  in 
the  Senate.     His  death  occurred  in  1810. 

William  Mitchell  Davidson,  a  son  of  this 
Revolutionary  patriot,  was  born  in  177.1  in  what 
is  now  McDowell  County,  North  Carolina.  He 
married  Elizabeth  "Vance.  Her  father  Capt. 
David  Vance,  was  one  of  the  brilliant  leaders  of 
the  Continental  troops  in  the  Revolution,  par- 
ticipating" at  Brandywine,  Monmouth,  Ramseur's 
Mills,  Kino-'s  Mountain,  Cowpens.  After  the 
Revolution  Captain  Vance  served  as  a  member  of 
the  General  Assembly  and  first  clerk  of  the  Court 
of  Buncombe  County,  an  office  he  held  until  his 
death.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  Senator  Z.  B. 
Vance  and  Gen.  R.  B.  Vance.  William  M.  David- 
son after  his  marriaere  settled  on  Jonathan 's 
Creek  in  Haywood  County  and  on  his  larffe  farm 
and  stock  ranch  there  reared  his  familv.  He  died 
in  1846  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  1861.. 

Of  their  nine  children  one  was  Allen  Turner 
Davidson,  who  was  born  in  Haywood  County. 
North  Carolina,  May  9,  1819.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  at  Waynesville  Academy, 
and  after  studying  law  practiced  in  the  western 
counties.  He  was  president  of  the  Miners  and 
Planters  Bank  at  Mur^hv.  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  of  1861  and  otherwise  interested  in  the 
development  of  western  districts.  He  was  director 
in  several  railroad  companies  and  durin"  the  time 
of  the  Confederacy  represented  his  district  in  the 
Confederate  ConeTess  and  also  served  as  solicitor 
of  Cherokee  County.  Tn  1842  he  married  Adeline 
Howell. 

Theodore  P.  Davidson  was  one  of  the  ei<*ht 
children  of  Allen  T.  and  Adeline  (Howell 'i  David- 
son. He  was  born  in  Havwood  County.  North 
Carolina,  March  30.  1845.  He  was  prepared  for 
college  at  Asheville  by  Col.  Stephen  Lee, 
cousin  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee.  He  had  been 
appointed  a  naval  cadet  at  Annapolis  when  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  changed  the  course  of  his 
life.  April  16.  1861.  at  the  aee  of  sixteen,  he 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Buncombe  Rifles  under 
Capt.  W.  W.  McDowell.  This  was  the  first  com- 
pany orpanized  in  the  state  west  of  the  Blue 
Rid<*e.  The  company  was  assigned  to  the  First 
North   Carolina   Regiment,  and   was   disbanded   at 


the  end  of  six  months.  Young  Davidson  re- 
enlisted  in  Company  C  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Regi- 
ment, under  Col.  David  Coleman.  He  held  the 
position  of  sergeant  major  until  after  the  battle 
of  Murfreesboro  and  was  then  commissioned  aide 
to  Gen.  Robert  B.  Vance,  commander  of  the  mili- 
tary district  of  Western  North  Carolina.  Later 
he  served  as  assistant  adjutant  general  on  the 
brigade  staff  under  Col.  John  B.  Palmer  and  Gen. 
James  G.  Martin.  A  portion  of  the  brigade  to 
which  he  belonged  about  May  1,  1865,  fired  the 
last  hostile  guns  in  the  great  drama  of  the  war 
east  of  the  Mississippi. 

With  the  return  of  peace  Mr.  Davidson 
resumed  his  studies  under  Colonel  Lee  and  toward 
the  close  of  1865  took  up  the  study  of  law  under 
Judge  J.  L.  Bailey  at  Asheville.  Three  years 
later  he  was  admitted  to  practice  and  in  186S 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  father,  which 
continued  until  the  retirement  of  the  latter  in 
1882.  He  then  practiced  with  Col.  James  G.  Mar- 
tin, and  successively  was  head  of  the  firm  David- 
son &  Martin,  Davidson  &  Jones  and  Davidson, 
Bourne  &  Parker.  During  the  past  forty  years 
Mr.  Davidson  has  been  connected  with  some  of 
the  largest  interests  and  with  some  of  the  big 
ca-ses  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  He  has 
served  a  number  of  years  as  counsel  for  the 
Wachovia  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  as  vice 
president  and  counsel  of  the  North  Carolina  Elec- 
tric and  Power  Company,  and  of  the  W.  T. 
Weaver  Power  Company. 

Mr.  Davidson  was  solicitor  for  Clay  County, 
North  Carolina,  during  1867-68  until  'the  office 
was  abolished  in  the  latter  year  by  the  new  Con- 
stitution. He  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  of  the 
opponents  of  the  adoption  of  that  constitution. 
From  1872  for  ten  years  he  was  chairman  of  the 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  of  Buncombe 
County,  also  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Congres- 
sional Committee  for  the  Ninth  District.  In  1878 
he  was  elected  from  Buncombe  county  to  the  State 
Senate  and  two  years  later  reelected.  Altogether 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  four  terms. 
He  took  a  prominent  part  in  promoting  the  exten- 
sion of  railway  construction,  which  was  the  matter 
closest  to  the  hearts  of  his  constituents,  and  in 
1879  he  was  appointed  director  for  the  state  at 
large  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad. 
In  1881  he  was  made  director  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Insane  Asylum,  having  ably  advo- 
cated the  act  which  established  that  institution. 
In  1882  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court  of  Buncombe  County.  In  June,  1884,  he 
was  nominated  for  attorney  general  of  the  state, 
and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  and  reelected 
for  a  succeeding  term  of  four  years,  his  service 
in  that  high  and  important  office  running  from 
the  year  1885  to  1893.  Since  then  he  has  served  as 
mayor  of  Asheville.  He  has  served  as  trustee  of 
St.  Mary 's  School  for  Girls  at  Raleigh,  as  chan- 
cellor of  the  Missionary  Diocese  of  Western  North 
Carolina,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  He  has  long  been  active  in  the 
North  Carolina  Bar  and  American  Bar  Associa- 
tions, and  is  a  member  of  the  Asheville  Club  and 
well  known  in  the  social  life  of  that  city. 

November  6,  1866,  Judge  Davidson  married 
Sallie  K.  Alexander,  daughter  of  Capt.  A.  M. 
Alexander  of  French  Broad,  near  Asheville.  Mrs. 
Davidson  died  in  July,  1887.  On  October  12,  1893, 
he  married  Sally  L.  Carter,  of  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


James  William  Ferguson.  For  exact  and 
ready  knowledge  of  the  law,  ability  both  as  coun- 
selor and  advocate  and  successful  results,  there 
is  no  member  of  the  Haywood  County  bar  with  a 
better  record  than  James  William  Ferguson,  who 
lias  practiced  at  Waynesville  since  1893.  He  has 
been  honored  with  several  of  the  important  offices 
that  are  in  direct  line  with  the  legal  profession 
and  made  a  notable  record  as  solicitor  of  the  old 
Twelfth  Circuit. 

Mr.  Ferguson  was  born  at  Waynesville,  North 
Carolina,  September  29,  1873,  and  comes  by  the 
law  almost  as  a  birthright.  He  is  a  son  of  judge 
Garland  Sevier  Ferguson,  long  prominent  both 
as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  jurist.  His  mother 's  maiden 
name  was  Sarali  Frances  Norwood.  James  W. 
Ferguson  was  educated  in  public  schools,  attended 
private  schools  in  Virginia  and  finished  his  law 
course  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  October,  1893,  and 
ever  since,  except  so  far  as  official  duties  have 
prevented,  has  been  devoted  to  the  interests  and 
upbuilding  of  a  general  practice. 

Mr.  Ferguson  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1897.  From  1898  to  1903  he  was 
solicitor  of  the  Twelfth  Judicial  District,  now 
the  Twentieth  District.  For  six  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Waynesville  School  Board.  He 
is  a  Eoyal  Arch  in  Masonry,  a  member  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  is  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  is  affiliated  with  the  Sigma  Phi  col- 
lege fraternity  and  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South. 

February  28,  1899,  Mr.  Ferguson  married  Miss 
Hester  L.  Cooper,  daughter  of  Capt.  James  W. 
and  Emily  Isabelle  (Henry)  Cooper.  Her  fa- 
ther was  an  attorney  and  financier  at  Murphy, 
North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ferguson  have 
three  children,  James  William,  Jr.,  Edwin  Cooper 
and  Isabelle.  The  son  Edwin  Cooper  is  now  in 
the  radio  service  with  the  United  States  Navy. 

John  Aaron  Orrell  has  a  record  such  as  he 
may  well  be  proud  of,  and  it  is  a  record  of  faith- 
ful and  consistent  service  in  every  capacity  and  of 
an  honored  and  influential  place  in  community  af- 
fairs. 

Born  in  New  Hanover  County  October  13,  1875, 
and  with  only  a  common  school  education,  he  be- 
gan at.  the  age  of  fifteen  to  earn  his  own  way  in 
the  world.  From  1890  until  1911  he  was  con- 
tinuously connected  with  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany in  the  accounting  department,  and  it  was 
the  ability  to  do  hard  and  conscientious  work  that 
brought  him  into  a  still  larger  and  more  useful 
field  of  service.  After  one  year  with  the  Cape  Fear 
Oil  Company  Mr.  Orrel]  was  elected,  December  1, 
1912,  as  country  treasurer  of  New  Hanover  County, 
and  on  May  1,  1913,  the  duties  of  county  treasurer 
were  combined  with  those  of  county  auditor.  Since 
then  he  has  filled  both  functions  in  the  govern- 
ment of  his  home  county,  and  by  re-election  his 
present  term  runs  to  December,  1922.  He  had 
previously  served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Audit  and  Finance  of  the  City  of  Wilmington, 
but  resigned  in  1905. 

Mr.  Orrell 's  parents  were  John  J.  and  Ann  E. 
("Hewlett)  Orrell.  His  father  was  a  noted  pilot 
in  his  day,  and  served  in  that  capacity  during 
the  Civil  war  and  for  many  years  afterward.  John 
A.  Orrell  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Ancient  Free  &  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Wilming- 


ton Chamber  of  Commerce.    He  is  treasurer  of  the 
Masonboro  Baptist  Church. 

June  26,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Mattie  J.  Powell, 
of  Wilmington.  They  have  two  children,  May  D. 
and  John  Aaron,  Jr. 

Thomas  E.  Landqtjist.  From  messenger  boy  to 
head  of  one  of  the  leading  drug  houses  of  Winston- 
Salem  constitutes  the  business  progress  of  Thomas 
E.  Landquist.  Mr.  Landquist  is  the  son  of  a 
Confederate  soldier,  a  private  in  a  Louisiana  regi- 
ment who  after  being  wounded  in  battle  was  sent 
to  Salem,  North  Carolina,  to  recuperate  and  subse- 
quently made  that  his  permanent  home. 

Thomas  E.  Landquist  was  born  at  Winston- 
Salem  July  23,  1873.  His  father  and  all  his 
paternal  ancestors  were  natives  of  Sweden.  His 
grandfather  was  a  farmer  and  lived  in  Sweden  until 
1856,  when  he  came  to  America  and  settled  in  the 
Territory  of  Minnesota.  He  secured  land  near  St. 
Peters,  was  engaged  in  farming  there  and  remained 
a  resident  of  that  northern  state  until  his  death. 
He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  died  enroute 
to  America,  the  mother  of  one  daughter,  who  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Tanquist.  The  second  wife  died  in 
Minnesota, 

John  Pehr  Landquist,  father  of  Thomas  E., 
was  born  in  Christianstad,  Sweden,  in  1836,  a 
child  of  his  father's  first  marriage.  He  attended 
school  steadily  in  his  youth,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  sought  fortune  and  new  experience  in 
America.  He  made  his  way  to  the  Territory  of 
Minnesota,  and  three  years  later  was  joined  by 
his  father.  John  P.  Landquist  had  all  the  experi- 
ences of  a  frontiersman  in  the  far  Northwest  until 
about  1859,  when  he  went  South.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in  a  Louisiana  regiment, 
went  with  it  to  the  battle  fields  of  Virginia,  and 
in  one  of  the  engagements  around  Richmond  in 
1863  he  was  severely  wounded.  A  ball  passed 
through  his  lungs,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to 
travel  he  was  sent  to  Salem  to  recuperate.  His 
condition  did  not  permit  his  resuming  active  serv- 
ice and  in  a  short  time  he  engaged  in  merchandis- 
ing at  Salem.  That  was  his  line  of  work  until  fail- 
ing health  compelled  him  to  forego  all  business 
activity,  and  he  died  there  in  1879.  This  old  Con- 
federate soldier  married  Mary  Elizabeth  Pfohl, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Thomas  and  Anna  Elizabeth 
Pfohl  and  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Christian  Thomas 
Pfohl,  a  noted  character  in  this  section  of  North 
Carolina,  Mrs.  John  P.  Landquist  was  well  edu- 
cated in  the  Salem  Academy  and  College,  and  after 
graduating  taught  there  until  her  marriage.  She 
is  now  deceased.  Her  children  were  three:  Annie 
M.,  Thomas  E.  and  Emma  L.  Emma  is  the  wife 
of  A.  H.  Stein,  of  Jacksonville,  Florida. 

Thomas  E.  Landquist  grew  up  in  Salem,  attended 
the  Salem  Boys'  School,  and  as  soon  as  his  age 
permitted  he  determined  to  make  his  own  living. 
He  found  work  as  a  messenger  in  the  Fries  Dry 
Goods  Store,  and  remained  with  that  firm  until 
1S90,  when,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  became  a 
clerk  in  the  Shaffner  drug  store.  He  remained 
with  that  firm  until  1898,  and  in  the  meantime 
had  become  practically  master  of  the  trade  of 
pharmacy  as  well  as  the  business  principles  of  the 
ilma  trade.  In  1898  he  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  and  took  a  course  in  pharmacy, 
being  licensed  as  a  registered  pharmacist  in  the 
following  year.  He  then  went  back  to  the  Shaffner 
store,  which    was  located   on   South   Main   Street. 

In '  1901  Mr.  Landquist  had  advanced  so  far 
in  experience  and  was  able  to  command  sufficient 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


161 


capita]  to  justify  him  in  entering  business  for 
himself.  He  established  a  store  on  South  Main 
Street  at  the  corner  of  Shallowford  Street,  half  a 
block  from  the  business  house  where  he  had  been 
employed  for  so  many  years.  Later  he  consolidated 
his  store  with  the  Shaffner  drug  house,  and  it  was 
incorporated  as  the  Shaffner-Landquist  Company, 
now  the  Hopkins-Landquist  Company.  Mr.  Land- 
quist  is  now  vice  president,  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  this  prominent  and  well  known  business  house  of 
Winston-Salem. 

On  December  28,  1904,  he  married  Miss  Annie 
Marie  Bost.  Mrs.  Landquist  was  born  in  Cabarrus 
County,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of  Martin  Luther 
anil  Belle  (Crowell  )  Bost.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Landquist 
have  two  children,  Kozelind  and  Rebecca.  The 
family  are  active  members  of  the  Home  Moravian 
Church.  Mr.  Landquist  is  affiliated  with  Salem 
Lodge  No.  56,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Emery  Merdith  Mitchell  is  present  sheriff  of 
Buncombe  County  and  a  man  widely  known  and 
prominent  in  the  civic  and  business  affairs  of 
Asheville  and  the  surrounding  district,  where 
he  has  lived  practically  all  his  life. 

Sheriff  Mitchell  was  born  on  Cane  Creek  near 
Fairview  in  Buncombe  County  June  26,  1869, 
a  son  of  John  C.  and  Margaret  (Whitaker) 
Mitchell.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and  it  was  in 
a  rural  environment  that  the  son  grew  to  manhood 
and  he  has  never  forgotten  the  lessons  he  learned 
on  the  farm  and  still  has  a  fondness  for  rural  pur- 
suits and  owns  some  land,  the  productive  resources 
of  which  are  under  his  supervision  so  far  as  his 
official  duties  permit.  He  was  educated  in  the 
district  school  and  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-three 
was  a  practical  farmer.  He  then  bought  an 
interest  in  a  meat  market,  and  twelve  months 
later  became  proprietor  of  the  business  and  it  was 
under  his  successful  individual  management  for 
eight  years. 

Mr.  Mitchell  came  into  public  life  in  1905  as 
deputy  sheriff,  aud  from  1906  to  1910  was  deputy 
and  jailer.  He  served  as  first  deputy  under  three 
successive  sheriffs,  four  years.  In  1914  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county  and  the  duties  of 
that  office  have  been  most  capably  handled  by 
him  ever  since. 

Mr.  Mitchell  is  prominent  in  the  Fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles,  has  served  as  vice  president  four 
yea  is,  president  two  years,  and  treasurer  three 
years.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Masonic 
Order.  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechan- 
ics, Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  having  served  as  vice  president 
in  the  local  camp  of  that  order  four  years.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  Mr. 
Mitchell  is  a  man  of  outdoor  interests  and  tastes, 
and  has  always  been  an  enthusiast  in  the  sport 
of  hunting  big  game.  He  and  fifteen  other  con- 
genial associates  maintain  a  Lodge  and  nearly 
every  year  hunt  deer.  Fox  hunting  is  also  a 
sport  in  which  he  indulges  when  opportunity 
offers. 

December  27.  1897.  Mr.  Mitchell  married  Cora 
Fuget,  daughter  of  William  and  Lelia  Fuget, 
Tennessee  farmers.  They  have  four  children: 
Hobson  Parris,  clerk  in  a  railway  office  at  Ashe- 
ville: Robert  Willis,  LawTenee  Hilliard  and  Mar- 
garet Lelia,  all  of  whom  are  still  in  school. 

John  Moxtreville  Queex  was  admitted  to  the 
North   Carolina,  bar  in   1909   and   has   since   been 
in  active   practice   at   Waynesville,   where   he  has 
Vol.  v— 11 


also  attained  prominence  in  public  life.  He  is 
now  mayor  of  that  city,  and  every  year  finds  him 
more  strongly  entrenched  in  the  productive  work 
of  his  profession. 

He  was  born  at  Waynesville,  North  Carolina, 
September  6,  1881,  a  son  of  James  L.  and  Mary 
(Nolandj  Queen,  his  father  being  a  farmer  and 
stockman  in  this  section  of  the  state.  The  son 
was  educated  in  public  schools,  attended  old  Wea- 
ver College  in  Bumcombe  County,  and  took  his 
law  work  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
where  he  graduated  August  30,  1909.  The  fol- 
lowing month  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
at  once  returned  to  Waynesville  to  earn  his  first 
fees  as  a  general  practitioner.  In  1913  he  was 
appointed  police  justice  upon  the  organization  of 
that  court,  and  in  May,  1915,  was  regularly  elected 
to  the  office.  He  was  police  justice  until  elected 
mayor  in  1917.  Mr.  Queen  is  a  steward  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  He  is  past 
master  of  Waynesville  Lodge  No.  259,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  also  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Waynes- 
ville Lodge  No.  171. 

September  3,  1911,  he  married  Grace  Ethel 
Shook,  of  Buncombe  County.  She  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Manson  Daniel  and  Sarah  (Clinton)  Shook, 
her  father  a  manufacturer  and  farmer.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Queen  have  three  children:  James  Shook, 
John   Montreville   and   Mary   Catherine. 

Sanford  C.  Harper  has  been  actively  engaged 
in  business  at  Winston-Salem  for  the  past  ten 
years,  and  his  experience  includes  during  his  earlier 
life  a  number  of  years  as  a  North  Carolina  farmer. 
He  is  a  member  of  some  of  the  very  old  and 
honored  families  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

His  birth  occurred  on  a  farm  in  Lewisville  Town- 
ship of  Forsyth  County  and  he  is  descended  from 
Zephaniah  Harper,  who  was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and 
from  Southern  Maryland  became  a  pioneer  in  North 
Carolina.  John  Harper,  grandfather  of  Sanford 
C,  was  born  in  Forsyth  County,  became  a  planter 
and  before  the  war  operated  his  fields  with  the 
aid  of  slave  labor.  He  married  a  Miss  Boyer,  and 
they  spent  their  last  days  in  Lewisville  Township, 
where  they  died  when  quite  old.  Their  large  fam- 
ily of  children  are  all  now  deceased. 

Costen  Harper,  father  of  Sanford  C,  was  born 
in  Lewisville  Township  in  1823.  He  inherited  land, 
and  by  industry  and  good  judgment  increased  his 
holdings  and  became  a  prosperous  citizen.  After 
the  war  came  on  he  enlisted  in  1862  in  Capt. 
J.  A.  Clement 's  Independent  Company  of  Mounted 
Troops  and  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant. 
The  company  became  Company  G  of  the  Seventh 
Confederate  Cavalry.  In  1864  it  was  attached  to 
the  Seventy-fifth  Begiment  of  North  Carolina  Cav- 
alry. Lieutenant  Harper  in  the  meantime  had  been 
with  his  organization  through  numerous  battles 
and  skirmishes  and  hard  campaigns,  and  he  helped 
fight  the  last  battles  of  the  Confederacy.  His  regi- 
ment, led  by  Col.  E.  J.  Holt,  made  the  last 
charge  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  He  was 
at  Appomattox  and  Lieutenant  Harper's  name  is 
on  the  official  list  of  Confederate  officers  paroled 
there.  After  his  return  home  he  resumed  farming 
and  continued  to  occupy  the  old  homestead  in  the 
southeast  part  of  Lewisville  Township  until  his 
death  at  the  age  of  seventy-five. 

Lieutenant  Harper  married  Emma  Pfaff.  She 
was  born  at  Pfafftown  in  Forsyth  County,  a  place 
named  in  honor  of  her  family.  Her  father  was 
Benjamin    Pfaff,    born    in    what    is    now   Forsyth 


162 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


County  September  12,  1812,  and  her  grandfather 
was  Peter  Pfaff,  who  was  born  in  Germany  Jan- 
uary 28,  1773.  The  records  of  the  family  show 
that  Peter  Pfaff  was  brought  to  America  when  very 
young  by  his  parents.  He  subsequently  bought 
land  and  settled  in  Vienna  Township  of  Forsyth 
County,  in  a  locality  that  has  long  been  known  as 
Pfafftown.  There  he  built  a  substantial  two-story 
house  of  hewed  logs,  weather  boarded  on  the  out- 
side, and  there  he  and  his  good  wife  lived  in  com- 
fort. He  was  married  March  23,  1802,  to  Magda- 
lena  Conrad,  who  was  born  in  Vienna  Township 
November  20,  1782.  These  were  rugged  old  set- 
tlers and  in  the  early  days  they  experienced  many 
hardships  and  handicaps.  It  was  years  before  cook 
stoves  were  introduced  and  most  of  the  meals  were 
cooked  by  the  open  fire.  Peter  Pfaff  and  wife  were 
both  active  and  devoted  members  of  the  Bethania 
Moravian  Church  and  they  were  laid  to  rest  in  the 
graveyard  there.  Benjamin  Pfaff  spent  his  active 
career  as  a  farmer  and  always  lived  in  what  is  now 
Forsyth  County.  Mrs.  C.  E.  Harper,  widow  of 
Lieutenant  Harper,  is  still  living  on  the  old  home 
farm.  She  reared  four  children:  Henry  B.,  John 
W.,  Sanford  C.  and  Lydia  C,  wife  of  John  Ketner. 

Sanford  C.  Harper  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools,  and  he  learned  farming  by  practical  ex- 
perience during  his  youth  and  continued  for  many 
seasons  in  the  fields  as  a  cultivator  and  general 
agriculturist.  In  1901  he  left  the  farm  and  re- 
moving to  Greensboro  became  representative  of 
the  Coca  Cola  Company  and  soon  established  a 
nourishing  business.  In  1906  he  removed  to  Win- 
ston-Salem and  has  continued  in  the  same  line  of 
enterprise  and  with  splendid  success. 

Mr.  Harper  was  married  in  1902  to  Miss  Mamie 
Mullican.  She  was  born  in  Lewisvilie  Township, 
daughter  of  Lewis  C.  and  Nancy  (Vest)  Mullican. 
The  five  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harper  are  Ruth, 
Robert,  Sanford,  Alta  and  Soger.  Mr.  Harper  is 
affiliated  with  Salem  Lodge  No.  269  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons;  Winston  Chapter  No.  24, 
Royal  Arch  Masons;  Piedmont  Commandery  No.  6, 
Knights  Templar;  and  Oasis  Temple  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine  at  Charlotte. 

Richard  Rhodes  Barnes.  The  life  of  Richard 
Rhodes  Barnes  came  to  an  honorable  close  at  his 
home  in  Barnesville  June  4,  1918.  But  around 
that  life,  as  expressed  through  action  and  in- 
fluence, was  developed  one  of  the  interesting  com- 
munities of  Robeson  County,  the  nucleus  of  which 
he  established  through  his  mercantile  and  agri- 
cultural activities  beginning  about  forty-five  years 
ago,  and  which  has  continued  to  grow  through  the 
addition  of  varied  other  interests. 

To  be  called  the  father  of  such  a  community  is 
no  small  distinction,  and  it  will  be  heightened  by 
understanding  the  career  of  Mr.  Barnes.  It  is 
given  to  few  men  so  completely  to  utilize  oppor- 
tunities, and  leave  so  much  behind  them  of  en- 
during good  and  benefit. 

He  was  born  in  Robeson  County  in  1844,  near 
the  present  Town  of  Proctorville.  His  parents 
were  Meredith  and  Eliza  (Ward)  Barnes.  His 
grandfather,  Jethro  Barnes,  came  to  Robeson 
County  before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
from  Nash  County,  where  his  ancestors,  coming 
originally  from  England,  had  lived  for  several 
generations.  They  have  always  been  a  sturdy,  sub- 
stantial race  of  people.  Meredith  Barnes  was 
born  and  reared  and  spent  his  life  on  the  old 
Barnes  place  near  the  present  Town  of  Proctor- 
ville, about  ten  miles  south  of  Lumberton. 


It  was  in  that  vicinity  that  Richard  R.  Barnes 
spent  his  boyhood  days.  In  March,  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Confederate  Army  in  Captain  Atkin- 
son's company  of  volunteers,  which  became  Com- 
pany B  of  the  Fiftieth  North  Carolina  Regiment 
of  Infantry.  In  spite  of  his  youth  he  served  with 
the  valor  of  a  seasoned  veteran  in  a  number  of 
campaigns  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  He  was 
at  Savannah  when  that  city  was  evacuated  by  Gen- 
eral Hardee 's  army  just  before  General  Sherman 's 
occupation,  and  going  northward  reached  Fayette- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  captured.  The 
latter  weeks  of  the  war  he  spent  as  a  prisoner  at 
Point  Lookout,  Maryland,  and  was  released  and 
returned  home  in  July,  1865. 

Soon  after  the  war  he  located  a  few  miles  south 
of  the  old  Barnes  home  place  in  Sterling  Town- 
ship, in  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  county. 
In  1866  he  married,  and  with  that  added  responsi- 
bility, being  a  man  of  enterprising  qualities  but 
with  exceedingly  limited  capital,  he  turned  to  the 
turpentine  industry.  At  that  time  all  the  country 
was  exceedingly  poor,  with  little  money  in  circu- 
lation, no  industries,  and  agriculture  at  a  low  ebb. 
With  many  discouragements  he  stuck  to  his  work, 
and  industry  and  determination  brought  him  to  the 
enviable  position  he  later  enjoyed  both  financially 
and  as  a  citizen.  In  1873  he  started  a  mercantile 
business  in  a  small  way.  His  fortune  was  built 
up  as  a  result  of  gradual  accumulations  through 
legitimate  trade  and  agricultural  enterprise.  The 
community  which  grew  up  around  his  store  and 
farm  was  named  Barnesville  in  his  honor,  and  this 
village  is  a  station  on  the  Raleigh  and  Charleston 
Railroad.  While  several  years  ago  he  passed  the 
age  of  three  score,  he  continued  active,  energetic 
and  progressive,  a  real  leader  in  his  section  of  the 
county  until  the  close  of  his  life.  Always  inter- 
ested in  those  things  which  expressed  community 
service  and  ideals,  he  took  special  pride  in  the 
excellent  Barnesville  graded  school,  of  which  he 
was  appropriately  called  ' '  the  father. ' '  He  was 
the  more  generous  of  his  financial  assistance  to 
the  cause  of  education  because  of  the  circumstances 
which  prevented  him  in  early  life  from  securing 
the  advantages  which  are  the  right  and  privilege 
of  every  American  youth. 

Having  known  humble  circumstances  himself,  he 
was  generous  of  his  financial  means  in  backing- 
many  a  struggling  farmer  during  the  progress  of 
clearing  up  and  developing  the  land  around  Barnes- 
ville. This  section,  it  may  be  stated,  is  known  as 
the  Indian  Swamp  District,  and  is  famous  for  pro- 
ducing the  best  tobacco  in  Robeson  County.  Mr. 
R.  R.  Barnes  himself  for  many  years  was  a  large 
producer  of  cotton  and  tobacco  on  his  farms. 

He  owned  several  fine  farms  at  and  adjoining 
Barnesville  on  the  north,  his  ownership  extending 
to  about  two  thousand  acres  of  this  rich  and  val- 
uable soil  in  the  Indian  Swamp  section.  It  is  witli 
complete  justice  that  the  assertion  is  made  that 
Richard  Rhodes  Barnes  was  the  pioneer  in  stimu- 
lating tobacco  planting  in  this  part  of  Robeson 
County.  He  it  was  who  put  in  the  first  seed  bed, 
and  he  often  told  how  he  had  to  go  to  a  tobacco 
growing  community  in  order  to  learn  how  to  con- 
struct and  take  care  of  a  seed  bed.  No  one  item 
of  agricultural  enterprise  has  done  more  for  the 
people  of  this  community  than  tobacco  raising. 

Besides  his  business  interests  at  Barnesville  he 
lent  a  helping  hand  in  the  commercial  and  indus- 
trial development  of  the  county  at  large.  He  in- 
vested substantially  in  some  of  the  leading  insti- 
tutions of  Lumberton,  in  several  of  which  he  was 


Qlsisl-^*^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


163 


a  director.  These  include  the  National  Bank  of 
Lumberton,  the  Planters  Bank  &  Trust  Company, 
of  which  he  was  vice  president,  the  Lumberton, 
the   Dresden   and   the   Jennings   Cotton    Mills. 

Mr.  Barnes  was  a  democrat  and  for  four  years 
was  county  commissioner.  For  years  he  was  a 
leading  factor  in  the  Baruesville  Baptist  Church, 
of  which  he  served  as  church  clerk  and  deacon. 
He  was  one  of  the  prominent  Baptist  laymen  in 
this  part  of  the  state  and  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Robeson  Baptist  Association.  He 
was  generous  in  his  gifts  to  the  benevolent  enter- 
prises of  the  church  and  especially  to  the  cause 
of  Christian  education.  The  life  and  work  of  such 
a  man  in  any  community  has  an  incalculable  value 
uot  only  to  the  present  but  for  all  the  future. 

The  Barnes  store  at  Baruesville  is  just  across 
the  main  road  from  the  handsome  and  commodious 
residence  where  he  spent  the  last  forty -three  years 
of  his  life.  The  approach  to  this  home  is  through 
rows  of  beautiful  elm  and  oak  trees,  forming  an 
avenue  that  is  a  delight  to  the  eye.  The  bride  who 
joined  her  fortunes  with  him  in  1866  was  Miss 
Isabella  Floyd,  daughter  of  Samuel  L.  Floyd,  of 
Robeson  County.  Mrs.  Barnes,  his  life-long  help- 
mate of  over  fifty  years,  has  unfortunately  been 
an  invalid  for  several  years. 

The  only  living  child  of  Richard  Rhodes  Barnes 
is  Kelly  M.  Barnes,  referred  to  below. 

Kelly  M.  Barnes  is  the  acting  managing  of- 
ficer of  the  Planters  Bank  &  Trust  Company  of 
Lumberton,  one  of  the  highly  prosperous  and  sub- 
stantial institutions  of  Robeson  County.  Mr. 
Barnes  has  had  a  useful  and  dignified  part  in  the 
affairs  of  Robeson  County  for  many  years,  and 
is  one  of  a  family  whose  name  is  significant  not 
only  of  the  older  citizenship  of  the  couuty,  but 
also  of  that  new  and  progressive  element  which 
has  wrought  such  marvelous  changes  in  the  social 
and  industrial  community  within  the  last  half 
century. 

He  was  born  in  Robeson  County  in  1867,  son  of 
the  late  Richard  Rhodes  Barnes.  He  grew  up  at 
Barnesville,  attended  the  local  schools  and  finish- 
ing his  education  during  1884-8S  in  the  noted  mili- 
tary school  at  LaGrange,  North  Carolina,  con- 
ducted by  Colonel  Davis,  one  of  the  ablest  school 
men  of  his  day.  He  also  took  a  full  business 
course  in  the  Commercial  College  of  the  University 
of  Kentucky.  With  this  substantial  groundwork 
and  preparation  for  life,  he  associated  himself  with 
his  father  at  Baruesville,  and  remained  there  until 
1912.  Coming  to  Lumberton,  which  has  since 
been  his  home,  he  entered  actively  into  banking 
and  is  now  treasurer  and  managing  officer  of 
the  Planters  Bank  &  Trust  Company,  which  is  an 
enlargement  of  and  successor  to  the  former  Farm- 
ers &  Merchants  Bank. 

The  Planters  Bank  &  Trust  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  1916,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $75,000, 
surplus  and  undivided  profits  of  about  $15,000, 
and  does  a  general  commercial  banking  business 
and  is  highly  prosperous  in  its  managing  personnel 
and  its  financial  condition.  Dr.  N.  A.  Thompson 
is  president  and  Mr.  G.  E.  Rancke,  Jr.,  assistant 
secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  Kelly  Barnes  is  also 
president  of  the  Farmers  Tobacco  'Warehouse 
Company.  Like  his  father,  he  has  shown  a  ready 
public  spirit  in  the  communitv  where  he  has  lived, 
is  stanchly  aligned  with  the  democratic  party  and 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

His  first  wife  was  Miss  Nettie  Pittman,  of  the 
Fairmont   community,   daughter   of   Henry   F.   and 


Rose  A.  Pittman.  The  three  children  of  their 
marriage  are  named  Pittman  Barnes  and  Miss 
Ganelle  and  Miss  Myrtle  Barnes.  For  his  present 
wife  Mr.  Barnes  married  Mary  Agnes  Brown, 
daughter  of  John  A.  Brown,  of  Red  Springs, 
North  Carolina.  They  have  five  children,  Horace, 
Wilton,  Knox,  John  Rhodes  and  Edna. 

Simms  Eli  Memory.  Business  success  with 
honor,  established  position  and  influence  in  a 
community  are  the  achievements  most  closely 
associated  with  the  name  of  Memory  in  the  city 
of   Whiteville   and   Columbus   County. 

The  late  Thomas  Stephens  Memory  was  a 
native  of  Bladen  County,  North  Carolina,  and  in 
1847  established  himself  in  a  general  merchan- 
dise business  at  Whiteville  in  Columbus  County. 
He  continued  a  merchant  throughout  his  life. 
Soon  after  he  began  business  at  Whiteville  he 
failed.  He  had  secured  his  stock  of  merchandise 
on  credit  through  money  borrowed  from  friends 
in  New  York.  Returning  to  New  York,  he  was 
able  to  effect  a  settlement  with  his  creditors  on 
a  basis  of  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  He  had  the 
courage  to  enter  business  again.  In  a  few  years 
he  again  went  to  New  York,  and  though  he  held 
receipts  in  full  for  all  his  previous  debts,  he 
insisted  that  the  old  accounts  be  settled  on  a  par 
basis,  and  not  only  that,  but  paid  the  interest  on 
the  unpaid  fifty  per  cent.  It  was  this  act  more 
than  anything  else  which  was  significant  of  his 
entire  career  of  honesty  and  integrity,  and  his 
whole  life  was  characterized  by  the  same  scrupu- 
lous honor.  He  filled  a  high  position  in  the  com- 
munity and  for  eight  years  was  county  treasurer 
of  Columbus  County.  The  death  of  this  honored 
citizen  occurred  December  18,  1895.  He  married 
Rachel  Baldwin,  who  is  also  deceased. 

Their  son  Simms  Eli  Memory  has  continued 
the  business  established  by  his  father  seventy 
years  ago,  and  has  likewise  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  an  entire  community.  He  was  born  in  White- 
ville May  25,  1856.  On  January  29,  1878,  he 
married  Emmie  Cameron  Simms,  of  Atlanta, 
Georgia.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  G. 
and  Jane  (Cameron)  Simms.  To  their  marriage 
have  been  born  three  children.  Thomas  Simms 
is  associated  with  his  father  in  the  Memory 
Company,  general  merchants,  at  Whiteville,  and 
by  his  marriage  to  Estelle  Meredith  of  Wilming- 
ton, has  four  children  named  Simms  Edward,  Ruth, 
Louise  and  Emily  Ross.  Irene  Foster,  the  second 
child,  is  the  wife  of  Capt.  James  I.  Davis,  who  is 
in  the  United  States  Coast  Defense  at  South- 
port,  North  Carolina,  and  they  have  two  children, 
Jane  Cameron  and  Catherine.  Annie  Cameron 
is  still  at  home  with  her  parents. 

Mr.  Memory  has  served  as  alderman  of  White- 
ville, is  a  deacon  and  trustee  of  the  Baptist  church, 
and  he,  as  was  his  father  before  him,  has  been 
very  prominent  in  church  affairs.  His  father  is 
credited  with  the  work  and  influence  which 
brought  about  the  establishment  of  the  present 
Baptist   Church   at  Whiteville. 

Maurice  Victor,  Barnhill.  One  of  the  bril- 
liant members  of  the  Nash  County  bar  and  prose- 
cuting attorney  is  Maurice  Victor  Barnhill,  who, 
along  witli  the  qualities  indispensable  to  the  law- 
yer, a  keen,  rapid,  logical  mind,  eloquence  of 
language  and  a  strong  personality,  possesses  the 
capacity   for  hard  work. 

Maurice  Victor  Barnhill  was  born  December 
5,  1887,  at  Enfield,  Halifax  County,  North  Caro- 


164 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Una.      His    parents    are    Martin    Van   Boren   and 

Mary  (Dawes)  Barnhill,  his  mother  being  a  sis- 
ter of  ex-Senator,  John  Dawes,  of  Elm  City, 
North  Carolina.  His  father  has  led  an  agricul- 
tural life. 

Maurice  V.  Barnhill  attended  the  Enfield  graded 
schools  and  then  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill.  Prior  to  returning  to 
the  university  to  pursue  a  law  course,  he  was  con- 
nected for  a  time  with  the  Toisnot  Banking- 
Company  at  Elm  City,  North  Carolina,  in  the 
capacity  of  assistant  cashier.  He  then  entered 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1909 
and  in  February  of  that  year  was  licensed  to 
practice  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state.  He 
immediately  located  at  Ealeigh  and  entered  into 
a  law  partnership  with  Walter  H.  Grimes  and 
continued  there  until  March,  1910,  when  he  came 
to  Rocky  Mount.  Here  Mr.  Barnhill  has  won 
deserved  recognition  through  his  thorough  legal 
knowledge,  his  fine  ability  and  a  dignified  but 
pleasing  personality.  He  has  been  identified  with 
a  large  amount  of  very  important  litigation  and 
that  the  impression  he  has  made  on  his  fellow 
citizens  in  relation  to  his  ability  and  integrity,  is 
evidenced  by  his  election  to  the  important  office 
of  prosecuting  attorney. 

Mr.  Barnhill  was  married  June  5,  1912,  to  Miss 
Nannie  Rebecca  Cooper,  who  was  born  at  Bocky 
Mount  and  is  a  daughter  of  George  B.  and  Alice 
(Arrington)  Cooper.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnhill  have 
one  son,  who  was  born  December  5,  1914,  and 
bears  his  father's  entire  name.  They  are  active 
and  valued  members  of  the  First  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  and  Mr.  Barnhill  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  stewards. 

While  his  profession  claims  a  large  part  of  his 
time  and  his  official  duties  never  suffer  neglect, 
Mr.  Barnhill  has  additional  important  interests 
in  this  section.  He  is  president  of  the  City  Guar- 
antee &  Title  Company,  and  he  is  also  president 
of  the  Sharpsburg  Banking  Company  and  a 
director  of  the  Toisnot  Banking  Company,  and 
evidently  had  he  confined  his  attention  to  the 
banking  field  he  would  have  been  more  than 
measurably  successful  along  that  line. 

Mr.  Barnhill  is  a  member  of  the  Nash  County 
Bar  Association  and  the  North  Carolina  Bar  As- 
sociation, and  is  prominent  in  Masonry,  having 
received  the  York  rite  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  identified  also  with  the 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  with 
various  social  organizations.  Mr.  Barnhill  is  very 
benevolent  in  his  instincts  and  generously  eon- 
tributes  to  all  worthy  charitable  enterprises. 

John  C.  Stout  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina 
and  for  a  number  of  years  has  successfully  prac- 
ticed his  profession  as  an  architect  at  Rocky 
Mount. 

His  family  has  lived  in  North  Carolina  for 
several  generations,  and  he  is  descended  from 
Richard  Stout,  who  in  1640  came  from  England 
to  New  Amsterdam,  now  New  York.  Richard 
Stout  married  one  of  the  most  interesting  women 
named  in  Colonial  history.  Some  interesting  facts 
connected  with  the  early  generations  of  the  Stout 
family  are  found  in  "Benedict's  History  of  the 
Baptists,"  published  at  Boston  in  1813.  From  this 
work  the  following  sentences  are  quoted: 

' '  The  family  of  the  Stouts  are  so  remarkable 
for  their  number,  origin  and  character,  in  both 
church   and   state,   that   their   history   deserves  to 


be  conspicuously  recorded;    and  no  place  can  be 
so  proper  as  that  of  Hopewell,  where  the  bulk  of 
the   family    reside.     We   have   already    seen   that 
Jonathan    Stout    and    family    were    the    seed    of 
the  Hopewell  church,  and  the  beginning  of  Hope- 
well   settlemeut;    and    that   of    the    fifteen   which 
constituted    the   church,   nine    were   Stouts.      The 
church  was  constituted  at  the   house  of  a  Stout, 
and  the  meetings  were  chiefly  at  the  dwellings  of 
the    Stouts    for    forty-one   years,   viz.:    From   the 
beginning  of  the  settlement  to  the  building  of  the 
meeting  house,  before  described.      Mr.  Hart  was 
of  opinion  (in  1790)  'that  from  first  to  last,  half 
the  members  have  been  and   were  of  that  name; 
for,  in  looking  over  the  church  book    (saith  he), 
I  find  that  near  two  hundred  of  the  name  have 
been  added;   besides  about  as  many  more  of  the 
Wood   of   the   Stouts,  who  had  lost  the  name  by 
marriages.     The  present   (1790)   two  deacons  and 
four    elders    are    Stouts;    the    late    Zebulon    and 
David   Stout   were   two   of   its  main   pillars;    the 
last  lived  to  see  his  offspring  multiplied  into  an 
hundred  and  seventeen  souls. '     The  origin  of  this 
Baptist    family   is   no   less  remarkable;    for   they 
all  sprang  from  one  woman,  and  she  as  good  as 
dead;    her   history   is   in   the  mouths   of  most  of 
her  posterity,  and  is  told  as  follows:      'She  was 
born    at   Amsterdam,    about   the    year   1602;    her 
father's  name  was  Vanprincis;   she  and  her     first 
husband    (whose   name  is  not   known)    sailed  for 
New    York    (then    New    Amsterdam)     about    the 
year    1620;    the    vessel    was    stranded    at    Sandy 
Hook;   the  crew  got  ashore,  and  marched  toward 
the  said  New  York;  but  Penelope's  (for  that  was 
her  name)  husband  being  hurt  in  the  wreck,  could 
not  march  with  them;   therefore,  he  and  his  wife 
tarried  in  the  woods;   they  had  not  been  long  in 
the  place  before  the  Indians  killed  them  both   (as 
they    thought)    and    stripped    them    to   the   skin; 
however,  Penelope  came  to,  though  her  skull  was 
fractured  and  her  left  shoulder  so  hacked  that  she 
could  never  use  that  arm  like  the  other;   she  was 
also  cut  across  the  abdomen,  so  that  her  bowels 
appeared;   these   she  kept  in  with  her  hand;    she 
continued  in  this  situation  for  seven  days,  taking 
shelter  in  a  hollow  tree,  and  eating  the  excrescence 
of  it;  the  seventh  day  she  saw  a  deer  passing  by 
with   arrows   sticking  in  it,   and   soon  after  two 
Indians  appeared,  whom  she  was  glad  to  see,  in 
hope  they  would  put  her  out  of  her  misery;  accord- 
ingly, one  made  towards  her  to  knock  her  on  the 
head;    but   the   other,   who   was   an   elderly   man. 
prevented  him ;   and  throwing  his  matehcoat  about 
her,  carried  her  to  his  wigwam,  and  cured  her  of 
her  wounds  and  bruises;    after  that  he  took  her 
to  New  York,  and  made  a  present  of  her  to  her 
countrymen,    viz.,    an    Indian    present,    expecting 
ten   times   the   value   in   return.     It  was   in  New 
•  York   that    one    Richard    Stout    married    her;    he 
was  a  native  of  England  and  of  a  good  family; 
she   was   now   in  her   twenty-second   year  and   he 
in    his   fortieth.      She   bore   him   seven    sons   and 
three  daughters,  viz.:  Jonathan  (founder  of  Hope- 
well), John,  Richard,  James,  Peter,  David,  Benja- 
min, Mary,  Sarah  and  Alice;  the  daughters  married 
into  the  families  of  the  Bounds'  Pikes,  Throekmor- 
tons  and  Skeltons,  and  so  lost  the  name  of  Stout : 
the  sons  married  into  the  families  of  Bullen,  Craw- 
ford, Ashton,  Truax,  etc.,  and  had  many  children. 
The  mother  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  ten 
years,   and  saw  her  offspring  multiplied  into  five 
hundred  and  two  in  about  eighty-eight  years.'  ' 
John    Christie    Stout    was    born    in    Randolph 
County,  North  Carolina,  December  19,  1860.     His 


mCu.  L>.  A^uJU^f' , 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


165 


■parents  were  Peter  and  Mary  (Wrightsman)  Stout, 
good,  solid  people,  old  settlers  and  among  the  sub- 
stantial class. 

John  C.  Stout  obtained  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  as  he  early  displayed  inclina- 
tion and  talent  in  the  direction  of  architecture,  he 
entered  upon  the  serious  study  of  this  art  and  re- 
mained for  three  and  one-half  years  under  the 
preceptorship  of  the  well  known  architect,  Thomas 
A.  Klutz.  Mr.  Stout  then  embarked  in  a  building 
and  contracting  business  for  himself,  combining 
architectural  designing,  and  continuing  until  1906, 
since  which  time  he  has  devoted  his  talents  ex- 
clusively to  architectural  work,  making  a  specialty 
of  residences,  churches,  courthouses,  bank  build- 
ings and  other  dignified  structures.  Mr.  Stout  has 
proved  a  thorough  master  of  his  craft  and  has 
made  nn  enviable  reputation  for  himself  as  an 
architect,  exemplified  in  many  buildings  which  he 
has  designed  at  Rocky  Mount. 

Mr.  Stout  was  married  at  Fayetteville.  North 
Carolina,  March  31,  1S86,  to  Miss  Hattie  Cornelia 
Jordan,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas-  J.  and 
Annie  (Massie)  Jordan,  a  well  known  old  family  of 
the  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stout  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Mr.  Stout 
is  prominent  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  mas- 
ter of  St.  John's  Lodge  No.  1,  Wilmington,  is  a 
Knight  Templar  and  has  reached  the  Thirty-second 
degree  and  belongs  also  to  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

John  W.  Byerly  has  been  well. known  in  the 
business  community  of  Winston-Salem  for  many 
years.  He  was  formerly  a  merchant  and  tobacco 
manufacturer,  but  is  now  living  practically  re- 
tired. 

Mr.  Byerly  is  a  descendant  of  North  Carolina 
pioneers.  The  Byerly  family  was  established  in 
America  by  three  brothers  named  Frank,  George 
and  John  Byerly,  all  natives  of  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many. On  coming  to  America  they  settled  in  North 
Carolina  and  from  that  state  their  descendants 
have  become  widely  spread.  John  Byerly,  grand- 
father of  John  W.,  was  born  in  Davidson  County, 
and  in  the  early  days  came  to  what  is  now  Forsyth 
County,  purchasing  land  about  two  miles  from 
Winston-Salem.  He  had  slaves,  used  them  to  de- 
velop and  cultivate  his  land,  and  spent  his  life  use- 
fully and  honorably  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture 
until  his  death  when  upwards  of  eighty  years  of 
age.  He  married  a  Miss  Foltz.  They  reared  five 
sons,  named  Alexander,  James,  Harrison.  Sanford 
and  Addison.  Their  only  daughter  died  when 
young. 

Sanford  Byerly  was  born  in  what  is  now  Forsyth 
County  and  near  Winston-Salem  in  1825.  He  grew 
up  to  be  a  man  of  energy,  perseverance,  and  was 
markedly  successful  in  his  varied  affairs.  In  early 
life  with  his  brother  Harrison  be  established  a  tan- 
nery near  Winston.  This  was  operated  for  some 
years,  and  the  former  subsequently  bought  out  his 
brother 's  interest  and  continued  the  husiness. 
Later  he  was  a  merchant  in  the  locality  then  known 
as  Liberty,  now  North  Salem.  From  merchan- 
dising he  turned  his  attention  to  the  manufacture 
of  tobacco,  and  was  still  aetivelv  engaged  in  that 
when  he  died  in  1888. 

Sanford  Byerly  married  Eliza  Masten.  Her  an- 
cestors were  also  important  factors  in  the  early  life 
of  Western  North  Carolina.  Her  grandfather, 
John  Masten,  was  a  planter,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  owned  and  occupied  a  plantation  southeast 
of  Winston-Salem.  In  that  locality  he  spent  his 
last  vears.     John  Masten  married  Elizabeth  Stan- 


ley, a  native  of  England.  She  came  to  America 
with  her  parents,  and  both  she  and  her  husband 
lived  to  advanced  years.  They  reared  six  children, 
named  Mathias,  Mary,  Rhoda,  William,  Joseph  and 
Matilda.  John  Masten  and  wife  were  Quakers,  were 
active  members  of  the  Muddy  Creek  Church,  and 
they  are  buried  in  that  churchyard. 

William  Masten,  maternal  grandfather  of  John 
W.  Byerly,  was  born  on  a  plantation  about  3% 
miles  south  of  Winston-Salem  in  1796.  He  grew 
up  on  the  old  farm,  succeeded  to  ownership  of  the 
homestead,  and  supervised  its  operation  with  the 
aid  of  his  slaves  until  his  death  on  November 
2,  1860.  He  married  Lucy  Richards,  a  native  of 
Davidson  County.  Her  parents  were  Walter  and 
Joyce  (Pate)  Richards.  Joyce'  Pate's  parents 
came  to  America  when  she  was  thirteen  years  of 
age  and  settled  in  Tennessee.  Walter  Richards  was 
probably  a  native  of  Switzerland  and  while  travel- 
ing in  Tennessee  met  and  married  Miss  Pate,  and 
they  soon  afterwards  moved  to  Davidson  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  they  lived  a  contented  and 
prosperous  life.  Mrs.  Lucy  (Richards)  Masten 
died  about  1846.  She  left  nine  children,  and  her 
husband  married  for  his  second  wife  Parthenia 
Teague,  who  survived  him  about  twenty-four  years. 
His  children,  all  by  the  first  marriage,  were  named 
John,  Joseph,  Catherine,  Linda,  Eliza,  Maxy.  Wil- 
liam, Sarah  and  Robert.  Robert  became  a  teacher. 
Joseph  was  a  well  known  attorney.  John  took 
a  prominent  part  in  public  affairs  and  was  at  one 
time  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  Sarah 
lives  at  Winston-Salem  and  is  the  widow  of  Wesley 
I.  Idol.  William  was  lieutenant  of  Company  D  in 
the  Twenty-first  Regiment  of  North  Carolina 
Troops  in  the  war  between  the  states.  Walter 
Richards  was  a  Moravian,  his  wife  a  Lutheran, 
while  William  Masten  was  reared  a  Quaker  and 
his  wife  being  a  Lutheran  by  training  they  com- 
promised by  becoming  primitive  Baptists. 

Mr.  John  W.  Byerly  was  one  of  two  children. 
His  sister  Laura,  now  deceased,  married  Frank  C. 
Brown.  John  W.  Byerly  after  completing  his  course 
in  the  city  schools  became  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  store.  After  his  father 's  death  he 
continued  the  tobacco  business  and  built  that  up 
to  prosperous  proportions.  He  finally  closed  it 
out  and  has  since  given  his  time  largely  to  his 
private  affairs.  Mr.  Byerly  is  vice  president  of 
the  Frank  C.  Brown  &  Sons  Company  at  Winston- 
Salem.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Twin  City  Club,  of 
Salem  Lodge  No.  36,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  of  Fairview  Council  No.  9,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Elder  Sylvester  Hassell.  for  many  years  edi- 
tor and  publisher  of  the  Gospel  Messenger  at 
Williamston,  North  Carolina,  has  for  over  half 
a  century  had  a  useful  career  as  an  educator,  edi- 
tor and  minister  of  the  Primitive  Baptist  Church. 

He  was  born  at  Williamston,  North  Carolina, 
July  28,  1842,  and  his  lineage  connects  him  with 
early  colonial  history  in  the  Carolinas.  His  par- 
ents were  Gushing  Biggs  and  Mary  (Davis)  Has- 
sell. The  Hassells  were  of  Huguenot  stock  and 
came  from  England  to  Tyrrell  and  Washington 
counties,  North  Carolina,  during  the  eighteenth 
century.  Gushing  B.  Hassell  was  a  son  of  Joshua 
N.  Hassell.  who  died  in  1824.  Joshua  Hassell 
married  Martha  Biggs,  whose  ancestors  came  from 
England  to  Virginia  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

Gushing  Biggs  Hassell  was  the  head  of  a  num- 
ber of  large  business  enterprises  and  also  a  prim- 


166 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


itive  Baptist  minister.  He  served  as  moderator 
of  the  Kehukee  Primitive  Baptist  Association  for 
many  years,  until  his  death,  was  clerk  and  mas- 
ter in  equity,  trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  for  eighteen  years.  In  1875  he  was 
a  member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, where  he  took  a  most  prominent  part,  fre- 
quently engaging  Judge  Tourgee,  the  leading  car- 
pet-bagger in  debate  and  opposing  the  removal  of 
the  disabilities  of  Governor  W.  W.  Holden  on  the 
grounds,  chiefly,  that  the  people  had  not  elected 
the  members  with  view  of  action  on  that  ques- 
tion. He  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  Roa- 
noke  Navigation  Company,  served  as  county  treas- 
urer of  Martin  County,  was  pastor  of  Skewarkey 
and  Spring  Green  churches.  He  was  joint  author 
of  his  son  Sylvester  of  a  "History  of  the  Church 
of  God  from  the  Creation  to  A.  D.  1885."  His 
first  wife,  mother  of  Sylvester  Hassell,  was  Mary 
Davis.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Col.  Durham  Da- 
vis, who  in  turn  was  a  son  of  William  Davis  and 
the  latter  a  son  of  Durham  Davis.  The  Davis 
ancestors  came  from  England  prior  to  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Elder  Sylvester  Hassell  was  educated  in  the 
Williamson  Academy  and  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  entering  in  1858,  and  having  been  grad- 
uated with  the  highest  honors.  In  June,  1867,  he 
was  granted  the  degree  Master  of  Arts  by  the 
university.  He  was  a  member  and  was  presi- 
dent in  1861  of  the  Philanthropic  Literary  Society 
at  Chapel  Hill.  At  the  university  he  also  be- 
came identified  with  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 
fraternity. 

His  early  work  was  as  a  teacher  at  Williamston 
in  this  state,  at  Wilmington  and  New  Castle,  Del- 
aware, and  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina.  When 
the  war  came  on  he  was  examined  successively  by 
six  Confederate  surgeons,  but  each  time  was  ex- 
empted from  active  field  duty  on  account  of  phys- 
ical disability.  However,  in  the  fall  of  1861 
he  became  clerk  to  Col.  S.  W.  Watts  in  the  Mar- 
tin County  Militia  Regiment  at  Port  Hill  in  Beau- 
fort County. 

Elder  Hassell  was  principal  of  Williamston 
Academy  from  1865  to  1868,  and  again  from 
1886  to  1890,  he  was  professor  of  languages  in 
the  Delaware  State  Normal  University  at  Wil- 
mington, from  1869  to  1870,  and  was  principal 
of  the  William  Penn  graded  schools  at  New  Cas- 
tle, Delaware,  1870-71.  Erom  1872  to  1886  he 
was  principal  of  the  Wilson  Collegiate  Institute 
at  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  and  during  a  portion 
of  that  time,  1882-84.  was  principal  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Wilson.  In  1886,  he  aban- 
doned his  chosen  profession  of  teaching  on  ac- 
count of  his  low  state  of  health  and  returned  to 
Williamston,  his  old  home.  In  1892-93  he  served 
as  county  examiner  of  teachers  of  Martin  County. 
Since  1892  Elder  Hassell  has  devoted  his  time  to 
his  duties  as  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Gospel 
Messenger,  a  monthly  magazine  of  the  Primitive 
Baptist  Faith  and  Order,  which  was  established 
at  Wilson  in  1878.  Since  1896  he  has  been  pro- 
prietor of  this  religious  periodical.  During  the 
years  from  1880  to  1886  he  was  half  owner  of 
the  Wilson  Collegiate  Institute.  Politically  Elder 
Hassell  has  always  been  a  democrat  and  has  reg- 
ularly voted  in  State  and  Federal  elections. 

Practically  his  lifetime  has  been  devoted  to  the 
service  of  his  church.  He  was  baptized  by  his 
father  in  the  Roanoke  River  at  Williamston  on 
January  11,  1864.  Since  that  time  he  has  been 
a    member     of   the    Skewarkey     Primtive   Baptist 


Church  near  Williamston.  He  served  as  pastor  of 
the  church  from  1880,  and  has  also  been  pastor  of 
Conetoe,  Great  Swamp,  Jamesville  and  Hamilton 
churches.  Since  1880  he  has  been  moderator  of 
the  Kehukee  Association. 

Sylvester  Hassell  was  married  September  4, 
1869,  at  the  home  of  the  bride  five  miles  south  of 
Williamston,  to  Mary  Isabelle  Yarrell,  daughter 
of  Julius  Slade  and  Emeline  Yarrell.  She  was 
born  January  5,  1849,  and  died  August  26,  1871, 
leaving  one  child,  Paul,  who  died  March  7,  1886. 
On  May  3,  1876,  at  the  residence  of  Calvin  Wood- 
ard,  her  father,  six  miles  southeast  of  Wilson, 
Elder  Hassell  married  Frances  Louisa  Woodard. 
Her  parents  were  Calvin  and  Winifred  Woodard. 
She  was  born  October  13,  1859,  and  died  January 
6,  1889.  Of  her  five  children  Frances  Winniefred 
was  born  December  9,  1888,  and  died  May  3, 
1889,  in  early  infancy.  Elder  Hassell 's  surviving 
children  are :  Francis  Sylvester  Hassell,  the  Wil- 
son attorney  mentioned  above;  Charles  Hassell, 
who  married  Miss  Helen  E.  Hulse,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. ;  Mary  Hassell,  wife  of  John  L.  Has- 
sell; and  Calvin  Woodard  Hassell,  who  married 
Miss  Annie  Laurie  Clark,  of  Raleigh. 

Francis  Sylvester  Hassell,  a  son  of  Elder 
Sylvester  Hassell,  long  prominent  as  an  educator, 
minister  and  editor,  whose  record  will  be  found 
on  other  pages  of  this  publication,  chose  the  law 
as  his  individual  calling  and  for  a  number  of 
years    has    successfully   practiced   at   Wilson. 

He  was  born  at  Wilson  August  27,  1881,  was 
educated  in  the  old  Williamson  Academy,  the 
Whitaker  Academy  and  Tarboro  Male  Academy, 
and  in  1903  graduated  A.  B.  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina.  He  continued  his  studies 
for  the  profession  in  the  University  Law  School, 
and  received  his  license  in  February,   1906. 

After  practicing  1*4  years  in  Williamston  Mr. 
Hassell  removed  to  Wilson  and  has  found  in  that 
city  ample  opportunities  for  a  successful  career. 
During  his  practice  he  served  as  county  attorney 
and  city  attorney.  There  early  came  to  him  rec- 
ognition as  a  resourceful  young  leader  in  the 
democratic  party.  He  has  served  as  secretary  of 
the  Democratic  Executive  Committee  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Congressional  Executive  Commit- 
tee and  is  now  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  Wilson  County.  Mr.  Has- 
sell was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Commonwealth 
Club,  and  now  belongs  to  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, the  Rotary  Club,  and  to  the  Kappa  Alpha 
fraternity   (southern). 

He  was  married  at  Abbeville,  South  Carolina, 
June  4,  1913,  to  Blanche  Gary,  daughter  of  Chief 
Justice  Eugene  B.  Gary.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Blanche  Gary  Hassell  and  Francis  Sylves- 
ter Hassell,  Jr. 

Joseph  Hatch  Hintox.  To  the  casual  observer 
it  often  appears  that  men  who  attain  success  do 
so  by  and  through  the  force  of  accidental  chance, 
and  because  success  has  not  perched  on  their  ban- 
ner they  attribute  it  to  the  adverse  force  of  Fate. 

Such  a  criticism  is  generally  unjust,  in-so-far 
that  men  are  truly  the  architects  of  their  own  for- 
tunes and  their  ability  to  plan  and  persevere  de- 
spite apparently  insurmountable  obstacles  is  the 
tribute  they  owe  to  a  forceful  ancestry. 

This  is  true  in  the  life  and  career  of  Joseph 
Hatch  Hinton,  who  first  saw  the  light  of  day 
in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  on  March  24,  1870. 

His   parents   were   of   the  more   intelligent   and 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


167 


progressive  citizenship  of  Wilmington,  but  the 
commercial  conditions  in  the  South  were  so  nega- 
tive that  the  opportunity  for  amassing  wealth 
was  impossible.  However,  the  parents  of  our 
subject,  Joseph  H.  and  Elizabeth  Grant  Hinton, 
imparted  to  their  offspring,  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, the  highest  principles  of  life  and  conduct. 

The  elder  Hinton  was  an  educator — highly 
esteemed  hy  all  who  knew  him  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death  was  principal  of  the  Wilmington  High 
School  for  Young  Men,  and  his  name  and  mem- 
ory arc  still  held  in  loving  remembrance  by  all 
who  knew  him  and  especially  by  those  who  sat 
at  his  feet  receiving  their  guidance  through  his 
teachings. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  felt  an  early  call  to  a 
business  career  and  thus  leaving  school  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  he  entered  the  hotel  business  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  mastering  it  in  all  its  details. 

Thus  starting  at  the  bottom  he  rapidly  mastered 
its  various  branches  and  at  the  early  age  of  eight- 
een we  find  him  installed  as  proprietor  of  the 
Parcel]  Hotel  in  his  native  city — one  of  the  lead- 
ing hotels  there  and  he  being  probably  at  that 
time  the  youngest  hotel  proprietor  in  the  United 
States.  His  success  here  was  such  that  later  he 
was  requested  by  the  owners  to  lease  the  Orton 
House,  the  largest  hotel  in  the  city.  This  he 
did,  and  with  his  characteristic  zeal  and  energy 
soon  made  that  hostelry  famous  for  its  splendid 
care  of  the  traveling  public.  In  fact  his  dining 
Toom  service  especially  was  considered  by  all 
as  unsurpassed   anywhere  in   the   state. 

His  fitness  in  his  chosen  field  was  so  well  rec- 
ognized that  when  the  opportunity  came  for  him 
to  purchase  the  Orton  Hotel  he  did  so,  nor  was 
Wilmington  disappointed  in  the  new  owner,  since 
he  at  once  increased  its  usefulness  in  both  size 
and  service,  so  that  today  Mr.  Joseph  Hinton 
is  numbered  among  the  most  progressive  and 
wealthiest  citizens  of  the  City  by  the  Sea. 

As  he  is  approaching  the  half  century  line  he 
has  laid  aside  his  more  active  business  lines  to 
the  plans  of  a  director  in  the  interests  with  which 
he  is  identified  and  in  all  of  these  he  takes  rank 
as  one  of  the  most  aggressively  constructive  and 
progressive  directors.  He  owns  the  Orton  Hotel, 
is  president  of  the  Wrightsville  Beach  Hotel, 
which  owns  the  Seashore  Hotel;  he  is  president 
of  the  Co-operative  Building  &  Loan  Association 
of  Wilmington:  president  of  the  City  Laundry 
Company;  president  of  the  Kure  Land  &  Develop- 
ment Companv  and  a  director  of  the  Fidelity 
Trust  &  Development  Company. 

Mr.  Hinton  has  been  too  busy  doing  things  to 
spend  much  time  in  club  life.  He  is  one  of  the 
most  companionable  of  men — genial  and  social  to 
an  unusual  decree,  generous  and  sympathetic  to- 
ward others.  His  life  is  absolutely  devoid  of  cant 
and  pretense  and  whatever  he  essays  he  does  with 
enthusiasm. 

He  is  a  valued  member  of  the  Cape  Fear  Coun- 
try Club  and  an  active  member  of  St.  Paul's 
Fp'scopal   Church,  being  also  a   vestryman. 

However,  his  greatest  joy  and  pride  and  the 
center  of  nearly  all  of  his  spare  moments  is  found 
in  the  companionship  of  his  charming  home  circle, 
which  is  practically  ideal. 

Tn  1898.  on  December  10th,  Mr.  Hinton  was 
happily  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Camille  Pen- 
nington, of  Wilmington.  North  Carolina,  and  this 
union  has  been  blessed  by  two  lovely  children. 
Lewis  P.  and  Josephine.  'Their  home'  is  one  of 
the   most   spacious  and   elegant    in   Eastern   North 


Carolina,  and  it  is  here  where  Mr.  Hinton  finds 
his  greatest  enjoyment,  surrounded  by  his  ideal 
home  circle  and  friends;  for  in  fact  Mrs.  Hinton 
herself  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished women  of  her  native  city  and  her  largest 
traits  of  character  are  her  many  missions  in  all 
line  of  charities  and  her  eagerness  to  be  a  true 
companion  to  her  noble  husband  and  in  their 
mutual  desire  to  be  of  useful  service  to  others. 

Jackson*  Greer.  For  the  past  sixteen  years 
Jackson  Greer  has  combined  successful  practice 
as  a  lawyer  at  Whiteville  with  the  honorable  dis- 
tinctions that  come  from  active  participation  in 
public  affairs.  He  is  known  as  a  hard  working, 
faithful  and  capable  lawyer,  a  student  of  current 
events,  and  an  able  administrator  of  public  office. 

Mr.  Greer  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Onslow 
County,  North  Carolina,  October  23,  1870,  a  son 
of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Bryan)  Greer.  Though 
his  early  life  was  spent  in  the  country  he  secured 
better  than  the  usual  schooling  afforded  to  country 
boys,  and  attended  both  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  his  section.  He  studied  law  in  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  in  February,  1900,  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
soon  afterward  locating  in  Whiteville,  where  he 
has  been  steadily  building  up  a  large  general 
practice. 

For  three  terms  Mr.  Greer  was  entrusted  with 
the  administration  of  the  office  of  county  attorney 
of  Columbus  County,  being  the  present  incumbent 
of  that  office  and  has  handled  every  detail  of  his 
official  work  with  exacting  care.  For  four  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of 
Whiteville,  and  resigned  that  office  when  elected 
to  the  State  Senate  in  1906.  He  was  in  the  State 
Senate  one  term. 

Mr.  Greer  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bar  Association,  of  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Fra- 
ternal Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  and  his  family  are 
members   of   the   Baptist   Church. 

On  November  8,  1896,  he  married  Miss  Etha 
Pridgen,  of  Pender  County,  North  Carolina.  They 
are  the  parents  ot  six  children:  Gladys  Jewett, 
Charles  Latimer,  Jackson,  Jr.,  William  Walton, 
Mary  Catherine  and  Francis  Benjamin. 

Thomas  Browx  Wojiack.  On  the  morning  of 
February  18,  1910,  the  immortal  soul  of  Thomas 
Brown  Womaek  passed  away  in  the  City  of  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  his  chosen  home,  and  thus  the  legal 
profession  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina  lost 
another  of  its  brightest  members. 

Born  on  the  12th  day  of  February,  1855,  at  Pitts- 
boro,  North  Carolina,  with  distinguished  ancestry 
on  both  sides  of  his  family,  he  began  life  under 
the  adversities  suffered  by  his  father  during  the 
Civil  war.  His  school  education  was  scanty,  ending 
at  the  Pittsboro  Academy  when  he  was  but  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  began  life  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
and  later  as  a  sewing  machine  agent.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  under 
the  direction  of  Hon.  John  Manning,  whose  careful 
tutorage,  aided  by  a  quick,  grasping  mind,  per- 
mitted Judge  Womaek  to  enter  his  profession  in 
1876,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  Overcoming  the 
disadvantages  from  the  lack  of  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion, he  arose  to  statewide  prominence  in  his  pro- 
fession on  account  of  his  accurate  mental  power, 
indefatigable  work  and  quick  attention  to  even 
the  smallest  details  of  his  practice. 

The    confidence   which   he   inspired    in   all    with 


168 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


whom  lie  came  in  contact  is  shown  by  the  many 
positions  which  his  fellowmen  bestowed  upon  him 
and  the  large  clientele  which  he  enjoyed.  In  1878 
he  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Inferior  Court  and  in 
1882  and  1884  was  twice  elected  to  the  General 
Assembly.  In  1889  he  was  principal  clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  the  Legislature  of 
North  Carolina,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Institution  for  the  Blind.  Upon 
the  resignation  of  Judge  Gilmer  as  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  in  the  Fifth  District,  Governor 
Fowle  appointed  him  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  all  of 
these  positions  he  was  noted  for  his  kindly  man- 
ner, his  courteous  bearing  and  marked  ability. 

In  1898  he  moved  from  Pittsboro  to  New  York 
City  as  an  associate  counsel  for  the  American 
Tobacco  Company,  soon  thereafter  removing  to  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  where  he  again  took  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  City  of 
Baleigh. 

The  profession  of  North  Carolina  is  greatly  in- 
debted to  him  as  the  author  of  "Womack's  Digest 
of  the  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court, ' '  and  the 
' '  Law  of  Private  Corporations  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina, ' '  both  books  of  great  value  to  the 
legal  profession  and  both  showing  the  carefulness 
with  which  he  accomplished  everything.  In  1903  he 
was  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  as  chairman  of 
the  commission  which  compiled  the  statutory  laws 
of  the  state,  now  composing  the  Revisal  of  North 
Carolina  in  1905.  In  1904  Wake  Forest  College 
honored  itself  and  him  by  conferring  upon  him  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

A  man  of  courteous  and  gentle  bearing  towards 
all,  but  of  a  quiet  dignity  which  commanded  re- 
spect, his  advice  was  freely  sought  not  only  by  the 
laymen  but  by  the  lawyers  throughout  the  state. 
An  able  advocate  and  an  excellent  trial  lawyer,  he 
was,  however,  at  his  best  in  an  advisory  capacity. 
He  abhorred  unnecessary  litigation.  Dealing 
always  fairly  and  uprightly  with  all  men,  it  was  his 
aim  and  endeavor  to  smooth  over  differences  be- 
tween his  fellow  men  and  to  keep  them  out  of 
litigation. 

Of  him  one  who  knew  him  intimately  and  who 
had  practiced  law  at  the  same  bar  with  him  truth- 
fully said: 

"I  never  heard  him  speak  evil  of  any  man,  or 
any  man  speak  evil  of  him.  He  had  no  envy  or 
jealousy  in  him.  If  he  lost  in  a  matter  he  was 
one  of  those  rare  men  who  offer,  in  sincerity,  con- 
gratulations to  the  winner.  He  was  glad  of  the 
success  of  any  man." 

A  courteous  gentleman,  an  upright  Christian,  a 
lover  of  his  fellow  men,  an  ever  willing  server  for 
the  good  of  his  state,  a  well  grounded  and  careful 
lawyer;  in  fact,  a  great  man  has  gone. —  (Con- 
tributed by  courtesy  of  W.  H.  Pace.) 

William  Heck  Pace  is  senior  member  of  the 
law  'firm  of  Pace  &  Boushall  of  Baleigh,  his  asso- 
ciate being  Mr.  John  H.  Boushall.  The  Baleigh 
bar  has  known  this  partnership  name  at  two  dif- 
ferent periods  in  the  past  half  century.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  both  the  young  men  now 
in  partnership  as  Pace  &  Boushall  are  sons  of  two' 
prominent  lawyers  who  were  likewise  associated  on 
a  partnership  basis  thirty  years  ago. 

The  father  of  William  Heck  Pace  was  William 
Hartwell  Pace,  who  was  born  in  Wake  County, 
North  Carolina,  gave  his  entire  life  to  his  profes- 
sion as  a  lawyer  and  died  in  1893.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  was  Mary  Louise  Heck. 

William  Heck  Pace  was  born  at  Raleigh  Decem- 


ber 7,  1883,  and  he  had  every  encouragement  and 
advantage  while  preparing  for  his  chosen  profes- 
sion. He  attended  the  Baleigh  Male  Academy, 
Wake  Forest  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
A.  B.  in  1903,  and  studied  law  both  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  and  at  Wake  Forest 
College.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  February, 
1905. 

Mr.  Pace  began  his  practice  at  Baleigh  and  from 
1906  was  associated  with  the  late  Judge  Thomas  B. 
Womack  until  the  latter 's  death  in  1910.  Mr. 
Pace  practiced  alone  until  September,  1913,  when 
he  formed  his  partnership  with  Mr.  John  H. 
Boushall. 

While  their  practice  is  general,  they  do  a  large 
amount  of  work  for  corporations,  and  are  attorneys 
for  the  Baleigh  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company, 
for  the  Western  Union  Company  and  for  the  estate 
of  Mrs.  F.  P.  Tucker. 

Mr.  Pace  is  a  member  of  the  Wake  County,  North 
Carolina  and  American  Bar  associations.  He  is  a 
lawyer  of  the  highest  standing,  has  a  splendid 
equipment  and  the  qualifications  of  mental  ability 
and  integrity,  and  his  successful  career  may  be 
said  to  have  only  begun.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Baleigh  Country  Club,  and  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church. 

On  June  18,  1912,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Skinner  of  Raleigh.  They  have  one  son,  William 
Heck,  Jr.,  born  February  12,  1914. 

D.  Russell  Foster,  who  has  become  well  known 
in  Wilmington  in  real  estate  circles  and  in  con- 
nection with  a  number  of  business  concerns,  was 
born  at  Wilmington  March  30,  1882,  a  son  of 
Flavel  W.  and  Gertrude  S.  (Hall)  Foster.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  the  Horner  Military 
School  and  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege at  Baleigh. 

His  father  was  for  many  years  a  successful 
manufacturer  of  lumber  at  Wilmington.  He  died 
December  5,  1902,  when  Russell  Foster  was  twenty 
years  of  age  and  still  in  school.  Called  home  by 
the  death,  Russell  Foster  at  once  resumed  the 
responsibilities  of  managing  his  father's  affairs, 
and  the  lumber  business  engaged  his  time  and 
energies  for  about  three  years. 

In  1905  Mr.  Foster  established  his  first  real 
estate  business,  and  since  carried  out  some  ex- 
tensive plans  for  the  platting  and  sale  of  important 
subdivisions  in  and  around  Wilmington,  and 
among  others  has  laid  out  Carolina  Court.  He 
also  organized  the  People's  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  of  which  he  is  secretary  and  treasurer, 
organized  the  Manhattan  Company  and  is  a  direc- 
tor of  the  People's  Bank.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Cape  Fear  Club  and  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church. 

April  3,  1908,  he  married  Miss  Anna  S.  Man- 
ley,  of  Canton,  Pennsylvania.  They  are  the  proud 
parents  of  three  sons:  Bandolph  Manley,  Bobert 
Manley  and  Bobert  Flavel. 

Charles  Aurelius  Webb  is  one  of  the  really 
distinguished  men  of  Western  North  Carolina. 
He  was  licensed  to  practice  law  and  located  at 
Asheville  in  1891.  Folitical  honors  followed  rap- 
idly upon  his  first  successes  as  a  lawyer,  and  for 
three  successive  terms  he  represented  Buncombe 
County  in  the  State  Senate.  As  chairman  o*'  the 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  In-  proved  him- 
self one  of  the  ablest  political  managers  the  party 
has  ever  had,  and  made  North  Carolina  practi- 
cally a.  unit  for  the  welfare  and  strength  of  de- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


169 


mocraey  in  the  nation.  Mr.  Webb  is  now  serving 
his  second  term  as  United  States  marshal  for  the 
Western  District  of  North   Carolina. 

He  was  born  at  Warrenton,  North  Carolina, 
November  4,  1866,  sou  of  Alexander  S.  and  An- 
abelle  ( Moore j  Webb.  The  Webb  family  has 
long  been  prominent  in  Orange  County,  North 
Carolina,  his  great-grandfather  on  his  father's 
side,  Richard  Stanford,  being  for  many  years  a 
member  of  the  United  States  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. Alexander  S.  Webb  served  four  years 
in  the  Confederate  army  and  was  as  brave  a 
soldier  as  ever  followed  Lee  and  Jackson.  He 
was  in  many  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war 
and  a  few  months  before  Appomattox  was  cap- 
tured and  was  in  prison  at  Fort  Delaware  until 
practically  the  end  of  the  war.  The  mother  of 
Charles  A.  Webb  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Junius 
P.  Moore,  a  noted  Methodist  minister  of  Person 
County,   North   CaroUna. 

The  close  of  the  war  found  Alexander  S.  Webb 
absolutely  without  means,  and  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion period  that  followed  he  was  unable  to  accumu- 
eumulate  a  margin  above  necessary  expenses  suf- 
ficient to  provide  a  liberal  education  for  his  chil- 
dren. Therefore  Charles  A.  Webb  had  a  rare 
stroke  of  good  fortune  when  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  was  taken  into  the  home  of  his  noted  uncles, 
W.  R.  and  J.  M.  Webb,  proprietors  and  princi- 
pals of  the  famous  Webb  School  at  Bellbuckle, 
Tennessee.  There  he  was  given  the  benefit  of 
four  years  of  training  in  this  school,  which  has 
equipped  thousands  of  successful  men  for  col- 
lege and  for  life.  From  that  school  he  went  into 
the  ranks  of  teachers  for  one  year,  and  applied 
his  earnings  to  the  entrance  fee  and  other  ex- 
penses when  be  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1886.  Through  the  generosity  and 
kindness  of  Dr.  Kemp  P.  Battle  he  secured  loans 
from  the  Deems  Fund  and  the  Smith  Fund,  and 
by  tutoring  other  students,  keeping  the  Society 
Library,  and  performing  other  work  he  remained 
at  the  university  until  he  graduated  in  1889  with 
the  highest  honors.  However,  he  was  heavily  in 
debt  for  his  education  when  he  left  university, 
but  had  something  more  than  the  average  gradu- 
ate, a  training  in  self-reliance  and  a  familiarity 
with  the  value  of  struggle  and  industry  as  a  key 
to  unlock  the  resources  of  life.  Mr.  Webb  gradu- 
ated second  in  a  class  of  twenty-one  at  the  Uni- 
versity, was  Washington  's  Birthday  orator  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1889,  won  the  debater's  and  essayist's 
medals  in  the  Dialectic  Society  in  the  same  year 
and  on  his  graduation  was  awarded  the  Wiley  P. 
Mangum   oratorical   medal. 

The  fall  following  his  graduation  from  Univer- 
sity Mr.  Webb  moved  to  Asheville,  and  during 
the  next  two  years  was  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city.  He  had  carried  some  courses 
in  the  law  while  at  the  university  and  subsequently 
studied  law  at  the  university  under  the  late  Dr. 
John  Manning  and  Judge  James  E.  Shepherd. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1891  and  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  enjoyed 
a  large  and  successful  practice,  has  been  consid- 
ered one  of  the  most  resourceful  trial  lawyers  in 
the  Asheville  District  and  was  connected  with 
some  of  the  highly  important  litigation  in  the 
courts  of  the  state.  He  was  a  leading  attorney 
in  the  case  of  the  Southern  Railway  Company  vs. 
Commissioners,  involving  the  tax  levy  of  Bun- 
combe County  for  1907.  The  primary  question  of 
the  case  was  the  limitation  of  the  poll  tax  to  $2 
on    the   head.      Mr.    Webb    insisted   from    the    he- 


ginning  of  the  controversy  that  in  no  event  could 
the  poll  tax  exceed  $2.  Although  it  was  gener- 
ally thought  that  the  Supreme  Court  would  be 
of  a  different  opinion,  the  court  sustained  Mr. 
Webb 's  contentions  and  in  effect  overruled  the 
trend  of  many  former  decisions  of  the  court  which 
held  a  contrary  view. 

While  Mr.  Webb  was  a  successful  lawyer  before 
he  was  widely  known  in  polities,  he  has  always 
been  deeply  interested  in  political  affairs,  be- 
ginning his  services  as  ehairmau  of  the  City 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  and  later  be- 
ing transferred  to  county  and  state  committees. 
He  was  elected  to  represent  Buncombe  County 
in  the  State  Senate  three  times,  in  1902,  1904  and 
1906.  His  veteran  republican  rivals  in  those 
three  elections  were,  respectively,  Thomas  Settle, 
W.  G.  Candler  and  V.  S.  Lusk.  An  excellent  re- 
view of  his  senatorial  work  was  contained  in  a 
brief  editorial  in  the  Raleigh  News  &  Observer: 
"This  is  his  third  successive  term  in  the  Sen- 
ate, and  he  has  proved  worthy  in  every  instance 
of  the  honots  that  have  been  conferred  upon  him. 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  Senate  in  1905  he 
was  chosen  president  pro  tern  and  again  in  1907 
this  honor  fell  worthily  upon  him.  While  act- 
ing as  presiding  officer  at  times  during  the  ses- 
sion he  showed  ability  and  capacity  for  presid- 
ing of  the  highest  order,  and  was  recognized  as 
a  parliamentarian   of  rare  capacity. 

"In  1907  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  insane  asylums,  and  shares  jointly  with  Eep- 
resentative  Bickett  (now  governor),  the  honor  of 
having  secured  the  passage  of  the  bill  appropriat- 
ing $500,000  for  permanent  improvements  for 
the  state  hospitals  and  for  hospitals  for  the  in- 
digent insane,  the  dangerous  idiots  and  epilep- 
tics. The  governor  has  appointed  him  a  member 
of  the  commission  of  five  to  spend  that  $500,000 
and  a  better  appointment  could  not  have  been 
made.  He  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittees on  counties,  cities  and  towns,  corporation 
commission,  election  law  and  rules  committee.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  conference  committee  that 
secured  an  agreement  with  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  made  it  possible  to  secure  the  pas- 
sage of  the  2%  per  cent  passenger  rate  bill.  Sen- 
ator Webb  was  one  of  the  best  leaders  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate.  He  is  a  conservative  thinker 
and  an  able  and  a  fearless  advocate  of  the  causes 
he  represents  and  his  conception  of  the  duty  of 
a  Senator,  to  wit :  To  represent  his  people,  is 
eminently  correct.  In  him  Buncombe  County  has 
a  senator  who  fully  measured  up  to  the  high 
standards  set  by  that  county  that  has  sent  many 
notable  men  to  the  State  Senate." 

After  the  appointment  of  the  State,  Hospital 
Commission  Mr.  Webb  was  elected  its  chairman. 
While  in  the  State  Senate  in  1903  he  introduced 
and  secured  the  passage  of  the  bill  which  limits 
the  time  attorneys  may  address  juries  in. certain 
cases.  This  statute  effected  a  real  reform  in  court 
procedure,  and  its  application  has  no  doubt  been 
a  means  of  saving  the  state  many  thousands  of 
dollars. 

While  in  the  Senate  he  also  conceived  the  idea 
of  enlarging  the  jurisdiction  of  municipal  courts, 
and  prepared  the  bill  which  afterwards  became 
the  act  establishing  the  present  police  court  of 
the  City  of  Asheville.  The  jurisdiction  of  this 
court  was  assailed  in  the  case  of  State  vs.  Lytle. 
but  his  ideas  were  sustained  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  Since  then  many  other  cities  and  towns 
have  had  similar  jurisdiction  conferred  upon  their 


170 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


police  courts,  and  the  original  measure  alone  has 
in  many  instances  revolutionized  the  handling  of 
criminal  and  civil  eases  in  larger  towns  and 
cities. 

All  who  have  followed  the  private  and  public 
career  of  Mr.  Webb  to  any  extent  will  agree  to 
the  correctness  of  the  following  estimate:  "He 
has  almost  an  infinite  capacity  for  details  and 
is  quick  in  thought  and  action.  It  has  been  said 
of  him  that  his  capacity  for  detail  and  untiring 
energy  made  him  one  of  the  most  effective  legis- 
lators the  state  has  ever  had.  Mr.  Webb  is  one 
of  the  strongest  political  leaders  in  Western  North 
Carolina,  and  is  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  a 
dangerous  foe  in  a  political  fight  and  an  inval- 
uable friend  to  the  side  he  espouses.  He  has  a 
very  wide  acquaintance,  is  a  good  judge  of  men 
and  faithful  to  a  fault  in  behalf  of  his  friends. 
To  say  that  he  is  a  man  of  ability  is  to  speak 
what  many  already  know.  But  he  is  much  more 
than  that;  he  knows  how  to  turn  his  ability  into 
practical  utility;  he  is  wise  and  far-seeing.  His 
judgment  is  very  frequently   sought   after." 

Political  leaders  will  remember  the  splendid 
results  that  he  obtaintd  as  chairman  of  the 
State  Democratic  Executive  Committee  in  1912, 
when  Governor  Craig  was  elected  head  of  the 
State  Government  and  when  North  Carolina  rolled 
up  a  complete  majority  for  Woodrow  Wilson. 
In  that  year  the  governor  carried  the  state  over 
other  candidates  by  56,400  votes,  a  gain  of  nearly 
20,000  over  the  former  governor  's  majority,  while 
President  Wilson  's  majority  of  46,238  was  a  gain 
of  more  than  22,000  over  the  vote  of  1908.  At  the 
same  time  the  indefatigable  manager  of  that  cam- 
paign brought  about  the  election  of  103  democratic 
members  of  the  Legislature  and  forty-seven  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate,  making  the  most  complete 
democratic  victory  the  state  had  had  for  many 
years.  In  the  same  year  North  Carolina  sent  a 
solid  delegation  of  ten  democratic  representatives 
to  Congress. 

Mr.  Webb  would  have  made  a  most  competent 
United  States  attorney.  However,  on  December 
24,  1913,  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  United 
States  marshal  for  the  Western  District  of  North 
Carolina,  from  President  Wilson,  and  after  four 
years  of  valued  service  in  that  position,  was 
renominated  and  reappointed  in  December,  1917. 

Mr.  Webb  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  North 
Carolina  to  appreciate  the  western  section  of  the 
state  for  its  value  and  possibilities  as  a  fruit 
and  cattle  raising  district.  He  has  taken  effec- 
tive means  to  demonstrate  these  possibilities.  He 
himself  owns  the  finest  apple  orchard  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  and  has  one  of  the  fine 
stock  farms  of  the  state.  The  Webb  orchard  is  a 
remarkable  demonstration  of  the  class  and  qual- 
ity of  fruit  which  Western  North  Carolina  can 
and  does  grow.  He  was  one  of  the  originators 
and  promoters  of  the  association  which  drained 
and  reclaimed  50.000  acres  of  land  in  Lake  Matta- 
mustreet  in  Hyde  County.  In  February,  1915, 
Mr.  Webb  bought  the  Asheville  Gazette-News, 
changing  its  name  to  The  Asheville  Times,  and  is 
now  the  principal  owner  of  this  metropolitan  and 
highly  influential  paper  of  Western  North  Car- 
olina. 

Mr.  Webb  served  as  grand  chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  for  North  Carolina  in  1896, 
and  was  twice  elected  supreme  representative  of 
that  order  to  the  supreme  lodge.  He  is  also  a 
Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Eoval  Arcanum.     He 


is  a  member   of  the  Asheville  Country   Club  and 
the  Asheville  Club. 

On  July  10,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Bell  Bruce 
Banks,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Mrs.  Webb  died  in 
1913,  leaving  four  children.  Charles  Bruce,  the 
oldest,  born  June  8,  1896,  is  now  serving  as 
second  lieutenant  in  the  Three  Hundred  and 
Eighteenth  Machine  Gun  Battalion.  Robert  Stan- 
ford, born  February  18,  1901,  is  a  student  in  the 
Asheville  School ;  Julia  Banks  is  a  student  of  Oak- 
hurst,  Asheville;  Mandeville  Alexander,  the  young- 
est, born  July  15,  1908,  is  also  a  student  in  the 
Asheville  schools.  Afterwards  Mr.  Webb  married 
Mrs.  Jessie  Close  Shaw,  a  native  of  Michigan, 
but  who  had  resided  in  Asheville  for  some  years. 

Eugene  C.  Ward  is  one  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  Asheville  bar,  member  of  the  firm 
Smathers  &  Ward,  and  has  connected  himself  with 
some  of  the  substantial  and  influential  interests 
of  his  home  city. 

Mr.  Ward  was  born  in  Haywood  County,  North 
Carolina,  November  10,  1888,  a  son  of  Admiral 
Eugene  and  Mary  C.  (Long)  Ward.  His  father 
was  a  farmer  and  Mr.  Ward' grew  up  in  the  coun- 
try, attended  the  district  schools,  also  the  gram- 
mar school  and  high  school  of  Waynesville,  and 
from  1907  to  1911  was  a  student  in  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  In  1913  he  was  again  in 
University  pursuing  a  special  course.  He  read 
law  privately  and  also  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  and  was  graduated  and  admitted  to 
practice  on  August  13,  1913.  For  three  years 
while  preparing  for  his  profession  he  taught 
school.  In  January,  1914,  he  formed  his  present 
partnership  with  Mr.  G.  H.  Smathers  under  the 
name  Smathers  &  Ward,  and  their  practice  is 
largely  land  law  and  land  title  law. 

Mr.  Ward  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
Buncombe  County  and  North  Carolina  State  Bar 
Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  High  School 
Building  Committee  and  is  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Asheville  Club. 

George  Junkin  Ramsey  has  for  years  been  one 
of  the  educational  leaders  in  the  South.  His  work 
has  identified  him  with  different  states,  but  from 
1912  until  his  resignation  in  the  spring  of  1916 
he  was  president  of  Peace  Institute  at  Raleigh,  and 
thus  became  a  figure  in  North  Carolina  educational 
affairs. 

How  high  a  place  he  occupied  as  a  school  man 
and  citizen  of'  Raleigh  is  well  indicated  in  an 
editorial  which  appeared  in  the  Raleigh  News- 
Observer  commenting  upon  his  resignation  as 
president  of  Peace  Institute.  It  is  fitting  that 
some  sentences  from  that  editorial  should  be  quoted 
in  connection  with  this  brief  article  on  his  career: 

"Some  four  years  ago  Dr.  Ramsey  accepted  the 
presidency  of  Peace  Institute,  having  held  high 
positions  in  the  educational  world,  and  his  ability 
being  recognized  by  his  colleagues  in  his  election 
to  important  positions  in  educational  organiza- 
tions. In  Raleigh  he  has  won  a  place  not  only  as 
a  distinguished  educator,  but  as  a  man  interested 
in  the  various  activities  which  are  factors  for  civic 
betterment.  A  man  of  virility,  he  has  given  freely 
of  himself  in  work  to  advance  the  interests  of 
Peace  Institute  and  of  this  city.  Under  his  ad- 
ministration Peace  Institute  has  made  marked  prog- 
ress, the  new  life  in  it  being  shown  by  the  move- 
ment now  in  progress  to  raise  two  hundred  thou- 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


m 


sand  dollars  to  give  tlie  institution  greater  op- 
portunity for  service. 

"Raleigh  joins  with  the  officials  of  Peace  In- 
stitute in  its  regret  that  Dr.  Ramsey  resigns  the 
position  of  president  of  the  institution.  It  recog- 
nizes that  lie  would  not  take  the  step  he  has  did 
he  not  consider  it  one  involving  his  vital  interests, 
"iet  it  wishes  that  he  could  have  seen  things  dif- 
ferently. He  has  rendered  that  service  to  Peace 
Institute  which  the  board  of  trustees  recognize 
have  put  it  into  excellent  condition.  He  has  made 
a  place  for  himself  in  Raleigh,  our  people  holding 
him  in  the  highest  regard,  wishing  for  him  the 
greatest  success  in  whatever  he  may  undertake,  and 
doing  this  because  they  recognize  that  he  deserves 
the  very  best." 

George  Junkin  Ramsey  was  born  in  Rockbridge 
County,  Virginia,  June  28,  1857,  a  son  of  James  B. 
and  Sabra  CTracy)  Ramsey.  His  father  was  a 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  Mr.  Ramsey  graduated  A.  M. 
from  Hampden-Sidney  College  in  1878,  and  during 
the  following  year  pursued  post-graduate  work  in 
the  University  of  Virginia.  In  1898  he  was 
honored  with  the  degree  LL.  D.  from  the  South- 
western Presbyterian  University  of  Tennessee. 

He  began  his  career  in  school  work  as  professor 
of  Latin  in  Ogden  College  in  Kentucky,  where  he 
remained  from  1880  to  1884.  He  was  president  of 
Silliman  Institute  in  Louisiana  from  1884  to  1899. 
From  the  latter  year  until  1902  he  was  editor  in 
chief  of  the  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Company  of 
Richmond,  Virginia,  and  then  became  president  of 
King  College  at  Bristol,  Tennessee.  During  1904- 
06  he  was  president  of  Sayre  Institute  in  Kentucky, 
and  in  the  latter  year  took  the  chair  as  professor 
of  education  in  the  Central  University  of  Ken- 
tucky. He  held  that  post  until  1912,  and  during 
tlie  last  two  years  had  been  assisant  to  the  presi- 
dent. 

Doctor  Ramsey  has  exercised  many  opportunities 
for  service  and  influence  in  the  organized  educa- 
tional bodies.  He  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Educational  Association,  was  president  in  1897- 
9S  of  the  Southern  Educational  Association,  is  a 
member  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  and 
of  the  Southern  Educational  Council,  which  he 
served  ,-»s  president  in  1912.  He  is  on  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Conference  for  Education  in 
the  South  (the  Ogden  movement ) ,  and  was  execu- 
tive secretary  of  the  Kentucky  Educational  Com- 
mission created  by  the  Legislature  to  revise  the 
school  laws  of  that  state.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  and  of  the  National  Institute  of  Social 
Sciences. 

On  July  1,  1884,  Mr.  Ramsey  married  Annie 
Stevens,  a  native  of  Georgia  and  representing  an 
old  family  of  that  state.  They  are  the  parents 
of  three  children :  Sumner  Morrison,  who  is  now 
editor  of  the  News  at  Wichita  Falls,  Texas;  Anna 
Sabra,  at  home;  and  George  LeConte,  a  lieutenant 
in  the  regular  army. 

Hon.  John*  Albert  McRak.  An  able  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  bar,  Hon.  John  Albert  Mc- 
Rae,  of  Charlotte,  is  also  a  leader  of  the  state 
democracy,  and  a  citizen  who  has  impressed  the 
force  and  straightforwardness  of  his  character 
upon  the  legislation  and  institutions  of  his  native 
commonwealth.  As  a  member  of  the  Upper  House 
of  the  General  Assembly  his  service  has  been  of 
great  practical  value  to  his  constituents  and  he 
has  been  noted  as  one  of  the  most  serviceable 
members   of  the   State  Senate,  ready   and  logical 


in  debate  and  yet  alive  to  all  the  practical  demands 
of  his  district  and  industrious  in  pushing  forward 
all  needful  legislation. 

John  Albert  McRae  was  born  at  White  Store, 
Anson  County,  North  Carolina,  December  29,  1875, 
his  parents  being  Dr.  John  A.  and  Lavinia 
(Boggan)  McRae,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
Both  were  born  in  Anson  County,  of  Scotch-Irish 
ancestry,  and  Doctor  McRae  was  a  physician  dur- 
ing all  the  active  period  of  his  life.  John  A.  Mc- 
Rae attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  com- 
munity and  the  Marshville  High  School,  follow- 
ing which  he  enrolled  as  a  student  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  where  he  took  both  the  academic 
and  law  courses  and  was  licensed  to  practice  law 
in  1903  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina 
at  Raleigh.  Prior  to  his  studies  at  the  uni- 
versity he  had  entered  upon  his  public  career,  hav- 
ing been  elected  as  representative  in  the  Lower 
House  of  the  State  Legislature  by  his  home  county, 
Anson,  and  serving  in  the  session  of  1903.  In 
that  year  he  came  to  Charlotte  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  risen 
to  a  leading  place  in  a  community  that  does  not 
lack  for  skilled  and  learned  legists.  In  1907  he 
was  elected  city  attorney  of  Charlotte,  an  office 
which  he  held  for  two  years. 

In  1904  Mr.  McRae  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  State  Senate  from  the  Twenty-fourth  Sena- 
torial District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Meck- 
lenburg and  Cabarrus,  and  at  once  began  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  this  body  in 
the  session  which  began  in  January,  1915.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  elections,  and  a 
member  of  the  judiciary,  insurance  and  several 
other  important  committees.  Perhaps  the  most 
notable  feature  of  Senator  McRae 's  work  in  the 
session  referred  to  was  in  connection  with  the 
law  entitled  "An  Act  Relating  to  the  Incorpora- 
tion, Management  and  Supervision  of  Credit 
Unions  and  Co-Operative  Associations,"  which  he 
succeeded  in  having  passed.  This  law  provides  for 
the  organization  and  incorporation  of  rural  credit 
unions,  which  may  receive  the  savings  of  their 
members  in  payment  for  shares,  or  on  deposit,  and 
which  may  lend  to  their  members  money  at  the 
legal  rate  of  interest;  or  may  invest,  as  provided 
by  the  act,  the  funds  so  accumulated,  and  may 
undertake  such  other  activities  relating  to  the  pur- 
pose of  the  corporations  as  their  by-laws  may  au- 
thorize. The  principle  involved  in  the  act  is  some 
what  analogous  to  the  building  and  loan  idea,  with 
special  application  to  farmers  and  rural  com- 
munities. Its  object  is  to  encourage  saving  and 
thrift  among  farmers,  and  to  secure  the  results 
that  spring  from  co-operation.  The  building  and 
loan  associations  having  proved  so  great  a  success 
in  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  state,  it  was  Sen- 
ator McRae 's  desire  to  amend  the  Building  and 
Loan  Law  so  that  it  would  be  adaptable  to  the 
rural  communities.  Under  the  regulations  of  the 
regular  building  and  loan  associations,  loans  are 
only  made  on  real  estate,  and  for  a  period  of 
something  over  six  years.  There  are  many  farm- 
ers who  own  no  real  estate,  but  who  are  prompt 
in  meeting  their  obligations  when  their  crops  are 
gathered  and  marketed.  It  suits  them  to  meet 
their  obligations  annually  instead  of  carrying 
them  over  a  long  period  of  years.  The  land 
and  loan  association  act  authored  and  passed  by 
Senator  McRae  contains  provisions  for  short-term 
loans  and  on  personal  endorsement  or  upon  per- 
sonal property  as  security.     In  all  other  respects 


172 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


it  is  the  same  as  the  regular  building  association, 
which  has  been  tried   and  proven  successful. 

Senator  McRae  is  author  also  of  a  bill  creating 
an  Arbor  Day  in  North  Carolina,  which  was  passed, 
and  aided  in  the  passage  of  the  state  primary  law 
and  a  number  of  other  acts.  He  secured  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law  entitled  ' '  An  Act  to  Authorize  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  or  other  Governing  Body  of 
Towns  and  Cities  to  Issue,  Upon  Approval  by 
Vote  of  the  People,  Bonds  for  Purchasing  Sites, 
Erecting  Building-s,  Etc.,  for  School  Purposes." 
He  also  aided  in  the  passage  of  the  bill  regulating 
the  practice  of  architecture  and  creating  a  board 
of  examiners  of  architects  and  providing  for  the 
registration  of  architects.  In  every  way  his  serv- 
ice has  been  a  most  commendable  one,  alike  bene- 
ficial to  his  county  and  state,  helpful  to  his  con- 
stituents and  of  the  utmost  credit  to  himself  and 
his  achievements.  He  is  being  spoken  of  as  can- 
didate for  the  United  States  Congress. 

On  January  22,  1916.  Senator  McRae  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mattie  T.  Ham,  of 
Wayne  County,  North  Carolina.  Of  this  union 
there  have  been  born  Maltha  Ham  and  John 
Albert,  Jr. 

Charles  Mort  Fleming.  One  of  the  best 
known  figures  in  the  tobacco  industry  of  East  Cen- 
tral North  Carolina  is  Charles  Mort  Fleming, 
whose  headquarters  are  Wilson,  but  whose  activi- 
ties in  this  great  industry  have  made  his  name 
known  throughout  a  broad  contiguous  territory. 
Practically  from  the  outset  of  his  career  Mr. 
Fleming  has  been  identified  in  some  capacity  with 
the  tobacco  business,  and  as  the  years  have  passed 
lie  has  advanced  to  more  and  more  prominent  po- 
sitions until  today  he  is  recognized  as  a  leading 
factor  in  the  business  and  one  of  the  best  posted 
ment  therein  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  is  at 
this  time  manager  and  buyer  for  the  well  known 
Imperial   Tobacco  Company,  Limited. 

Mr.  Fleming  has  passed  nearly  all  his  life  in 
the  community  in  which  he  now  lives.  He  was 
born  in  Warren  County,  North  Carolina,  May 
19,  1862,  his  parents  being  Charles  Joseph  and 
Winnie  (Paschal)  Fleming,  well  known  farming 
people  of  that  county,  where  the  elder  Fleming 
was  a  subtsantial  agriculturist  and  the  owner  of 
a  valuable  property.  While  growing  to  young 
manhood  Charles  M.  Fleming  was  given  his  edu- 
cational training  in  private  schools  in  Warren 
County,  and  his  career  was  started  as  a  farmer, 
a  vocation  at  which  he  was  engaged  until  he  was 
about  twenty  years  of  age.  With  rare  foresight 
he  recognized  that  a  future  lay  before  him  in 
the  tobacco  business,  and  in  1882,  at  Oxford, 
North  Carolina,  lie  began  operations  therein.  As 
a  buyer  and  seller  he  gained  much  experience  at 
Oxford,  and  in  1890  changed  his  base  of  opera- 
tions to  Wilson,  where  he  purchased  the  first  to- 
bacco placed  for  sale  upon  the  organization  of 
the  market  at  this  place.  Since  then  his  head- 
quarters have  been  here  and  he  has  steadily  risen 
to  a  foremost  place  among  the  men  who  have 
developed  the  industry.  From  1890  until  1902 
Mr.  Fleming  centered  his  operations  in  leaf  to- 
bacco, handling  that  commodity  exclusively,  but 
in  the  latter  year  accepted  the  position  of  man- 
ager and  buyer  for  the  large  Imperial  Tobacco 
Company  (of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland),  Limited, 
with  which  he  has  since  been  identified.  The 
volume  of  the  business  which  lie  does  as  repre- 
sentative for  the  corporation  which  he  represents 
is    shown    by    the    fact    that    during    the    fifteen 


years  past  he  has  bought  on  an  average  of  9,000,- 
000  pounds  annually  for  the  concern,  and  in  1915 
his  purchases  amounted  to  approximately  14,000,- 
000  pounds.  He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  among 
the  foremost  men  in  the  industry,  and  wherever 
known  is  accounted  a  reliable,  practical  man  of 
business,  and  one  of  the  best  judges  of  values 
and  crops  connected  with  the  industry.  In  ad- 
dition, Mr.  Fleming  is  extensively  interested  in 
agricultural  ventures,  owning  much  valuable  land 
and  operating  a  number  of  cotton  gins.  He  has 
invested  much  of  his  capital  in  city  business  prop- 
erty at  Wilson,  and  has  assisted  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  city  in  both  an  industrial  and  civic 
way. 

Mr.  Fleming  was  married  at  Wilson,  December 
29,  1891,  to  Miss  Mattie  Crews,  of  Oxford,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  six  children:  Allie  W., 
who  is  the  wife  of  Louis  Williams,  of  Weldon, 
North  Carolina ;  Roscoe  Briggs,  who  married  Nan- 
nie Briggs,  of  Wilson ;  and  Charles  Mort,  Jr., 
Will  Randolph,  Lalla  Rookh.and  Alice  Herring, 
at  home. 

FranS;  Kingsbury  Thomson.  Among  the 
labors  to  which  men  devote  their  activities  there 
are  none  which  have  a  more  important  bearing 
upon  the  growth  and  development  of  any  com- 
munity than  those  which  have  to  do  with  architec- 
ture and  building  and  their  allied  interests.  The 
vocations  which  fashion  and  erect  the  homes  of 
citizens  and  the  large  buildings  in  which  important 
enterprises  are  housed  are  among  the  oldest  known 
to  civilization,  and  in  their  ranks  have  been  found 
men  who  have  risen  to  high  places  in  the  world. 
The  community  which  may  boast  of  able  and 
energetic  workers  in  these  fields  seldom  wants  for 
enterprise  and  civic  zeal.  They  create  a  demand 
for  their  services,  and  while  advancing  their  own 
interests  they  promote  the  community's  growth. 
Without  such  men  a  city  may  not  hope  to  prosper, 
for,  lacking  their  initiative,  skill  and  resource, 
other  enterprises  are  affected  and  often  fall  into 
the  rut  of  mediocrity  that  eventuates  in  failure. 

Among  the  leading  representatives  in  building 
and  architectural  work  in  the  constantly  growing 
city  of  Raleigh,  Frank  Kingsbury  Thomson  holds 
a  deservedly  high  place.  He  first  came  to  this 
city  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  but  for  a  time  was 
largely  engaged  in  operations  in  the  government 
service;  since  1910,  however,  he  has  devoted  him- 
self to  the  private  practice  of  his  profession,  and 
since  then  some  of  Raleigh  's  large  structures  have 
been  erected  under  his  supervision  and  according 
to  his  plans. 

Mr.  Thomson  was  born  in  the  City  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  April  21,  1872,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Belle  (Kingsbury)  Thomson.  He  undountcdly 
inherits  a  great  deal  of  his  artistic  ability,  for 
for  his  father  was  a  wood  engraver  and  a  master 
in  an  art  that  is  practically  lost.  Mr.  Thomson 
secured  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  city,  following  which  he  attended 
the  University  of  Tennessee,  and  upon  his  gradua- 
tion from  that  institution  further  prepared  him- 
self for  his  vocation  by  attending  several  schools 
of  architecture  and  building.  Coming-  to  Raleigh 
in  1898,  he  established  himself  in  practice  as  an 
architect,  and  his  work  soon  attracted  wide-spread 
attention,  so  that  lie  was  called  to  the  Central 
AVest  to  superintend  the  erection  of  some  large 
and  important  buildings.  While  thus  engaged  he 
was  employed  by  the  United  State  government  in 
the  building  of  a  number  of  its  structures,  these 


fa&.fL 


MES.  W.  II.  G.  LUCAS 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


173 


including  army  posts,  barracks  and  other  works, 
under  the  quartermaster 's  department.  Among 
these  were  Fort  MeKiuley,  at  Portland,  Maine; 
Fort  Lovette,  the  artillery  post  at  Portland;  and 
Whipple  Barracks  at  Prescott,  Arizona.  After 
spending  four  years  in  the  government  service, 
Mr.  Thomson  once  more  took  up  his  residence  at 
Raleigh,  and  here  has  devoted  himself  to  archi- 
tectural designing  and  supervising  the  erection  of 
various  edifices.  His  life  has  been  one  of  continu- 
ous activity  in  which  he  has  been  accorded  due 
recognition  of  the  value  of  his  labor.  He  is  a 
member  and  an  ex-pvesideut  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Architectural  Association.  A  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  business  council 
of  that  body,  no  citizen  has  been  more  active  iu 
the  promotion  of  Raleigh  's  progress  and  advance- 
ment, and  none  enjoys  a  higher  standing  both  in 
business  and  social  circles. 

In  December,  1903,  Mr.  Thomson  was  married 
to  Miss  Jessie  Allen,  of  Raleigh,  daughter  of 
William  Allen,  and  to  this  union  there  have  been 
born  three  children,  namely :  Allen,  Grace  and 
James. 

James  McKimmon  after  graduating  from  the 
College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  in  1904, 
at  once  entered  upon  a  business  career  at  Raleigh, 
and  for  nine  years  was  connected  with  the  Raleigh 
Banking  and  Trust  Company,  part  of  the  time  as 
clerk  and  part  of  the  time  as  chief  bookkeeper. 

He  left  the  bank  to  take  up  business  of  his  own 
in  the  insurance  and  real  estate  fields.  He  is  now 
head  of  the  firm  of  McKimmon  and  McKee,  a  firm 
that  has  steadily  built  up  a  fine  reputation  and  an 
extensive  clientage  as  dealers  and  brokers  in  real 
estate  and  as  representatives  of  all  kinds  of  in- 
surance. 

He  was  born  in  Athens,  Georgia,  June  16,  1885, 
and  when  an  infant  was  brought  to  Raleigh  by  his 
parents,  James  and  Leila  (Hull)  McKimmon.  His 
father  was  a  druggist.  Thus  Mr.  James  McKim- 
mon was  reared  in  Raleigh,  and  before  entering 
college  attended  the  public  schools  and  Morson's 
private  school.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Capital 
and  Country  clubs  and  of  the  Sigma  Nu  fraternity. 

November  2.  1910,  he  married  Willa  Norris, 
daughter  of  the  late  M.  T.  Norris,  of  Raleigh.  They 
have  three  children:  Cornelia,  James,  Jr.,  and 
Henry  Hull.  Politically  Mr.  McKimmon  is  a 
democrat. 

William  H.  G.  Lucas.  M.  D.  Beloved  and 
trusted  at  home  and  honored  abroad,  may  be  truth- 
fully written  of  Dr.  William  H.  G.  Lucas,  formerly 
a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate, 
and  for  fifty  years  a  faithful  and  successful  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  of  Bladen  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. His  busy,  useful  life  has  largely  been  de- 
voted to  assisting  others  professionally  and  other- 
wise. To  his  energetic  efforts  on  their  behalf,  his 
neighbors  and  fellow  citizens  at  White  Oak  and 
in  the  entire  Cape  Fear  section  are  indebted  for 
their  physical  soundness  very  generally,  and  for 
many  of  the  material  modern  comforts  and  con- 
veniences that  play  so  large  a  part  in  bringing 
about  neighborhood  well-being  and  social  content- 
ment. 

William  H.  G.  Lucas  was  born  September  19, 
1S44,  at  White  Hall,  Bladen  County,  North  Caro- 
line. His  parents  were  John  J.  D.  and  Mary 
(Rothwell)  Lucas,  and  his  paternal  grandfather 
was  Henry  Lucas,  of  Scotch  ancestry,  who  lived 
and    died    at    White    Hall,    which    was    the    old 


family  seat  for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  Prior 
to  the  period  covered  by  the  war  between  the 
states,  North  Carolina  had  numerous  excellent 
private  schools  and  one  of  the  most  notable  was 
A.  P.  Gage 's  school  at  Laurinburg  in  Scotland 
County.  In  that  school  Doctor  Lucas  came  under 
the  care  of  a  teacher  noted  for  his  deep  classical 
learning  and  scholarship,  his  ability  to  impart 
knowledge  to  his  pupils,  his  tact  and  diplomacy 
and  his  faculty  of  arousing  the  best  in  every 
nature.  This  is  the  generous  tribute  that  Doctor 
Lucas  pays  to  his  old  instructor,  in  recognition  of 
his  inspiring  influence  during  his  formative  years. 

When  the  war  came  on  and  military  conditions 
so  generally  prevailed  in  this  section,  the  schools 
suffered  and  with  many  things  of  the  old  life, 
some  of  the  best  institutions  were  closed  and  never 
re-opened.  Mr.  Lucas  at  the  time  of  the  war, 
on  account  of  his  youth  and  physical  disability, 
was  connected  with  the  general  local  service.  He 
managed  to  add  to  his  literary  knowledge  and 
also,  before  the  war  closed,  had  done  considerable 
preparatory  reading  in  medicine,  having  decided 
upon  a  medical  career.  When  prepared  to  enter 
seriously  upon  his  medical  education  he  was 
fortunate  again  in  the  selection  of  preceptors, 
Do'ctor  Dixon,  of  Laurinburg,  and  Dr.  Neill  Gra- 
ham, of  Bladen  County,  men  of  eminence  in 
the  profession  and  representing  the  highest 
standard  of  old-time  ethics  and  professional  abil- 
ity. 

After  the  war  closed  and  normal  conditions  had 
been  resumed  Doctor  Lucas  went  to  Philadelphia, 
the  old  fountain-head  of  medical  education  in 
America,  where  he  diligently  applied  himself  and 
in  1870  was  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  Uni- 
versity of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  He  returned 
then  to  his  old  home  at  White  Hall  and  im- 
mediately entered  into  practice  and  is  still  active 
after  the  passage  of  forty-eight  years.  He  is  the 
dean  of  his  profession  in  Bladen  County,  esteemed 
by  every  one  and  greatly  beloved.  He  has  ever 
maintained  the  old-time  ethics  of  his  profession 
but  united  with  the  old  standards  is  the  skill  and 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  modern  physician  and 
surgeon  who  keeps  his  mind  open  to  every  advance 
made  in  his  beloved  science.  His  name  is  a  dear 
and  honored  one  in  very  many  households  in  this 
section. 

Doctor  Lucas  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Eliza 
McKay,  who  died  in  1915.  She  was  a  collateral 
descendant  of  General  McKay  of  Revolutionary 
fame,  a  memher  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
historic  families  of  Bladen  County.  To  Doctor 
and  Mrs.  Lucas  ten  children  were  born  and  five 
survive,  namely:  Mrs.  E.  R,  Hemly.  who  is  a 
resident  of  Rincon,  Georgia:  W.  G.  Lucas,  who 
is  a  hardware  merchant  at  Dillon,  South  Carolina; 
Mrs.  L.  McKay  Chaffin,  whose  home  is  at  Burgaw, 
North  Carolina :  Homer,  who  resides  with  his 
father:  and  Louise,  who  is  a  popular  teacher  at 
Hamlet,  North  Carolina.  Until  1905  the  family 
home  remained  at  White  Hall,  but  in  that  year 
Doctor  Lucas  removed  to  his  present  home  at 
White  Oak.  which  is  twelve  miles  up  the  Cape  Fear 
River  from  Elizabethtown.  His  fine  farm  and 
beautiful  country  home  are  on  the  Wilmington 
and  Fayetteville  highway.  Always  enterprising 
and  public  spirited,  he  has  been  particularly  so 
since  coming  to  White  Oak  and  mainly  through 
his  instrumentality  good  roads  have  been  estab- 
lished with  convenient  ferries  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River,  these  public  improvements  insuring  satis- 
factory transportation  at  all  times.     Through  his 


174 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


efforts  also  a  telephone  system  has  been  introduced 
that  connects  this  locality  with  the  whole  outside 
world. 

Doctor  Lucas  has  always  taken  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  the  great  matter  of  education  and 
has  long  been  a  leader  in  fostering  movements 
along  this  line  in  Bladen  County.  At  the  present 
time  he  is  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  edu- 
cation, in  his  second  period,  having  previously 
served  from  1903  to  1905  and  was  a  second  time 
elected  in  1912.  For  two  years  Doctor  Lucas 
served  as  county  treasurer  and  it  was  during  that 
time  that  his  friends  elected  him  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  and  he  served  at  Ealeigh  with  the 
same  efficiency  and  sense  of  responsibility  that  has 
ever  marked  Ms  professional  career.  By  broaden- 
ing his  interests  Doctor  Lucas  has  found  one  way 
to  keep  young  in  spirit  and  few  men  can  be  found 
better  able  in  every  way  to  meet  the  great  emer- 
gencies as  well  as  the  everyday  problems  of  life 
in  his  community.  He  is  demonstrating  his  pa- 
triotic spirit  as  well  as  his  professional  efficiency 
by  serving  at  the  present  time  as  a  member  of  the 
Blade  County  Exemption  Board  and  its  examining 
surgeon. 

Eichard  Stanford  Travis  is  a  North  Caro- 
lina man  who  has  made  his  way  in  the  world 
from  boyhood  and  has  steadily  climbed  to  a 
position  of  prominence  and  of  definite  achieve- 
ment in  business  nad  financial  circles.  He  is  one 
of  the  prominent  bankers  of  Halifax  County. 

He  was  born  in  Brunswick  County,  Virginia, 
September  23,  1872,  son  of  Edward  Warren  and 
Mollie  (Clark)  Travis.  His  father  was  a  fanner. 
When  Richard  Stanford  Travis  was  fifteen  years 
of  age  the  family  came  to  North  Carolina.  He 
was  educated  only  in  public  schools,  and  as  a  boy 
found  work  and  opportunity  as  clerk  in  a  gen- 
eral merchandise  store.  Eor  one  year  he  served 
as  deputy  register  of  deeds  of  Granville  County 
at  Oxford,  and  in  order  to  be  still  better  equipped 
for  a  business  career  he  took  a  course  at  a  busi- 
ness college.  In  1892  Mr.  Travis  came  to  Wel- 
don,  was  teller  and  later  cashier  of  the  Bank  of 
Weldon,  and  since  1913  has  been  president  'of 
the  Weldon  Bank  and  Trust  Company.  He  is 
also  secretary  of  the  Shaw  Cotton  Mills  and  head 
of  R.  S.  Travis  &  Company,  general  insurance. 
Mr.  Travis  is  a  member  of  St.  Mark's  Episcopal 
Church  at  Weldon. 

August  4,  1907,  he  married  Miss  Mabel  Zolli- 
coffer,  of  Weldon.  They  have  five  children :  Au- 
gustus Zollicoffer,  Richard  Stanford,  Jr.,  William 
Allison,  Mary  Ellen  and  Elizabeth  Clark. 

Eugene  Marvin  Rollins,  though  educated  for 
the  law  has  given  his  chief  time  and  attention  so 
far  to  educational  affairs,  and  has  done  a  highly 
appreciative  and  valuable  work  as  superintendent 
of  public  education  in  Vance  County. 

Mr.  Rollins  was  born  at  Holly  Springs,  Wake 
County,  North  Carolina,  June  26,  1880,  son  of  a 
substantial  business  man  of  that  locality,  Thomas 
B.  Rollins  and  Janet  (Coffield)  Rollins.  He  was 
educated  in  Jonesboro,  in  the  Trinity  High  School 
in  Randolph  County,  and  is  an  alumnus  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  meantime  he 
had  taught  school  about  five  years  and  in  the 
intervals  of  this  occupation  he  completed  his 
course  in  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Rollins  was  admitted  to 
the  North  Carolina  bar  in  August,  1904,  and  for 
three   years    practiced   at    Raleigh.      On   July   15, 


1912,  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  education' 
for  Vance  County  and  to  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  that  office  he  has  devoted  himself 
untiringly  for  the  past  five  years.  While  living 
in  Wake  County  lie  was  member  of  the  County 
Board  of  Education.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina.  Teachers  Assembly  and  is  secre- 
tary and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Golden. 
Belt  Pair  Association.  He  is  a  steward  and  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  School  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  at  Henderson.. 
Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  is  also  active  in  the  local  Chamber- 
of  Commerce. 

In  1901  Mr.  Bollins  married  Alice  Dick  of 
Whitsett,  North  Carolina.  They  are  the  parents- 
of  three  children:  Eugene  Marvin,  Jr.,  Vance- 
Benton  and  Charles  Dick. 

J.  Franklin  McCtjbbins.  A  man  of  sterling 
worth  and  integrity,  J.  Franklin  McCubbins,  of 
Salisbury,  clerk  of  the  Rowan  County  courts,  has 
gained  a  high  standing  in  the  community  as  a 
citizen,  the  esteem  of  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  and 
the  respect  of  men  of  all  classes  with  whom  he  has 
come  in  contact.  A  son  of  James  Samuel  McCub- 
bins, he  was  born  in  Salisbury,  April  26,  1863,  of 
Scotch  ancestry.  His  grandfather,  Edward  Mc- 
Cubbins, was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Randolph  County,  this  state,  in  his  active  career, 
but  spent  the  later  years  of  his  life  in  Salisbury. 

James  Samuel  McCubbins  was  born  on  a  planta- 
tion in  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina,  Novem- 
ber 22,  1822.  Leaving  the  farm  when  young,  he- 
was  for  a  few  years  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Statesville,  having  been  in  partnership 
with  Samuel  R.  Bell.  From  there  he  came  to  Salis- 
bury, and  here  in  partnership  with  William  Murphy, 
he  carried  on  a  good  business  as  a  general  merchant 
until  1886.  Prior  to  that  time  he  had  purchased 
a  farm,  and  an  interest  in  a  roller  mill,  and  after 
his  retirment  from  mercantile  pursuits  he  superin- 
tended both  the  mill  and  the  farm,  continuing  a 
resident  of  Salisbury  until  his  death,  June  13,  1899. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  James  Samuel 
McCubbins  was  Margaret  Theresa  Bell.  She  was 
born  June  29,  1840,  in  Statesville,  North  Carolina, 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  Rutherford  Bell,  and  grand- 
daughter of  James  Odell  Beall.  Her  great-grand- 
father, David  Beall,  whose  birthplace  is  unknown, 
was  a  pioneer  of  what  is  now  Iredell  County.  Hav- 
ing acquired  large  tracts  of  land,  he  established 
his  home  on  Fifth  Creek,  and  there  spent  his  last 
days,  his  body  being  buried  in  Bethany  Church- 
yard. He  was  well  educated,  a  man  of  literary 
tastes,  and  quite  gifted  as  a  poet. 

A  native,  it  is  supposed,  of  what  is  now  Iredell 
County,  James  Odell  Beall  was  there  a  life-long 
resident  and  a  successful  agriculturist,  operating 
his  plantation  with  slave  labor.  The  maiden  name 
of  his  wife  was  Jean  Galloway. 

Born  on  the  home  plantation  in  that  part  of 
Rowan  County  now  included  within  the  limits  of 
Iredell  County,  Samuel  Rutherford  Bell,  who 
dropped  the  letter  "a"  from  the  original  spelling 
of  his  surname,  acquired  a  good  education,  and 
in  early  manhood  taught  school,  while  later  _  he 
served  as  county  examiner.  Subsequently  locating 
in  Statesville,  lie  established  a  general  store,  and 
was  there  engaged  in  mercantile  business  until 
his  death,  July  19,  1866.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Theresa  Phoebe  McPherson,  was  born 
January  4,  1809,  in  Iredell  County,  a  daughter  of 
Matthew    McPherson.      Her    grandfather,    Robert 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


175 


McPherson,  removed  to  what  is  now  Iredell  County 
from  Rowan  County,  he  and  his  brothers  having 
lived  in  the  vicinity  of  China.  Grove.  He  purchased 
Baker  's  Mill,  which  was  situated  near  the  present 
site  of  Mooresville,  and  at  his  death  bequeathed  it 
to  his  three  sons,  Matthew,  John  and  Robert. 

Matthew  McPherson,  father  of  Theresa  Phoebe 
McPherson  and  great-grandfather  on  the  maternal 
side  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  served,  as  shown 
by  records  preserved  in  the  war  department  at 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  in  several  enlist- 
ments during  the  Revolutionary  war,  having  served 
six  weeks  in  1775;  five  weeks  in  1776;  three  weeks 
in  1779;  three  months  and  three  weeks  in  1780; 
and  one  month  and  two  weeks  in  1781.  For  a 
number  of  years  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred 
August  5,  1843,  he  received  a  pension.  He  married, 
September  28,  1797,  Elizabeth  Briggs  Wilson,  who, 
it  is  said,  was  born  on  board  the  ship  ' '  Elizabeth 
Briggs ' '  while  her  parents  were  en  route  to  Amer- 
ica. The  captain  of  the  vessel  gave  the  parents 
twenty  guineas  for  the  privilege  of  naming  the 
child.  She  survived  her  husband,  dying  August 
25,  1856,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  her  age.  Mrs. 
Theresa  Phoebe  (McPherson;  Bell  died  at  her 
home  in  Statesville  May  13,  1863. 

Obtaining  his  rudimentary  education  in  States- 
ville, J.  Franklin  McCubbins  afterwards  continued 
his  studies  in  Mocksville  and  at  the  Finley  High 
School  in  Lenoir,  after  which  he  spent  three  years 
at  Davidson  College.  The  following  two  years  he 
was  employed  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  courts 
and  register  of  deeds,  and  after  that  was  engaged 
in  mercantile  business  with  his  father.  In  1898 
Mr.  McCubbins  was  elected  county  commissioner, 
and  served  for  four  years  as  chairman  of  the 
board.  In  1902  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  court 
of  Rowan  County,  and  has  been  continued  in  the 
office  by  re-election  until  the  present  time,  his  long 
record  of  service  bespeaking  his  efficiency  and 
trustworthiness.  Mr.  McCubbins  is  identified  with 
several  prominent  organizations  of  the  city,  being 
president  of  the  Citizens  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation; vice  president  of  the  Morris  Plan  Com- 
pany :  and  a  director  in  the  Peoples  National  Bank. 

Mr.  McCubbins  married,  June  27,  1893,  Mary 
Louise  Gaskill.  She  was  born  in  Farmington 
Township,  Davie  County,  North  Carolina,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  D.  and  Annie  Eliza  (Lunn)  Gaskill, 
granddaughter  of  Guilford  Gaskill,  great-grand- 
daughter of  David  Gaskill,  and  great-great-grand- 
daughter of  Jacob  Gaskill.  The  Gaskills  were 
pioneers  of  Carteret  County,  where  several  genera- 
tions were  life-long  residents.  Guilford  Gaskill  was 
a  seafaring  man,  during  his  active  life  having 
been  in  the  coastwise  service.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Davis,  a  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Rosamond 
i  Harker)  Davis.  John  D.  Gaskill  spent  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  in  Salisbury,  where  he  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  tobacco. 
His  wife,  mother  of  Mrs.  McCubbin,  was  born  in 
Davie  County,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
and  Louisa  (Jones)  Lunn,  and  granddaughter  of 
William  and  Esther  (Lindsay)  Lunn.  She  survived 
her  husband  and  is  now  making  her  home  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCubbins.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCub- 
bins have  one  child,  Theresa,  wife  of  Forrest  J. 
Allen,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

Prominent  in  fraternal  circles,  Mr.  McCubbins 
is  a  member  of  Fulton  Lodge  No.  99,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons;  of  Salisbury  Chap- 
ter No.  20,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  of  Adoniram  Coun- 
cil No.  2,  Royal  and  Select  Masters;  of  Salisbury 
Commandery  No.   13,  Knights  Templar;    of  Oasis 


Temple  at  Charlotte;  of  Salisbury  Lodge  No.  24, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  and  of  Salisbury  Lodge  No. 
699,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

David  Nicholas  Chadwick,  Jr.,  is  prominently 
identified  with  Wilmington  business  affairs,  and 
has  been  especially  a  factor  of  enterprise  and  de- 
velopment in  real  estate  lines.  Mi.  Chadwick  is 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Wilmington  Beach 
Corporation,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Fidelity  Trust  and  Development  Company  and  is 
officially  connected  with  several  other  local  organi- 
zations. 

Mr.  Chadwick  was  born  at  Wilmington  Novem- 
ber 19,  1883,  a  son  of  David  N.  and  Lina  (Rob- 
inson) Chadwick.  His  father  was  a  substantial 
farmer.  The  son  acquired  his  early  education  in 
the  public  and  private  schools,  the  University  of 
North    Carolina,   and   a   business   college. 

His  preliminary  business  experience  was  as  a 
clerk  in  the  Murchison  National  Bank  and  as 
bookkeeper  in  one  of  Wilmington 's  wholesale 
houses.  Since  1909  he  has  given  all  his  time 
to  real  estate,  and  besides  the  two  companies 
above  named  he  is  vice  president  of  the  San  Souci 
Abattoir  Company,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Wilmington  Dock  and  Storage  Company,  chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Elections  of  New  Hanover 
County,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Taylor 
Fisheries,  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Seminole  Fertilizer  and  Oil 
Corporation,    Jacksonville,    Florida. 

The  Wilmington  Beach  Corporation  was  organ- 
ized in  1913  with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000  and 
in  the  following  year  the  capital  was  increased  to 
$100,000.  This  corporation  has  acquired  a  mag- 
nificent track  of  426  acres  located  thirteen  and  a 
half  miles  from  Wilmington  comprising  the  ex- 
treme point  of  Cape  Fear  and  between  Cape  Fear 
River  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  As  an  ocean  resort 
it  promises  a  magnificent  future,  and  has  unrivaled 
facilities  of  ocean  beach,  convenience  to  trans- 
portation and  is  close  by  historic  old  Fort  Fisher. 
For  development  purposes  the  tract  has  been 
divided  into  1,500  lots,  each  50  by  100  feet.  The 
executive  officers  of  this  company  are  C.  C.  Chad- 
bourn,  president;  L.  W.  Davis",  vice  president; 
D.  N.  Chadwick,  Jr.,  secretary  and  treasurer;  and 
W.   E.  Price,  general   manager. 

The  Fidelity  Trust  and  Development  Company 
was  organized  in  1912  and  has  also  undertaken  an 
ambitious  development  project,  having  acquired 
442  acres  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Wilmington, 
where  it  has  laid  out  and  begun  the  development 
of  Sunset  Park.  This  land  is  divided  into  1,600 
lots,  extending  for  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a 
half  along  beautiful  Cape  Fear  River,  and  the 
capital  of  the  trust  company  is  $100,000. 

Mr.  Chadwick  has  always  been  active  in  demo- 
cratic party  affairs  and  in  community  advance- 
ment. In  1913-15  he  served  as  councilman  in 
charge  of  the  finances  of  the  City  of  Wilmington. 
He  is  a  former  secretary  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  at  the  City  of  Wil- 
mington. 

Mr.  Chadwick  married  December  4,  1912,  Ethel 
H.  Hopkins  of  Wilmington.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Jean  Robinson  and  David  Nicholas  III. 

John  Richard  Dildy.  Few  citizens  are  bet- 
ter known  in  Wilson  County  than  John  R.  Dildy, 
register  of  deeds  for  Wilson  County  and  a  prom- 
inent business  man  at  Wilson.  He  has  had  ex- 
perience   along    several    lines    and    his    activities 


176 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


have  resulted  in  his  securing  and  preserving  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

John  Dildy  was  born  in  Pitt  County,  North 
Carolina,  September  10,  1871.  His  parents  are 
Louis  S.  and  Mary  (Gay)  Dildy.  His  father  fol- 
lows a  profitable  trade  and  the  family  is  very 
well  known  in  this  section.  Mr.  Dildy  attended 
the  public  schools  in  Wilson  County,  being  two 
years  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  Wilson. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  to  teach  school 
and  continued  in  that  line  for  four  years,  meet- 
ing with  enough  success  to  have  encouraged  him 
to  adopt  teaching  as  a  profession.  Circumstances, 
however,  led  in  another  direction  and  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  traveling  salesman  for  a 
crockery  and  glassware  store  and  was  on  the 
road  for  five  years.  For  the  two  years  follow- 
ing he  was  a  bookkeeper  in  a  commercial  house 
and  then  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  and  served 
with  entire  efficiency  for  six  years.  In  1908  Mr. 
Dildy  was  elected  register  of  deeds  for  Wilson 
County  and  no  change  has  been  even  suggested 
since. 

Mr.  Dildy  was  married  June  25,  1910,  to  Miss 
Edwina  Barnes,  who  is  a  daughter  of  W.  T.  and 
Tiney  (Blount)  Barnes,  well  kown  residents  of 
Wilson.  Mrs.  Dildy  is  a  lady  of  taste  and  re- 
finement and  they  maintain  a  hospitable  home. 

One  of  the  leading  business  enterprises  of  Wil- 
son is  the  Dildy  &  Agnew  Company,  incorpo- 
rated, dealers  in  hardware,  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  building  material.  Mr.  Dildy  is  presi- 
dent of  this  company  and  stands  very  high  as  an 
honorable  and  capable  business  man. 

In  politics  Mr.  Dildy  is  a  democrat  and  has 
always  been  loyal  to  his  friends  and  to  party 
candidates  and  has  often  taken  part  in  close 
political  councils.  He  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
Commonwealth  Club,  and  fraternally  is  an  Odd 
Fellow,  belongs  to  the  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics  and  the  Elks,  and  is  ex- 
past  exalted  ruler  of  the  last  named  organiza- 
tion. 

Hon.  James  Crawford  Biggs.  Of  the  members 
of  the  North  Carolina  bar  who  have  been  in  active 
practice  during  the  last  twenty  years  few  have 
received  higher  honors  in  their  profession  and  in 
public  life  than  James  Crawford  Biggs  of 
Kaleigh.  One  special  distinction  such  as  any 
lawyer  might  covet  was  his  election  at  the  1914 
annual  meeting  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation as  president.  He  was  unanimously  chosen 
to  that  office  and  served  one  year. 

Equally  notable  have  been  his  services  on  the 
bench  and  as  a  professor  of  law.  In  the  summer 
of  1906,  when  he  was  only  thirty-three  years  of 
age,  he  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  for  the  Ninth  Judicial  District.  His  nom- 
ination came  on  the  first  ballot.  His  opponents 
were  two  of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  the  district, 
Hon.  Thomas  J.  Shaw,  the  incumbent  judge,  and 
S.  M.  Gattis,  a  former  speaker  of  the  Housn  of 
Representatives.  Judge  Biggs  was  elected  for  a 
term  of  eight  years  and  remained  on  the  bench 
until  the  fall  of  1911,  for  nearly  five  years.  He 
then  resigned  in  order  to  be  at  home  with  his 
family,  and  resumed  active  practice  at  Durham. 

Judge  Biggs  was  born  August  29,  1872,  at 
Oxford,  North  Carolina.  He  comes  of  a  dis- 
tinguished family.  His  grandfather,  Hon.  Asa 
Biggs,  was  elected  United  States  senator  from 
North  Carolina  in  1854,  but  resigned  that  office 
in    1858   to  become  United  States  District   Judge 


for  North  Carolina.  His  father  was  Capt. 
William  Biggs,  the  fearless  and  accomplished 
editor  of  the  Tarboro  Southerner  and  the  Oxford 
Free  Lance,  during  the  period  of  Reconstruction. 
The  mother  of  Judge  Biggs  was  Elizabeth  Arring- 
ton  Cooper,  whose  father,  J.  Crawford  Cooper, 
was  head  of  the  banking  bouse  of  J.  C.  Cooper  ic 
Sons  of  Oxford. 

The  traditions  of  his  family  and  his  early  train- 
ing opened  a  large  career  for  Judge  Biggs.  He 
was  educated  at  Horner  School  and  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  where  he  graduated  at 
the  head  Ox  his  class  and  with  the  honor  summa 
cum  laude.  At  graduation  he  won  the  Willie  P. 
Mangum  medal  for  oratory.  He  excelled  iri 
athletics,  as  he  did  in  his  studies.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  noted  football  team  of  1892,  and  was 
chief  marshal,  editor-in-chief  of  the  College  Annual, 
editor  of  the  Tar  Heel  and  president  of  his  class 
at  graduation. 

After  one  year  of  teaching  school  in  Virginia 
he  re-entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
and  studied  law  under  the  late  Dr.  John  Manning. 
In  September,  1894,  being  licensed  to  practice,  he 
located  at  Oxford.  During  the  greater  part  of 
his  four  years '  residence  there  he  was  associated 
with  B.  W.  Winston  and  F.  L.  Fuller  of  Durham, 
under  the  firm  name  Winston,  Fuller  &  Biggs. 
He  was  twice  elected  mayor  of  Oxford. 

In  the  fall  of  1898  Judge  Biggs  was  made 
associate  professor  of  law  in  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  In  the  course  of  the  year  the 
beloved  Doctor  Manning,  dean  of  the  law  school, 
died  and  Judge  Biggs  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
department. 

However,  in  the  fall  of  1899  he  resigned  his 
chair  in  the  University  Law  School  and  located 
in  Durham,  forming  a  partnership  with  It.  B. 
Boone  and  V.  S.  Bryant.  When  this  partnership 
was  dissolved  several  years  later  he  practiced 
alone,  and  subsequently  formed  a  copartnership 
with  R.  P.  Beade  under  the  name  Biggs  &  Reade. 
This  continued  until  Judge  Biggs  went  on  the 
bench. 

After  retiring  from  the  bench  and  taking  up 
his  residence  at  Durham,  Judge  Biggs  became  a 
member  of  the  law  faculty  of  Trinity  Law  School. 
The  death  of  Governor  Ayeock  in  the  spring  of 
1912  dissolved  the  old  firm  Ayeock  &  Winston,  of 
Raleigh,  and  Judge  Biggs  then  became  the  partner 
of  Judge  R.  W.  Winston  and  moved  to  Raleigh 
in  July,  1912.- 

This  partnership  continued  until  the  summer  of 
1917,  when  Judge  Biggs  was  appointed  by  the 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  as  special 
assistant  to  the  attorney-general  in  charge  for 
the  government  of  its  litigation  in  the  state  of 
California,  known  as  the  billion  dollar  oil  cases 
against  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
and  other   defendants. 

The  selection  of  Judge  Biggs  to  conduct  these 
cases  was  a  signal  distinction  and  a  merited  recog- 
nition of  his  learning  and  ability  and  of  his  stand- 
ing at  the  American  Bar,  as  the  amount  involved 
was  about  five  hundred  million  dollars,  said  to 
be  the  largest  and  most  important  case  ever  tried 
in  this  country.  Judge  Briggs  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  San  Francisco  September  1,  1917  and  the 
Cases,  having  been  consolidated  were  tried  there 
in  April,  1918.  In  May,  1918,  Judge  Briggs 
returned  to  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  and  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  there. 

Judge  Biggs  deserves  the  credit  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  which 


/LuzJtsL 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


177 


is  one  of  the  most  successful  organizations  in  the 
country.  It  was  while  teaching  law  in  the  State 
University  that  he  prepared  the  call  and  secured 
the  signers  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
the  association.  This  meeting  of  organization 
was  held  in  the  Supreme  Court  room  in  Ealeigh 
February  10,  1S99.  Judge  Biggs  was  elected  the 
first  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  association  and 
held  those  positions  until  he  was  nominated  for 
judge. 

He  was  Supreme  Court  reporter  in  1905-06  and 
represented  Durham  County  in  the  Legislature 
at  the  session  of  1905.  He  has  always  taken  an 
active  interest  in  politics,  having  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  Executive  Committee  of 
Granville  County  and  as  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Executive  Committee  of  Durham  County 
both  before  and  after  his  service  on  the  bench. 

Judge  Biggs  married  in  February,  1906,  Miss 
Marjie  Jordan,  of  Durham.  They  are  the  parents 
of  one  daughter. 

Richard  Wills  Norman.  Devoting  his  earnest 
efforts  to  the  direction  of  his  business  interests, 
Richard  W.  Norman,  of  Salisbury,  holds  high  rank 
in  mercantile  circles,  as  secretary,  treasurer  and 
manager  of  The  R.  W.  Norman  Company,  giving 
close  attention  to  all  the  details  connected  with 
its  supervision,  his  quick  insight  and  practical 
sagacity  having  placed,  the  firm  on  a  substantial 
foundation,  rendering  it  one  of  the  successful  busi- 
ness organizations  of  the  county.  A  native  of 
North  Carolina,  he  was  born  August  3,  1883,  in 
Skinnersville  Township,  Washington  County,  on 
the  same  plantation  that  the  birth  of  his  father, 
Thomas  J.  Norman,  occurred  July  30,  1838. 

His  grandfather,  Joseph  S.  Norman,  was  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Washington  County,  where,  as 
far  as  known,  he  spent  his  entire  life.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Eliza  M.  C.  Swift,  was 
born  in  Washington  County,  North  Carolina,  April 
24.  1814,  and  died  on  the  home  plantation  Decem- 
ber 2:i.  1845.  Her  father,  Rev.  Swain  Swift,  was 
bran  December  15,  1782,  and  died  October  8,  1831. 
He  married  Eliza  Lucy  Chesson,  who  was  born 
September  15,  1791,  and  died  Hay  16,  1815. 

Brought  up  on  a  farm.  Thomas  J.  Norman  be- 
came familiar  with  agriculture  in  all  of  its  branches 
when  young.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  in  the  Confederate  service  and  had  com- 
mand of  a  company  in  Colonel  Martin's  regiment. 
Having  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  parental 
estate,  he  resumed  farming  after  his  return  from 
the  war  and  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
in  Washington  County  until  his  death,  January 
31.  18S5.  He  married  Mary  E.  Brown,  who  was 
born  in  Martin  Countv,  North  Carolina.  September 
21.  1843.  a  daughter  of  William  R.  and  Ellen 
Brown.  She  survived  him  many  years,  passing 
away  April  4.  1904.  To  her  and  her  husband  six 
children  were  born  and  reared,  namely:  Annie 
Belle,  born  April  21,  1864;  Joseph  Stockton,  born 
April  9.  1869;  Ellen  Marion,  born  February  22, 
1872:  Thomas  S. :  George  Brown,  born  August  16, 
1881 ;  and  Richard  Wills. 

Acquiring  his  preliminary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  township.  Richard  W. 
Norman  afterward  continued  his  studies  for  a  time 
at  the  Oak  Ridge  Institute,  in  the  meantime  assist- 
ing in  the  work  incidental  to  life  on  a  farm.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  agriculture  having  no 
charms  for  him,  lie  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  at  Wilmington,  this  state, 
and  continued  with  the  firm  until  1906.  The  ensu- 
voi.  v—:: 


ing  three  years  Mr.  Norman  was  traveling  sales- 
man for  the  Tomlinson  Chair  Company,  having  a 
good  territory  to  cover  and  being  quite  successful. 
Resigning  the  position  in  1909,  Mr.  Norman  located 
in  Salisbury,  and  having  organized  The  R.  W. 
Norman  Furniture  Company,  of  which  he  is  secre- 
tary, treasurer  and  manager,  has  since  carried  on 
an  extensive  and  lucrative  business. 

Mr.  Norman  married  Miss  Patrick  Henry  Mor- 
gan, who  was  born  in  Currituck  County,  North 
Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Patrick  Henry  and  Bettie 
(Ferreber)  Morgan,  and  was  given  her  father's 
name.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norman  are  conscientious 
Christians  and  valued  members  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Norman  is  a  member  of 
Andrew  Jackson  Lodge  of  the  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Order  of  Masons. 

Daniel  Harriss  Pexton.  The  large  and  varied 
interests  which  have  engrossed  the  time  and  tal- 
ents of  Daniel  Harriss  Penton  have  broughthim 
to  the  forefront  among  the.  progressive  business 
men  of  Wilmington,  which  city  has  been  his  home 
since  1S75.  Here  he  received  his  education,  here 
he  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  business 
life,  and  here  have  his  best  efforts  been  expended 
and  his  great  success  gained.  His  extensive  con- 
nections have  necessarily  made  him  an  extremely 
busy  man,  yet  he  has  never  found  himself  too 
actively  employed  in  his  own  affairs  to  neglect  the 
interests  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Penton  was  born  at  Bridgeton,  the  county 
seat  of  Cumberland  County,  New  Jersey,  March  30, 
1868,  being  a  son  of  Abner  Comley  and  Emily 
Fithian  (Harriss)  Penton.  His  father  was  for 
many  years  a  mariner,  trading  at  various  points 
in  the  West  Indies,  but  did  not  desire  his  son  to  • 
enter  the  same  business.  In  1875  the  family  took 
up  its  residence  at  Wilmington,  and  here  Daniel 
H.  Penton  secured  his  education  at  private  schools. 
He  began  his  business  career  in  the  establishment 
of  a  commission  merchant,  distiller  and  dealer  in 
naval  stores  and  turpentine.  He  remained  with 
this  concern  for  five  years,  and  April  20,  1888, 
when  just  past  twenty  years  of  age,  became  identi- 
fied with  the  J.  A.  Springer  Coal  Company ,_  where 
his  energy,  ability  and  fidelity  won  him  rapid  pro- 
motion, until  1895  he  was  admitted  to  partner- 
ship. When  the  business  was  incorporated  he  was 
made  vice  president  and  secretary  of  the  new  or- 
ganization, positions  which  he  still  retains.  Mr. 
Penton  is  interested  in  various  other  prominent 
business  establishments  of  Wilmington,  being  vice 
president  of  the  Independent  Ice  Company,  vice 
president  of  the  Thomas  F.  Wood  Company,  vice 
president  of  the  City  and  Suburban  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  and  a  director  of  the  Wilming- 
ton Savings  and  Trust  Bank.  A  man  of  acknowl- 
edged integrity,  his  standing  is  an  asset  in  every 
enterprise  with  which  his  name  is  associated,  and 
throws  about  his  actions  a  glow  of  sincerity  that 
gives  his  promise  or  word  the  value  of  a  bond. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  managers  of  trie 
James  Walker  Memorial  Hospital,  and  belongs 
to  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association,  of  which  he  was  formerly 
president.  His  religious  connection  is  with  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  in  the  work  of  which  he 
has  taken  an  active  part,  being  a  deacon  in  the 
church  and  president  of  the  Business  Men 's  Bible 
Class  in  the  Sunday  School.  Mr.  Penton  has 
numerous  friends  in  the  social  circles  of  Wilming- 
ton and  is  a  popular  member  of  the  Carolina  Yacht 
Club. 


178 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Ou  September  27,  1898,  Mr.  Penton  was  married 
to  Miss  Hester  Allen,  of  near  Richmond,  Henrico 
County,  Virginia,  and  of  their  children  three  are 
now  living:  Lidie  Winstead;  Howard  Allen,  who 
was  born  October  10,  1901;  and  Daniel  Harriss, 
Jr.,  who  was  born  February  25,  1903.  Mrs.  Pen- 
ton  died  May  16,  1911,  and  Mr.  Penton  was  mar- 
ried January  16,  1913,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Brewer  (nee 
Gore),  of  Wilson  County,  North  Carolina. 

Robert  Luther  Huffines.  One  of  the  nat- 
ural cravings  of  the  average  man  is  satisfied 
when  he  reaches  that  point  in  life  when  he  can 
say  ' '  this  is  my  home ' '  whether  large  or  small, 
spacious  and  modern  or  primitive  and  possibly 
little  more  than  a  shelter,  the  fact  of  possession 
is  the  same.  With  many  preferably  perhaps  it 
includes  a  wide  enough  area  for  cultivation  of 
the  soil  or  surroundings  that  will  make  for  priv- 
acy, but  inevitably  the  having  of  one 's  own  home 
brings  a  measure  of  happiness  that  others  may 
well  envy.  In  these  days  of  increasing  popula- 
tion and  limited  opportunity  it  is  not  so  easy  for 
the  ordinary  individual  to  find  this  home  without 
assistance,  for  now  there  is  much  more  to  the 
proceeding  than  in  days  gone  by  when  our 
forefathers  chose  at  will  and  settled  on  hill  or 
in  vale,  on  prairie  or  in  forest  as  inclination  or 
vocation  led.  There  were  then  no  law-tied  gates 
like  those  now  confronting  the  homeseeker,  only 
a  benevolent  Government  to  be  satisfied.  Hence 
have  arisen  men  and  agencies  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  this  laudable  home  securing  desire,  and 
in  every  reputable  community  may  be  found  in- 
dividuals and  firms  who  have  made  an  exhaustive 
study  of  this  business  and  thereby  not  only  ben- 
"efit  themselves  but  those  who  deal  with  them  and 
accept  their  help.  Perhaps  no  man  in  Eastern 
North  Carolina  is  better  known  in  this  connec- 
tion or  is  more  thoroughly  trusted  than  is  Eobert 
Luther  Huffines,  who  not  only  is  at  the  head  of 
local  homestead  and  loan  associations  of  much 
repute,  but  is  known  much  farther  afield  in  this 
line  and  in  others.  It  is  estimated  that  no  man 
in  Edgecombe  has  handled  a  larger  acreage  of 
land  than  has  Mr.  Huffines  within  the  past  two 
decades. 

Robert  Luther  Huffines  was  born  in  Rocking- 
ham  County,  North  Carolina,  January  28,  1873. 
His  parents  were  Lewis  Craven  and  Sarah  Ann 
(Hopkins)  Huffines.  His  father  was  a  farmer 
and  also  a  merchant,  and  after  the  youth  had 
completed  his  education  in  the  Oak  Eidge  In- 
stitute he  spent  two  years  on  his  father's  farm. 
An  agricultural  life  with  its  somewhat  restricted 
outlook  did  not  appeal  to  him  as  a  permanent 
vocation  and  in  1893  he  came  to  Rocky  Mount  to 
enter  into  business  and  until  1900  he  covered 
the  country  as  a  traveling  salesman.  In  the 
meanwhile,  with  the  business  alertness  which  has 
assisted  in  making  him  affluent  and  successful 
in  his  various  undertakings,  lie  realized  the  op- 
portune field  that  rested  in  handling  real  estate, 
and  when  he  was  prepared  to  embark  for  himself 
it  was  under  the  style  of  E.  L.  Huffines,  real  es- 
tate and  insurance,  the  latter  being  a  line  that 
is  easily  and  usually  combined  with  the  former. 
Mr.  Huffinnes  conducted  his  affairs  with  such 
marked  success  that  in  January,  1906,  he  incor- 
porated his  business  as  the  Eocky  Mount  Insur- 
ance &  Realty  Company,  of  which  he  is  vice  presi- 
dent and   general  manager. 

Mr.  Huffines  is  financially  and  officially  con- 
nected with  many  other  business  organizations  and 


corporations.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Rocky  Mount  Homestead  &  Loan  Association; 
is  president  of  the  Bunn  Banking  Company,  at 
Bunn,  Franklin  County,  North  Carolina;  presi- 
dent of  the  Old  North  State  Development  Com- 
pany; secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Rock  Fish 
Cotton  Mills  Company,  af  Hope  Mills,  North  Car- 
olina; secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Eureka  Farm 
Company  that  is  handling  4,500  acres;  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Tar  River  Development  Com- 
pany, 1,500  acres;  and  additionally  is  a  director 
in  the  National  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount,  and  a 
director  in  the  Rocky  Mount  Savings  &  Trust 
Bank. 

Mr.  Huffines  was  married  November  9,  1898, 
to  Miss  Carrie  Whitehead,  who  is  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  W.  H.  Whitehead,  of  Rocky  Mount,  and  they 
have  the  following  children:  Carrie  Louise,  Rob- 
ert Luther,  Sarah  Elizabeth,  Josephine  White- 
head, Carolyn,  Alta  and  Lewis  Craden.  The  fam- 
ily  has   always   been  prominent   in  a  social   way. 

On  account  of  his  business  interests  being  so 
many  and  important  Mr.  Huffines  has  not  taken 
as  active  a  part  in  politics  as  he  otherwise  might 
have  done,  but  has  occasionally  accepted  local 
office  and  formerly  was  a  city  commissioner.  He 
has  been  notably  public  spirited  and  enterprising 
in  relation  to  everything  that  has  concerned  Rocky 
Mount  and  has  done  more,  perhaps,  to  bring  capi- 
tal to  the  city  and  found  sound  enterprises  than 
any  other  individual.  He  gives  a  hearty  support 
to  all  uplifting  movements,  including  those  of 
church  and  sehool,  and  is  generous  at  all  times 
in  contributing  to  charities.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  the  fall  of  1916,  Mr. 
Huffines  moved  out  to  his  farm  of  173  acres 
2%  miles  northwest  of  Rocky  Mount  on  the 
Rocky  Mount  Road,  where  he  raises  cotton,  to- 
bacco, corn  and  Hampshire  hogs. 

Arthur  Winn  Baldwin.  In  his  office  of  regis- 
ter of  deeds  of  Columbus  County  at  Whiteville 
Arthur  Winn  Baldwin  has  met  every  test  of  service 
satisfactorily,  and  enjoys  such  popularity  as  a 
citizen  and  public  official  that  he  has  been  repeat- 
edly returned  to  the  public  position  he  now  holds. 

He  was  appointed  to  the  office  to  fill  a  vacancy 
on  September  4,  1911,  and  in  1912  was  elected  for 
the  regular  term  of  two  years,  and  has  been  re- 
elected in  1914  and  in  1916.  Prior  to  his  appoint- 
ment as  chief  in  the  office  he  was  clerk  to  the 
register  of  deeds  three  years. 

Mr.  Baldwin  is  a  member  of  an  old  and  prom- 
inent family  of  Columbus  County.  He  was  born 
in  Whiteville  January  30,  1885,  a  son  of  Joseph 
A.  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Baldwin.  His  father  for 
many  years  has  been  engaged  in  business  as  a 
turpentine  operator,  and  grandfather  Baldwin 
made  a  notable  record  in  public  affairs,  spending 
consecutively  forty-seven  years  as  clerk  of  courts 
of  Columbus  County. 

Arthur  W.  Baldwin  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  on  leaving  school  worked  two  years 
as  clerk  in  a  general  store,  then  for  three  years 
was  salesman  of  a  lumbering  manufacturing  con- 
cern, was  a  farmer  on  his  own  account  one  year, 
after  which  he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  clerk  in 
the  office  of  register  of  deeds  at  Whiteville. 
Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal   church. 

Hugh  Armfif.lt>  Cranor,  present  mayor  of 
Wilkesboro   and    an    accomplished   member   of   the 


jhlL£Ay<£> 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


179 


local  bar,  is  the  second  member  of  his  family  to 
practice  law  in  this  part  of  North  Carolina,  and 
was  associated  with  his  honored  father  in  that  pro- 
fession until  the  latter 's  death. 

The  Cranor  family  has  a  long  and  honorable 
record  in  Western  North  Carolina.  The  great- 
grandfather was  Moses  Cranor.  His  grandfather, 
Emanuel  Cranor,  was  born  in  Guilford  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  from  there  moved  to  Rock- 
ford,  then  the  county  seat  of  Surry  County.  There 
were  no  railroads  in  Western  North  Carolina  in 
those  days  and  all  traffie  and  transportation  was  by 
teams  and  wagons.  Emanuel  Cranor  kept  a  public 
house  at  Eoekford,  whieh  in  those  days  was  a  place 
of  considerable  importance.  This  house  was  also 
used  as  a  stage  station  on  one  of  the  highways 
which  carried  an  incessant  traffic.  In  1855  Eman- 
uel Cranor  removed  to  Wilkesboro  and  again  set 
up  as  a  tavern  keeper  and  followed  that  voca- 
tion in  Wilkesboro  several  years  and  died  in  that 
city.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Sue  Swan, 
who  was  born  at  Waughtown,  now  a  suburb  of 
Winston-Salem. 

Hon.  John  S.  Cranor,  father  of  Hugh  A.,  was 
born  at  Rockford,  Surry  County,  North  Carolina, 
April  26,  1847.  After  his  parents  removed  to 
Wilkesboro  he  attended  public  school  there,  also 
the  high  school  at  Lenoir,  and  a  preparatory  school 
nt  Hillsboro.  He  studied  law  under  Judge  Arm- 
tield  and  on  being  admitted  to  practice  opened  an 
office  at  Wilkesboro,  where  he  was  an  honored  and 
prominent  member  of  the  bar  and  an  influential 
i-itizen  until  his  death  on  November  10,  1908. 
During  his  early  youth  he  had  enlisted  in  1864  in 
Company  B,  a  company  intended  to  be  attached 
to  the  First  North  Carolina  Battalion.  He  and 
his  comrades  were  captured  at  Camp  Vance,  were 
taken  to  Chicago  and  were  kept  prisoners  of  war 
for  thirteen  months.  John  S.  Cranor  had  a  strong 
hold  on  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens.  In 
1893  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  He  was 
chosen  on  the  democratic  ticket  by  a  substantial 
majority,  though  the  county  is  usually  republican 
by  a  good  margin.  In  1894  he  was  appointed 
T'nited  States  commissioner  and  served  throughout 
Mr.  Cleveland's  second  administration. 

John  S.  Cranor  married  Sarah  Taylor,  who  was 
born  in  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of 
James  and  Mrs.  (Babeock)  Taylor.  She  died  in 
Mav,  1902.  Her  nine  children  were  Catherine, 
Hugh  A.,  Edith,  William  T.,  Bessie,  Fannie,  John 
S.,  Jr.,  Frank  T.  and  Charles  M. 

Hugh  Armfield  Cranor  was  born  in  Wilkesboro 
November  20,  1875.  He  attended  the  local  publie 
schools,  took  the  literary  course  in  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  and  in  February,  1902,  was 
admitted  to  practice  law.  For  the  next  six  years 
he  was  actively  associated  with  his  father  and  has 
since  carried  on  a  large  practice  alone. 

Mr.  Cranor  was  married  June  26,  1907,  to 
Jennie  Hackett,  a  daughter  of  Frank  D.  and  Alice 
Hackett.  They  have  two  sons,  Hugh  Armfield,  Jr., 
and  Robert  H.  Their  only  daughter,  Sarah  Alice, 
died  in  her  second  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cranor  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  William  J. 
Bryan  and  he  has  always  been  keenly  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  his  party  and  good  government 
for  county  and  state.  He  has  been  a  delegate  to 
various  state,  district  and  county  conventions  of 
his  party  and  is  now  secretary  of  the  Wilkes 
County  Executive  Committee.  He  made  the  race 
for  representative  to  the  Legislature  twice  from 
Wilkes    County.      The    confidence    reposed    in   his 


judgment  and  ability  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  he  is  now  in  his  eleventh  consecutive  year  as 
mayor  of  Wilkesboro.  Mr.  Cranor  is  affiliated  with 
Liberty  Lodge  No.  45,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
at  Wilkesboro,  which  he  has  served  as  master.  He 
also  belongs  to  North  Wilkesboro  Council,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  the 
Knights    of   Pythias    at   North   Wilkesboro. 

Augustus  E.  Floyd  has  been  prominent  since 
the  very  beginning  of  the  Town  of  Fairmont  in 
Robeson  County  in  connection  with  its  varied  busi- 
ness and  civic  interests  and  welfare.  Mr.  Floyd 
is  one  of  the  oldest  living  native  sons  of  Robeson 
County  and  has  crowded  a  great  variety  and  range 
of  experience  and  usefulness  into  the  three  quar- 
ters of  a  century  of  his  life.  He  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Confederate  Army  throughout  the  war,  and  his 
business  occupation  for  the  most  part  has  been 
farming. 

He  was  born  about  five  miles  south  of  his  pres- 
ent home  at  Fairmont,  in  what  is  now  Fairmont 
Township  of  Robeson  County,  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1842,  son  of  Francis  and  Christine  (Williams') 
Floyd.  He  is  of  Irish  ancestry,  the  family  first 
locating  in  Virginia  and  from  there  moving  to 
South  Carolina.  Francis  Floyd  was  born  in  Horry 
County,  South  Carolina,  across  the  state  line  and 
not  far  from  the  present  Floyd  home  in  Robeson 
County,  North  Carolina.  Francis  Floyd  accom- 
panied his  father  to  North  Carolina  and  settled 
at  the  old  homestead  in  Fairmont  Township  about 
1820.  The  Floyds  are  a  large  and  prominent 
family  in  this  section  of  Robeson  County.  Sev- 
eral of  them  have  been  leaders  in  agricultural  and 
commercial  life  and  have  been  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  upbuilding  of  the  splendid  little  City 
of  Fairmont  and  the  surrounding  territory  of  rich 
land.  One  of  the  nephews  of  Augustus  E.  Floyd 
is  Mr.  A.  J.  Floyd,  a  wealthy  merchant  and 
planter  and  member  of  the  Board  of  County  Com- 
missioners of  Robeson  County.  A  son  of  Mr.  Floyd, 
Marcus  W.  Floyd,  is  register  of  deeds  for  Robeson 
County  and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been 
prominent  at  Lumberton.  He  was  elected  register 
of  deeds  in  1914,  re-elected  in  1916,  and  his  admin- 
istration has  been  characterized  as  one  of  the 
most  efficient  and  popular  the  county  has  ever  had. 

Augustus  E.  Floyd  grew  up  on  a  farm,  and  was 
nineteen  years  of  age  when  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  he  volunteered  in  the  Confederate  service, 
joining  Company  D  in  what  was  first  the  Eighth 
North  Carolina  Regiment,  but  later  was  changed 
to  the  Eighteenth  Regiment.  With  this  organiza- 
tion he  saw  very  strenuous  work  and  service  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  His  enlistment  was  at  Camp 
Wyatt  near  Wilmington,  where  he  remained  until 
September,  1861.  The  command  was  then  sent  to 
the  Coosa  Hachie  River  near  Savannah,  and  from 
there  to  Newbern.  North  Carolina.  In  May,  1862, 
the  Eighteenth  Regiment,  as  part  of  General 
Branch  's  Brigade,  went  into  Virginia  and  became 
part  of  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill 's  Division,  Gen.  Stone- 
wall Jackson 's  Corps,  Lee 's  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  Among  numerous  other  battles  Mr. 
Floyd  participated  at  Hanover  Courthouse,  the 
seven  battles  around  Richmond,  second  Manassas, 
the  operations  in  Maryland,  Harpers'  Ferry,  Char- 
lottesburg,  and  Gettysburg.  At  Gettysburg  he 
was  wounded,  but  was  out  of  the  hospital  and 
had  rejoined  the  ranks  after  seven  or  eight 
weeks.  He  was  in  those  terrific  conflicts  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, Rpottsylvania  Courthouse  and  Chan- 
eellorsville.     At  Chancellorsville  his  regiment  was 


ISO 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


in  the  brigade  of  five  regiments  commanded  by 
Gen.  James  H.  Lane,  who  had  succeeded  General 
Branch,  slain  at  Sharpsburg.  Late  in  1864  Mr. 
Floyd  was  at  Petersburg,  later  was  on  duty  in  the 
trenches  and  lines  around  Richmond,  and  partici- 
pated in  that  final  scene  of  the  war  at  Appomattox. 

Mr.  Floyd  was  still  a  young  man  when  he  came 
out  of  the  army.  There  was  a  very  narrow  choice 
of  occupations  and  pursuits  open  to  the  returned 
soldiers  in  the  midst  of  the  devastation  which  they 
found  after  the  war.  Mr.  Floyd  taught  school  for 
some  years  in  the  vicinity  of  Fairmont,  but  on  the 
whole  his  steadiest  and  most  remunerative  occu- 
pation has  been  farming.  He  still  owns  a  good 
farm  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Fairmont.  He 
moved  to  that  town  soon  after  it  was  started  in 
1898  and  has  been  one  of  the  active  and  progressive 
citizens  in  the  upbuilding  of  this  wealthy  and 
enterprising  little  city.  Mr.  Floyd  now  holds  the 
offiees  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  district  recorder 
for  the  county  district  of  which  Fairmont  Town- 
ship is  a  part.  He  has  been  a  magistrate  or  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  since  188S.  He  is  a  democrat  in 
politics,  and  practically  all  his  life  has  been  a 
member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Fairmont. 
This  church  was  originally  organized  in  1794,  and 
under  the  name  of  Ash  Pole  Church  is  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  historic  of  that  denomination  in 
North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Floyd  married  Miss  Adelia  M.  Pittman, 
member  of  a  well  known  pioneer  family  of  this 
part  of  the  state.  She  died  in  1913,  the  mother 
of  eight  children,  named  Francis  A.,  Marcus  W., 
Patrick  R.,  Dudley  Y.,  Christine,  Fulton  O.,  Giles 
E.  and  Dinabel. 

Thomas  Lincoln  Green.  "With  more  than 
twenty  years  of  legal  experience,  Thomas  Lin- 
coln Green  is  one  of  the  older  members  of  the 
Waynesville  bar,  in  private  practice  has  always 
enjoyed  a  large  clientage,  and  is  especially  popu- 
lar for  the  services  rendered  his  community  in 
official  position  and  his  constant  public  spirit  in 
all  matters  of  local  welfare. 

Mr.  Green  was  born  in  Haywood  County,  North 
Carolina,  December  31,  1867,'  son  of  Thaddeus  M. 
and  Louisa  (Shook)  Green.  His  father  made  a 
record  of  four  years  of  continuous  service  in  the 
Confederate  army  in  the  Twenty-first  North  Caro- 
lina Infantry.  Aside  from  that  army  service  he 
was  a  farmer.  Thomas  L.  Green  was  educated 
in  the  Clyde  High  School,  and  for  about  three 
years  was  a  teacher.  He  took  his  law  course  in 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1895,  beginning  practice  at 
Waynesville. 

Mr.  Green  was  at  one  time  an  alderman  of 
Waynesville  and  took  the  lead  in  promoting  the 
movement  for  a  bond  issue  to  install  lights  and 
water  works  in  the  city.  He  is  president  of  the 
Waynesville  Library  Association,  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association  and  president 
of  the  Haywood  County  Bar  Association.  Dur- 
ing 1901-02  he  served  as  private  secretary  to 
Congressman  J.  M.  Moody  at  Washington.  Mr. 
Green  was  postmaster  of  Waynesville  from  1907 
to  1916.  He  is  known  all  over  the  state  for  his 
prominence  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. He  was  grand  master  of  North  Carolina 
.  in  1916-17  and  is  at  present  grand  representa- 
tive to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of  the  United 
States.  He  is  also  a  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  past  counselor  of  the  Junior  Or- 
der of  United  American  Mechanics. 


December  31,  1888,  Mr.  Green  married  Dora 
Rogers,  of  Clyde,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of 
Jackson  J.  and  Amanda  (Stilwell)  Rogers.  Her 
father  was  a  farmer.  Six  children  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Green:  Lawrence,  chief 
clerk  of  the  Waynesville  post  office;  McKinley, 
who  volunteered  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with 
Germany  and  is  now  in  the  United  States  Army; 
Arthur,  in  the  aviation  section  of  the  navy; 
Lillian,  Louise  and  Joyce,  all  at  home. 

Henry  Clement  Satterfield.  The  business 
community  of  Durham  has  honored  Henry  Clement 
Satterfield  with  many  substantial  positions  and 
responsibilities.  Most  of  these  he  has  attained 
as  a  result  of  his  own  steady  progress  from  minor 
things  to  greater. 

He  was  born  at  Roxboro,  North  Carolina,  March 
8,  1882,  a  son  of  Samuel  Paul  and  Lou  Marie 
(Winstead)  Satterfield.  His  father  was  for 
twenty  years  engaged  in  the  general  insurance 
business.  The  son  was  educated  in  public  schools, 
in  Trinity  Park  School,  and  in  1904  graduated 
from  Trinity  College.  His  first  work  on  leaving 
college  was  as  an  offiee  man  and  department  fore- 
man with  The  American  Tobacco  Company.  Then 
in  1906  he  transferred  to  his  permanent  field,  the 
lumber  industry,  going  with  the  Cary  Lumber 
Company  as  an  office  man  and  later  secretary  and 
treasurer  and  since  1911  has  been  president  of  this 
large  and  flourishing  company.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Trinity  Land  Company  and  a  director 
of  the  Durham  &   Southern  Railway   Company. 

Mr.  Satterfield  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Durham  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Rotary  Club.  On  April  11,  1906,  he  married 
Carlotta  Gilmore  Angier  of  Durham,  daughter 
of  the  late  John  C.  Angier,  one  of  the  prominent 
lumbermen  and  industrial  executives  in  the  state. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Satterfield  have  three  children, 
Henry  Clement,  Jr.,  Carlotta  Angier  and  John 
Angier. 

Lyndon  Lea  White  is  a  prominent  North  Caro- 
lina educator  and  is  now  principal  of  the  high 
school  of  Winston-Salem.  He  represents  an  old 
family  of  the  state,  and  the  name  has  been  vari- 
ously identified  with  agriculture,  the  public  service 
and  various  professions.' 

Professor  White  was  born  at  Glenola  in  Randolph 
County,  North  Carolina.  His  great-grandfather 
served  in  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Randolph  County 
in  the  early  days,  and  after  that  was  widely  known 
as  Sheriff  White.  Mr.  White's  grandfather,  Isaac 
White,  was  born  in  Randolph  County  and  became 
owner  of  a  large  plantation  located  on  the  plank 
road  from  Fayetteville  Road  westward.  He  not 
only  occupied  and  operated  that  farm,  but  owned 
several  teams  and  before  the  railroad  era  was 
extensively  engaged  in  transporting  produce  and 
merchandise.  On  his  estate  was  a  grove  which  was 
used  as  the  favorite  camping  ground  for  the 
wagoners  while  enroute  to  and  from  Fayetteville. 
Isaac  White  lived  to  be  an  old  man  and  his  last 
years  were  spent  largely  with  his  sons.  Among 
his  children  were  Julius  J.,  David,  Isaac  and 
Letitia. 

His  fifth  child  was  Rev.  Isaac  H.  White,  father 
of  Professor  White.  He  was  born  in  Randolph 
County  in  1S55,  was  educated  in  the  rural  schools 
and  afterward  in  Trinity  College.  After  his  col- 
lege course  he  took  up  merchandising,  but  at  the 
same  time  carried  on  the  study  of  law  and  theology 
and  was  finally  licensed  to  preach.     He  joined  the 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


181 


North  Carolina  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  and  served  with  credit  in 
various  pastorates.  Finally,  on  account  of  failing 
eyesight,  he  discontinued  his  ministerial  work  and 
has  since  lived  at  Ealeigh,  where  he  is  now  in  the 
coal  and  wood  business.  Rev.  Mr.  White  married 
Mary  Elizabeth  Elder,  who  was  born  near  Trinity 
in  Randolph  County,  daughter  of  Lea  and  Chris- 
tiana (Foutz)  Elder,  the  former  of  English  and 
the  latter  of  German  ancestry.  Mrs.  "White  died  in 
1890,  and  Rev.  Isaac  A.  White  married  for  his 
second  wife  Johnnie  Lillian  Herritage.  She  ten- 
derly cared  for  the  five  children  thus  placed  in 
her  care.  These  children  are  Lyndon  Lea,  Lucy 
Neal,  Ernest  Eugene,  Julian  Elder  and  Herbert, 
the  last  dying  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

Lyndon  Lea  White  had  his  early  training  in  pub- 
lie  schools  and  afterward  entered  Guilford  Col- 
lege, where  he  was  graduated  in  1904.  He  took 
his  advanced  training  in  Haverford  College  near 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  received 
his  degree  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Mr.  White  has  made 
a  striking  success  in  the  field  of  education  and 
it  is  his  chosen  life  work.  On  leaving  college  he 
became  superintendent  of  schools  at  Jamestown, 
North  Carolina,  and  built  up  those  schools  to  a 
high  grade  of  efficiency  during  the  five  years  he 
remained  there.  He  then  accepted  the  call  to 
Winston-Salem  as  principal  of  the  high  school, 
and  is  now  directing  this,  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  equipped  high  schools  in  the  state. 

In  1909  Mr.  White  married  Miss  Jessie  Holt 
Foust.  She  was  born  in  Alamance  County,  North 
Carolina,  daughter  of  Thomas  C.  and  Mary  ("Rob- 
bins)  Foust  and  a  granddaughter  of  Ahi  Robbins, 
who  in  his  time  was  one  of  the  extensive  planters 
of  Randolph  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  have 
three  children,  Lucy  May,  Martha  Gray  and  Lyndon 
Lea,  Jr.  Mr.  White  and  wife  are  active  members 
of  the  Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  he  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of 
the  various  educational  organizations,  including  the 
National  Educational  Association  and  the  North 
Carolina  Teachers '  Association,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Geographic  Society. 

Lawrence  James  Herring,  D.  V.  S.  The  most 
enlightened  tenets  of  veterinary  medical  and  sur- 
gical science  have  found  expression  in  the  career 
of  Dr.  Lawrence  James  Herring,  who  since  '1911 
has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  calling  at 
Wilson.  Still  a  young  man,  he  has  had  a  thorough 
and  comprehensive  training,  as  well  as  broad  experi- 
ence in  his  chosen  work,  and  his  signal  ability  and 
trained  skill  have  made  him  a  helpful  factor  in 
the  community  where  he  is  now  located  as  the 
head  of  a  veterinary  hospital. 

Doctor  Herring  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Samp- 
son County,  North  Carolina,  November  28,  18S2, 
and  is  a  son  of  Rufus  F.  and  Katherine  (Corbett) 
Herring.  His  parents  were  farming  people,  and  on 
the  homestead  place  the  lad  formed  a  deep  and 
lasting  friendship  for  horses  and  other  livestock 
and  developed  an  understanding  and  sympathy  that 
have  done  much  to  assist  him  in  his  work  in  later 
years.  After  attending  the  country  schools,  he 
became  a  student  of  the  high  school  at  Salemburg, 
and  when  he  had  left  that  institution  as  a  grad- 
uate secured  his  first  scholastic  training  in  the 
profession  which  he  meant  to  make  his  life  work  at 
the  North  Carolina  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
College  at  Raleigh.  Graduating  therefrom  in  1907, 
he  enrolled  as  a  student  at  the  Kansas  Citv  Vet- 
erinary College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1909, 


and  then  located  in  Raleigh.  On  January  1,  1910, 
he  was  sent  to  the  State  Experimental  Farm  of 
Georgia,  where  he  was  placed  in  charge  as  animal 
pathologist  and  veterinarian,  and  continued  to  act 
in  that  capacity  until  June  22,  1911,  when  he  came 
to  Wilson.  Here  he  has  since  been  at  the  head  of 
the  Dr.  L.  J.  Herring  Veterinary  Hospital,  an 
institution  which  has  become  favorably  known 
all  over  this  section  of  North  Carolina.  Doctor 
Herring  has  a  large  practice  as  a  practicing  and 
office  veterinarian,  and  has  proved  himself  a 
humane  and  skillful  overseer  of  the  welfare  of 
the  horse  and  other  quadrupeds.  Few  voung  men 
are  better  equipped  for  success  in  this  difficult 
calling  than  is  this  agreeable  and  popular  vet- 
erinary surgeon.  He  has  a  bright  and  inquiring 
mind,  a  disposition  to  make  himself  of  practical 
use  .in.  tne  world>  and  a  keen  appreciation  of  the 
possibilities  as  yet  undiscovered  in  his  calling. 
Although  his  practice  demands  a  large  share  of 
his  time,  leaving  him  but  little  leisure  for  other 
activities,  he  has  willingly  allowed  the  community 
to  benefit  by  his  ability  and  knowledge,  and  has 
served  as  meat  and  milk  inspector  of  the  City  of 
Wilson.  His  standing  as  a  member  of  his  vocation 
may  be  noted  by  the  fact  that  he  is  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Veterinary 
Examiners,  and  he  holds  membership  also  in  the 
American  Veterinary  Medical  Association  and  the 
North  Carolina  Veterinary  Association.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Country  Club  and  to  the  local  lodges 
of  the  Masons  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  in  all  of  which  he  is  very  popular. 

Doctor  Herring  was  married  August  19,  1909, 
at  Wilson,  to  Miss  Mary  Louise  Carter,  of  Canisteo, 
New  York,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren: Katherine  Imogene  and  Lawrence  James, 
Jr.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Herring  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as 
deacon. 

Charles  Collins  Benton.  Among  the  firms  of 
architects  that  have  come  to  the  forefront  during 
recent  years,  one  which  has  had  an  almost  phe- 
nomenally successful  career  is  that  of  Benton  & 
Benton,  which  is  composed  of  brothers,  Charles 
Collins  and  Frank  Warthall  Benton.  With  its 
main  offices  at  Wilson,  it  has  not  confined  its 
activities  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  its  head- 
quarters, but  evidence  of  its  operations  can  be 
found  in  various  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  Cen- 
tral and  Eastern  North  Carolina.  The  junior 
member  of  this  firm,  Charles  Collins  Benton,  while 
still  a  young  man,  has  already  accomplished  much 
in  a  professional  way  and  has  earned  a  right 
to  be  accounted  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  voca- 
tion in  his  community.  He  was  bom  at  Wilson, 
Wilson  County,  North  Carolina,  March  14,  1888, 
and  is  a  son  of  Henry  E.  and  Margaret  (Whi- 
taker)  Benton,  his  father  being  a  mechanic  in 
the  employ  of  the  United   States  Government. 

When  his  preliminary  educational  training  had 
been  completed  in  the  grammar  grades  and  he 
had  left  the  high  school'm  1901,  Charles  Collins 
Benton  took  further  instruction  under  a  private 
tutor  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  Returning 
then  to  Wilson,  he  began  the  practice  of  his  cho- 
sen profession,  but  soon  found  that  he  was  still 
in  need  of  further  preparation,  and  accordingly 
went  to  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technol- 
ogy, where  he  completed  the  third  course.  In 
1908  he  again  came  back  to  Wilson,  this  time 
to  locate  permanently,  although  the  firm  of  which 
he  is  a  member  also  conducts  an  office  at  Norfolk. 


182 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Virginia-  Mr.  Benton  has  won  his  way  to  the 
front  rank  of  North  Carolina  architects  through 
hard  work  and  well-directed  purpose.  A  close 
student,  he  has  kept  constantly  abreast  of  the 
times,  and  his  services  are  greatly  in  demand,  he 
having  done  work  on  large  projects  all  the  way 
from  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  to  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  and  at  the  present  time  having  under  con- 
struction structures  to  the  value  of  $1,500,000. 
While  not  specialized  in  any  line,  some  of  his 
most  important  work  has  been  done  in  the  erec- 
tion of  courthouses  and  other  public  buildings, 
but  he  also  has  a  long  line  of  handsome  church 
edifices,  schoolhouses,  banks  and  business  build- 
ing to  his  credit,  not  to  speak  of  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  residences  to  be  found  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  is  a  York 
Bite  Mason,  and  belongs  to  Sudan  Temple  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  While  he  has  been  too  de- 
voted to  his  professional  duties  to  enter  actively 
into  public  affairs,  he  has  not  shirked  the  duties 
of  citizenship,  and  is  ex-building  inspector  of 
Wilson. 

Mr.  Benton  was  married  July  19,  1911,  to  Miss 
Mary  Bowell,  of  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  sons:  Henry  Ed- 
win, born  November  17,  1913 ;  and  Charles  Col- 
lins,  Jr.,  born   September   12,   1915. 

Frank  Warthall  Benton  was  born  at  Wilson, 
North  Carolina,  and  secured  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  city.  In  his  youth  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  learning  the  trade  of  machinist, 
but  as  this  work  brought  him  into  touch  with 
architecture  he  was  gradually  attracted  to  the  lat- 
ter vocation,  for  which  he  had  natural  aptitude. 
He  developed  his  latent  powers  in  this  direction 
by  following  architectural  work  at  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  and  in  Oklahoma,  but  eventually  re- 
turned to  North  Carolina  and  for  a  time  was  lo- 
cated at  Wilmington,  where  he  was  a  draughts- 
man for  3%  years  in  the  architect's  office  of  the 
Atlantic  Coast  Line  Bailway.  At  the  end  of  that 
period  he  returned  to  Wilson,  where,  with  his 
brother,  he  formed  the  firm  of  Benton  &  Benton. 
Since  then  his  rise  has  been  steady  and  continu- 
ous and  the  prominence  which  he  enjoys  among 
the  members  of  his  calling  and  the  public  in 
general  is  due  to  industry  and  a  display  of  splen- 
did ability  in  the  field  which  he  has  chosen  for 
his  life  work.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree,  Scot- 
tish Bite  Mason,  and  a  member  of  Sudan  Tem- 
ple of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

Gustave  Alphonso  Allison.  For  many  years 
actively  identified  with  the  railway  interests  of 
Western  North  Carolina,  Gustave  Alphonso  Allison, 
station  agent  at  Mocksville,  Davie  county,  is  fill- 
ing the  responsible  position  he  now  occupies  with 
ability  and  fidelity,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
railway  officials  and  the  railway  patrons.  A  son  of 
Theophilus  Allison,  he  was  born  at  Third  Creek, 
now  Cleveland,  Bowan  county,  North  Carolina. 
July  18,  1861. 

His  grandfather,  Samuel  Allison,  it  is  said,  was 
of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  being  a  direct  descendant 
of  one  of  four  brothers  that  emigrated  from  the 
North  of  Ireland  to  America,  locating  in  North 
Carolina.  Descendants  of  these  brothers  are 
numerous,  being  found  in  many  states  of  the 
TTnion,  and  not  a  few  of  them  are  prominent  in 
professional  and  public  life.  Samuel  Allison,  him- 
self, a  life-long  resident  of  North  Carolina,  was 
a  farmer  in   Bowan   County. 


Bom  on  a  farm  in  Bowan.  County,,  Theophilus 
Allison  was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  and 
as  a  young  man  entered  the  employ  of  the  Western 
Carolina  Company,  now  the  Southern  Bailroad 
Company,  ami  for  a  number  of  years  was  station 
agent  at  Third  Creek..  He  died  while  yet  in  the 
prime  of  life-  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was 
Margaret  Elizabeth  Lucky.  She  was  born  in 
Mount  Vernon,  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  died  in  1862,  leaving  two  sons,  William  L., 
now  deceased,  and  Gustave,  Alphonso.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  Theophilus  Allison  married 
Bettie  Carson,  whose  death  occurred  a  year  later. 

Being  left  motherless  when  a  small  child,  Gus- 
tave A.  Allison  was  brought  up  in  the  home  of  his 
uncle,  William  A.  Lucky,  of  Cleveland,  Rowan 
County,  remaining  with  him  until  attaining  his 
majority.  Obtaining  his  preliminary  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Cleveland,  he  continued  his 
studies  at  Catawba  College  in  Newton,  North 
Carolina.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Mr. 
Allison  entered  the  employ  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Bailway  Company,  now  the  Southern 
Railroad  Company,  and  for  two  years  was  station 
agent  at  Third  Creek,  now  Cleveland,  Bowan 
County.  Being  then  transferred  to  the  Company's 
office  at  Statesville,  Iredell  County,  he  was  there 
engaged  as  a  clerk  for  two  years,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  former  position  at  Cleveland.  When 
the  railroad  was  extended  to  North  Wilkesboro, 
Mr.  Allison  opened  the  station  at  that  point,  and 
continued  there  as  agent  for  two  years.  The 
following  thirteen  years  he  had  charge  of  the 
station  at  Advance,  from  there  going  in  1901  to 
Thomasville,  Davidson  County,  where  he  was  sta- 
tion agent  for  three  years.  Mr.  Allison  then 
organized  the  Thomasville  Chair  Factory,  and 
for  three  years  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  chairs.  Beturuing  then  to  his  former  employ- 
ment, Mr.  Allison  in  1907  was  appointed  station 
agent  at  Mocksville,  and  has  held  the  position 
since. 

Mr.  Allison  married,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four 
years,  Henrie  Eudora  Morris,  who  was  born  near 
Cooleemee,  Davie  County,  a  daughter  of  Edwin 
S.  and  Annie  (Fowler)  Morris,  and  grand-daughter 
of  Owen  C.  and  Eliza  (Osborn)  Fowler.  Mrs. 
Allison  died  in  Thomasville,  Davidson  County,  in 
1906,  leaving  seven  children,  namely:  Helen, 
Marie,  Annie  E.,  William  A.,  Ossie,  Margaret  and 
Morris.  Mr.  Allison  and  his  children  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  to 
which  his  wife  also  belonged.  Fraternally  he  is 
a  member  of  Thomasville  Lodge,  Ancient  Froo 
and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons,  and  of  Mocks- 
ville Council,  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics. 

Hexrt  F.  Burk,  of  Winston-Salem,  is  an 
honored  veteran  of  the  war  between  the  states,  sac- 
rificed much  for  the  cause  of  the  Southland,  and 
since  the  war  has  lived  in  Forsyth  County  as  a 
farmer,  public  official,  and  is  now  enjoying  the 
comforts  of  retirement  at  Winston-Salem. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  what  is  now  South 
Fork  Township  of  Forsyth  County  August  19,  1840. 
His  father,  Andrew  Burk,  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Mary  (Tesh)  Burk,  was  born  on  their  farm  in 
Davidson  County,  grew  up  in  close  touch  with 
agricultural  operations  and  made  fanning  his  per- 
manent vocation.  At  the  time  of  the  war  between 
the  states,  being  quite  old,  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Reserve  Corps.  He  died  in  his  eightieth 
year.     His   wife,   whose   maiden   name  was   Folly 


o^JjZ^J&u, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


183 


Ader,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Davidson  County, 
daughter  of  Peter  Ader,  a  farmer  of  that  section. 
She  died  in  her  seventy-third  year.  There  were 
six  children:  Solomon,  Henry  F.,  John,  Catherine, 
David  and  Pleasant.  The  son,  John,  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Junior  Beserve  during  the  war. 

The  old  farm  in  South  Fork  Township,  located 
about  2%  miles  southwest  of  Winston-Salem,  was 
the  environment  of  Henry  F.  Burk  as  a  boy.  His 
school  advantages  were  those  afforded  by  the  rural 
district  there.  He  had  not  yet  attained  his  ma- 
jority when  the  war  broke  out,  and  on  March  22, 
1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K  of  the  Forty- 
eighth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  troops.  He  be- 
came fourth  sergeant  of  the  company.  He  was 
soon  sent  North  to  fight  on  the  great  battlefields 
of  Virginia,  and  on  the  17th  of  September,  1862, 
he  participated  in  the  battle  before  Sharpsburg, 
Maryland,  where  he  was  severely  wounded  and 
lost  his  left  leg.  He  was  given  medical  and 
surgical  attention  in  a  tent  hospital  at  Sharpsburg 
for  five  weeks  and  was  then  removed  to  a  hospital 
in  Richmond,  where  he  remained  five  weeks  more. 
Being  incapacitated  for  active  field  duty,  he  was 
granted  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  the 
old  home  in  Forsyth  County. 

In  1866  Mr.  Burk  took  his  place  among  the 
other  loyal  men  of  North  Carolina  in  rehabilitating 
the  state  from  the  destructive  elements  of  war.  He 
bought  a  farm  on  the  Shallowford  Road,  four 
miles  west  of  the  courthouse  at  Winston,  and 
though  handicapped  by  the  injury  he  had  received 
in  the  army  he  pursued  farming  vigorously  and 
successfully  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1884  he 
turned  the  farm  over  to  renters  and  has  since  op- 
erated it  through  tenant  labor.  In  that  year  he 
removed  to  Winston,  and  for  two  years  held  the 
office  of  jailer.  After  that  for  ten  years  he  and 
Mrs.  Burk  conducted  a  boarding  house,  but  since 
then  he  has  lived  retired  in  a  comfortable  home  on 
the  street  which  bears  the  name  of  this  Confed- 
erate veteran. 

In  1866,  half  a  century  ago,  Mr.  Burk  married 
Miss  Eugenia  Ann  Wagner.  Mrs.  Burk  was  born 
in  Davidson  County,  daughter  of  Alvin  Wagner, 
a  farmer  of  that  section.  The  only  living  child 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burk  is  Mrs.  John  W.  Harrison. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harrison  have  five  children,  named 
Mamie  M.,  Flora,  Beatrice,  Robah  and  Kate. 

Mrs.  Burk  was  an  active  member  of  the  Calvary 
Moravian  Church.  She  died  August  24,  1917.  He 
lias  always  taken  much  interest  in  Confederate 
Veterans'  affairs  and  is  a  member  of  Norfleet 
Camp  of  Confederate  Veterans  and  is  also  on  the 
pension  board. 

John"  Leland  Becton.  With  the  development 
of  any  community  comes  the  need  of  the  skilled 
work  and  careful'  planning  of  the  civil  engineer. 
Without  his  knowledge  and  practical  appliance  of 
it  the  community  would  not  only  cease  to  grow;  it 
would  cease  to  exist.  He  is  the  product  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lives,  and  meets  its  requirements  ad- 
mirably. The  profession  of  engineering  at  Wil- 
mington is  represented  by  several  men  of  high 
standing  and  more  than  local  reputation,  and 
among  them  is  found  John  Leland  Becton,  to  whom 
must  be  granted  the  credit  for  some  of  the  great 
engineering  work  that  has  been  done  in  this  locality 
during  recent  years. 

John  Leland  Beoton  was  born  near  Goldsboro, 
Wayne  County,  North  Carolina,  October  24,  1885, 
and  is  a  son  of  George  Lawrence  and  Mollie  (Yel- 
verton)    Becton.      His   father   was    a   farmer   and 


merchant,  and  the  youth  spent  his  early  years  be- 
tween the  homestead  and  the  city,  first  attending 
the  public  schools  of  Goldsboro  and  later  those 
of  Guilford  for  three  years.  His  primary  educa- 
tion completed,  Mr.  Becton  then  entered  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College,  at  Raleigh, 
from  which  he  was  duly  graduated  in  1908,  and 
in  that  year  came  to  Wilmington  and  began  his 
career  in  civil  engineering.  That  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  his  calling  was  recognized  by  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College,  in  1913,  when 
that  institution  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Civil  Engineer.  For  two  years  after  coming  to 
Wilmington  Mr.  Becton  served  in  the  office  of 
assistant  city  engineer,  but  since  that  time  has 
been  devoting  himself  largely  to  a  private  clientele. 
He  has  served  as  engineer  for  many  drainage  dis- 
tricts in  Eastern  North  Carolina  and  has  installed 
miles  of  tile  drain  in  this  and  other  states.  To 
his  credit  are  miles  of  water  and  sewer  mains — 
municipal  improvement — miles  of  industrial  rail- 
road— lumber  company  progress — and  numerous 
suburban  developments  with  thousands  of  dollars 
on  improvements — from  the  topographical  map  and 
landscape  engineering  to  the  completed  streets  and 
drives.  Mr.  Becton  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  and  enjoys  a  high 
reputation  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession.  He 
belongs  to  Sepia  Grotto,  is  a  Thirty-second  degree 
and  Shriner  Mason,  and  holds  membership  in  the 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  in 
addition  to  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  Cape 
Fear,  Cape  Fear  Country  and  Carolina  Yacht 
clubs.  Politically  he  is  a  democrat,  but  the  con- 
stantly increasing  duties  of  his  calling  have  kept 
him  from  taking  any  active  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  has  shown  much  interest  in  the  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association  at  Wilmington,  of  which  he 
is  a  director,  and  has  also  been  active  in  the  work 
of  Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which 
he  is  a  steward. 

Hon.  Gakland  S.  Ferguson.  Haywood  County 
can  justly  lay  claim  to  general  citizenship  of  a 
high  order  and  can  point  with  pride  to  native 
sons  whose  names  stand  high  on  her  roll  of  honor 
because  of  worthy  achievements.  Few  men  whose 
names  appear  on  this  record  are  better  known  or 
more  universally  esteemed  and  trusted  than  Judge 
Garland  S.  Ferguson,  of  Waynesville,  whose  un- 
impeachable integrity  and  earnest,  intelligent  ef- 
forts at  the  bar,  on  the  bench  and  in  the  legis- 
lative councils  of  his  state  have  made  him  hon- 
orably conspicuous  in  his  county  and  community 
for  many  years. 

Garland  S.  Ferguson  was  born  in  Haywood 
County,  North  Carolina,  May  6,  1843.  His  par- 
ents were  William  and  Ruth  (Gibson)  Ferguson, 
who  undoubtedly  were  able  to  trace  their  ances- 
tral lines  far  back  to  Ireland  and  Scotland,  so 
he  is  truly  Scotch  and  Irish.  The  father  of 
Judge  Ferguson  was  a  prosperous  farmer  during 
the  latter 's  boyhood  and  early  youth,  and  educa- 
tional advantages  were  not  lacking.  He  worked 
on  the  farm  in  spring  and  summer  and  attended 
school  in  the  fall  and  winter.  Many  changes  in- 
evitably came  about  with  the  precipitation  of 
the  war  between  the  states,  and  Garland  S.,  with 
many  other  schoolboys  of  eighteen  years,  enthu- 
siastically and  adventurously  put  aside  their  books 
to  take  up  a  musket  and  marched  valiantly  from 
the  shelter  of  the  old  home  into  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent evironment.  Changes  have  come  again 
and  once  more  the  vouths  of  the  land  leave  home 


184 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


and  family  to  do  battle  on  land  and  sea,  and  it 
is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  to  find  the  old  fa- 
miliar names  appearing  on  the  new  rolls  of  cour- 
age and  valor. 

Garland  S.  Ferguson  enlisted  on  June  29,  1861, 
in  Company  F,  Twenty-fifth  North  Carolina  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  with  the  rank  of  sergeant.  Pro- 
motion followed  and  when  the  war  closed  he 
came  out  of  the  struggle  with  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant. Although  his  regiment  was  constantly  at 
the  front  and  danger  encompassed  it  on  every 
side,  Mr.  Ferguson  passed  through  the  earlier 
years  of  the  war  practically  unharmed.     Early  in 

1864,  however,  at  the  Battle  of  Drury  's  Bluff, 
he  was  seriously  wounded  in  the  head,  some  time 
afterward,  however,  returning  to  active  duty  and 
in  August  of  the  same  year  was  again  wounded, 
in   his    right   shoulder.      On   the    25th    of   March, 

1865,  at  Fort  Steadman  in  front  of  Petersburg, 
he  was  again  wounded,  his  left  thigh  broken. 
He  did  not  reach  home  until  the  25th  of  Aug- 
ust, 1865,  and  the  bones  continued  to  work  their 
way   out   of   his   thigh   until   November,   1878. 

In  the  fall  election,  1865,  Mr.  Ferguson  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Haywood 
County  and  was  re-elected  in  1868,  in  the  mean- 
while having  completed  his  law  studies.  In  1871 
he  resigned  his  court  office  and  entered  upon 
the  practice  of  law.  He  became  a  prominent 
political  factor  in  the  years  that  followed  and 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and  served  in 
the  sessions  of  1876  and  1877.  In  1878  he  was 
made  solicitor  for  the  Ninth  Judicial  District  and 
in  this  capacity  served  for  eight  years,  display- 
ing in  the  interim  such  complete  knowledge  of 
the  law  in  many  complicated  cases  that  his  fel- 
low citizens  determined  to  call  him  higher.  From 
1886  until  1902  his  law  practice  at  Waynesville 
absorbed  his  time  and  attention,  his  reputation 
for  legal  ability  growing  apace.  In  1902  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  Sixteenth,  now  the 
Twentieth,  Judicial  District,  and  entered  upon  a 
long  and  honorable  judicial  service  that  ter- 
minated only  with  his  declination  of  re-election 
in  1918.  He  administered  his  high  office  with 
patient,  conscientious  thoroughness,  with  dignity 
and  impartiality,  and  his  decisions  were  very 
seldom  questioned. 

Judge  Ferguson  was  married  in  November,  1866, 
to  Miss  Sarah  F.  Norwood,  who  died  in  1912,  the 
beloved  mother  of  seveu  children,  namely:  Na- 
than, who  is  in  business  at  Atlanta,  Georgia; 
Fannie,  who  is  the  wife  of  E.  J.  Bobeson,  super- 
intendent of  the  Waynesville  public,  schools; 
James  W.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
at  Waynesville,  North  Carolina;  Joseph  B.,  whose 
interests  lie  along  agricultural  development;  Gar- 
land S.,  who  not  only  bears  his  father 's  honored 
name  but  is  adding  luster  to  it  in  the  same  pro- 
fession at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  and  in 
Washington  City  where  he  now  resides;  John 
Norwood  is  in  the  United  States  navy,  with 
the  rank  of  commander  and  is  inspector  of  ord- 
nance of  the  New  York  Division  of  Ordnance; 
and  Lillian,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  C.  Blanchard, 
of   Hertford,   North   Carolina. 

A  man  of  the  character  and  attainments  of 
Judge  Ferguson  naturally  has  been  interested  in 
human  progress  and  educational  development  and 
at  all  times  and  in  many  ways  he  has  been  ready 
to  encourage  laudable  enterprises  along  these 
lines.  He  still  resides  in  Waynesville,  in  which 
city,  despite  the  passage  of  years,  he  remains  a 
controlling  force  and  vital  citizen  and  he  will 
again  resume  the  practice  of  law. 


Luther  Montrose  Carlton  was  born  in  Durham 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  27,  1877.  His 
parents  were  Marquis  L.  Carlton  and  Bettie  V. 
(Groom)  Carlton,  and  the  mother  now  resides  in 
Durham. 

At  that  time  his  father  was  engaged  in  the 
furniture  business  but  some  time  later  returned  to 
his  farm  in  Wake  County.  On  account  of  the 
inadequate  country  schools,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  when  six  years  old  was  sent  back  to  Dur- 
ham and  placed  in  the  city  schools  and  continued 
there  until  he  graduated  in  1891,  winning  a 
scholarship  to  Trinity  College,  which  institution 
he  entered  in  1892.  He  graduated  from  Trinity 
College  in  1897  and  during  the  following  year  was 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Business  Men's 
Association  of  Durham.  Resigning  this  position 
he  entered  upon  the  study  of  law  in  the  office 
of  Boone  &  Bryant,  attorneys,  and  in  1900  he 
completed  his  studies  in  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  with  credit,  and 
in  February  1900,  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

Mr.  Carlton  immediately  entered  into  a  general 
practice  at  Boxboro  in  Person  County  and  has 
continued  ever  since  and  now  stands  well  at  the 
head  of  a  very  able  body  of  lawyers.  In  1902  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  Hon.  W.  W.  Kitehin, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Kitehin  &  Carlton,  which 
partnership  continued  until  1909,  when  Mi.  Kit- 
chin  was  elected  governor  of  the  state.  Since 
then  as  an  individual  attorney  Mr.  Carlton  has 
managed  a  large  and  substantial ,  practice  and  is 
universally  recognized  as  a  counselor  of  legal 
worth  as  well  as  personal  probity.  For  many 
years  he  has  practiced  regularly  in  the  adjoining 
County  of  Caswell  and  is  a.  member  of  the  firm 
of  Carlton  &  Upchurch.  With  other  professional 
connections  he  is  attorney  for  the  Bank  of  Rox- 
boro. 

Mr.  Carlton  was  married  March  22,  1905,  to 
Maiy  Graves  Hines  of  Mount  Airy,  North  Caro- 
lina and  they  have  three  children:  Margaret 
Hines,  Mary  Shuford  and  Luther  Montrose,  Jr. 

Interested  from  early  manhood  in  public  affairs,, 
and  believing  that  politics  has  an  established  place 
in  the  conduct  of  a  republic,  he  soon  defined  his 
principles  and  united  heartily  with  the  democratic 
party,  in  which  he  has  been  recognized  in  his 
county  and  district  as  a  leader.  For  eight  years 
he  was  chairman  of  Democratic  County  Executive 
Committee,  and  although  urged  many  times  to 
run  for  office  he  has  preferred  to  work  for  party 
friends  and  devote  his  energies  to  his  profession. 
Once  elected  Mayor  of  Roxboro  he  resigned  be- 
cause of  the  'pressure  of  professional  business.  He 
has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  all  pro- 
gressive movements  and  especially  in  public  school? 
and  good  roads. 

He  is  a  man  of  broad  view  and  intelligent  vision 
and  both  professionally  and  personally  enjoys  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
Pythian  and  Masonic  fraternities  and  belongs 
also  to  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics. 

James  Edward  Kenerly  is  one  of  the  leading 
building  contractors  of  Winston-Salem.  His  career 
has  been  one  in  which  his  independent  efforts  and 
self-reliance  have  been  prominent  factors  in  his 
progressive  success.  While  working  for  others, 
his  enterprise  led  him  to  acquire  outside  interests- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


185 


of  his  own,  and  gradually  he  got  into  the  business 
which  he  now  follows. 

Mr.  Kenerly  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Davidson 
County,  North  Carolina.  He  is  of  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestry. His  great-grandfather  was  according  to  the 
best  information  at  hand  a  native  of  Ireland  but  of 
Scotch  stock.  On  coming  to  America  he  located  in 
Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  and  spent  the  rest 
of  his  days  there.  Mr.  Kenerly 's  grandfather  was 
George  Kenerly,  a  native  of  Rowan  County  and 
for  many  years  he  was  a  successful  farmer  in  that 
section.  During  the  war  between  the  states  he 
operated  a  blacksmith  shop  and  a  shoe  factory. 
All  the  boots  and  shoes  were  hand  made,  and  as 
a  mechanic  and  artisan  he  rendered  a  valuable 
service  to  his  community  during  war  times.  He 
died  when  about  seventy-two  years  of  age. 

George  Kenerly,  Jr.,  father  of  James  E.,  was 
born  in  Rowan  County  in  1849.  While  reared  on 
a  farm  and  habituated  to  its  duties,  he  also  learned 
the  trade  of  blacksmith  and  furthermore  worked 
as  a  carpenter.  He  subsequently  removed  to  David- 
son County,  bought  a  farm  in  Tvto  Township,  was 
a  general  farmer  for  several  years,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Rowan  County  where  his  death  occurred 
in  1910.  He  married  Sarah  Walton.  During  the 
first  years  of  their  married  life  they  lived  very 
simply,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  stove  the  bride 
cooked  her  meals  by  the  open  fire.  She  was  born 
in  Rowan  County  in  1854,  a  daughter  of  George 
Allen  and  Sarah" (Klutz)  Walton.  She  is  still  liv- 
ing a  resident  of  Rowan  County,  and  has  reared 
nine  children:  Ida,  James  Edward,  Nora  B.,  John 
D.,  Thomas  G.,  Daniel  L.,  OUie  D.,  Lome  E.,  and 
T.   Seott. 

James  Edward  Kenerly  spent  his  early  life  on  a 
farm  in  Davidson  County.  While  there  he  attended 
the  public  schools  and  was  also  a  student  in  the 
Churchland  High  School.  His  independent  efforts 
began  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  when  he  became  a 
school  teacher,  and  followed  that  vocation  for 
about  four  years.  In  1898  Mr.  Kenerly  removed 
to  Spencer,  North  Carolina,  and  for  sis  years  was 
employed  in  the  paint  department  of  the  Southern 
Railway  shops.  It  was  while  working  in  that 
capacity  that  he  first  became  interested  in  real 
estate.  He  bought  some  lots,  employed  a  carpenter 
to  build  houses,  and  sold  several  of  his  properties 
to  advantage.  This  experience  opened  up  a  new 
field  for  him,  and  at  the  end  of  six  years  he  left 
the  railway  company  to  become  a  carpenter  and 
builder,  and  followed  that  line  four  years  in 
Spencer.  In  1910  Mr.  Kenerly  removed  to  Win- 
ston-Salem and  has  since  perfected  an  excellent 
organization  and  does  an  extensive  business  as  a 
building  contractor.  Through  that  work  he  has 
developed  with  his  own  capital  considerable  prop- 
erty and  is  handling  his  own  work  and  accepting 
contracts  from  others. 

In  1897  he  married  Miss  Florence  Delia  Miller. 
Mrs.  Kenerly  was  born  in  Davidson  County,  daugh- 
ter of  Henderson  and  Victoria  Miller.  Three 
children  have  been  born  to  their  marriage :  Ira  B., 
Paul  James  and  Elva  Lee.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenerly 
and  children  are  active  members  of  the  Centenary 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  Mr.  Ken- 
erly is  an  active,  member  of  West  End  Church  of 
the  same  denomination.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Men  's  Bible  Class. 

Frank  Miller  Weaver  has  carried  exceptional 
burdens  in  business  and  civic  affairs  at  Asheville 
and  elsewhere  for  a  long  period  of  years,  and  today 
he  is  one  -of  those  men  who  with  unselfish  patriot- 


ism are  concentrating  all  their  resources  and  in- 
fluences without  monetary  remuneration  to  organiz- 
ing and  directing  the  power  of  their  home  com- 
munity to  the  best  advantage  of  the  national  Gov- 
ernment in  the  prosecution  of  the  great  war. 

Mr.  Weaver  was  born  at  Weaverville,  Buncombe 
County,  Nortli  Carolina,  December  1,  1858.  He 
is  a  great-grandson  of  that  John  Weaver  who 
came  to  this  section  of  North  Carolina  in  1783,  at 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  founded 
the  community  which  for  more  than  a  century  has 
been  known  as  Weaverville.  Frank  M.  Weaver 
is  a  son  of  John  S.  and  Mary  Carmack  (Miller) 
Weaver.  His  father  was  prominent  in  Buncombe 
County  as  a  planter,  woolen  mill  operator  and 
also  as  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Frank  M.  Weaver  was  liberally  educated 
in  local  schools  and  also  in  Weaver  College  at 
Weaverville,  an  institution  of  which  he  has  been 
for  the  past  fifteen  years  chairman  of  the  board 
of  trustees.  For  three  years  after  leaving  school 
he  was  in  the  tobacco  business,  and  then  entered 
the  coal  industry,  with  which  his  name  has  been 
longest  identified.  He  was  one  of  the  men  re- 
sponsible for  opening  up  some  of  the  great  coal 
fields  of  old  Indian  Territory,  now  Oklahoma,  and 
was  vice  president  of  the  Indian  Coal  &  Mining 
Company,  which  developed  some  of  the  extensive 
fields  around  MeAlester.  Mr.  Weaver  established 
at  Asheville  a  retail  coal  business  in  1890  and 
conducted  it  successfully  until  1916. 

Among  his  large  interests  at  present  he  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Brown  Hardware  Company,  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Piedmont  Electric  Company,  president 
of  the  American  Milling  Company,  president  of 
the  Lexington  Chair  Company  at  Lexington,  North 
Carolina,  president  of  the  Carolina  lee  &  Coal 
Company  of  Asheville,  and  is  owner  of  some  ex- 
tensive farm  lands  and  orchards  and  valuable 
business  properties  in  the  City  of  Asheville.  He 
has  done  much  to  develop  North  Carolina 's  re- 
sources as  a  fruit  growing  state,  and  his  orchards 
produce  every  year  quantities  of  apples  and 
peaches. 

Through  all  the  years  he  has  devoted  much  of 
his  time  to  public  affairs.  He  is  now  president  of 
the  Asheville  Board  of  Trade,  served  in  the  same 
office  at  another  period  for  two  years,  and  was 
a  director  of  the  board  twelve  years.  As  already 
noted,  he  is  now  giving  all  his  time  to  his  duties 
as  chairman  of  the  Buncombe  County  Council  of 
Defense  and  to  the  county  food  administration. 
He  is  chairman  of  the  board  of  stewards  of  the 
Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and  was 
for  twenty-two  years  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the  West- 
ern North  Carolina  Conference  and  served  at  three 
successive  sessions  of  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  which 
meets  once  in  every  four  years.  He  is  a  trustee  of 
Trinity  College  of  Durham,  is  a  member  of  the 
Asheville  Club  and  the  Asheville  Country  Club,  is 
a  thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason  and 
Shriner  and  past  grand  chancellor  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

In  June,  1889,  Mr.  Weaver  married  Ella  Boyd 
Russell,  of  Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia.  She 
died  one  year  after  their  marriage.  October  25, 
1899,  he  married  Cornelia  Burns,  of  Shreveport, 
Louisiana.  They  have  three  children,  Elizabeth 
Burns,  Frank  Miller,  Jr.,  and  William  Fisk. 

William  Allen  Erwin,  of  West  Durham,  is 
pre-eminent   among   the   cotton   manufacturers    of 


.186 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


North  Carolina  and  one  of  the  foremost  men  in 
that  industry  in  the  South.  He  has  made  a  great 
success  of  practical  affairs,  the  more  noteworthy 
because  he  started  in  life  compelled  to  make  his 
own  capital  and  promote  himself  by  efficiency 
and  industry.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal 
mind,  and  a  splendid  humanitarianism  has  min- 
gled with  all  his  creative  and  executive  work  in 
commercial  affairs. 

His  father  was  Col.  Joseph  J.  Erwin,  who 
owned  a  fine  plantation  known  as  Bellevue  on 
Upper  Creek  near  Morganton  in  Burke  County, 
North  Carolina.  It  was  on  that  plantation  that 
William  Allen  Erwin  was  born  July  15,  1856. 
His  mother  was  Elvira  J.  Holt,  daughter  of  Dr. 
William  E.  Holt,  of  Lexington,  North  Carolina. 
Both  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Erwin  were  highly  cul- 
tured and  held  in  great  esteem. 

The  devastation  and  loss  due  to  the  war  ma- 
terially affected  the  fortunes  of  this  family,  and 
William  A.  Erwin,  who  was  prepared  for  college 
in  the  schools  of  Burke  County  and  in  the  Fin- 
ley  High  School  at  Lenoir,  and  who  had  done 
two  years  of  good  work  at  the  A.  &  M.  College  of 
Kentucky  University,  was  compelled  to  cut  short 
his  educational  career  and  begin  work  while  yet 
a  boy. 

On  December  4,  1874,  he  became  a  salesman 
in  the  general  store  of  Holt,  Gant  &  Holt  at  Bur- 
lington, North  Carolina.  He  remained  there  un- 
til 1877,  when  he  took  a  position  as  bookkeeper 
with  the  North  Carolina  Railway  Company  at 
Burlington.  A  year  later  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising,  and   so   continued   until   1882. 

It  was  in  1882  that  Mr.'  Erwin  first  became 
identified  with  the  business  which  has  brought 
him  in  a  large  way  in  close  touch  with  the  indus- 
trial life  of  the  state.  From  that  year  until  1893 
he  was  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the 
E.  M.  Holt  Plaid  Mills  in  Alamance  County. 
Since  1893  Mr.  Erwin 's  home  has  been  at  West 
Durham,  where  he  built  the  large  Erwin  Cotton 
Mills. 

Mr.  Erwin  directs  the  operation  of  a  very  large 
cotton  Mill  interest  in  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Under  his  leadership  and  control  are  the 
following:  The  four  mills  of  the  Erwin  Cot- 
ton Mills  Company,  namely  Nos.  1  and  4  Mills 
at  West  Durham,  containing  75,000  spindles,  903 
narrow  and  1,030  broad  looms;  the  Erwin  Cot- 
ton Mill  No.  2  at  Duke,  containing  35,000  spin- 
dles and  1,024  looms;  the  Erwin  Cotton  Mill 
No.  3  at  Cooleemee,  containing  48,000  spindles 
and  1,296  looms;  the  Durham  Cotton  Manufac- 
turing Company,  East  Durham,  24,000  spindles 
and  820  looms;  Pearl  Cotton  Mill,  East  Durham, 
11,000  spindles  and  248  looms;  Oxford  Cotton 
Mills,  Oxford,  6,200  spindles;  and  the  Locke  Cot- 
ton Mills  Company,  Concord,  35,000  spindles  and 
976  looms.  These  mills  altogether  employ  a  cap- 
ital of  about  $10,000,000,  and  in  the  aggregate 
form  a  large  part  of  the  industrial  resources  of 
the  state. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  Mr.  Erwin  has, 
without  interruption,  given  devoted  service  as  su- 
perintendent to  the  Sunday  schools  of  Burling- 
ton and  West  Durham,  and  is  one  of  the  strong- 
est and  most  influential  laymen  in  the  South  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

On  October  23,  1889,  Mr.  Erwin  married  Sadie 
L.  Smedcs,  daughter  of  Aldert  Smedes,  D.  D., 
founder  of  St.  Mary 's  Episcopal  School  at  B-a- 
leigh.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Erwin  have  four  children, 
three  daughters  and  one  son.     The  oldest  daugh- 


ter, Bessie  Smedes,  married  Hon.  Hamilton  C. 
Jones,  an  attorney  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 
The  second  daughter,  Margaret  Locke,  married 
James  W.  Glenn,  of  Winston-Salem,  North  Car- 
olina, and  youngest  daughter,  Sarah  Lyell,  mar- 
ried Hargrove  Bellamy,  of  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina,  now  first  lieutenant  of  infantry  in  the 
American  army  in  France.  Their  only  son,  Wil- 
liam Allen  Erwin,  Jr.,  in  March,  1917,  married 
Miss  Haffye  Louise  Barton,  of  Florida,  and  after 
having  occupied  a  responsible  position  with  the 
Erwin  Cotton  Mills  Company,  has  recently  vol- 
unteered and  is  now  in  the  Officers  Training 
School  of  the  United  States  Army  at  Camp  Jack- 
son, Columbia,  South  Carolina.  Each  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Erwin  embody  the  highest 
type  of  Southern  womanhood  and  the  son  has 
proven  himself  a  worthy  son  of  high  ideals  and 
noble  ambitions. 

Col.  Alexander  Boyd  Andrews  was  born  in 
Franklin  County,  North  Carolina,  July  23,  1841, 
and  died  at  his  home  in  Raleigh  April  17,  1915. 
He  lived  nearly  seventy-four  years.  He  was  a 
brave  soldier  in  the  war  between  the  states,  and 
for  nearly  half  a  century  after  the  war  was 
identified  with  railway  extension  and  management, 
with  banking  and  other  large  business  affairs. 

His  career  throughout  was  constructive.  To 
tell  the  story  of  his  life  in  full  would  involve  a 
detailed  reference  to  many  of  the  important  depart- 
ments of  the  state's  industrial  system  and 
organization.  It  is  said  that  he  built  more  miles 
of  railway  in  North  Carolina  than  any  other 
individual,  and  in  building  it  his  primary  purpose 
was  the  solid  and  substantial  development  of  the 
state's  resources  and  he  was  never  actuated  by 
the  spirit  of  exploitation  and  speculation  which 
have  been  impelling  motives  with  so  many  capita- 
lists. All  his  work  was  closely  connected  with 
the  development  of  the  State,  and  no  better  proof 
of  this  can  be  found  than  in  the  following  state- 
ment made  by  The  State  Journal  of  Baleigh  at  the 
time  of  his  death :  "  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
out  of  the  millions  of  dollars  invested  by  the  state 
of  North  Carolina  in  aiding  railroad  building, 
it  has  never  lost  a  dollar  invested  in  a  railroad 
enterprise  with  which  Colonel  Andrews  was  ever 
connected,  and  has  lost  almost  every  dollar  put 
into  railroad  building  in  which  he  had  no  in- 
terest. " 

He  was  not  yet  grown  when  the  war  broke  out. 
The  beginning  of  hostilities  found  him  in  South 
Carolina  with  his  uncle  Gen.  P.  B.  Hawkins, 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Blue  Bidge 
Railway.  Returning  home  he  answered  the  call 
for  volunteers,  was  appointed  a  second  lieutenant 
of  cavalry  in  May,  1861,  promoted  to  first  lieuten- 
ant in  September  and  to  captain  in  June,  1862. 
During  the  remainder  of  the  war  he  served  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  At  Upperville,  Virginia,  in 
June,  1862,  he  had  a  horse  shot  from  under  him, 
and  in  September,  1863,  he  was  desperately 
wounded  at  Jack's  Shop,  Virginia.  He  was  shot 
through  the  left  lung  and  for  several  years  after 
the  war  suffered  from  this  injury  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  immediate  cause  of  his  death  was  this  old 
wound  received  more  than  half  a  century  earlier. 

After  the  war  Colonel  Andrews  went  to  Weldon, 
North  Carolina,  and  undertook  a  contract  with 
the  Petersburg  Railroad  to  carry  its  freight  and 
passengers  across  the  Roanoke  River  to  Gaston. 
All  the  bridges  had  been  destroyed,  and  he  held 
this  contract  for  over  a  year.     In  July,  1867,  he 


^^x^-^1 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


187 


became  superintendent  of  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston 
Railway.  From  this  time  forward  the  responsi- 
bilities and  duties  placed  upon  him  rapidly 
increased,  but  he  had  that  genius  which  consisted 
in  a  growth  of  ability  in  proportion  to  the  needs 
of  accomplishment.  For  many  years  he  was  the 
real  constructive  genius  of  the  Southern  Railway 
System.  He  is  given  credit  for  having  constructed 
the  Western  North  Carolina  Murphy  branch,  the 
North  Carolina  Midland  Railway  (the  line  from 
Winston-Salem  to  Mooresville),  the  Yadkin  Rail- 
way, the  High  Point-Randleman-Asheboro  and 
Southern  Railroad,  the  Statesville  and  Western, 
between  Statesville  and  Taylorsville,  the  North- 
western North  Carolina  from  Pomona  to  North 
Wilkesboro,  and  a  number  of  other  short  lines 
all  now  included  in  the  Southern  Railway  System. 
For  many  years  and  up  to  the  date  of  his  death 
lie  was  first  viee  president  of  the  Southern  Rail- 
way. An  impressive  tribute  to  his  official  posi- 
tion and  to  the  splendid  work  he  had  performed 
for  his  corporation  was  the  order  that  went  out 
from  the  executive  offices  that  every  wheel  on 
the  Southern  system  and  all  work  in  shops  and 
elsewhere  should  cease  for  five  minutes  at  the  time 
of  his  funeral. 

Colonel  Andrews  for  many  years  held  the  po- 
sition of  vice  president  and  director  of  the 
Citizens  National  Bank  of  Raleigh.  He  was  the 
founder  and  from  its  beginning  until  his  death 
was  president  of  the  Soldiers  Home  for  Con- 
federate Veterans.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  These  and  many 
other  trusts  were  given  him,  and  in  every  case 
he  faithfully  fulfilled  every  duty  and  considered 
every  official  position  an  opportunity  for  real 
personal  service.  He  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd  at 
Raleigh,  and  a  large  concourse  of  his  friends  and 
of  leading  business  men  from  all  over  the  state 
and  the  South  gathered  to  pay  respect  to  his 
memory  while  Bishop  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire 
conducted  the   funeral   service. 

September  1,  1869,  Colonel  Andrews  married 
Miss  Julia  M.  Johnston,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Wil- 
liam M.  Johnston  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 
Mrs.  Andrews,  who  still  lives  in  Raleigh,  has  five 
surviving  children:  W.  J.  Andrews,  A.  B.  An- 
drews, Jr.,  John  H.  Andrews,  Graham  Andrews, 
all  of  Raleigh,  and  Mrs.  W.  M.  Marks  of  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama. 

Graham  Harris  Andrews.  A  son  of  the  late 
distinguished  Col.  Alexander  Boyd  Andrews,  first 
vice  president  of  the  Southern  Railway  System, 
Graham  Harris  Andrews,  has  used  the  opportuni- 
ties that  came  to  him  by  reason  of  the  high  posi- 
tion his  father  occupied  in  commercial  affairs  to 
render  a  valuable  service  on  his  own  part  to  his 
native  state. 

Born  at  Raleigh,  April  21,  1883,  educated  in 
the  Raleigh  Male  Academy  and  graduating  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  A.  B.  in  190:'., 
he  at  once  entered  the  employ  of  the  Citizens 
National  Bank  as  collector,  and  advanced 
through  the  various  grades  until  July  5,  1913, 
he  became  cashier.  He  is  also  secretary,  treasurer 
and  director  of  the  Raleigh  Cotton  Oil  Company; 
director  of  the  Raleigh  Real  Estate  and  Trust 
Company;  vice  president-  and  director  of  the 
Raleigh  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  an 
office  his  father  held  before  him ;  director  of  the 
Atlantic  Fire  Insurance  Company;   director  of  the 


Raleigh  Building  and  Loan  Association;  and 
president   of   the    Citizens    Insurance   Agency. 

He  is  a  man  of  many  interests,  is  a  trustee  of 
St.  Mary 's  School  and  active  as  a  member  and 
senior  warden  of  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, Protestant  Episcopal,  at  Raleigh.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Sigma  Alpha  Epsilon  college  fra- 
ternity, the  Capital  Club,  Country  Club,  and  the 
Neuseco  Fishing  Club.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevo- 
lent   and    Protective    Order    of    Elks. 

November  6,  1907,  Mr.  Andrews  married  Eliza 
Humphrey  Simmons  of  Newbern,  North  Carolina. 
Three  children  have  been  born  to  their  union: 
Julia  Johnston,  Mary,  Simmons  and  Graham 
Harris,  Jr. 

Hon.  F.  Dayton  McLean.  Among  the  fore- 
most men  of  Bladen  County  stands  Hon.  F.  Day- 
ton McLean,  ex-member  of  the  State  Legislature, 
a  prominent  political  leader,  greatly  interested  in 
public  education,  concerned  in  the  oil  and  cotton 
industries  of  this  section,  and  the  owner  and  op- 
erator of  the  old  McLean  homestead  farm,  on  which 
he  resides.  Here  he  was  born  in  1862,  and  his 
parents  were  Duncan  and  Sallie  (Singletary)  Mc- 
Lean. 

The  late  Duncan  MeLean  was  born  near  Lilling- 
ton,  Harnett  County,  North  Carolina,  and  was  a 
son  of  Lauchlin  McLean,  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and 
a  near  kinsman  of  Hon.  Dan  Hugh  McLean,  who 
still  resides  at  Lillington.  Duncan  McLean  mar- 
ried Sallie  Singletary,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  Singletary,  of  Bladen  County,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  one  of  the  earliest  families  here,  the 
date  of  their  advent  being  about  the  same  as  the 
Robeson  family,  in  1721.  Col.  Thomas  Robeson, 
for  whom  Robeson  County  was  named,  married  a 
Sallie  Singletary,  her  family  being  of  Welsh  de- 
scent. Years  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  states  Duncan  McLean  came  from  Har- 
nett to  Bladen  County  and  settled  in  the  extreme 
southwestern  part,  near  the  Robeson  County  line, 
in  what  was  known  as  the  back  woods  of  Bladen 
County.  He  cleared  a  farm  out  of  the  wilderness, 
2y2  miles  southwest  of  Bladenboro,  and  spent  his 
life  there. 

During  boyhood  F.  Dayton  McLean  attended 
private  schools,  but  in  1885  he  went  to  Lexington, 
in  Davidson  County,  and  as  a  student  entered  the 
Southern  Normal  School,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished that  year,  and  completed  the  teachers '  course, 
and  the  next  three  years  were  spent  in  teaching 
school  in  Bladen  and  Robeson  counties.  While 
this  quiet,  peaceful  vocation  did  not  prepare  him 
very  well  for  military  duty,  nevertheless  when  the 
Spanish-American  war  came  on  he  was  found  ready 
to  assume  his  patriotic  duty  and  enlisted  in  the 
famous  ' '  Hornet 's  Nest  Rifles, ' '  an  organization 
that  well  deserved  its  name,  which  was  commanded 
by  Capt.  T.  R.  Robertson,  of  Charlotte,  and  be- 
came a  part  of  the  First  North  Carolina.  Infantry, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Armfield,  of  Statesville. 
The  First  North  Carolina  had  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  American  regiment  to  march 
through  the  streets  of  Havana,  and  Mr.  McLean 
is  justly  proud  of  his  connection  with  this  organ- 
ization  and  of  his  own  personal  war  record. 

Since  1901  Mr.  McLean  has  been  engaged  in 
farming  on  his  old  home  place,  but  for  ten  years 
or  more  he  was  identified  with  the  Butters  Lumber 
Company,  of  Boardman,  principally  as  engineer  in 
that  company  's  extensive  canal  and  drainage  work 


188 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


in  Columbus,  Bladen  and  Robeson  counties,  a  work 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  this  wide  section  and 
which  has  been  carried  on  with  extreme  thorough- 
ness. A  loyal  supporter  of  home  enterprises,  Mr. 
McLean  is  interested  in  a  number  of  the  local  in- 
dustries and  is  a  member  of  the  directing  board 
of   the  Bladenboro   Cotton  Mill. 

Since  early  manhood  Mr.  McLean  has  been 
more  or  less  interested  in  politics,  believing  an 
earnest  citizen's  duty  lies  in  that  direction  to 
some  extent,  and  today  he  is  recognized  as  a  lead- 
ing factor  in  the  democratic  party  in  Bladen 
County.  He  lias  served  usefully  in  many  public 
offices,  for  several  years  being  magistrate  of  his 
district,  and  also  has  been  road  overseer,  school 
committeeman  and  deputy  sheriff.  He  was  fur- 
ther honored  by  his  fellow  citizens  by  election  to 
the  General  Assembly  and  served  through  the  ses- 
sions of  1907-8,  and  took  a  particularly  active 
part  in  legislation  affecting  education  and  state- 
wide prohibition,  being  a  most'  ardent  advocate  of 
both  causes.  He  made  a  highly  creditable  record 
and  one  greatly  appreciated  by  his  constituents. 
He  lent  especial  aid  in  furthering  the  organization 
of  the  state  high  school  system,  and  at  present  is 
a  member  of  the  county  board  of  education,  work- 
ing zealously  for  the  establishment  and  advance- 
ment of  the  public  schools  and  for  sound  public 
school  advantages  for  the  masses.  A  scholarly  man 
himself,  he  has  felt,  more  than  many  others,  the 
great  lack  of  educational  privileges  and  consequent 
lamentable  state  of  ignorance  that  may  yet  be 
found  in  a  state  that  stands  so  well  to  the  front 
among  others  of  the  South.  His  influence  and 
efforts  have  not  been  without  results.  As  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  board  he  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  building  of  the  magnificent 
new  school  edifice  at  Bladenboro,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1917.  It  is  a  solid  brick  structure 
equipped  with  its  own  electric  lights  and  with  every 
modern  invention  suitable  to  first  class  school 
plants,  with  due  regard  to  ventilation  and  sanita- 
tion, its  cost  being  $30,000.  The  school  has  a 
farm  of  forty  acres  adjoining  it,  for  farm  life 
teaching,  Mr.  McLean  being  greatly  in  favor  of 
vocational  methods.  ISTot  only  would  he  offer  the 
youth  of  the  country  exceptional  advantages  and 
opportunities,  but  he  would  favor  universal  com- 
pulsory education.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  all 
state  educational  organizations  and  assisted  to 
found  the  State  Teachers'  Board  of  Education. 
Personally  he  is  a  man  of  engaging  presence, 
genial  and  companionable,  and  in  addition  to  his 
popularity  in  public  affairs  has  a  very  wide  circle 
of  warm  and  appreciative  personal  friends. 

Mr.  McLean  married  into  one  of  the  very  old 
and  influential  families  of  Bladen  County,  when 
Miss  Lummie  White,  who  is  a  daughter  of  James 
White,  became  his  wife.  They  have  had  four  chil- 
dren: Duncan,  Sallie,  F.  Dayton  and  Dan  Hugh. 
In  the  summer  of  1917  sorrow  came  to  the  family 
circle  through  the  accidental  drowning  of  their  un- 
usually bright  and  promising  eldest  son. 

James  H.  Greenwood.  One  of  the  more  ex- 
tensive landholders  of  Western  North  Carolina, 
James  H.  Greenwood,  of  Elkin,  Surry  County,  has 
made  an  excellent  use  of  every  offered  opportunity, 
allowing  nothing  to  escape  •  him  that  might  im- 
prove his  chances  of  advancing  his  material  in- 
terests or  adding  to  the  welfare  of  the  community 
in  which  he  resides.  A  son  of  Thomas  Greenwood, 
he  was  born  January  11,  1853,  in  Carroll  County, 
Virginia.     His   grandfather,  James  Greenwood,  a 


native  of  the  eastern  part  of  Virginia,  came  from 
there  to  Yadkin  County,  this  state,  when  young, 
and  having  purchased  land  in  the  Yadkin  River 
Valley  was  there  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
until  his  death,  while  yet  in  manhood's  prime, 

One  of  a  family  consisting  of  seven  sons  and 
one  daughter,  Thomas  Greenwood  was  born  on  the 
home  farm  in  Knob  Township,  Yadkin  County, 
and  there  was  reared  and  educated.  After  his 
marriage,  taking  advantage  of  the  cheap  land  in 
Virginia,  he  bought  a  tract  in  Carroll  County, 
about  six  miles  from  Mount  Airy,  in  Virginia,  and 
there  improved  a  farm.  In  1870  he  sold  his  land 
at  an  advanced  price,  and  returning  to  Yadkin 
County  purchased  land  in  Knob  Township,  where 
he  continued  his  agricultural  labors.  Very  suc- 
cessful in  his  operations,  he  invested  his  money 
in  other  tracts  of  land,  becoming  owner  of  much 
valuable  real  estate,  and  was  there  a  resident 
until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Belinda  Burch, 
was  born  in  Surry  County,  North  Carolina,  where 
her  father,  Isaac  Burch,  was  a  life-long  farmer. 
She  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  Greenwood  reared  eight  children, 
as  follows:  Elizabeth,  Plutina  E.,  Sarah,  James 
H.,  Johnnie,  Houston,  Tommie  and  Alice. 

James  H.  Greenwood  obtained  his  preliminary 
education  in  the  rural  schools  of  Virginia,  later 
completing  his  studies  at  the  Jonesville  Academy 
in  Yadkin  County,  this  state.  Leaving  the  home 
farm  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  learned  the 
photographer's  art,  which  he  followed  for  thirteen 
years,  traveling  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina  and 
Tennessee,  in  each  state  being  well  patronized. 
Giving  up  his  artistic  work,  Mr.  Greenwood  bought 
a  farm  in  Knob  Township,  Yadkin  County,  in  close 
proximity  to  Elkin,  and  there,  in  addition  to 
carrying  on  general  farming  most  profitably,  estab- 
lished a  distillery  and  a  rectifying  plant,  both  of 
which  he  operated  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1897  Mr.  Greenwood  again  made  a  wise  in- 
vestment of  his  money,  buying  a  farm  situated 
about  1%  miles  below  Elkin,  and  was  there  engaged 
in  his  favorite  pursuit  until  1913.  In  that  year  he 
erected  his  present  attractive  home,  a  large,  ruod- 
ernly  constructed  house,  pleasantly  located  on 
East  Main  Street  in  Elkin,  where  he  has  since  re- 
mained, a  valued  and  esteemed  citizen.  Mr.  Green- 
wood has  extensive  farming  interests,  having  title 
to  five  farms  lying  in  the  vicinity  of  Elkin,  three 
in  Yadkin  County,  and  to  two  others  in  Surry 
County,  these  estates  being  operated  by  nine  ten- 
ants. In  addition  to  these  farms  he  is  the  owner 
of  much  valuable  real  estate  in  Elkin,  and  is  ac- 
tively identified  with  its  financial  and  business  in- 
terests, being  vice  president  of  the  Elkin  National 
Bank  and  one  of  the  directorate  of  the  Elkin 
Furniture  Company. 

Mr.  Greenwood  married,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  years,  Harriet  L.  Dozier,  who  was  born  in 
Booneville,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Nathan  Dozier.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenwood  are  the 
parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Mabel,  Andrew, 
Maude,  Bessie,  James  and  Philip. 

William  Jordan  Thigpen,  M.  D.,  physician 
and  surgeon  at  Tarboro,  entered  the  profession 
with  the  qualifications  of  a  thorough  education 
and  profound  natural  talents  and  inclinations  for 
his  calling,  and  has  become  one  of  the  best  known 
members  of  the  medical  fraternity  in  Edgecombe 
County. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Edgecombe  County 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


189 


June  5,  1875,  son  of  Frank  L.  and  Martha  (Thig- 
pen) Thigpen.  Much  of  his  early  education  was 
supervised  by  the  noted  educator,  Professor  F.  S. 
Wilkinson,  and  he  began  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  but  finished 
in  Jefferson  Medical  College  at  Philadelphia, 
where  he  graduated  M.  D.  in  May,  1900.  Doe- 
tor  Thigpen  at  once  located  and  opened  his  of- 
fice at  Tarboro  and  has  had  a  large  practice  both 
in  medicine  and  surgery.  He  is  a  former  super- 
intendent of  health  of  Edgecombe  County,  ex- 
county  coroner,  is  a  local  surgeon  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railway,  is  now  president  of  the 
Edgecombe  County  Medical  Society  and  a  member 
of  the  staff  of  the  Edgecombe  General  Hospital. 
He  belongs  to  the  Fourth  District,  the  North 
Carolina  State  and  Sea  Board  Medical  societies 
and   the   American   Medical   Association. 

Doctor  Thigpen  has  served  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  aldermen  of  Tarboro,  is  a  director 
of  the  Edgecombe  Homestead  &  Loan  Associ- 
ation. He  is  a  Eoyal  Arch  Mason,  a  past  master 
of  the  Masonic  Lodge,  and  a  member  of  the 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

October  7,  1903,  he  married  Miss  L.  Virginia 
Gray,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia.  Mrs.  Thigpen  is 
a  graduate  nurse  and  practiced  her  profession 
before  her  marriage.  They  have  three  children: 
Virginia   Gray,   Martha    and   Annie   Snow. 

Walter  Lyxdall  Watsox.  Admitted  to  the 
liar  in  February,  1895,  Walter  Lyndall  Watson  has 
now  been  an  active  member  of  the  Raleigh  bar 
for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  is  a  prominent 
and  successful  lawyer,  and  has  given  conscientious 
care  and  skillful  service  to  his  large  clientage. 

In  the  line  of  his  profession  he  has  also 
rendered  public  service,  having  been  city  attorney 
of  Raleigh  for  six  years  and  police  justice  for 
twenty  months  until  he  resigned  that  office. 

He  was  born  in  Johnson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, near  Smithfield,  November  30,  1870,  a  son  of 
Henry  Lyndall  and  Fannie  Eliza  (Moore)  Wat- 
son. His  father  was  a  merchant.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Academy  at  Salem  and  in  the  Raleigh 
Male  Academy  and  carried  on  his  law  studies 
privately  until  he  was  admitted  to  practice.  He 
is  an  active  democrat  and  for  four  years  was 
chairman  of  the  Wake  County  Board  of  Elections. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  Mason.  June  28,  1911,  Mr. 
Watson  married  Miss  Lily  Sherrod  of  High  Point, 
North   Carolina. 

Col.  George  H.  Hall,  whose  rank  and  title  in- 
dicates his  position  in  the  United  Confederate 
Veterans,  Department  of  North  Carolina,  is  pay- 
master general  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
United  Confederate  Veterans.  He  was  a  very 
small  boy  and  one  of  the  youngest  Confederate 
soldiers.  His  life  since  the  war  has  been  spent  in 
important  business  affairs.  For  many  years  he 
was  in  the  lumber  business  in  Eastern  North  Caro- 
lina and  in  later  years  has  identified  himself  chiefly 
with  agriculture  in  Robeson  County.  His  home  is 
at  Red  Springs. 

Colonel  Hall  was  born  at  Fayetteville  in  Cumber- 
land County,  in  1847,  a  son  of  Egbert  and  Susan 
(Hodges)  Hall.  His  father  was  born  in  Con- 
necticut and  was  two  years  of  age  when  the  family 
moved  to  North  Carolina  and  settled  at  Fayette- 
ville  about  1830.  The  grandfather,  John  H.  Hall, 
was  a  pioneer  steamboat  owner  and  operator  on 
the  Cape  Fear  River.  For  many  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  extensive  steamboat  traffic  between 


Fayetteville  and  Wilmington  which  made  Fay- 
etteville  a  great  trading  center  before  the  war 
and  before  the  building  of  railroads.  John  H. 
Hall  was  a  man  of  typical  New  England  industry 
and  eonstructiveness.  He  built  either  the  first  or 
the  second  cotton  mill  in  Fayetteville,  and  de- 
veloped an  industry  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
yarns  on  an  extensive  scale. 

Not  only  in  the  paternal  line  did  Colonel  Hall 
inherit  qualities  of  New  England  enterprise,  but 
his  maternal  grandfather,  George  S.  Hodges,  was 
a  distinguished  engineer  of  Virginia.  He  helped 
build  the  original  Fortress  Monroe  in  Virginia. 
Some  years  before  the  war  he  removed  to  Fayette- 
ville and  superintended  the  construction  of  the 
Fayetteville  arsenal.  This  arsenal  was  taken  over 
by  the  citizen  soldiery  of  Fayetteville  at  the  be- 
ginnirg  of  the  war  between  the  states. 

Colonel  Hall  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when 
he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Confederate  Army  at 
Fayetteville.  He  joined  Company  B  of  the  Thir- 
teenth Battalion  of  North  Carolina  Light  Artil- 
lery, and  made  a  most  creditable  record  as  a  young 
soldier  in  the  concluding  months  of  the  war.  He 
was  under  the  command  of  Col.  J.  B.  Starr. 

After  the  war  he  turned  his  attention  to  business 
affairs  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  active  in  the 
timber  and  naval  stores  business  throughout  East- 
ern North  Carolina.  Eventually  he  concentrated 
his  energies  upon  lumbering  and  developed  that 
upon  an  extensive  scale  both  as  a  manufacturer 
and  dealer.  Since  1887  Colonel  Hall  has  had  his 
home  at  Red  Springs.  He  owns  a  fine  farm  in 
Robeson  County  near  Red  Springs,  and  has  given 
his  active  supervision  to  its  cultivation.  He  is  in- 
terested in  other  business  affairs  and  is  a  man  of 
substance  and  influence. 

In  the  session  of  1903  Colonel  Hall  represented 
Robeson  County  in  the  State  Legislature.  His 
name  has  frequently  been  before  the  people  of  the 
state  in  political  action.  Governor  Vance  gave  him 
a  commission  in  the  North  Carolina  National  Guard 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and  he  was  made  a 
major  in  this  service  by  Governor  Jarvis. 

Colonel  Hall  married  Miss  Delia  B.  Woodward, 
of  Cumberland  County.  Their  six  children  com- 
prise an  interesting  family:  The  names  of  the  chil- 
dren are,  George  H.,  James  M.,  Charles,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  States  Army  and  now  in  France, 
Miss  Alice,  David  and  William. 

Williaji  Lafavette  Horah.  An  active,  enter- 
prising and  progressive  business  man  of  Salisbury, 
William  L.  Horah  has  contributed  largely  toward 
the  advancement  of  the  industrial  and  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  this  section  of  the  state,  and  as 
proprietor  of  the  Meredith  Hosiery  Mill  is  num- 
bered among  the  leading  manufacturers  of  the  city. 
He  was  born  in  Salisbury,  August  3,  1875,  of  dis- 
tinguished ancestry,  being  a  lineal  descendant  of 
the  immigrant  ancestor,  the  line  of  descent  being 
as  follows:  Henry,  Hugh,  William  Henry,  Rowan, 
and  William  Lafayette. 

Henry  Horah  was  born  in  Ireland,  of  Scotch 
ancestry.  A  brave  and  gallant  young  man,  he 
wooed  and  won  fair  Margaret  Gardner,  whose 
father,  Lord  Gardner,  opposed  the  marriage.  In 
consequence  young  Henry  Horah,  with  his  bride, 
came  to  America  and  settled  as  a  pioneer  in  Rowan 
County,  North  Carolina,  locating  on  a  creek  that 
was  afterwards  named  in  his  honor.  Securing  a 
large  tract  of  land,  he  improved  the  farm  on  which 
he  and  his  wife  spent  their  remaining  years.  They 
•reared  three   children,   Henry,   Hugh   and   Esther. 


190 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Henry  married  and  reared  one  daughter,  "who  died 
unmarried.  Esther  became  the  wife  of  Col.  James 
Brandon. 

Hugh  Horah  was  born  on  the  parental  home- 
stead in  Rowan  County,  but  instead  of  continuing 
life  as  a  farmer  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  watch 
maker  and  repairer,  and  settled  in  Salisbury,  where 
he  continued  in  business  until  his  death,  at  an 
advanced  age.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
influence,  his  name  being  frequently  mentioned  in 
Rumple 's  History  of  Eowan  County.  Prom  that 
volume  we  learn  that  he  was  one  of  the  guests  at 
the  ball  given  in  honor  of  General  Washington 
when  he  visited  Salisbury  in  the  spring  of  1791. 
It  also  tells  us  that  it  was  he  who  rang  the  court- 
house bell  in  March,  1815,  when  the  people  were 
celebrating  the  Treaty  of  Peace  at  the  close  of 
the  Second  War  for  Independence.  He  married 
Mary  Moore,  who,  like  him,  lived  to  a  good  old 
age.  Both  were  devout  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church. 

William  Henry  Horah,  a  native  of  Salisbury 
North  Carolina,  was  the  only  child  of  his  parents. 
He  acquired  a  good  education,  and  was  a  man  of 
much  executive  and  financial  ability.  Upon  the 
organization  of  the  Cape  Pear  Bank,  he  was  elected 
cashier,  and  served  acceptably  until  ill  health  com- 
pelled him  to  seek  out-door  employment.  He  had 
in  the  meantime  invested  largely  in  both  city  and 
farm  property,  and  prior  to  the  war  managed  his 
farms  with  slave  help.  He  kept  many  sheep,  and 
his  slaves  used  to  spin  the  w7ool,  weave  it  into  the 
material  from  which  their  clothing  was  made, 
fashioning,  with  assistance,  their  own  garments  at 
home.  He  continued  his  residence  in  Salisbury 
until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  He 
married  Louisa  Purr,  who  was  born  in  Eowan 
County,  a  daughter  of  Tobias  Purr.  She  died  at 
the  age  of  forty-five  years,  leaving  twelve  children, 
all  of  whom  grew  to  years  of  maturity,  as  follows: 
Hugh,  Robert,  Mary  Elizabeth,  William  Henry, 
John  Murphy,  James,  Pranklin,  Ann,  Henry, 
Eowan,  Joseph  and  George.  George  enlisted  May 
30,  1861,  being  commissioned  second  lieutenant  in 
the  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  troops; 
on  March  20,  1863,  he  was  promoted  to  first  lieuten- 
ant; and  on  May  5,  1864,  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  he  was  killed. 

Eowan  Horah  was  born  and  bred  in  Salisbury, 
and  as  a  young  man  was  graduated  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  Instead  of  entering 
upon  a  professional  career  he  went  to  Philadelphia 
to  learn  the  cabinet  maker 's  trade.  Upon  com- 
pleting his  apprenticeship  he  returned  to  Salisbury 
and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture.  He 
was  a  fine  workman,  and  did  custom  work  mostly, 
being  kept  busily  employed.  It  was  before  the 
days  of  undertaking  establishments,  and  he  made 
most  of  the  coffins  needed  in  Salisbury  and  the 
surrounding  country.  He  died  at  a  comparatively 
early  age,  having  been  but  fifty-four  years  old  when 
called  to  the  life  beyond.  He  married  Eosanna 
Earnhart,  who  was  born  at  Gold  Hill,  Eowan 
County.  She  survived  him,  passing  away  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine  years.  She  had  one  brother, 
Clark  Earnhart,  who  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
army  and  died  while  in  service.  Her  only  sister, 
Jane  Earnhart,  married  James  Shaver.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Eowan  Horah  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Thomas,  Robert,  George,  William 
Lafayette,  Hugh  and  Daisy. 

William  Lafayette  Horah  acquired  a  practical 
education  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  1890  entered 


the  Eowan  Knitting  Mill,  where  he  became  familiar 
with  the  work  of  its  every  department.  Going 
to  Scotland  Neck,  Halifax  Qounty,  in  1894,  he  estab- 
lished a  mill,  which  he  operated  successfully  for 
four  years.  In  May,  1898,  he  established  a  knitting 
mill  at  Payetteville,  and  continued  its  management 
until  August,  1900.  Going  from  there  to  Norfolk, 
Mr.  Horah  was  for  six  months  superintendent  of 
the  Virginia  Knitting  Mill.  Eesigning  that  posi- 
tion, he  established  the  Washington  Knitting  Mills, 
at  Washington,  North  Carolina,  and  remained  as 
superintendent  of  the  plant  until  1909.  Disposing 
then  of  his  interest  in  the  mills,  Mr.  Horah  went  to 
Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina,  and  there  established 
a  mill  which  he  operated  until  1912,  when  he  sold 
his  interest  in  it.  Coming  in  that  year  to  Salis- 
bury, Mr.  Horah  established  the  Meredith  Knitting 
Mill,  of  which  he  is  the  sole  proprietor,  and  has 
since  carried  on  an  extensive  and  profitable  business 
in  the  manufacture  of  hosiery,  the  products  of  his 
factory  finding  a  ready  sale  in  the  principal 
markets  of  this  section  of  the  Union. 

Mr.  Horah  married  in  1900  at  Payetteville,  An- 
nie Martin,  who  was  born  in  that  city,  of  early 
English  ancestry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horah  are  the 
parents  of   two   children. 

Jefferson  Davis  Bakdin.  A  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession and  an  honored  member  of  the  Wilson 
bar  for  over  thirty  years,  Mr.  Bardin  has  given 
the  latter  half  of  his  professional  career  largely 
to  official  and  public  responsibilities.  He  is  now 
serving  as  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court,  to  which 
he  was  first  appointed  August  14,  1916,  and  on 
December  4,  1916,  was  elected  for  the  regular 
term  of  four  years. 

He  was  born  at  Wilson  October  6,  1860,  a  son 
of  Benjamin  Howell  and  Nancy  (Eouudtree)  Bar- 
din.  His  father  was  a  well  known  farmer  and 
merchant  in  Wilson  County.    , 

Mr.  Bardin  was  educated  in  public  schools,  in 
Eutherford  College,  in  the  Wilson  Collegiate  In- 
stitute, and  on  October  6,  1885,  graduated  from 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  With  his  characteristic  energy  he  at 
once  entered  upon  his  career  as  a  lawyer  at  Wil- 
son, and  had  a  growing  general  practice  to  look 
after  until  December,  1904.  From  June,  1891, 
to  June,  1893,  he  had  also  filled  the  office  of  su- 
perintendent of  public  instruction  of  Wilson 
County. 

Mr.  Bardin  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  in  1894  and  filled  the  office  continuously 
until  1906,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  ill 
health.  For  several  years  he  resumed  his  private 
law  business,  and  on  July  15,  1915,  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Wilson  County  and  was 
the  last  incumbent  of  that  office,  which  was  abol- 
ished in  November,  1915.  Mr.  Bardin  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  is  president  of  the  Wesley  Bible  Class 
of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wil- 
son. 

He  has  been  three  times  married.  On  January 
3,  1886,  he  married  Margaret  Heloise  Bristol,  of 
Huntsville.  Texas.  She  died  Juno  20,  1890.  On 
July  20.  1891,  he  married  the  sister  of  his  first 
wife,  Miss  Lou  B.  Bristol,  of  Huntsville.  This 
wife,  the  mother  of  his  three  children,  died  No- 
vember 12,  1909.  The  children  arc:  Susan  Ma- 
rie, now  Mrs.  J.  J.  Thrower,  of  Red  Springs, 
North  Carolina:  and  Robert  Malcolm  and  Benja- 
min   Hump,    twins,    who    are    still    pursuing    their 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


191 


studies.  On  May  18,  1910,  Mr.  Baidin  married 
.Sallie  Frances  Colcy,  a  native  of  Chatham  County, 
North  Carolina. 

Alexander  Hamilton  Powell.  There  has 
scarcely  been  a  semi-public  enterprise  undertaken 
at  Oxford  in  recent  years  with  which  Alexander 
H.  Powell  has  not  had  some  active  and  influential 
connection.  Mr.  Powell  is  one  of  the  leaders  in 
business  affairs  in  that  city,  and  established  his 
home  at  Oxford  after  a  number  of  years  in  other 
states  in  the  naval  stores  industry. 

However,  he  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born 
in  Columbus  County  August  2:!,  1877,  a  son  of 
Alexander  Franklin  and  Annie  Eliza  (Hamilton) 
Powell.  His  father  was  a  merchant.  Mr.  Powell 
finished  his  literarry  education  in  the  Horner  Mili- 
tary School  at  Oxford  and  in  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege, and  from  college  he  gained  his  early  busi- 
ness experiences  in  the  naval  stores  Industry  at 
Mobile,  Alabama,  where  he  was  located  two  years, 
was  connected  with  the  same  business  for  two 
years  at  Chicago,  and  six  years  at  New  Orleans. 
On  returning  to  North  Carolina  he  established 
the  Granville  Real  Estate  &  Trust  Company  at 
Oxford  and  is  president  and  general  manager  of 
this  business,  operating  extensively  as  dealers  in 
real  estate  and  the  handling  of  insurance.  Mr. 
Powell  is  also  vice  president  of  the  Oxford  Build- 
ing i^  Loan  Association,  is  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  a  director  of  the  Oxford  Buggy 
Company  and  a  director  of  the  Oxford  Water  & 
Ice  Company. 

For  three  years  he  was  a  town  commissioner, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Governors  and 
former  president  of  the  Commercial  Club  and 
chairman  of  the  local  chapter  of  the  Red  Cross. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Powell  is  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  and  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and 
Shriner,  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Junior  Order  of  United  Ameri- 
can Mechanics  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  North  Carolina  Insurance  Agents  Association, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  a  director  and 
one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  organization  and 
promotion  of  the  work  of  the  Granville  County 
Agricultural  Association.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  board  of  stewards  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  Oxford. 

May  4,  1904,  he  married  Miss  Nelle  Currin  of 
Oxford,  daughter  of  James  Madison  and  Cornelia 
P.  (Cooch)  Currin.  Her  father  has  long  been 
identified  with  the  tobacco  business,  and  is  a  buyer 
for  the  American  Tobacco   Company. 

Hon.  Samuel  Fbancis  Austin.  During  a  period 
of  twenty-two  years  Hon.  Samuel  Francis  Austin 
has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of 
Nashville.  As  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Nash  County  liar  and  for  several  years  as  county 
judge,  he  evidenced  legal  knowledge  and  ability 
of  the  highest  character;  as  a  business  man  in 
control  of  large  interests  he  has  proven  the  breadth 
of  his  capacity  and  the  keenness  of  his  foresight ; 
as  the  incumbent  of  numerous  public  offices  within 
the  gift  of  the  people  he  has  demonstrated  execu- 
tive powers  and  a  conscientious  desire  to  give  the 
community  and  the  people  good  government ;  and 
in  the  every  day  affairs  of  life  he  has  discharged 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship  in  a 
manner  that  has  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  public 
spirit  and  civic  pride. 

Judge  Austin  was  born  September  20,  1869,  in 


Johnston  County,  North  Carolina,  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Sarah  (Young)  Austin,  well  known  and  highly 
respected  farming  people  of  that  county.  His 
early  education  came  from  the  Smithfield  public 
schools,  following  which  he  entered  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  and  was  graduated  in  the  aca- 
demic course  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
in  1893,  and  in  the  law  department  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1895.  For  about  a  year 
he  taught  school  at  Elizabeth  City,  but  in  the  fall 
of  1895  came  to  Nashville,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  at  once  entered  upon  a  career  that  has 
carried  him  to  high  places  and  much  honor.  His 
ability  and  knowledge  of  the  law  brought  him 
prominently  before  the  people  ere  he  had  been  at 
Nashville  long,  and  he  was  almost  immediately 
called  upon  to  fill  positions  of  an  official  character. 
He  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1904 
and  rendered  able  service,  being  known  as  one  of 
the  working  members  of  that  body,  and  also  served 
as  county  recorder,  a  position  which  he  holds  at 
this  time,  and  as  county  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  for  two  years.  He  was  likewise  mayor 
of  Nashville  for  two  terms,  giving  the  people  an 
excellent  administration  on  both  occasions  and 
was  then  elected  county  judge,  an  office  in  which 
his  legal  acumen  and  wise  decisions  won  com- 
mendation from  bench,  bar  and  public.  In  1911 
he  returned  to  private  practice  and  is  now  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  lucrative  professional  business, 
with  an  important  and  representative  clientele. 
His  interest  in  public  education  has  always  been 
evidenced,  and  until  his  election  as  county  super- 
intendent he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  graded  schools  from  its  organiza- 
tion. He  is  still  a  willing  and  generous  supporter 
of  all  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the  school 
system.  Judge  Austin  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Bank  of  Nashville,  of  which  he  was  cashier 
for  several  years,  and  was  then  elected  to  his  pres- 
ent position  of  president,  in  which  capacity  his 
pronounced  financial  ability  has  done  much  to  make 
this  one  of  the  sound  and  stable  institutions  of 
the  county.  He  is  likewise  president  of  the  Nash 
Supply  Company,  a  general  merchandise  concern 
of  Nashville;  of  the  Austin-Stephenson  Company, 
another  large  mercantile  house,  located  at  Smith- 
field,  and  of  the  Warren  Milling  Company.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Austin  &  Batchelor,  horse 
and  mule  dealers,  and  a  prominent  director  of  the 
Underwriters  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Rocky 
Mount.  He  likewise  has  large  farming  interests, 
being  the  owner  of  600  acres  of  valuable  land.  In 
business  and  financial  circles  his  reputation  is  of 
the  highest  order,  and  his  integrity  in  transactions 
has  never  been  questioned.  Judge  Austin  is  a 
member  of  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is 
district  steward  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  has  shown  an  active  and  energetic  interest  in 
religious  matters,  being  at  this  time  the  teacher 
of  the  Wesley  Bible  Class. 

Judge  Austin  was  married  January  14,  190.1.  to 
Miss  Ida  Batchelor,  of  Nashville,  daughter  of  Van 
Buren  Batchelor,  who  laid  out  the  original  Town 
of  Nashville  and  was  for  many  years  one  of  this 
community 's  most  prominent  men.  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Austin  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters, 
namely:  Jackie  Marie  and  Maud  Rebecca. 

James  Hodge  Krider.  Well  and  widely  known 
as  sheriff  of  Rowan  County,  James  H.  Krider,  of 
Salisbury,  is  a.  man  of  prominence  among  the 
county  officials,  possessing  in  a  marked  degree  the 


192 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


discretion,  trustworthiness  and  force  of  character 
requisite  for  the  responsible  position  he  has  so 
efficiently  filled  since  he  was  called  to  its  duties  in 
1914.  A  son  of  James  Hodge  Krider,  Sr.,  he  was 
born  November  25,  1885,  on  a  farm  in  Mount  Ulla 
Township,  Rowan  County. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Rev.  Barnabas  Scott 
Krider,  was  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  held  pas- 
torates in  Thyratira,  Unity,  Franklin  and  Joppa, 
in  each  place  building  up  and  enlarging  the  church 
membership.  Owning  and  occupying  a  farm  in 
Steele  Township,  he  there  spent  the  closing  years 
of  his  long  and  useful  life.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Maria  Cowan,  was  a  life-long  resident  of 
Rowan  County,  her  death  occurring  on  the  home 
farm.  Of  their  six  children,  two  sons  and  four 
daughters,  Barnabas  S.  is  the  only  child  now  living, 
in  1917. 

James  Hodge  Krider,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Steele 
Township,  Rowan  County,  and  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  school.  Leaving  the  home  farm 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  to  accept  the  position 
of  deputy  sheriff,  he  continued  in  that  official 
capacity,  by  reappointment,  through  several  ad- 
ministrations. In  1904  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
Rowan  County,  and  served  a  term  of  two  years. 
He  died  May  14,  1909,  an  honored  and  respected 
citizen.  The  maiden  name  of  his  first  wife,  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  Agnes  Graham. 
She  was  born  in  Rowan  County,  a  daughter  of 
John  Graham,  a  planter.  She  passed  to  the  higher 
life  in  1892,  leaving  four  children,  as  follows: 
John  B.,  Marie,  James  Hodge,  Jr.,  and  Annie  A. 
The  father  subsequently  married  for  his  second 
wife  Ida  Carson.  She  died  at  a  comparatively 
early  age,  leaving  four  children,  Louise;  Myrtle; 
and  Claudine  and  Alliene,  twins. 

After  leaving  the  district  schools  James  Hodge 
Krider  continued  his  studies  for  a  few  months  in 
the  Salisbury  schools.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years 
be  began  his  career  of  usefulness  as  delivery  clerk 
in  a  grocery  store,  where  for  four  months  he  was 
kept  busy.  Becoming  then  messenger  boy  for  the 
Postal  TelegTaph  Company,  he  learned  telegraphy, 
and  having  obtained  a  position  with  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  Mr.  Krider  was  made 
assistant  telegraph  operator  at  Salisbury,  and  held 
the  position  until  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Rowan 
County  in  1914.  Filling  the  position  ably  and 
acceptably  to  all  concerned,  he  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  position  in  1916,  for  another  term  of 
two  years. 

Mr.  Krider  married,  in  April,  1909,  Hattie  M. 
Julian,  a  daughter  of  George  ,  W.  and  Alice 
(Fisher)  Julian.  Three  children  have  been  born 
of  their  union,  James  H.,  Kerr  Julian  and  Ruth. 
Religiously  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krider  belone  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Krider  is 
a  member  of  Salisbury  Council  No.  26,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

John  Fletcher  Bruton.  While  a  lawyer  by 
profession  and  for  over  thirty  years  identified  with 
the  bar  at  Wilson,  Mr.  Bruton  is  widely  known 
over  this  part  of  the  South  for  his  varied  inter- 
ests in  other  affairs  and  particularly  in  banking. 
Mr.  Bruton  is  a  class  A  director  in  the  Federal 
Reserve  Bank  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  has 
been  on  the  board  of  directors  since  the  organ- 
ization of  that  institution.  He  is  also  promi- 
nent as  a  banker  and  business  man  at  Wilson. 

Mr.  Bruton  was  born  in  Wcntworth,  North  Car- 
olina, May  29,  1861.  His  early  life  was  not 
one   of  luxury   and  lie  had  to   work  for  his  edu- 


cation and  secure  his  position  in  professional  life 
largely  unaided.  His  father  was  a  Methodist  min- 
ister for  over  forty  years,  active  and  influential 
in  the  church,  though  like  all  ministers  he  never 
became  wealthy.  Mr.  Bruton  is  a  son  of  David 
Rasberry  and  Margaret  G.  (Nixon)  Bruton.  His 
father  was  also  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Bruton  was  educated  in  the  Bingham  Mili- 
tary School  and  also  took  part  of  his  law  course 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  In  August, 
1881,  he  came  to  Wilson  as  principal  of  the  graded 
schools  and  in  January,  1883,  was  made  superin- 
tendent of  the  local  schools.  While  teaching  he 
read  law,  and  in  the  fall  of  1884  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  began  general  practice  at  Wilson. 
Mr.  Bruton  practiced  actively  for  many  years,  but 
his  professional  work  is  now  confined  to  office 
consultation. 

Iji  1895  he  was  elected  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Wilson  and  in  1902  he  organ- 
ized the  Wilson  Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  of 
which  he  has  since  been  president.  He  is  also 
vice  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Home  In- 
surance Company  and  a  director  of  the  Hackney 
Wagon  Company. 

Colonel  Bruton  served  as  mayor  of  Wilson  three 
years  and  for  a  similar  time  was  chairman  of 
the  County  Board  of  Education.  For  ten  years 
he  was  actively  connected  with  the  North  Car- 
olina National  Guard,  and  during  four  years  of 
that  time  was  colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment. 
He  has  served  as  grand  master  of  the  North  Car- 
olina Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  as- 
sisted in  building  the  Odd  Fellows  Home  at 
Goldsboro.  He  is  a  trustee  of  Trinity  College 
at  Durham,  and  is  a  steward  and  trustee  in  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  of  Wil- 
son, and  was  a  delegate  to  the  conferences  of  that 
church  at  Birmingham,  Alabama,  Asheville,  North 
Carolina,  and  Atlanta,  Georgia.  Colonel  Bruton 
while  in  college  became  a  member  of  the  Alpha 
Tau  Omega  Greek  letter  fraternity. 

On  November  17,  1887,  he  married  Miss  Hattie 
T.  Barnes,  of  Wilson,  daughter  of  John  T.  Barnes. 
They  have  two  sons :  John  Barnes,  of  Wilson ; 
and  Howard  Barnes,  who  is  connected  with  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Wilson. 

Joseph  Fanning  Ford  since  beginning  practice 
in  the  law  at  Asheville  twelve  years  ago  has  thor- 
oughly justified  his  own  choice  of  a  profession 
and  the  anticipation  of  his  friends  that  his  suc- 
cess would  be  out  of  the  ordinary. 

He  was  born  in  Haywood  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  28,  1879,  son  of  William  P.  and 
Sarah  (Wines)  Ford.  His  father  was  a  farmer 
and  stockman  and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  country 
environment.  He  attended  district  schools,  the 
Clyde  High  School,  the  Bryson  City  High  School, 
and  his  higher  literary  education  was  obtained  in 
Carson-Newman  College  and  in  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Ford 
began  practice  at  Asheville  in  1906,  and  for 
several  years,  until  1909,  was  associated  with  that 
eminent  lawyer  and  public  leader,  James  J.  Britt, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Britt  &  Ford.  In  1912 
Mr.  Ford  became  a  partner  with  Charles  G.  Lee 
in  the  firm  of  Lee  &  Ford,  and  they  command 
their  share  of  the  best  business  at  the  disposal 
of  the  local  bar.  Mr.  Ford  is  candidate  for  the 
constitutional  convention  on  the  republican  ticket 
from  Buncombe  Countv,  North  Carolina,  in  the 
election  of  1918. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Asheville  Bar  Association 


/fa/£f  ^/frrz^z/? 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


197 


his  business  affairs.  Mr.  Townsend  resides  at  Red 
Springs  in  Robeson  County,  and  is  now  serving 
as  mayor  of  that  city. 

He  represents  one  of  the  old  Scotch  families 
that  settled  in  this  section  of  North  Carolina  be- 
fore the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  born  near 
Laurinburg,  in  what  was  then  Richmond  but  is 
now  Scotland  County,  in  1863,  a  son  of  Solomon 
R.  and  Hannah  (Baldwin)  Townsend.  Both  par- 
ents are  now  deceased.  Both  his  grandfather  and 
his  great-grandfather  were  named  Solomon  R. 
Townsend,  and  the  great-grandfather  is  buried  near 
Lilesville  in  Anson  County.  Solomon  R.  Townsend, 
father  of  Benjamin  W.,  was  bom  on  the  Pee  Dee 
River  in  Richmond  County,  served  in  the  Conled- 
erate  Army  throughout  the  war  in  Lane  's  Brigade, 
being  mustered  out  at  High  Point,  and  about  1886 
removed  from  Richmond  County  to  Red  Banks 
in  Robeson  County,  and  died  in  1914.  Mr.  Benja- 
min W.  Townsend  was  named  for  his  uncle,  who 
as  a  Confederate  soldier  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Cedar  Mountain. 

Mr.  Townsend  was  a  boyhood  and  young  man- 
hood friend  of  the  well  known  poet,  the  late 
John  Charles  MacNeill,  with  whom  he  attended 
school  at  Spring  Hill  in  what  is  now  Scotland 
County.  He  also  attended  the  Famous  Bingham 
Military  School  under  Colonel  Bingham  at  Mebane. 
Mr.  Townsend  removed  to  Red  Springs  in  1895  and 
for  many  years  has  been  one  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness men  and  farmers  in  that  section  of  Robeson 
County.  He  has  many  large  interests,  including  a 
fine  farm  of  600  acres  adjoining  Red  Springs 
on  the  west.  He  is  also  owner  of  considerable 
valuable  property  in  the  city  itself.  He  has  been 
a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Bank  of  Red 
Springs  since  it  was  organized,  and  in  everything 
that  concerns  the  welfare  of  that  town  he  takes 
a  most  public  spirited  interest.  In  1912  Mr. 
Townsend  was  elected  mayor  and  was  reelected 
in  1914  and  again  in  1916,  and  his  administra- 
tion has  been  both  efficient  and  practical.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  and 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  Townsend  married  Miss  Janie  Robeson 
MaeMillan.  Her  father,  the  late  Hon.  Hamilton 
MaeMillan  of  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  was  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  but  was  best  known  as  a 
writer  and  historian.  He  was  particularly  noted 
as  an  authority  on  the  history  of  the  Croatan 
Indians  of  North  Carolina.  His  publications  giv- 
ing the  results  of  his  researches  and  investiga- 
tions on  that  subject  are  extensively  quoted  in 
the  government  reports  on  those  Indians.  He  was 
a  very  erudite  scholar  and  had  a  great  gift  as  a 
writer.  Mrs.  Townsend  is  a  descendant  through 
her  mother  of  Peter  Robeson,  who  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  from  North  Carolina  and  for  whose 
family  Robeson  County  is  named.  The  Robesons 
originally  settled  on  the  Cape  Fear  River  in  Bladen 
County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Townsend  have  two  chil- 
dren: William  Bartram,  who  is  a  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  Army  and  now  in  France ;  and 
Hannah  Baldwin  Townsend. 

"Walter  Farmer  Woodard,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  the  eldest  son,  having  been  born  Sep- 
tember 14,  1864,  of  Warren  and  Jerusha  Woodard. 

His  father,  born  April  16,  1826,  and  died  March 
22,  1903,  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  Wilson  County.  Warren  Woodard,  as 
was  also  his  wife,  was  one  of  the  large  landowners 
of  Wilson  County.  Both  the  Woodard  family  and 
the   Farmer    family    are    descended   from    a'  long 


and  useful  line  of  these  names.  Both  families 
were  primarily  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  both 
families  have  always  been  identified  with  education 
in  their  communities.  Both  the  Woodards  aud  the 
Farmers  have  been  staunch  members  of  the  Primi- 
tive Baptist  Church  for  generations.  Mr.  Wood- 
ard, on  both  his  paternal  aud  maternal  side,  traces 
his  ancestry  back  through  the  Revolutionary 
period. 

Mr.  Woodard  attended  the  Wilson  Collegiate 
Institute,  one  of  the  leading  educational  institu- 
tions of  the  state  at  the  time,  and  at  whose  head 
was  Professor  Sylvester  Hassell,  a  distinguished 
educator  of  North  Carolina,  and  afterward  went 
to  R-andolph-Macon  College,  and  attended  the 
University  of  Virginia  in  1885.  From  inheritance 
and  training  Mr.  Woodard  is  a  reading '  man, 
being  interested  in  history,  specially  in  regard  to 
local  matters,  genealogy  and  the  literature  of 
agriculture. 

After  returning  from  the  University  of  Virginia 
he  evinced  a  lively  interest  in  farming,  and  at 
all  times  since,  although  engaged  in  business 
enterprises,  agriculture  has  been  his  real  object 
in  life. 

In  1890  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  began  in 
Wilson  County  and  other  parts  of  Eastern  North 
Carolina,  and  Mr.  Wooda'rd  became  not  only  in- 
terested in  the  cultivation  of  the  plant,  but  in  the 
sale  of  it,  and  established  and  built  the  first  ware- 
house for  the  sale  of  leaf  tobacco  in  the  Town  of 
Wilson,  known  for  many  years  as  the  Woodard 
Warehouse,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  this 
business  until  1908.  Today  the  Town  of  Wilson 
is  one  of  the  leading  loose  leaf  tobacco  markets 
of  the  World,  the  sales  aggregating  from 
30,000,000  to  35,000,000  pounds  per  annum. 

Mr.  Woodard  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Farmers '  Alliance  of  Wilson  County,  having  been 
elected  such  as  a  young  man  in  1887.  He  has 
served  as  alderman  of  the  town  and  in  1915  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  County  Com- 
missioners and  became  chairman  of  the  board, 
and  was  reelected  in  1917. 

Mr.    Woodard    is    closely    identified    with    the  . 
banking  interests  of  his  community  and  with  the 
social  life   in   it,   taking   a   lively   interest  in   all 
matters  tending  to  the  up-building  of  it. 

As  chairman  of  the  Board  of  County  Commis- 
sioners he  has  devoted  considerable  study  to  the 
question  of  road  building  and  general  county 
finances,  taxation  and  county  matters  in  general. 
As  a  land  owner  he  has  a  keen  appreciation  of 
the  importance  of  rural  transportation  and  of 
good  roads  in  relation  to  the  material,  social  and 
educational  life  of  the  rural  districts. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war,  as  chairman 
of  the  County  Council  of  National  Defense  and  as 
food  administration  of  the  county,  he  has  shown 
a  lively  interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  interests 
for  which  these  organizations  stand,  and  has  done 
no  little  to  arouse  the  patriotism  and  enthusiasm 
of  his  countrymen. 

On  June  10,  1897,  Mr.  Woodard  was  married 
to  Miss  Mattie  Hadley,  daughter  of  Thomas  J. 
and  Sarah  Saunders  Hadley,  of  Wilson.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Woodard  have  three  children,  Mattie  Hadley 
Woodard,  Thomas  Hadley  and  Louise. 

Mrs.  Woodard,  like  Mr.  Woodard,  is  descended 
from  straight  American  stock.  Her  father, 
Thomas  J.  Hadley,  was  born  in  that  part  of  Wil- 
son County,  which  was  then  Wayne  County,  on 
July  9,  1838.  He  was  educated  at  the  University 
of    North    Carolina,    and    immediately    after    his 


198 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


graduation,  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  Army.  He 
was  lirst  lieutenant ;  was  wounded  twice,  once 
at  Falling  Water  and  the  other  in  the  Battle  of  the 
Wilderness.  Upon  recovering  from  his  last  wound, 
he  was  promoted  for  bravery  and  ability  to  a 
captaincy,  which  office  he  held  until  the  close  of 
war.  He  was  present  at  many  of  the  celebrated 
battles  of  the  Civil  war,  among  which  is  Gettys- 
burg. His  grandfather,  Thomas  Hadley,  repre- 
sented his  home  town  of  Campbelltown,  now 
Fayetteville,  in  the  Provincial  Congress,  which 
met  in  Halifax  November  12,  1776.  After  serv- 
ing his  term  in  the  Provincial  Congress,  he  entered 
the  Provincial  Army  and  attained  the  rank  of 
captain,  and  was  killed  by  a  band  of  tories,  while 
home  on  a  leave  of  absence. 

Mrs.  Woodard  is  a  member  of  the  State  Board 
of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare ;  the  Womans ' 
Club  of  Wilson,  and  is  president  of  the  John  W. 
Dunham  Chapter  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy. 

Francis  Marion  Harper.  For  nearly  thirty  years 
one  of  the  active  and  able  educators  of  North 
Carolina,  Francis  Marion  Harper  is  now  superin- 
tendent of  the  City  and  Raleigh  Township  public 
school  system.  His  is  one. of  the  best  known  names 
in  the  state  among  school  workers.  He  is  a  man 
of  thorough  scholarship,  a  great  executive,  and  in 
all  the  various  positions  he  has  held  has  worked 
faithfully  to.  lay  a  broad  and  solid  foundation  to 
the  state  school  system. 

Professor  Harper  started  out  with  the  intention 
of  becoming  a  business  man.  It  was  his  associa- 
tions while  a  student  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  that  turned  him  into  educational  fields. 
He  has  always  felt  grateful  to  the  influence  that 
emanated  from  that  institution  and  from  his 
teachers  there,  and  the  deep  impression  created 
by  the  high  standards  of  the  university  gave  a 
permanent,  trend  to  his  useful  and  productive 
career. 

A  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  at  Newbern 
in  Craven  County,  November  27,  1865,  he  is  a  son 
of  Francis  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Croom)  Harper. 
His  father  was  a  planter  at  Newbern,  also  a  native 
of  North  Carolina,  and  shortly  after,  the  close  of 
the  Civil  war  was  sheriff  of  Craven  County  for 
one  term  during  Governor  Worth  's  administration. 

Reared  in  Lenoir  County,  Francis  M.  Harper 
attended  the  LeGrange  Academy,  the  first  graded 
school  established  at  Newbern,  and  from  1884  to 
1888  was  a  student  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  graduated  in  the  latter  year 
with  the  degree  Ph.  B.  As  an  educator  he  did 
his  first  work  at.  Raleigh,  where  he  spent  a  year 
in  the  Murphy  School,  and  in  the  third  year  be- 
came principal  of  the  Centennial  School,  a  post  he 
held  two  years.  After  that  for  two  years  he  was 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  schools  at  Dawson, 
Georgia,  and  from  189.1  to  1907  was  assistant 
superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Athens, 
Georgia.  While  in  Georgia  he  had  charge  for 
two  years  of  the  organization  of  the  University 
of  Georgia  Summer  School. 

Since  1907  Professor  Harper  has  been  superin- 
tendent of  the  city  and  township  schools  at 
Raleigh.  Here  he  has  done  his  greatest  service, 
and  the  city  school  system  today  reflects  his 
progressive   ability  and   his   wise   administration. 

In  1896  Mr.  Harper  received  the  Master  of  Arts 
degree  from  the  University  of  Georgia,  and  has 
also  taken  post-graduate  work  in  the  University  of 
Chicago.    As  a  member  of  the  National  Educational 


Association  he  has  attended  all  its  annual  meet- 
ings since  he  began  teaching,  and  in  that  time  has 
made  four  trips  to  the  coast.  He  is  also  prominent 
in  the  North  Carolina  State  Teachers'  Association 
and  was  appointed  by  this  association  as  delegate 
to  represent  North  Carolina  in  the  National  Edu- 
cational Association,  and  has  served  as  director 
of  the  latter  body.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 
He  has  written  and  edited  a  large  number  of 
articles  that  have  appeared  in  educational  journals 
and  also  in  the  current  press.  Mr.  Harper  is  a 
democrat,  and  is  a  deacon  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Raleigh. 

On  August.  1,  1896,  he  married  Clara  Hodges, 
of  Linden,  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Harper  is  a 
daughter  of  John  Murehison  and  Sallie  (McNeill) 
Hodges.  Her  father  was  a  planter.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children :  Francis  Marion,  Jr., 
a  student  in  the  Raleigh  High  School;  and  Sara 
Croom,  who  is  also  a  high  school  student. 

David  Franklin  Williajis.  Energetic  and  en- 
terprising, and  liberally  endowed  with  business 
ability  and  tact,  David  F.  Williams,  of  Linwood, 
North  Carolina,  has  been  variously  employed,  at 
the  present  time,  in  1917,  being  actively  identified 
with  the  lumber  interests  of  this  part  of  David- 
son County,  as  a  dealer  in  lumber  having  built 
up  a  satisfactory  trade.  A  son  of  James  Mon- 
roe Williams,  he  was  born,  November  5,  1889, 
on  a  farm  in  Davie  County,  near  Fork  Church. 
He  is  descended  from  an  early  pioneer  of  David- 
son County,  his  great-great-grandfather,  John  A. 
Williams,  a  cannoneer  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
having  settled  in  this  section  of  the  state,  on 
the  Yadkin  River,  just  five  miles  below  the  his- 
toric, cut  and  cave  of  the  pioneer  Boone,  on  com- 
ing to  North  Carolina  from  Maryland  in  1803. 

William  Williams,  Mr.  Williams'  great-grand- 
father, located  on  a  farm  in  Tyro  Township, 
where  he  spent  his  life  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil. 

Madison  A.  Williams,  Mr.  Williams'  grandfa- 
ther, was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  as 
a  young  man  located  on  a  farm  in  Tyro  Town- 
ship, where  he  lived  for  a  number  of  seasons,  and 
then  being  seized  with  the  wanderlust  he  with 
three  of  his  brothers,  Anderson,  Stokes  and  Wil- 
liam, migrated  to  Missouri,  making  the  removal 
with  teams  and  taking  with  him  his  household 
goods  and  driving  his  stock.  Not  content  to  set- 
tle in  Missouri,  he  secured  an  Indian  scout  as 
a  guide,  and  with  teams  continued  his  journey 
to  Texas,  prospecting  as  he  went.  That  part  of 
the  country  not  appealing  to  him,  he  returned 
to  Missouri,  where  he  had  left  his  brothers  and 
family,  and  for  seven  years  lived  in  the  vicinity 
of  Sedalia.  Later,  leaving  his  brothers,  he  came 
back  to  his  old  home  in  Tyro  Township,  where 
his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Polly  Williams, 
died.     He  is  still  living. 

Succeeding  to  the  free  and  independent  occu- 
pation of  his  forefathers,  James  Monroe  Williams 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  in  Davie 
County,  North  Carolina,  where  he  remained  sev- 
eral years.  Removing  to  Rowan  County,  he  bought 
land  near  Salisbury  and  began  its  improvement. 
Selling  that  a  few  years  later  he  came  to  David- 
son County  and  located  in  Cotton  Grove  Town- 
ship, where  he  has  since  been  actively  and  suc- 
cessfully employed  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
has    made    wise    investments,    now    owning    in    ail- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


199 


dition  to  lci>  home  farm  two  other  farming  es- 
tates, which  he  operates  with  tenants.  He  mar- 
ried Minnie  Belle  Owen,  a  daughter  of  Billy  and 
Mary  (Snider)  Owen,  her  father  having  been  an 
expert  mechanic  and  engineer.  Eleven  children 
were  born  of  their  marriage,  as  follows:  David 
Franklin,  Henry  Carl,  Benlah  Belle, '  William 
Lnndy,  Charlie  Sylvester,  Mary  Jane,  James 
Monroe,  Jr.,  Luther  Madison,  Fred  Marvin,  Edna 
Verna  and  Jessie  Lee. 

After  his  graduation  from  the  Churchland  High 
School  David  F.  Williams  took  a  commercial  course 
;it  Wood's  College  in  Washington,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. He  subsequently  taught  school  three 
years,  and  then  accepted  an  appointment  as  clerk 
in  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  in 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  while  thus 
employed  was  manager  of  the  Arizona  Hotel. 
Two  years  later,  on  account  of  ill  health,  Mr.  Wil- 
liams resigned  his  clerkship  and  returned  to  Cot- 
ton Grove  Township,  Davidson  County,  and  hav- 
ing purchased  a  good  farm  was  actively  and 
profitably  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil  until  1914, 
when  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Linwood. 
Mr.  Williams  removed  to  Linwood,  and  during 
the  same  year  embarked  in  the  lumber  business, 
which  he  has  since  carried  on  with  satisfactory  re- 
sults. 

Mi.  Williams  married,  in  1911,  Miss  Lula  E. 
Strange,  of  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  F.  and  Ida  Adella  CByerly)  Strange. 
Two  children  have  blessed  the  union  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Williams,  Ruth  LaVern  and  William  Elsey. 
Religiously  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  are  attendants 
of  the  Old  School  Baptist  Church. 

William  Redi\"  Kirk.  M.  D.  A  recognized  au- 
thority and  specialist  in  diseases  of  the  lungs  and 
throat,  Doctor  Kirk  has  enjoyed  a  high  place  of 
prominence  in  the  profession  in  both  the  states 
of  Kentucky  and  North  Carolina,  and  has  been 
a  resident  of  Hendersonville  since  1901. 

He  was  born  at  Owensboro,  Kentucky,  August 
25,  1870,  son  of  James  William  Redin  and  Mary 
(Watkinsl  Kirk.  His  father  gave  most  of  his 
life  to  farming  but  for  some  years  was  in  the 
bond  brokerage  business.  Doctor  Kirk  had  a  high 
school  education  and  his  first  ambition  was  to  be- 
come a  pharmacist.  To  that  end  he  studied  and 
received  a  diploma  in  1889  from  the  Louisville 
College  of  Pharmacy.  He  was  at  that  time  only 
nineteen  years  old  and  in  the  meantime  his  am- 
bitious scope  'had  broadened  to  include  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine.  He  took  his  medical  courses 
in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Central  Univer- 
sity of  Louisville,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1891,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  forthwith 
engaged  in  a  general  practice  at  Louisville,  and 
had  some  valuable  preliminary  experience  as  visit- 
ing surgeon  of  the  Louisville.  City  Hospital.  He 
also  was  prominent  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Jimmy  Ca«saday  Infirmary  for  Women  of  Louis- 
ville, which  he  served  as  assistant  gynecologist. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-American  war 
Doctor  Kirk  enlisted  and  as  a  surgeon  was  assigned 
some  very  responsible  and  important  duties  with 
the  army  of  occupation  on  the  Island  of  Porto 
Rico.  He  was  given  charge  of  the  vaccine  farm, 
hail  active  supervision  of  the  manufacture  of 
vaccine,  and  was  also  one  of  the  army  officials 
entrusted  with  carrying  out  what  probably  stands 
today  as  the  largest  order  of  the  kind  ever  issued, 
for   the  vaccination   of    1.030,000   persons   on   the 


island.  He  also  had  service  in  the  Philippines  as 
surgeon  with  the  regular  army. 

Before  his  army  service  Doctor  Kirk  served  as 
adjunct  professor  of  gynecology  and  abdominal 
surgery  with  the  Hospital  College  of  Medicine  and 
later  was  professor  of  Physiological  Physics  in  the 
Kentucky  School  of  Medicine.  While  in  the  army 
his  rank   was   Acting   Assistant  Surgeon. 

It  was  a  breakdown  of  health  that  brought  Doc- 
tor Kirk  to  Hendersonville,  North  Carolina,  and 
for  several  years  while  recuperating  he  did  little 
practice.  His  experience  has  led  him  more  and 
more  to  specialize  in  disease  of  the  chest  and 
lungs  and  some  years  ago  he  established  at  Hender- 
sonville the  first  sanitarium  for  the  treatment  of 
tubercular  troubles  in  that  county  or  in  South- 
western North  Carolina.  He  is  also  one  of  the 
founders  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Patton  Memorial 
Hospital  at  Hendersonville. 

Doctor  Kirk  has  been  very  active  in  medical 
organizations,  particularly  the  Tenth  District  Med- 
ical Society,  of  which  he  has  twice  been  president. 
He  was  elected  president  for  a  second  time  in  1918. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
Medical  Society,  the  Tri-State  Medical  Society, 
and  the  American  Medical  Association,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study 
and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis  and  the  North 
Carolina  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuber- 
culosis. April  19,  1916,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science.  He  has  contributed  many  reports  and 
formal  articles  to  medieal  journals  on  tubercular 
subjects,  one  of  which  was  an  address  read  before 
the  Tenth  District  Medical  Society  on  the  title: 
' '  Humane  Management  of  the  Tuberculous. ' '  In 
November,  1917,  Doctor  Kirk  was  chosen  chair- 
man of  the  Southern  Tuberculosis  Association,  a 
society  comprising  all  the  southern  states.  Litera- 
ture has  always  been  an  important  diversion  with 
Doctor  Kirk,  and  among  other  writings  he  has 
indulged  occasionally  in  poetry,  which  has  found 
much  favor.  Some  of  his  verse  have  been  widely 
printed  and  circulated,  especially  the  lines  en- 
titled ' '  Cross  of  Red  on  a   Field  of  White. ' ' 

Doctor  Kirk  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Scottish 
Rite  Mason  and  Shriner,  and  is  a  former  vestry- 
man of  St.  James  Episcopal  Church.  He  served 
as  treasurer  of  the  church  for  several  years.  In 
May,  1904,  he  married  Miss  Josephine  Egerton, 
of  Hendersonville. 

J.  Scroop  Styles,  a  well  known  Asheville  law- 
yer, gained  extended  reputation  and  prominence 
in  his  profession  through  his  several  years  of  active 
service  as  a  special  attorney  for  the  Department  of 
Justice.  The  duties  of  this  position  called  him  to 
all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  investigation  and  general  handling 
of  a  number  of  federal  cases  that  have  attracted 
attention   in  recent  years. 

The  record  of  Mr.  Styles  is  one  of  stimulating 
experience  and  achievement.  He  was  born  in 
Jackson  County,  North  Carolina,  February  19, 
1882,  a  son  of  John  Wesley  and  Nancy  (Sellers) 
Styles.  He  spent  his  early  boyhood  on  his  father's 
farm,  attended  the  district  schools  to  the  age  of 
thirteen,  and  from  that  time  forward  shifted  for 
himself,  working  as  a  farm  hand  and  in  other 
lines  of  employment  to  make  a  living,  studying 
at  night,  and  in"  the  course  of  time  had  qualified 
for  the  position  of  a  country  school  teacher.  He 
followed    that    occupation    for   seven   years   during 


200 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


winter  time  and  during  the  summer  seasons  at- 
tended school  to  complete  his  own  education.  In 
1901  he  graduated  from  Rutherford  College  and 
in  1903  from  Weaverville  College.  In  1903  Mr. 
Styles  was  elected  president  of  Boon's  Creek 
College,  the  oldest  academic  and  collegiate  institu- 
tion in  the  State  of  Tennessee.  He  was  head  of 
the  school  for  one  year  and  in  1904-05  was  princi- 
pal of  the  high  school  at  Democrat  in  Buncombe 
County,  North  Carolina.  While  teaching  in 
Tennessee  Mr.  Styles  was  admitted  to  the  Tennessee 
bar  and  in  February,  1905,  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  North  Carolina.  He  is  now  member 
of  the  bars  of  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Wash- 
ington, Idaho,  California  and  Montana. 

After  qualifying  as  a  lawyer  Mr.  Styles  prac- 
ticed at  Asheville  from  1905  to  1908,  following 
which  he  spent  one  year  at  Seattle,  Washington. 
He  had  a  promising  law  business  in  the  Northwest, 
but  on  account  of  his  wife 's  health  abandoned  it 
and  returned  to  North  Carolina.  He  resumed  a 
general  practice  at  Asheville  in  1910  and  carried 
it  forward  until  1913,  when  he  was  appointed 
special  attorney  for  the  Department  of  Justice. 
He  was  especially  employed  in  the  investigation 
and  prosecution  of  eases  involving  infringment 
of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law.  He  had  charge 
of  the  investigation  of  the  cotton  seed  oil  in- 
dustries, of  the  American  Tobacco  Company,  of 
the  Armour  Rate  ease  and  others.  It  was  an 
interesting  service,  but  one  which  involved  con- 
tinued absence  from  his  home  state,  to  the  neglect 
of  his  private  law  practice,  and  in  1916  he  resigned 
and  again  reentered  private  practice  at  Asheville. 

Mr.  Styles  has  been  quite  prominent  in  demo- 
cratic politics  in  the  state,  in  1912-14  was  chair- 
man of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Tenth 
Congressional  District,  and  for  a  time  was  secre- 
tary to  the  committee  on  postofiiee  appropriations 
at  Washington.  He  is  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  and  American  Bar  associations  and  is 
affiliated  with  the  Masonic  Order,  is  a  past  noble 
grand  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica. He  teaches  the  Woman's  Bible  Class  in  the 
Sunday  School  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
at  Asheville. 

Mr.  Styles  has  an  interesting  family  connec- 
tion, Abraham  Lincoln  having  been  his  great- 
uncle  on  the  maternal  side.  Mr.  Styles  married 
in  Buncombe  County,  December  23,  1903,  Miss 
Eloise  Frisbee.  They  have  four  children:  James 
S.,  Jr.,  Ralph  Emerson,  Martha  Virginia  and 
William  Marion.  Besides  his  law  business  Mr. 
Styles  is  a  farmer  and  extensive  land  owner. 
His  principal  farm  comprises  236  acres  in  Bun- 
combe County,  and  he  gives  much  personal  at- 
tention to  its  management  and  raises  a  number 
of  blooded  cattle.  He  also  has  a  half  interest  in 
a  large  ranch  of  1,631  acres  in  Cascade  County, 
Montana.  This  is  a  wheat  and  cattle  proposition, 
and  in  1918  600  acres  were  planted  to  wmeat. 
He  also  owns  100  acres  in  Laurel  County,  Ken- 
tucky, this  being  a  hay  farm. 

Paul  Otto  Schallert,  M.  D.  An  accomplished 
physician  of  Winston-Salem  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  large  and  steadily  increasing  practice,  Doctor 
Schallert  is  a  gentleman  of  thorough  culture,  and 
besides  his  attainments  in  his  profession  has  varied 
interests  that  make  him  esteemed  and  valued  by 
his  large  circle  of  friends. 

Doctor  Schallert  is  a  northern  man  by  birth  and 
training,  and  his  early  years  of  practice  were  in 


his  native  state  of  Wisconsin.  He  was  born  near 
Watertown  in  Jefferson  County,  Wisconsin,  on 
March  5,  1879.  All  his  ancestors  were  of  German 
birth.  His  grandfather,  Michael  Schallert,  was 
born  at  Lehman 's  Hoef  el,  in  the  Province  of  Bran- 
denburg. Prussia,  September  29,  1811,  and  was  of 
Polish  ancestry.  His  great-grandfather,  Martin 
Schallert,  father  of  Michael  Schallert,  having 
fought  for  Polish  freedom  against  Russia,  was  com- 
pelled to  flee  from  Poland  with  four  other  brothers 
on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  war  to  establish  a 
free  Poland.  All  the  brothers  wandered  into  Ger- 
many, where  many  of  their  descendants  are  still 
living.  Michael  Schallert  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  the  cabinet  maker's  trade  and  followed 
that  occupation  for  a  few  years,  afterward  be- 
coming a  dealer  in  poultry  and  live  stock.  In 
1856  he  brought  his  family  to  America.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  five  children.  The 
voyage  was  made  in  a  sailing  vessel,  and  it 
required  eight  weeks  and  four  days  between  ports. 
At  that  time  many  thousands  of  German  people 
had  found  their  way  to  the  new  State  of  Wisconsin, 
and  Michael  Schallert  established  his  home  in  one 
of  the  favorite  sections  of  the  German  population 
in  Southern  Wisconsin,  in  Jefferson  County.  Locat- 
ing at  Watertown,  he  followed  his  trade  in  that 
community  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-one.  His  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Dorathea  Wurl,  was  a  native  of 
Brandenburg,  and  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine,  after  they  had  enjoyed  married  companionship 
for  fifty -nine  years.  She  reared  five  children: 
William  F.,  Charles,  Mrs.  Sophia  Boetcher,  Mrs. 
Amelia  Hasse  and  Mrs.  Maria  Lehmann. 

William  F.  Schallert,  father  of  Doctor  Schallert, 
was  born  at  Lehman's  Hoef  el  in  the  Province  of 
Brandenburg,  May  22,  1836.  His  education  was 
acquired  in  the  local  schools  of  his  native  country, 
and  he  was  twenty  when  he  came  with  his  father's 
family  to  the  United  States.  In  Wisconsin  he 
learned  the  cabinet  maker's  trade  and  followed 
it  along  with  farming  until  the  Civil  war.  During 
the  war  he  served  in  the  Seventeenth  Wisconsin 
Infantry,  and  lived  up  to  the  reputation  of  the 
Schallert  German-American  citizenship  for  loyalty 
to  their  adopted  country  in  that  critical  struggle. 
He  was  a  participant  in  many  battles,  and  was 
with  Sherman's  army  on  its  march  through 
Georgia  to  the  sea  and  thence  up  through  the 
Carolinas  and  Virginia  to  Washington.  He  marched 
in  the  Grand  Review  at  Washington  after  the  close 
of  hostilities.  On  securing  his  honorable  discharge 
he  returned  to  Watertown  and  for  a  time  followed 
his  trade,  but  then  invested  in  a  farm  five  miles 
south  from  Watertown  and  made  farming  his 
chief  vocation.  He  died  January  17,  1918,  in  his 
eighty-second  year,  after  a  brief  illness.  He  was 
buried  at  Johnson  Creek,  Jefferson  County,  Wis- 
consin. 

William  F.  Schallert  married  Frederika  Floren- 
tina  Volkman.  She  was  born  November  5,  1841, 
at  Reetz  in  the  Province  of  Pomerania  in  East 
Prussia.  Her  father,  whose  ancestry  originated 
near  Memel  at  the  Russian  boundary,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Black  Hussars  in  the  German  army, 
and  his  death  resulted  from  injuries  received  in 
the  service.  He  left  a  widow,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Blazins  and  whose  father,  Daniel  Frederick, 
was  born  in  Bohemia.  He  also  left  six  children, 
and  the  widowed  mother  came  with  them  to  Amer- 
ica, arriving  June  8,  1855,  after  an  ocean  trip  on 
an  old  sail  boat  lasting  six  weeks  and  two  days. 
Her  sons  were  named  Charles,  August  and  Henry. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


201 


Her  three  daughters  were  Albertina  Sehwanke, 
Wilhelmina  Homan  and  Frederika  Florentina.  The 
mother  of  Doctor  Schallert  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four,  having  reared  six  children:  Herman,  Emma, 
who  married  Otto  Marens,  of  Chicago,  Illinois; 
Martha,  who  married  Aloys  Beisehel,  of  Greensboro, 
North  Carolina;  William,  Jr.;  Paul  Otto  and  Frank 
Richard. 

In  a  district  of  Wisconsin  noted  for  its  dairy 
farms  and  varied  agricultural  industry  Doctor 
Schallert  spent  his  early  youth.  He  attended  the 
rural  schools,  and  having  determined  to  secure  a 
liberal  education  he  subsequently  attended  the 
Northern  Illinois  Normal  School  at  Dixon,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1897,  and  was  also  graduated 
from  the  Indiana  Normal  School  at  Marion  in  1899, 
with  the  B.  S.  and  M.  A.  degrees.  He  then  entered 
the  University  of  Illinois,  where  he  completed  the 
literary  course  in  1900,  and  continued  in  the  medi- 
cal department  of  that  university  at  Chicago,  where 
he  secured  his  M.  D.  degree  in  1904.  Doctor  Schal- 
lert began  practice  at  Wrightstown,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  remained  five  years,  and  for  another  year 
was  located  at  Johnson  Creek  in  his  native  county, 
where  he  also  owned  a  drug  store.  Doctor  Schallert 
came  to  Winston-Salem  in  1910,  and  almost  from 
the  start  has  had  a  profitable  practice  and  his 
business  is  now  about  all  that  he  can  attend  to. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Forsyth  County 
and  North  Carolina  State  Medical  societies,  also 
of  the  American  Medical  Association,  and  has 
fraternal  associations  with  Salem  Lodge,  No.  289, 
Ancient  Free  &  Accepted  Masons,  South  Side 
Council,  No.  88,  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  Twin  City  Camp,  No.  27,  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  and  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America.  Doctor  Schallert  has  always  been  fond  of 
outdoor  life  and  of  natural  science.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  National  Geographic  Society,  of 
the  American  Historical  Association,  of  the  Amer- 
ican Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
and  is  a  member  and  president  of  the  Audubon 
Society  of  Winston-Salem.  Other  memberships 
that  indicate  favorite  interests  are  in  the  Child 
Labor  Federation  of  America,  American  Social 
Hygiene  Association,  and  Nature  Club  of  America. 
He  also  holds  membership  in  several  associations 
whose  aim  is  for  world 's  peace.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Schallert  are  active  members  of  the  Trinity  Morav- 
ian Church,  where  both  are  teachers  in  the  Sunday 
school,  the  doctor  teaching  the  Men  's  Bible  class. 

He  was  married  in  1904  to  Miss  Grace  Jackson. 
Mrs.  Schallert  was  born  at  Bogota,  Jasper  County, 
Illinois,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Nancy  (Honey) 
Jackson.  Her  ancestors  came  from  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Pennsylvania,  Kentucky  and  South  Carolina,  and 
were  of  Duteh-Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Mrs.  Schal- 
lert is  a  graduate  of  the  Indiana  Normal  School, 
and  while  a  student  there  met  Doctor  Schallert. 
They  are  the  parents  of  four  children:  Marion 
Vespera,  Dorothy  Amaryllis,  Paul  Otto,  Jr.,  and 
Nancy  Elizabeth.  Doctor  Schallert  also  took  mili- 
tary training  of  which  he  was  very  fond  and  once 
held  a  commission  as  second  lieutenant  in  the  Illi- 
nois National  Guard. 

Albert  Franklin  Wiiliams,  M.  D.  A  phy- 
sician and  surgeon  of  wide  repute,  located  at 
Wilson,  Doctor  Williams  distinguished  himself  even 
when  in  university  as  a  scientific  investigator,  and 
was  formerly  an  instructor  at  Chapel  Hill  in  the 
subject  of  biology.  Since  begining  active  prac- 
tice he  has  enjoyed  most  of  the  honors  and  suc- 
cesses bestowed  upon  the  physician  and  surgeon 
of   ability. 


Doctor  Williams  was  born  in  Kenansville  in 
Duplin  County,  North  Carolina,  October  24,  1874, 
son  of  Albert  Franklin  and  Rossie  (Jarmon) 
Williams.  His  father  was  a  farmer.  Doctor  Wil- 
liams attended  private  schools  in  Kenansville  and 
in  1891  graduated  from  Homers  Military  Academy. 
Before  the  end  of  his  first  year  at  Homers  Mili- 
tary School  he  was  promoted  from  private  to  cor- 
poral and  during  his  second  and  last  year  to 
sergeant-major  of  battalion.  He  finished  at  Hom- 
ers with  second  honors.  Entering  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill,  he  received  his  A.  B. 
degree  in  1897.  He  also  was  accorded  a  special 
diploma  by  the  University  in  the  Department  of 
Biology,  and  for  two  years  he  was  retained  as  an 
instructor  in  that  subject.  In  May,  1901,  Doctor 
Williams  graduated  M.  D.  from  the  University  of 
Maryland  Medical  Department,  and  at  once  began 
a  general  practice  at  Kenansville,  but  in  1904  re- 
moved to  Wilson.  His  work  has  been  in  the 
general  field  of  medicine  and  surgery,  but  for 
5%  years  most  of  his  time  has  been  taken  up 
with  the  Wilson  Sanitarium,  which  with  Dr. 
E.  T.  Dickinson  he  purchased  in  February,  1913, 
buying  Dr.  C.  E.  Moore 's  interest.  Doctor 
Williams  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  hospital, 
which  is  conducted  as  a  general  hospital,  and 
furnishes  a  service  the  equal  of  any  institution 
of  its  kind  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

Doctor  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  Wilson 
County,  the  Fourth  District,  the  Seaboard,  the 
North  Carolina  State  Medical  societies  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  belongs  to  the 
Wilson  Country  Club  and  the  Commonwealth  Club, 
is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  is  affiliated  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics. 

October  25,  1905,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Hadley,  daughter  of  John  C.  and  Mary  E.  Hadley, 
of  Wilson.  They  have  four  children:  Mary  Mil- 
licent,  Albert  Franklin,  third,  Margaret  Hadley 
and  Gretchen. 

J.  Arthur  Dosher,  M.  D.  In  a  perusal  of  the 
roster  containing  the  names  of  the  men  who  have 
attained  distinction  in  the  medical  profession, 
well  to  the  forefront  will  be  found  that  of  Dr. 
J.  Arthur  Dosher,  of  Southport.  In  any  of  the 
various  pursuits  of  life  success  unfailingly  chal- 
lenges the  admiration  of  the  world.  It  matters 
not  whether  it  be  in  the  professions,  in  business, 
in  public,  military  or  civil  life,  success  is  the  one 
distinguishing  and  sought-for  characteristic  of  all 
transactions.  In  the  medical  profession  Doctor 
Dosher  has  distinguished  himself,  and  has  dem- 
onstrated the  fact  that  to  the  man  of  merit  be- 
longs the  full  measure  of  success  and  worldly 
prosperity.  He  has  figured  for  a  number  of  years 
as  a  prominent  representative  of  the  medical  fra- 
ternity of  this  part  of  North  Carolina,  and  his 
labors  have  been  appreciated  not  alone  by  his 
private  clientele,  but  by  the  county  and  state, 
which  have  honored  him  by  appointments  to  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  high  responsibility. 

J.  Arthur  Dosher  was  born  at  Southport,  Bruns- 
wick County,  North  Carolina,  April  3,  1878,  and 
is  a  son  of  J.  Julius  and  Mary  A.  (Pinner) 
Dosher.  His  father,  who  was  a  pilot  for  many 
years  and  well  known  to  the  river  men  and  coast 
captains,  is  now  deceased.  After  attending  the 
public,  schools  and  a  private  school  at  Southport, 
J.  Arthur  Dosher  was  sent  to  the  Maryland  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy,  from  which  he  duly  grad- 
uated with  the  class  of  1900,  and  then  continued 


202 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


his  studies  as  a  student  at  the  Baltimore  (Mary- 
land) Medical  College.  When  he  received  his  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1903  Doctor  Dosher 
at  once  returned  to  Southport,  where  he  entered 
upon  the  general  practice  of  his  profession,  in 
which  he  built  up  a  large  patronage.  As  the 
years  passed,  however,  he  gave  more  and  more 
of  his  time  to  surgery,  until  it  may  now  be  said 
that  he  is  a  specialist  in  this  branch  of  his  pro- 
fession, a  field  in  which  he  has  won  much  more 
than  a  local  reputation.  Doctor  Dosher  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Brunswick  County  Medical  Society, 
the  District  Medical  Society,  the  Tri-State  Medi- 
cal Society,  the  Southern  Medical  Association,  the 
North  Carolina  Medical  Society  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  Since  1903  he  has  been 
county  superintendent  of  health  for  Brunswick 
County,  and  for  several  years  has  been  city  physi- 
cian of  Southport.  He  is  also  acting  assistant 
surgeon  of  the  United  States  Public  Health  Serv- 
ice, and  in  October,  1909,  was  commissioned  as 
surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  in  the  United 
States  Medical  Reserve  Corps.  His  private  prac- 
tice is  large  and  representative  and  his  official 
duties  of  the  most  important  character,  yet  he 
still  finds  time  for  other  labors,  among  which  are 
those  connected  with  the  office  of  chief  surgeon 
of  War  Board  and  the  Southern  Railroad,  surgeon 
for  the  various  fish  factories  and  sawmills  of  South- 
port  and  the  surrounding  county,  and  examiner  for 
the  various  life  insurance  companies  represented 
here.  He  has  been  a  leader,  not  a  follower,  in 
professional  work,  and  his  labors  have  in  many 
respects  formed  a  distinct  and  valuable  contri- 
bution to  medicine  and  surgery.  His  professional 
service  has  ever  been  discharged  with  a  keen 
sense  of  conscientious  obligation  and  his  work 
has  brought  him  a  high  reputation  among  his 
fellow-practitioners.  The  determination  and  laud- 
able ambition  that  caused  him  to  take  up  the 
profession  in  his  youth  have  constituted  an  ef- 
fective force  in  all  his  later  life  and  have  brought 
him  at  length  to  well-merited  prominence  in  his 
chosen  field  of  endeavor.  Doctor  Dosher  is  a 
member  of  the  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics 
and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

On  November  22,  1903,  Doctor  Dosher  was  mar- 
ried at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  to  Miss  Grace  Ken- 
neth Keyworth,  of  that  city,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  one  child,  Grace  Alma. 

William  Johnston  Cocke.  Though  a  lawyer 
of  long  experience  and  solid  attainments,  it  is 
rather  for  his  prominence  in  business  and  public 
affairs  that  William  Johnston  Cocke  is  best  known 
in  his  home  City  of  Asheville  and  throughout  the 
state  at  large. 

He  was  born  at  Asheville  January  19,  1873,  a 
son  of  William  M.  and  Maria  (Johnston)  Cocke. 
His  father  was  a  prominent  and  highly  successful 
lawyer  and  business  man.  The  son  was  educated 
in  a  manner  befitting  the  family  position  and 
fortune,  attending  private  schools,  Wofford  Col- 
lege at  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1892,  and  the  next  three  years 
attended  Harvard  University,  where  he  specialized 
in  political  science  and  law.  He  left  university 
in  1895,  and  returned  to  Asheville  to  assume  the 
active  responsibilities  of  managing  his  father's 
estate. 

Tn  1896  Mr.  Cocke  was  elected  mayor  of  Ashe- 
ville and  filled  that  office  one  term.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  during  the  im- 


portant session  of  1899-90,  when  the  constitutional 
amendment  was  considered  and  passed.  In  1904 
he  was  democratic  nominee  for  solicitor  of  the 
Fifteenth  Judicial  District.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  of  1896 
and  again  to  the  Denver  Convention  of  1908. 

Mr.  Cocke  is  proprietor  of  the  widely  known 
Blue  Ridge  Farm.  Some  years  ago  he  took  over 
George  Vanderbilt  's  herd  of  Berkshire  hogs,  and 
now  has  the  largest  single  herd  of  that  strain  in 
America.  When  the  present  war  with  Germany 
began  Mr.  Cocke  with  other  prominent  pork  pro- 
ducers in  the  United  States  formulated  plans  which 
they  laid  before  the  Government  as  to  means  and 
methods  of  increasing  pork  production  and  secur- 
ing the  removal  of  such  restrictions  which  had 
up  to  that  time  interfered  with  the  raising  of 
hogs. 

Mr.  Cocke  is  a  member  of  the  Asheville  and 
North  Carolina  State  Bar  associations,  is  affiliated 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  for  years  has  been  an  active  member  of 
the  Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
November  18,  1903,  he  married  Nola  Dilworth,  of 
Gonzales,  Texas.  They  have  two  children,  Wil- 
liam   Johnston    and    George    Dilworth. 

Charles  S.  Sieweks  is  one  of  the  prominent 
family  of  that  name  in  Western  North  Carolina, 
and  has  made  his  own  career  count  for  a  great 
deal  in  the  field  of  business  and  manufacturing  at 
Winston-Salem.  His  achievements  have  been 
specially  identified  with  the  manufacture  of  furni- 
ture and  he  has  helped  to  give  Winston-Salem  a. 
place  in  the  furniture  industry  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Siewers  was  born  at  Winston-Salem  and  is  a 
son  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  S.  and  Eleanor  (deSehweinitz) 
Siewers.  Doctor  Siewers  was  born  at  Winston- 
Salem  in  1845,  and  was  liberally  educated,  served 
for  three  years  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  on  re- 
turning home  took  up  the  study  of  medicine.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  after  studying  two  years  in  Europe,  he  located 
in  Salem,  where  his  ability  and- rare  talents  soon 
brought  him  success.  After  a  practice  of  over 
thirty  years  his  death  came  on  January  12,  1901. 
He.  was  also  active  in  promoting  and  building  the 
Roanoke  and  Southern  Railroad,  the  second  rail- 
road to  enter  Winston-Salem,  and  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Wachovia  Loan  and  Trust  Com- 
pany. Throughout  his  life  he  was  a  member  and 
worker  in  the  Moravian  Church.  The  wife  of 
Doctor  Siewers  is  a  daughter  of  Bishop  de- 
Sehweinitz, and  both  the  Siewers  and  deSehweinitz, 
families  are  among  the  most  prominent  in  Western 
North  Carolina.  Reference  to  these  families  will  be 
found  in  greater   detail   on  other  pages. 

Charles  S.  Siewers,  who  was  the  oldest  of  sis 
children,  had  the  home  environment  and  the  social 
position  calculated  to  bring  out  the  best  of  his 
native  talents  and  propensities.  He  attended  the 
Salem  Boys  School  and  then  entered  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  College  at  Raleigh.  Having 
made  definite  choice  of  a  business  rather  than  a 
professional  career,  he  did  not  remain  to  complete 
his  college  course,  but  entered  the  ranks  of  the 
world 's  workers  as  an  employe  in  the  Forsyth 
Manufacturing  Company,  where  he  served  his  ap- 
prenticeship. He  remained  in  that  factory  about 
five  years,  and  then  with  his  experience  and  capital 
organized  the  Forsyth  Chair  Company.  He  has 
been  president  of  this  concern  since  its  organization. 


//s2^s^^*^? 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


20c 


and  it  ia  one  of  the  industries  which  give  character 
to  the  resources  of  Winston-Salem.  Mr.  Siewers 
also  organized  the  Forsyth  Dining  Room  Furniture 
Company,  of  which  he  is  president,  treasurer  and 
general  manager.  Both  these  are  highly  successful 
and  growing  concerns. 

Mr.  Siewers  was  married  in  June,  1901,  to  Miss 
Clara  Vance,  who  was  born  in  Winston-Salem, 
daughter  of  Joseph  A.  and  Adelaide  (Fogle) 
A'auce.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Siewers  have  four  children, 
Charles,  Carolyn,  Margaret  and  John.  Mr.  Siewers 
is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Salem 
Academy  and  College,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Home  Moravian  Church, 
of  which  both  he  and  his  wife  are  active  members. 

George  Louis  Wimberi.y.  M.  D.  Among  the 
representative  men  of  note  in  Edgecombe  County 
no  one  ia  better  known  or  more  highly  esteemed 
than  Dr.  George  Louis  Wimberly,  Jr.,  a  physi- 
cian of  prominence  at  Rocky  Mount,  and  vice 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  this  place. 
The  caution,  concentration  and  exactness  of  the 
physician  have  been  valuable  elements  in  the 
financial  field,  and  Doctor  Wimberly  has  built  up 
an  honorable  reputation  in  both  lines  of  effort. 
.  Dr.  George  Louis  Wimberly  was  born  Febru- 
ary 10,  1862,  near  Tarboro,  North  Carolina.  His 
parents  were  George  Louis  and  Frances  (Whit- 
field)  Wimberly.  His  father  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  the  class  of 
1857  and  was  qualified  for  professional  life,  but 
his  preference  lay  in  the  direction  of  agriculture 
and  his  life  was  passed  as  a  farmer.  Of  his 
children  his  namesake  son  was  the  only  one  who 
became  a  physician. 

Under  the  scholarly  tuition  of  Prof.  F.  S. 
Wilkinson,  a  noted  educator,  George  Louis  Wim- 
berly was  prepared  for  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  in  which  institution  he  pursued  his  lit- 
erary studies,  later  entering  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Maryland,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  18S:i.  Doctor  Wimberly  en- 
tered into  medical  practice  in  Edgecombe  County 
and  for  four  years  was  associated  with  Dr.  R.  H. 
Speight,  formerly  of  the  University  of  North  Car- 
olina. In  1886  Doctor  Wimberly  opened  an  of- 
fice at  Rocky  Mount  and  for  thirty-one  years 
has  been  considered  a  physician  of  rare  knowl- 
edge and  skill  at  this  place,  where  he  has  served 
as  health  commissioner  with  the  greatest  efficiency, 
and  it  may  be  stated  that  during  his  administra- 
tion no  epidemics  ever  gained  headway  here  as 
in  many  other   industrial   centers. 

For  a  number  of  vears  he  has  been  inter  sted 
in  several  important  financial  institutions  of  Rocky 
Mount.  He  is  vice  president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  is  a  director  of  the  Morris  Plan 
Bank  and  is  also  on  the  directing  board  of  the 
Underwriters  Fire  Insurance  Company.  As  a 
man  of  earnest  citizenship  he  has  been  more  or 
less  concerned  with  public  matters  at  Rocky 
Mount  and  has  served  on  the  board  of  city  alder- 
men. 

Doctor  Wimberly  was  married  November  16, 
189?.,  to  Miss  Mary  Bunn,  who  was  born  in  Nash 
County.  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Hon.  B.  H.  Bunn,  formerly  a  member  of  Con- 
gress. Doctor  and  Mrs.  Wimberly  have  five  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  George  Louis,  the  third  of  the 
name  in  succession,  who  is  a  student  of  law  in 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  the  alma  mater 
of  both  his  father  and  grandfather;  Benjamin 
Bunn,  who  is  a   student   in  the  Virginia  Military 


Institute;  Mary  Bryan,  who  is  attending  the 
Rocky  Mount  High  School;  Robert  Diggs,  who 
is  also  in  the  high  school;  and  Francis  Whitfield. 
Doctor  Wimberly  and  family  have  a  beautiful 
home  in  which  hospitality  is  considered  a  virtue 
and  many  of  the  old  customs,  dear  to  native-born 
Southerners,  are  preserved  in  social  functions. 

In  addition  to  his  professional  and  banking 
interests  Doctor  Wimberly  is  one  of  the  exten- 
sive farmers  of  Edgecombe  County.  He  is  a 
Royal  Arch  Mason  and  is  a  member  of  the  Du- 
rant  Island  Club.  With  his  family  he  belongs 
to  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Episcopalian, 
in  which  he  is  a  vestryman. 

Theodore  McLean  Northrop,  M.  D.  Honored 
in  his  profession,  trusted  by  his  business  asso- 
ciates, esteemed  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew 
him  in  any  relation,  the  late  Dr.  Theodore  McLean 
Northrop  passed  away,  leaving  behind  him  not  only 
large  material  possessions  as  the  result  of  his 
thrift  and  industry,  but  the  enviable  record  of  a 
noble,  useful  and  worthy  life.  In  his  death  Robe- 
son County  lost  a  valuable  citizen  and  St.  Pauls 
one  of  the  most  active  leaders  in  the  development 
of  her  most  worthy  enterprises. 

Theodore  McLean  Northrop  was  born  July  12, 
1874,  at  Laurinburg,  Scotland  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  died  iu  the  Charlotte  Sanatorium,  Char- 
lotte, North  Carolina,  March  13,  1916,  at 
which  time  he  was  president  of  the  Bank 
of  St.  Pauls.  He  was  a  son  of  H.  F. 
and  Laura  (McLean)  Northrop.  The  father 
of  Doctor  Northrop  was  born  at  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  but  died  in  what  is  now  Scotland 
County,  formerly  a  part  of  Richmond  County, 
where  his  life  was  mainly  spent.  The  mother  of 
Doctor  Northrop  was  born  in  the  old  Laurel  Hill 
Church  community,  about  six  miles  north  of  Laur- 
inburg, the  old  McLean  plantation  being  still 
known  as  Scotch  Grove.  Her  parents  were  Neill 
and  Mary  (Briggs)  McLean,  of  Seoteh  ancestry. 
Before  the  war  between  the  states  Mr.  McLean 
was  an  extensive  planter  and  large  slave  owner. 
Mrs.  Northrop  was  afforded  unusual  educational 
and  social  advantages,  and  undoubtedly  to  this  in- 
tellectual, capable  and  devoted  mother  Doctor 
Northrop  owed  much  that  stimulated  him  to  early 
effort.  Some  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  North- 
rop, Mrs.  Northrop  was  married  to  J.  T.  Rich, 
who  is  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Rich  resides  at  Laurin- 
burg. 

Theodore  McLean  Northrop  grew  up  at  Laurin- 
burg and  there  received  his  early  educational 
training.  He  was  fond  of  books  and  an  ambitious 
youth  in  every  way,  determining  early  to  become 
a  physician  but  willing  to  lay  a  sound  literary 
foundation  before  beginning  the  study  of  medi- 
cine. For  some  years  he  was  a  student  in  Oak 
Ridge  Institute  and  later  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  from  which  latter  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1894.  His  medical  studies  were  pursued 
in  the  University  Medical  College  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  and  the  University  of  Maryland,  and 
he  was  graduated  from  the  university  in  the  class 
of  1897,  after  which  he  devoted  one  year  to  hos- 
pital work  in  Baltimore  and  then  returned  to  enter 
into  medical  practice  in  his  native  state. 

In  1898  Doctor  Northrop  selected  the  village  of 
St.  Pauls,  with  its  rich  surrounding  agricultural 
territory,  as  his  field  of  medical  practice,  having 
the  wise  foresight  that  many  others  did  not  possess, 
that  a  time  would  come  when  conditions  would 
change    here    as    general     progress     invaded    the 


204 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


country  and  the  outside  world  came  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  sleeping  wealth  and  the  line  citizenship 
of  this  section.  His  work  for  some  years  as  a 
country  physician  sorely  tried  his  strength,  but 
he  persisted  and  there  is  hardly  a  home  in  all 
this  section  where,  at  one  time  or  another,  his 
professional  services  had  not  been  bestowed  or  his 
kindly  interest  made  known  in  some  way.  He  was 
not  only  a  doctor,  but  ' '  the  Doctor, ' '  and  no  one, 
as  long  as  he  lived,  could  take  his  place  in  the 
trust  and  affection  of  the  people.  The  same  high 
regard  was  entertained  for  him  by  his  fellow  phy- 
sicians and  was  notably  manifested  during  his 
last  illness,  when  they  crowded  to  the  hospital 
and  begged  for  opportunity  to  do  him  some  service. 

As  Doctor  Northrop  gradually  accumulated  a 
competency  from  his  practice,  he  wisely  invested 
in  farming  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Pauls,  and 
the  value  of  these  lands  was  greatly  increased  when 
the  Virginia  &  Carolina  Southern  Railway  line 
was  built  through  the  village.  From  the  begining 
of  the  awakening  that  followed  Doctor  Northrop 
took  a  most  active  interest  in  the  development  of 
this  section,  in  which  he  had  always  maintained  his 
faith,  and  in  every  way  possible  to  him,  helped  to 
further  lauda,ble  enterprises  and  substantial  im- 
provements. He  invested  freely  and  was  a  leader 
in  civic  improvement  and  was  largely  instrumental 
in  bringing  about  many  admirable  movements. 
Agriculture  in  all  its  branches  always  interested 
him  and  he  developed  several  fine  farms,  his  home 
estate  being  a  part  of  and  adjoining  St.  Pauls  on 
the  north.  It  was  a  delight  to  him  to  beautify 
his  land  and  he  erected  a  handsome  modern  resi- 
dence here,  on  a  fine  location  adjoining  the  grounds 
of  St.  Pauls  Church,  in  which  religious  body  he 
was  a  deacon.  The  entire  management  of  his 
large  estate,  including  his  extensive  farming  en- 
terprises, Doctor  Northrop  left  in  the  hands  of 
Mrs.  Northrop,  with  the  certainty  that  no  one 
could  carry  out  his  intentions  more  completely 
and  satisfactorily  than  this  admirable  woman. 

In  his  marriage  Doctor  Northrop  was  singularly 
happy  and  fortunate.  He  was  united  to  Miss 
Betty  McGeeehy,  who  was  born  in  St.  Pauls  Town- 
ship, Robeson  County,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a 
representative  of  old  and  historic  families  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  Her  parents  were  John  and 
Flora  (Shaw)  McGeeehy,  the  former  of  whom  is 
deceased.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Northrop  is  a 
sister  of  the  late  Lauchlin  Shaw,  who  for  many 
years  was  one  of  Robeson  County 's  most  prom- 
inent men  and  was  especially  so  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  St.  Pauls  and  was  the  founder  of  the 
modern  town,  which  is  built  on  land  originally 
owned  by  him.  Six  children  were  born  to  Doctor 
and  Mrs.  Northrop,  namely:  Katie  Groves,  Fran- 
cis, Dawson,  Theodore,  Laura  and  Daniel,  all  of 
whom  reside  with  their  mother.  Mrs.  Northrop 
and  family  attend  St.  Pauls  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  only  fraternal  body  with  which  Doctor  North- 
rop was  identified  was  the  Masons,  to  the  teach- 
ings of  which  he  was  ever  faithful  and  at  one  time 
he  had  served  as  worshipful  master  of  his  lodge. 

Edward  Henry  Cranmer  was  born  at  South- 
port  February  22,  1871,  a  son  of  Edward  H.  and 
Almira  C.  (Bensel)  Cranmer.  He  attended  public 
schools  of  Southport  and  Eastman  Business  Col- 
lege, Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  He  was  admitted 
to  bar  in  1900,  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bar  Association,  was  mayor  of  Southport  several 
times,  and  represented  the  Tenth  Senatorial 
District    in    the    General    Assembly    of    1917,    as 


senator  from  New  Hanover  and  Brunswick  coun- 
ties. He  is  a  Freemason,  master  of  his  lodge 
several  terms,  is  a  Methodist,  Sunday  School 
superintendent  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
stewards. 

Mr.  Cranmer  married  Miss  Maxy  Elizabeth 
Pearce,  and  they  have  five  children,  three  boys, 
Edward  H.,  Jr.,  James  Pearce  and  Paul  Morris, 
and  two  girls,  Alice  A.  and  Mary.  Mr.  Cranmer 
has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
since   1905. 

Jacob  F.  Crouse.  Born  and  reared  in  the 
country  district  of  Forsyth  County,  Jacob  F.  Crouse 
after  considerable  experience  as  a  farmer  on  his 
own  account  determined  to  extend  the  horizon  of  his 
influence  and  efforts  and  find  an  opening  in  the 
business  life  of  Winston-Salem.  He  has  been 
going  steadily  upward  and  is  now  an  official  mem- 
ber of  the  largest  furniture  house  in  the  city. 

His  birth  occurred  on  a  farm  near  Friedberg 
in  South  Fork  Township  of  Forsyth  County. 
His  people  have  lived  in  that  locality  for  genera- 
tions, going  back  to  earliest  pioneer  days.  His 
great-grandfather,  Andrew  Crouse,  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  and  so  far  as  known  was  the  only  mem- 
ber of  his  immediate  family  to  come  to  America.  ■ 
When  he  made  the  voyage  and  sought  the  fortunes 
of  a  new  world  he  located  near  Piney  Grove  Church 
in  Forsyth  Co'unty,  and  in  that  locality  Ms  years 
were  quietly  and  prosperously  lived  until  his  death. 
He  married  Margaret  Alford  and  they  had  a  large 
family  of  fifteen  children. 

Their  son  Jacob  Crouse,  who  was  born  near 
Piney  Grove  Church  in  what  is  now  Forsyth  County, 
learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker.  At  that  time 
shoe  factories  were  practically  unknown  and  the 
trade  of  shoemaker  was  much  more  important 
than  it  is  today.  All  shoes  were  made  to  order  and 
he  conducted  a  good  business  with  a  shop  on  his 
home  farm  not  far  from  his  father 's  place.  His 
home  was  on  Silas  Creek  about  three  and  a  half 
miles  northeast  of  Clemmons.  In  1835  Jacob 
Crouse  sold  out  his  interests  in  North  Carolina 
with  the  intention  of  accompanying  a  colony  of 
local  people  to  Illinois  for  settlement  in  Sangamon 
County  in  that  state.  Just  before  the  party  was 
ready  to  start  he  was  taken  ill  and  died.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Rosa  Berath,  was 
born  on  a  plantation  on  Muddy  Creek  about  four 
miles  from  Clemmons.  Her  father  was  Henry 
Berath,  who  spent  all  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  that 
locality.  Henry  Berath  married  Catherine  Hart- 
man,  whose  father,  John  Hartman,  was  a  native  of 
Germany  and  on  coming  to  America  settled  in 
Forsyth  County,  North  Carolina,  among  the  earliest 
pioneers.  The  death  of  Jacob  Crouse  left  his 
widow  with  four  children  and  in  rather  limited 
circumstances.  She  faced  life  courageously  and 
managed  to  keep  her  household  together,  earning 
money  for  their  support  by  her  skillful  work  with 
the  wheel  and  loom.  She  was  accomplished  in  the 
arts  of  carding,  spinning  and  weaving,  and  not  only 
dressed  her  own  household  in  homespun  but  thereby 
provided  the  means  necessary  to  live.  Her  later 
years  were  made  comfortable  by  her  children,  and 
she  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  Her  four 
children  were  Julia,  William  Harrison,  Grandison 
and  Lydia  Catherine.  Mrs.  Lydia  Catherine 
Rominger  is  the  only  one  still  living. 

William  Harrison  Crouse,  who  was  born  in 
South  Fork  Township  in  November,  1827,  was 
eight  years  old  when  his  father  died.  In  spite 
of  his  slender  Years   he  soon   realized  an  unusual 


! 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


205 


sense  of  responsibility  in  connection  with  the 
npkeep  of  the  household.  He  assisted  his  mother, 
and  as  soon  as  possible  began  contributing  to  the 
support  of  the  family.  He  performed  this  duty 
in  a  manner  that  gave  him  a  permanent  satisfaction 
all  his  later  years.  He  remained  at  home  and 
worked  for  his  mother  and  sisters  until  he  was 
twenty-six,  and  then  bought  a  small  farm  of  his 
own  in  South  Fork  Township.  From  this  farm 
he  went  to  answer  the  call  of  duty  to  his  South- 
land, and  served  with  the  Confederate  army  from 
1864  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  That  was  the 
only  interruption  to  an  otherwise  prosperous  and 
quiet  career  as  a  farmer.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  home  and  lived  on  the  farm  until  his 
death. 

William  Harrison  Crouse  married  Caroline  Faw. 
She  was  born  near  Friedberg,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham and  Zilpha  (Blackburn)  Faw.  Both  the 
Blackburns  and  Faws  were  pioneers  of  Forsyth 
County.  The  Faws  were  Dunkards  in  religious 
belief  and  were  of  German  ancestry.  The  original 
German  spelling  of  the  name  was  Pfau.  Mrs. 
Caroline  Crouse  died  in  1910.  Her  ten  children 
were  Lewis,  Mary,  Augusta,  Sarah,  Jacob  F., 
Laura,  Alice,  Julia,  Emma  and  William. 

As  a  member  of  this  large  household  Jacob  F. 
Crouse  grew  up  and  was  well  trained  to  respect 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  others,  to  observe 
honesty  and  the  principle  of  industry,  and  his 
home  training  was  supplemented  by  studies  in  the 
district  school.  He  assisted  on  the  home  farm 
and  made  farming  his  regular  work  until  his 
twenty-fifth  year. 

Seeking  larger  and  better  opportunities,  he  then 
removed  to  Winston-Salem  and  entered  the  employ 
of  Fogle  Brothers  as  a  workman.  Two  years  later 
he  became  identified  with  the  A.  C.  Vogler  & 
Sons  Company,  and  was  with  that  firm  twelve 
years.  He  then  formed  his  present  association 
with  the  Huntly-Hill-Stockton  Company,  which 
is  one  of  the  largest  concerns  dealing  in  furniture 
in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  and  maintains  un- 
doubtedly the  most  complete  undertaking  equip- 
ment in  the  state.  Mr.  Crouse  is  now  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  company  and  is  also  buyer  and  is  well 
known  in  the  wholesale  markets  of  the  state  and  in 
various  northern  cities. 

Mr.  Crouse  was  first  married  in  1889,  to  Mary 
Ann  Vogler,  who  was  born  at  Salem,  North  Caro- 
lina, a  daughter  of  A.  C.  and  Antoinette  (Hauser) 
Vogler.  Mrs.  Crouse  died  in  1900  and  both  her 
children  died  in  infancy.  In  1902  Mr.  Crouse  mar- 
ried Henrietta  Walker,  also  a  native  of  Winston- 
Salem.  Her  parents  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  A. 
Walker.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crouse  have  three  children: 
Jacob  F.,  Jr.,  Elizabeth  and  Ruth.  The  family  are 
active  members  of  the  Home  Moravian  Church,  in 
which  Mr.  Crouse  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
elders.  He  is  affiliated  with  Salem  Lodge,  No. 
56,  Knights  of  Pythias,  with  Salem  Lodge,  No. 
36,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  with  Salem 
Council,  No.  14,  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  in  which  he  has  served  as  chairman  of 
the  board  of  trustees:  and  also  with  Croatian 
Tribe,  No.  27,  Improved  Order  of  Bed  Men. 

WrLSON  Durward  Leggett,  present  postmas- 
ter of  the  City  of  Tarboro,  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  agriculturists  in  the  state.  He  han- 
dles farming  on  a  scale  of  businesslike  efficiency. 
with  many  hundreds  of  acres  under  his  manage- 
ment, and  one  of  the  chief  individual  contribu- 
tors   to    North    Carolina 's    satisfactory    and    sub 


stantial  position  as  an  agricultural  commonwealth. 

Mr.  Leggett  was  born  at  Palmyra  in  Halifax 
County,  North  Carolina,  August  15,  1875,  a  son 
of  James  Wilson  and  James  Margaret  (Hodgesi 
Leggett.  His  father  was  also  a  merchant  and  ex- 
tensive farmer.  The  son  was  liberally  educated, 
attending  public  and  private  schools,  the  Scot- 
land Neck  Military  School,  the  Vine  Hill  Male 
Academy  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

His  first  practical  experience  m  business  was 
as  a  bookkeeper  in  a  general  store  ior  two  years, 
after  which  he  was  identified  with  the  tobacco 
business  for  a  time.  His  career  as  a  practical 
farmer  began  in  1900,  and  at  the  present  time  he 
is  individually  owner  of  1,000  acres,  while  his 
operations  cover  2,000  acres.  Mr.  Leggett  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Tarboro  by  President 
Wilson  in  1914.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Tar  Heel 
Club  and  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

October  14,  1899,  he  married  Miss  Catherine 
Howard,  of  Tarboro.  They  are  the  parents  of 
five  children:  Wilson  Durward,  Jr.,  William 
Thomas,  Julian  Howard,  Curtis  Baker  and  Mary. 

Angus  Wilton  McLean.  The  blood  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  and  oldest  Scotch  families 
dating  from  the  colonial  settlement  of  the  Caro- 
linas  flows  in  the  veins  of  this  well  known  lawyer, 
banker,  railroad  president,  cotton  manufacturer, 
political  leader  and  author  at  Lumberton.  Robe- 
son County  was  his  birthplace  on  April  20,  1870, 
and  he  is  a  son  of  Archibald  Alexander  and  Caro- 
line A.  (Pureell)  McLean.  In  the  paternal  line- 
age the  MacLeans,  the  MacEachins  and  MacQueens 
are  all  prominently  identified  with  North  Carolina 
history. 

The  McLeans  were  one  of  the  most  noted  of 
the  old  Scotch  families  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Cape  Fear  country  of  North  Carolina.  His  great- 
grandfather, John  McLean,  immigrated  to  Amer- 
ica from  the  Island  of  Mull  in  Scotland  in  1792. 
settling  in  what  was  then  the  upper  end  of  Robe- 
son (now  Hoke)  County,  North  Carolina.  The 
grandfather  was  Dr.  Angus  D.  McLean,  who  was 
born  in  Robeson  County,  and  gained  distinction  in 
his  profession  and  in  public  affairs. 

Dr.  Angus  D.  McLean,  married  Mary  Jane 
MacEachin.  She  was  a  granddaughter  of  Patrick 
MacEaehin,  who  was  one  of  the  first  Scotch  set- 
tlers in  the  Cape  Fear  country.  He  came  from 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Scotland  County,  North  Carolina,  near  the 
present  village  of  Riverton  in  1765.  Later  he 
moved  to  the  east  side  of  the  river  in  Robeson 
County,  at  what  is  known  in  the  old  land  titles  as 
Patrick  MacEachin  Bluff.  Col.  Archibald  Mac- 
Eachin, a  son  of  Patrick  and  the  father  of  Mary 
Jane  (MacEaehin)  McLean,  was  long  prominent 
in  the  early  history  of  Robeson  County.  He  served 
as  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  as 
Master  in  Equity  for  many  years,  positions  of 
much  responsibility  which  required  in  those  days 
that  the  incumbent  act  in  the  capacity  of  judge 
on  many  occasions. 

Col.  Archibald  MacEaehin  married  Sallie  Mae- 
Queen  a  daughter  of  Col.  James  MacQueen, 
another  noted  Scotch  character  in  North  Carolina. 
Col.  James  MacQueen  came  to  America  in  1765. 
a  young  unmarried  man,  and  in  that  year  settled 
in  Anson  County,  North  Carolina.  Later  he  re- 
moved to  Robeson  County,  and  after  his  mar- 
riage to  Ann  MacRae,  settled  on  a  piece  of  land 
on  Shoe  Heel  Creek  about  ten  miles  below  the 
present  town  of  Maxton.    The  settlement  that  grew 


206 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


up  there  became  known  as  Queensdale,  and  is  the 
center  of  much  historic  interest  in  North  Caro- 
lina. Col.  James  MacQueen  became  a  large  land 
owner,  owned  many  slaves  and  conducted  his 
planting  on  a  large  scale,  and  was  also  noted  in 
public  affairs.  He  represented  Robeson  County 
in  the  State  Legislature  in  1792,  1794  and  1803. 
He  was  clerk  of  the  court  and  master  in  equity 
for  the  county. 

Archibald  Alexander  McLean,  father  of  the 
Lumberton  "lawyer,  was  born  in  Eobeson  County, 
was  a  planter  by  occupation,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1906  was  serving  as  treasurer  of  the 
county.  He  had  served  throughout  the  Civil  war 
in  the  Confederate  army. 

His  wife,  Caroline  A.  Purcell,  who  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1914,  was  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Torrey 
and  Harriet  (Maclntyre)  .  Purcell.  Her  great- 
grandfather, Malcolm  Purcell,  emigrated  from 
Ulster,  North  Ireland,  about  1750  and  settled  in 
Cumberland  County,  North  Carolina,  where  the  city 
of  Payetteville  now  stands.  The  Purcells  were  of 
old  Scotch  stock  and  had  left  Scotland  and  had 
settled  in  the  North  of  Ireland  during  the  oppres- 
sive reign  of  King  James.  Alexander  Torrey 
Purcell  was  the  son  of  John  Purcell.  The  wife  of 
Alexander  Torrey,  Harriet  Maclntyre,  was  the 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Maclntyre.  Concerning  this 
pioneer  Scotch  Presbyterian  preacher  of  North 
Carolina  something  more  than  passing  mention 
should  be  made.  He  was  remarkable  both  for  his 
mental  and  physical  strength.  He  came  from 
Appin,  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  to  North  Carolina,  in 
1792,  first  settling  in  the  western  part  of  Cum- 
berland County  and  later  in  the  northern  part  of 
what  is  now  Hoke  County.  He  acquired  a  large 
tract  of  land,  3,500  acres,  and  gave  it  the  name 
' '  New  Garden. ' '  He  lived  to  be  103  years  old. 
After  he  had  celebrated  his  hundreth  birthday  he 
dedicated  old  Montpelier  Church  in  what  is  now 
Hoke  County.  He  retained  his  mental  and  phy- 
sical powers  almost  perfectly  until  after  he  had 
passed  the  century  mark  and  could  easily  read 
without  glasses  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
work  as  a  minister  was  largely  as  a  missionary  to 
the  pioneer  settlers  over  a  large  expanse  of  terri- 
tory in  both  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia 
and  Alabama.  He  would  preach  at  regular  inter- 
vals at  places  far  remote  from  each  other.  In 
those  settlements  that  were  entirely  Scotch  he 
would  preach  sermons  in  pure  Gaelic  as  well  as 
in  English.  It  is  said  that  he  acquired  a  proficient 
knowledge  of  both  Latin  and  Hebrew  after  lie  was 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  It  was  of  such  men  that 
the  old  testament  writer  spoke  when  he  said: 
' '  There  were  giants  in  those  days. ' ' 

Any  man  might  well  be  proud  of  such  ancestry. 
A  record  of  distinguished  forefathers  becomes  a 
distinctive  honor  to  the  individual  who  lives  up  to 
the  traditions  of  those  who  have  gone  before. 
Angus  Wilton  McLean  has  gone  beyond  and  con- 
tributed some  additional  points  of  prestige  to  the 
family  name. 

He  grew  up  in  the  country  near  Maxton,  attend- 
ed the  public  schools  there,  afterwards  was  in 
the  Laurinburg  High  School  under  the  noted  ed- 
ucator Prof.  W.  G.  Quakenbush,  and  studied  law 
in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  in  1891, 
and  in  the  same  year  opened  his  office  at  Lumber- 
ton.  Abundant  success  has  come  to  him  both  as  a 
lawyer  and  as  an  able  manager  of  large  industrial 
interests.     He  practiced  in  partnership  with  Judge 


Thomas  A.  MacNeil  until  the  latter  was  eleeted 
to  the  bench,  and  then  formed  a  partnership  with, 
his  cousin,  the  late  Colonel  McLean,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  latter 's  death.  Since  then  Mr. 
McLean  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Mc- 
Lean, Varser  &  McLean,  his  associates  being  Mr. 
L.  R.  Varser  and  Mr.  Dickson  McLean.  This  is 
a  firm  that  handles  a  great  volume  of  law  business 
both  in  the  state  and  federal  courts. 

Mr.  McLean  is  one  of  the  comparatively  few 
men  who  have  a  record  of  distinctive  achieve- 
ment outside  of  one  special  calling  or  profession. 
In  business  and  industrial  affairs  he  has  long 
played  an  important  part.  As  an  organizer  and 
promoter  of  industrial  enterprises  he  has  done 
much  toward  building  up  his  section  of  the  state. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  became  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Lumberton,  and  when  that  was 
succeeded  by  the  present  National  Bank  of  Lum- 
berton continued  as  its  president.  It  is  an  insti- 
tution of  splendid  financial  integrity,  and  is  housed 
in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best  appointed 
bank  structures  in  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Mo- 
Lean  is  vice  president  of  both  the  Lumberton  Cot- 
ton Mills  and  the  Dresden  Cotton  Mills,  is  a  di- 
rector of  the  Jennings  Cotton  Mills — all  three  be- 
ing important  local  industries.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Lumberton  Building  and  Loan  Association; 
promoted  the  financing  and  helped  to  build  the- 
Virginia  and  Carolina  Bailroad  from  Lumberton 
to  Hope  Mills,  and  from  St.  Paul  to  Elizabethtown, 
and  is  president  and  general  manager  of  that  in- 
dustrial line;  is  president  of  the  Robeson  Devel- 
opment Company,  president  of  the  McLean  Trust 
Company,  is  a  large  land  owner  and  extensively 
interested  in  farming  in  Robeson  County,  and  his 
financial  interests  extend  to  a  number  of  minor  con- 
cerns. 

The  political  responsibilities  that  have  been 
placed  upon  his  shoulders  make  him  one  of  the 
foremost  democrats  of  his  generation  in  North 
Carolina.  He  is  widely  known  in  both  state  and 
national  party  circles.  He  is  at  this  time  demo- 
cratic national  committeeman  from  North  Caro- 
lina, is  chairman  of  the  financial  committee  of  the 
national  organization  for  this  state,  and  directed 
the  raising  of  funds  for  the  national  campaign  in 
1916.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  State 
Executive  Committee,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  in  1904,  and  a 
delegate  at  large  to  the  National  Convention  at 
Baltimore  in  1912. 

While  his  business  and  financial  ability  have 
been  called  upon  so  liberally  to  aid  his  party,  he 
is  perhaps  even  more  widely  known  as  an  unusually 
forceful  and  persuasive  campaign  speaker.  His 
eloquence,  however,  is  heard  on  other  subjects  than 
political  themes.  He  has  well  earned  a  place 
among  North  Carolina  orators  of  the  present 
generation.  One  of  his  most  notable  addresses 
was  "Woodrow  Wilson,  an  Appreciation,"  deliv- 
ered before  the  Literary  Society  of  the  Antiooh 
State  High  School,  in  1914.  While  the  subject  of 
this  address  was  one  that  could  well  excite  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  author,  he  showed  unusual  lit- 
erary skill  in  its  handling  and  treatment,  and  the 
address  might  stand  as  a  literary  masterpiece. 
During  1916  Mr.  McLean  undertook  the  com- 
piling and  editing  of  a  history  of  the  early  Scotch 
settlements  in  the  early  Cape  Pear  section  of 
North  Carolina,  together  with  biographical  and 
genealogical  sketches  of  more  prominent  families. 
That  is  a  work  that  promises  to  be  a  most  meri- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


209 


the  military  authorities  who  instituted  the  rigid 
control  of  Reconstruction  times  and  under  their 
direction  William  H.  White  was  counted  out  and 
not  allowed  to  act  as  sheriff.  One  of  his  brothers, 
the  late  George  Montgomery  White,  was  a  law- 
yer of  prominence  and  a  leader  of  the  bar  in  the 
Cape  Fear  country  and  at  one  time  represented 
Bladen  County  in  the  Legislature. 

William  H.  White  married  Caroline  G-illespie, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-one.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Richard  S.  and  Mrs.  (Flowers)  Gil- 
lespie. Her  mother  was  of  pure  French  ancestry 
while  her  father  was  of  Irish  stock.  Richard  S. 
Gillespie  was  one  of  the  strong  and  positive  char- 
acters of  Bladen  County  and  impressed  his  ability 
on  local  history  in  many  ways.  He  became  con- 
spicuous during  war  times  and  in  the  violent  scenes 
which  characterized  the  reconstruction  period. 
About  1867  he  was  elected  register  of  deeds  of 
Bladen  County  by  the  regular  democratic  party. 
He  had  hardly  begun  his  official  duties  when  in 
1868  he  was-  removed  from  office  by  the  military 
authorities  who  were  establishing  the  reconstruc- 
tion regime  in  North  Carolina.  But  before  vacat- 
ing his  office  he  wrote  a  very  bitter  and  strongly 
worded  denunciation  of  those  directly  responsible 
for  his  removal  and  the  government  authority  be- 
hind them.  This  protest  he  made  an  official  doc- 
ument and  wrote  it  into  the  records  of  his  office, 
where  it  still  remains — a  tribute  to  his  courage 
and  fearlessness  in  the  faee  of  an  overwhelming 
and  arbitrary  power. 

Such  an  ancestry  is  a  worthy  heritage,  a  stimu- 
lus to  action  and  affording  a  standard  of  ideals 
and  conduct  from  which  Richard  S.  White  has 
never  deviated.  He  was  born  in  1857,  at  Eliza- 
bethtown.  Though  schools  were  somewhat  disor- 
ganized during  his  youth  on  account  of  the  war  > 
and  Reconstruction,  he  acquired  a  good  education. 
He  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina in  1882.  That  was  his  higher  literary  training, 
and  he  remained  in  the  same  institution  and  grad- 
uated in  law  in  18S5.  The  same  year  he  began 
practice  at  Elizabethtown,  and  his  name  has  since 
been  associated  with  many  of  the  most  important 
cases  and  legal  interests  of  the  local  and  state 
courts. 

Aside  from  his  standing  as  a  lawyer  special  in- 
terest pertains  to  Mr.  White  's  career  through  his 
activity  in  politics.  His  ancestors  were  stanch 
whig*.  From  them  he  probably  inherited  his  tend- 
ency to  classify  with  the  republican  party.  He  is 
and  has  been  a  republican  of  the  progressive  type. 
Tn  1912  he  went  as  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  at  Chicago.  He  refused  to 
assent  to  the  machine  rule  of  that  famous  conven- 
tion and  subsequently  joined  the  progressive  forces 
and  supported  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Though  representing 
the  minority  party  in  political  affairs  in  North 
Carolina  Mr.  White  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  in  1895  on  the 
republican  ticket.  His  most  important  work  in 
that  session  was  done  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  education.  He  was  also  second  on  the  com- 
mittee on  privileges  and  elections  and  served  on 
several  other  committees.  In  local  and  county 
affairs  he  has  been,  as  already  mentioned,  mayor 
of  Elizabethtown.  member  of  the  County  Board'  of 
Education  and  has  filled  other  positions  of  honor 
and   trust. 

Mr.  White  married  Miss  Eugenia  Rinaldi  White, 
a  daughter  of  .Tames  Monroe  White,  a  half 
brother  of  William  Heudon  White,  the  paternal 
grandfather  having  first  married  a  Miss  Beery, 
who  died  leaving  an  only  child.  .Tames  M.  White. 
•>       v— 14 


After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  the  grandfather 
married  a  Miss  Hendon.  The  maternal  grand- 
father of  Eugenia  Rinaldi  White  was  the  late 
John  W.  Rinaldi,  a  native  of  Italy,  who  came  to 
Bladen  County  early  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
first  locating  in  the  State  of  Florida,  and  then 
moving  to  Bladen  County.  Mrs.  White  died  in 
1893,  leaving  two  children:  Richard  S.,  Jr.,  and 
Mrs.  A.  A.  Melvin. 

Hon.  Eugexe  Jackson  Tucker.  Perhaps  no 
citizen  of  Eastern  North  Carolina,  has  a  more 
just  claim  to  distinction  that  is  worth  while  than 
Dr.  Eugene  Jackson  Tucker,  of  Roxboro,  North 
Carolina,  who  for  many  years  has  been  prominent 
professionally  in  this  state,  and  has  also  won 
enviable  reputation  in  public  life,  at  present  rep- 
resenting the  Seventeenth  District  in  the  North 
Carolina  State  Senate.  Both  in  private  and  public 
citizens,  and  is  exercising  wider  influence  in 
Legislative  halls,  Doctor  Tucker  has  been  usefully 
conspicuous  because  of  his  intelligent  public 
spirit  and  his  determined  upholding  of  high  ideals. 
The  confidence  he  has  inspired  has  been  shown  in 
other  directions  than  politics.  He  is  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  leading  banking  institutions  in 
Person  County,  the  Bank  of  Roxboro.  In  every 
organization,  from  his  school  days,  into  which 
professional  interest  or  personal  choice  has  led  him 
honors  have  been  bestowed  upon  him  by  friends 
and  associates  because  of  great  obvious  merit. 

Eugene  Jaeksou  Tucker  was  born  in  Charlotte 
County,  Virginia,  May  18,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  Archibald  and  Mary  (Tatum)  Tucker,  old 
residents  of  Charlotte  County,  Virginia,  the  father 
being  a  merchant  there  for  many  years.  The  son 
was  reared  in  his  native  state  and  primarily  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools.  In  1883  Reidsville, 
North  Carolina,  became  his  home,  and  there  he 
prepared  for  college,  in  18S9  entering  the  dental 
department  of  Vanderbilt  University,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  1890  with  his 
degree  of  D.  D.  S.,  having  been  president  of  his 
class.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to  Roxboro, 
which  city  has  since  been  his  home,  and  here  built 
up  a  large  and  substantial  practice  as  a  dental 
surgeon.  He  has  twice  been  president  of  the 
North  Carolina  Dental  Society,  and  for  six  years 
served  on  the  state  dental  examining  board.  Aside 
from  his  profession,  he  has  been  to  some  extent 
interested  in  business  enterprises,  and  also  farm- 
ing and  dealing  in  real  estate. 

Having  centered  all  his  interests  in  this  sec- 
tion and  watched  and  assisted  in  developing  many 
of  its  enterprises  it  was  a  laudable  ambition  in 
a  man  of  Doctor  Tucker 's  high  standing  and 
sincere  citizenship  to  desire  a  measure  of  political 
power  in  order  to  still  further  measures,  which  he, 
with  other  serious,  thoughtful,  progressive  men. 
have  long  considered  necessary  for  the  public 
welfare.  In  1915  he  was  elected  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  in  1917  was  elected  to  the  Senate 
from  the  Seventeenth  Senatorial  District.  In  this 
body  Ms  duties  have  been  manifold  because  of 
membership  on  many  important  committees,  be- 
ing chairman  of  the  public  health  committee,  and 
a  member  of  the  finance  and  educational  and  other 
important  committees.  For  years  he  has  been 
active  in  public  health  legislation,  in  conjunction 
with  Doctors  Rankin  and  Royster,  concerning 
public  health  conditions  in  North  Carolina.  For 
two  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  National 
Army  and  Navy  Dental  Legislative  Committee, 
and  at  present  is  the  United  States  Food  and  Fuel 


210 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Administrator  for  Person  County,  and  has  served 
as  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Roxboro. 

Doctor  Tucker  is  a  member  of  Person  Lodge 
No.  113,  Ancient  Free  &  Accepted  Masons,  of 
which  he  is  ex-master,  at  Roxboro,  and  belongs 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World  and  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  all  of  Eoxboro.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  Church  and  is  ever  mindful  of  its 
benevolent  claims.  In  1917  Doctor  Tucker  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina. 

Hon.  Stahle  Linn.  An  attorney  of  undeniable 
merit,  studious  and  industrious,  Hon.  Stahle  Linn, 
of  Salisbury,  is  devoted  to  his  profession,  and  by  a 
wise  application  of  his  natural  and  acquired  forces 
is  meeting  with  gratifying  success  in  his  legal  work. 
He  was  born  in  Salisbury,  a  son  of  Thomas  Calvin 
Linn  and  grandson  of  Robert  J.  Linn.  His  paternal 
great-grandfather,  David  Linn,  an  extensive  planter, 
spent  his  last  years  in  Rowan  County,  his  body  be- 
ing laid  to  rest  in  Organ  churchyard. 

Robert  J.  Linn  was  born  on  a  plantation  in 
Province  Township,  Rowan  County  and  in  that 
township  spent  his  entire  life.  Succeeding  to  the 
occupation  in  which  he  was  reared,  he  became  the 
owner  of  a,  valuable  plantation,  which  he  managed 
with  slave  labor,  living  upon  it  until  his  death  in 
1867.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Joicy 
C.  Redwine.  She,  too,  was  born  in  Providence 
Township  a  daughter  of  Pleasant  and  Mary  (Bar- 
ringer)  Redwine,  lifelong  residents  of  Rowan 
County.  Mrs.  Robert  J.  Linn  died  December  24, 
1914,  leaving  three  children:  Thomas  Calvin, 
Pleasant  David,  and  Marv  Eliza,  who  married  Dr. 
C.  M.   Van  Poole,  of   Salisbury. 

After  completing  the  course  of  study  in  the 
public  schools,  Stahle  Linn  was  fitted  for  college  at 
Horner 's  Military  Institute,  in  Oxford.  Continuing 
his  studies  then  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, he  was  there  graduated  with  the  class  of  1907, 
with  the  degree  of  Ph.  B.  An  ambitious  student, 
with  a  decided  preferment  for  a  legal  education, 
Mr.  Linn  then  entered  the  law  department  of  his 
alma  mater,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1908. 
Licensed  to  practice  the  same  year,  he  immediately 
became  associated  with  his  father,  a  well-known 
and  able  attorney,  and  has  since  commanded  his 
full  share  of  the  legal  patronage  of  Salisbury  and 
of  the  surrounding  country. 

Public-spirited  and  progressive,  Mr.  Linn  has 
ever  evinced  a  warm  interest  in  public  matters,  and 
in  1916  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  where  he 
served  on  the  judiciary  committee  and  the  com- 
mittee on  appropriations  proposition  and  griev- 
ances. Fraternally  Mr.  Linn  is  a  member  of  Ful- 
ton Lodge  No.  99,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Order  of  Masons. 

Jonas  Oettinger.  Of  the  business  citizens  of 
Wilson  who  through  their  sound  principles  and 
business  capacity  have  been  instrumental  in  ad- 
vancing the  progress  and  prestige  of  the  city  in 
a^commercial  and  financial  way,  none  have  played 
a  more  helpful  or  prominent  part  than  has  Jonas 
Oettinger.  A  resident  of  the  city  since  1869,  when 
he  came  here  as  a  lad  to  accept  a  clerkship  in 
his  uncle's  store,  he  has  steadily  advanced  to  a 
commanding  position  in  business  and  financial 
circles,  and  at  the  same  time  has  been  a  recog- 
nized power  in  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  institutions  which  have  made  for  business,  civic, 
educational  and  moral  advancement. 

Mr.   Oettinger   was   born  in  the   City  of  Balti- 


more, Maryland,  May  14,  1857,  a  son  of  Solomon 
and  Rosetta  (Rosenthal)  Oettinger.  His  father 
was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  merchandise  busi- 
ness, and  was  well  known  at  Baltimore,  where  he 
was  secretary  of  the  Baltimore  Oheb-Shalom  Con- 
gregation. The  education  of  Jonas  Oettinger  was 
secured  in  public  school  No.  1  in  his  native  city, 
which  he  attended  until  he  was  twelve  years  of 
age,  and  almost  immediately  thereafter  the  youth 
began  his  identification  with  business  affairs.  In 
1869  he  came  to  Wilson,  on  September  23  of 
which  year  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of 
his  uncle,  Emil  Rosenthal.  Here  he  learned  the 
business  thoroughly,  the  stock  of  the  establish- 
ment consisting  of  dry  goods,  clothing,  shoes,  etc., 
and  February  1,  1882,  when  Mr.  Rosenthal  en- 
tered a  larger  meehandising  field,  Mr.  Oettinger, 
with  his  brother  David,  purchased  the  business. 
This  partnership  continued  until  Mr.  David  Oet- 
tinger 's  death  in  1899,  during  which  years  the 
firm  received  constantly  increasing  patronage. 
The  business  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  .Oettinger  and 
his  son,  Elmer  R.  Progressive  methods,  honor- 
able policies  and  able  management  caused  the 
trade  to  grow  rapidly,  and  from  time  to  time 
the  facilities  for  handling  the  custom  were  of 
necessity  increased.  Today  the  Oettinger  Depart- 
ment Store,  as  the  business  is  now  known,  occu- 
pies a  modern  two-story  building  100  by  75  feet, 
complete  in  equipment  and  appurtenances,  and 
with  an  up-to-date  and  complete  stock,  also  an 
additional  wing  and  large  warehouse  in  which  re- 
serve stocks  are  carried.  The  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  this  business  is  an  excellent  example  of 
American  enterprise.  Mr.  Oettinger  has  vari- 
ous other  interests.  He  is  an  important  figure 
in  realty  circles,  being  president  of  the  Wilson 
Real  Estate,  Loan  &  Trust  Company  and  a  di- 
rector of  the  Home  and  Loan  Association,  and  is 
equally  well  known  in  financial  affairs,  being  vice 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilson 
and  of  the  Wilson  Trust  and  Savings  Bank.  As 
a  promoter  of  the  commercial  and  industrial  in- 
terests of  Wilson  he  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Wilson  Business  Men's  Association  and  of  the 
Wilson  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  at  this  time 
is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
latter  organization.  He  has  contributed  his  share 
to  the  development  of  the  public  school  system, 
and  for  years  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  Wilson  graded  schools.  Mr.  Oettin- 
ger is  a  member  of  the  B  'nai  B  'rith,  and  is  fra- 
ternally affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
governors  and  of  the  building  committee  of  the 
Country  Club,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Common- 
wealth Club.  He  was  likewise  active  in  the  es- 
tablishment  of   Atlantic   Christian   College. 

On  June  7,  1887,  Mr.  Oettinger  was  married 
to  Miss  Martha  Rosenthal,  of  Alexandria,  a 
daughter  of  Emil  and  Ernestine  Rosenthal,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  three  children:  Elmer  R., 
who  is  his  f ather  's  partner  in  the  department 
store;  Albert,  a  graduate  of  the  Wilson  High 
School  and  now  a  student  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina;  and  Miriam  R.,  who  is  a  student 
at    Goucher   College,   Baltimore. 

Elmer  R.  Oettinger  was  born  at  Wilson,  March 
9,  1889,  and  received  good  educational  advan- 
tages, attending  the  public  schools,  Oak  Ridge 
Institute,  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
where  he  was  a  student,  three  years.  On  the 
completion  of  his  education  lie  found  an  opening 
awaiting  him  at  his  father  's  business,  and  he  has 
since  made  the  most   of  his  opportunities  and  is 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


211 


now  known  as  one  of  the  leading  and  energetic 
young  business  men  of  the  city.  He  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  movements  which  have  ad- 
vanced the  business  interests  of  the  community, 
and  is  now  president  of  the  Merchants'  Associa- 
tion and  a  member  of  the  board  of  governors  of 
the  Wilson  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  holds  mem- 
bership also  in  the  Commonwealth  and  Country 
clubs,  and  is  a  Mason  of  high  rank,  belonging 
to  the  lodge,  chapter,  commandery  and  shrine. 
In  June,  1912,  Mr.  Oettinger  was  married  to 
Miss  Pearl  Lichtenstein,  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
and  they  have  two  children:  Elmer  B.,  Jr.,  born 
in   1914;    and   Josephine,   born   in   1916. 

Gut  Erastds  Dixon,  M.  D.,  neurological  spe- 
cialist, has  had  a  successful  experience  in  both  the 
general  and  restricted  branches  of  medicine  for 
many  years,  was  formerly  connected  with  the  West- 
ern North  Carolina  Hospital  for  the  Insane  and  is 
now  well  established  in  practice  at  Hendersonville, 
where  he  is  proprietor  of  the  Dixon  Health  Eesort, 
a  sanitarium  and  hospital  affording  special  ad- 
vantages and  professional  care  for  chronic  nervous 
disorders.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the 
Patton  Memorial  Hospital  (General). 

Doctor  Dixon  was  born  in  Cleveland  County, 
North  Carolina,  August  30,  1877,  son  of  Franklin 
Monroe  and  Amelia  (Thompson)  Dixon.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  merchant.  Doctor  Dixon  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  in  1903  graduated 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at 
St.  Louis.  Eeturning  to  his  native  state,  he  spent 
two  years  in  general  practice  in  his  native  county, 
and  then  for  one  year  was  assistant  physician  in 
the  Western  North  Carolina  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane. Since  October,  1906,  his  home  and  center 
of  practice  has  been  at  Hendersonville,  where  his 
work  as  a  specialist  in  nervous  diseases  has  more 
and  more  encroached  upon  the  time  he  could  afford 
to  general  practice.  Doctor  Dixon  is  a  member 
of  the  Henderson-Polk  County  Medical  Society, 
the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Southern  Medical  Association,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  of  Henderson- 
ville. 

October  9,  1902,  he  married  Miss  Nora  Alex- 
ander, of  Cleveland  County,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Dessie  Pauline. 

Everett  Irving  Bugg  is  one  of  North  Carolina 's 
most  successful  hotel  managers,  and  it  is  a  busi- 
ness to  which  he  has  *iven  his  every  thought  and 
study  since  as  a  boy  he  obtained  his  first  position 
as  a  night  clerk.  He  is  now  active  head  of  the 
leading  hostelry  in  the  City  of  Durham. 

Mr.  Bugg  was  born  in  Warren  County,  North 
Carolina,  July  2,  1885,  a  son  of  William  Emanuel 
and  Mary  (Smith)  Bugg.  His  father  was  a 
farmer,  and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  rural  environment. 
He  attended  the  Warrenton  High  School  and  the 
business  college  at  Norfolk,  and  then  accepted  an 
opportunity  which  brought  him  into  his  life  oc- 
cupation. Beginning  1904  as  clerk  at  a  cigar 
stand  in  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Hotel,  Hamlet, 
North  Carolina,  from  there  he  went  to  Greensboro, 
securing  the  position  of  front  office  clerk  at  the 
Huffine  Hotel.  Later,  in  1908,  he  went  to  Char- 
lotte as  chief  clerk  and  secretary  of  the  Stonewall 
Hotel  Company,  owning  and  operating  this  hotel. 
In  1912  he  bought  the  Hotel  March  at  Lexington, 
North  Carolina,  operated  it  two  years  and  then 
came  to  Durham,  where  he  bought  the  Durham 
Hotel   Corporation,   which  was   preparing  to   build 


the  Hotel  Malbourn,  and  had  an  active  part  in 
constructing  that  thoroughly  fireproof  modern 
hotel  at  a  cost  of  $175,000.  It  provides  125  guest 
rooms  and  is  one  of  the  most  complete  and  best 
equipped  hotels  in  the  state.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Durham  Rotary  Club,  has  served 
as  a  director,  and  is  a  former  director  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  Mr.  Bugg  has  been  prom- 
inent in  Masonry,  being  a  Knight  Templar  and  a 
Thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Eite  Mason,  and 
also  a  Shriner. 

On  July  5,  1912,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Hunt,  of  Lexington,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of 
Charles  Andrew  and  Margaret  (Leonard)  Hunt. 
They  have  two  bright  young  children,  Everett 
Irving,  Jr.,  and  Margaret  Prances. 

Broadus  Harvey  Griffin.  In  touching  upon 
matters  of  importance  relative  to  the  business 
growth  and  development  of  Ealeigh,  it  is  but  fitting 
to  dwell  upon  the  services  rendered  by  those  in- 
dividuals who  have  made  possible  the  present 
existing  conditions.  Without  their  vim  and  enter- 
prise the  City  of  Oaks  would  have  never  reached 
its  present  size  and  business  importance,  for  no 
community  can  be  greater  than  the  rank  and  file 
of  its  citizens.  These  men  have  contributed  by 
various  services  and  diversified  gifts  to  the  building 
up  of  the  capital  city — some  by  the  foundation  of 
law  and  municipal  order;  others  give  themselves 
to  founding  churches  and  schools';  still  others  open 
up  the  avenues  of  commerce  and  furnish  facilities 
for  the  transaction  of  business.  In  a  thousand 
different  but  converging  directions  they  bend  their 
energies,  according  to  some  occult  law  of  organiza- 
tion, to  the  common  weal.  Among  all  the  various 
lines  of  activity  none  is  more  promotive  of  the 
reputation  abroad  of  a  city  than  that  which 
furnishes  a  comfortable  home  for  the  traveler. 
Ealeigh  from  its  earliest  days  has  been  noted  for 
the  excellence  of  its  hotels,  and  since  1911,  when 
the  new  Yarborough  was  opened,  has  ranged  among 
the  first  in  sumptuous  furnishing  and  elegant  and 
comfortable  fare. 

Broadus  Harvey  Griffin,  president  and  manager 
of  the  B.  H.  Griffin  Hotel  Company,  which  operates 
the  Yarborough  Hotel,  is  a  man  of  broad  experience 
in  his  line  of  business,  having  been  engaged  therein 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  In  the  course 
of  his  long  and  successful  career  he  has  made  the 
most  of  his  opportunities,  fitting  his  resources  to  his 
needs  and  relying  absolutely  on  his  own  initiative 
and  ability,  so  that  his  prosperity  has  come  to  him 
through  no  adventitious  circumstance,  but  as  a 
result  of  his  own  earnest  efforts. 

Mr.  Griffin  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Franklin 
County,  North  Carolina,  February  7,  1867,  and  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Lucretia  (Freeman)  Griffin.  His 
father  was  a  lifelong  agriculturist  in  Franklin 
County,  an  upright  man  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
whose  industrious  life  was  rewarded  by  the  ac- 
cumulation of  a  modest  but  satisfying  competence. 
Broadus  Harvey  Griffin  was  given  good  educational 
advantages  in  his  youth,  first  attending  a  private 
school  in  his  native  county  and  later  Wakefield 
Academy  at  Wakefield,  North  Carolina.  In  that 
year  he  started  his  career  at  Goldsboro,  North 
Carolina,  where  he  was  engaged  as  a  cotton  buyer 
until  1893,  in  addition  to  which  for  several  years 
he  carried  on  the  business  of  manufacturing  and 
jobbing  ice.  In  1893,  with  shrewd  foresight, 
Mr.  Griffin  recognized  Coldboro's  need  for  an  im- 
proved hotel  for  the  accommodation  and  comfort  of 
the  traveling  public,  and  accordingly  leased  the 
Hotel  Kennon,  which  he  refitted  and  which  he  still 


212 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


operates.  In  1907  he  added  to  his  holdings  by 
leasing  the  Hotel  Gaston,  at  New  Bern,  which 
he  conducted  for  five  years,  and  in  1911  came 
to  Ealeigh,  where  he  became  the  lessee  of  the 
Yarborough  Hotel,  and  formed  the  B.  H.  Griffin 
Hotel  Company,  of  which  he  has  since  been  presi- 
dent and  manager.  This  is  one  of  the  best  known 
of  Raleigh 's  caravanseries,  and  is  vastly  popular 
with  the  traveling  public,  as  well  as  with  a  steady 
local  patronage.  Since  coming  to  Raleigh  Mr.  Grif- 
fin has  identified  himself  with  a  number  of  business 
enterprises,  and,  among  others,  is  at  this  time  a 
director  in  the  National  Bank  of  Goldsboro,  the 
Goldsboro  Savings  Bank,  the  Wayne  Agricultural 
Works  and  the  Smith  Hardware  Company.  He  has 
contributed  his  aid  to  the  advancement  of  business 
conditions  in  Raleigh  as  a  member  of  the  Rotary 
Club,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Merchants 
Association,  and  holds  membership  also  in  the 
Capital  and  Country  clubs,  in  which  he  has  won 
many  friends.  In  1917  he  was  appointed  by 
United  States  Commissioner  John  MacE.  Bowman, 
one  of  the  commissioners  of  North  Carolina,  to 
organize  the  hotels  and  restaurants  for  food  conser- 
vation. 

Mr.  Griffin  was  married  February  14,  1895,  to 
Miss  Margaret  Smith,  of  Goldsboro,  daughter  of 
William  H.  Smith,  a  well  known  merchant  and 
manufacturer  of  that   city. 

Frank  Smith  Wilkinson.  Among  the  old 
time  educators  of  North  Carolina  the  venerable 
Frank  Smith  Wilkinson  is  distinguished  by  more 
than  half  a  century  of  continuous  service  and  by 
almost  unexampled  devotion  and  usefulness  in 
his  calling. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  is  now  eighty-four  years  of  age. 
He  was  active  in  his  work  until  seven  years  ago. 
The  first  year  of  his  teaching  was  done  at  Ra- 
leigh, and  after  that  for  fifty-one  consecutive 
years  he  was  principal  and  active  head  of  a  male 
the  female  academy  at  Tarboro.  1>"  ing  that  long 
period  it  is  estimated  that  more  than  4,000  pu- 
pils entered  his  schools  and  fully  nine-tenths  of 
them  if  not  all  received  his  personal  instruction 
and  came  within  the  influence  of  his  benignant 
personality.  At  different  times  ten  states  of  the 
Union  had  representatives  in  his  school.  His  old 
students  have  filled  and  some  are  now  filling  with 
high  honor  and  great  ■  usefulness  positions  in 
church  and  state,  including  bishops  and  judges 
in  North  Carolina  and  elsewhere,  others  have  at- 
tained rank  in  army  and  navy,  the  professions  of 
medicine  and  law  have  been  recruited  from  his 
school,  and  not  a  few  have  held  chairs  in  leading 
colleges.  Many  others  rose  to  success  and  promi- 
nence in  commercial,  financial  and  agricultural 
occupations.  This  brief  summary  should  by  no 
means  omit  reference  to  the  girls  who  were  his 
former  students.  Many  of  them  became  success- 
ful teachers,  intelligent  wives  and  mothers,  and 
these  perhaps  constitute  the  greatest  asset  of  all 
in  making  the  country  today  and  acting  as  a 
leaven   of    enlightenment    and    Christian   culture. 

Frank  Smith  Wilkinson  was  born  in  Edgecombe 
County  on  a  farm  in  township  No.  5,  nine  miles 
north  of  Tarboro,  September  25,  1833.  His  par- 
ents were  Charles  and  Nancy  (Hollomnn)  Wilkin- 
son. The  Wilkinsons  followed  the  Edgecombs 
out  of  England  and  the  Hollomans  came  from  Vir- 
ginia and  were  also  of  English  stock.  Charles 
Wilkinson  was  born  in  Edgecombe  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  in  his  time  was  an  extensive  farmer 
and  prominent  locally  as  a  fox  hunter.     He  was  a 


devoted  friend  of  Elder  Joshua  Lawrence,  who 
was  a  prominent  preacher  of  the  Primitive  Bap- 
tist Church  and  also  known  as  a  writer. 

Frank  S.  Wilkinson  was  educated  in  three  dif- 
ferent schools  in  Edgecombe  and  Halifax  coun- 
ties, and  from  the  Tarboro  Male  Academy  entered 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1858  with  the  degree 
A.  B. 

Curiously  enough,  though  Mr.  Wilkinson  gave 
all  his  active  years  to  education,  it  was  not  his 
primary  ambition  and  purpose  to  follow  teaching. 
On  leaving  college  he  accepted  the  opportunity 
to  teach  and  manage  a  small  college  within  sight 
of  the  City  of  Raleigh,  on  the  old  Fayette  Road,  a 
little  beyond  the  old  governor 's  mansion.  No 
pupil  under  twelve  years  was  allowed  to  enter 
that  school.  It  had  two  departments,  one  for  girls 
and  one  for  boys.  Mr.  •  Wilkinson  says  that  the 
hardest  work  of  his  professional  career  was  done 
here.  He  had  just  come  from  college,  was  with- 
out experience,  and  also  suffered  the  handicap  of 
teaching  only  as  a  means  of  and  opportunity  to 
attend  law  school  at  Raleigh.  The  position  was 
tendered  him  through  Hon.  George  E.  Badger 
and  Hon.  John  H.  Bryan  at  the  solicitation  of 
their  sons,  Henry  Bryan  who  afterwards  became 
a  judge,  and  Richard  Badger. 

It  was  while  teaching  this  school  that  Mr.  Wil- 
kinson met  Miss  Annie  Stronch,  one  of  his  col- 
leagues in  the  teaching  staff,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  school  year  they  were  married.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Tarboro  to  visit  his  mother,  and  while 
there  the  trustees  of  the  Tarboro  Male  Academy 
elected  him  principal  of  that  famous  old  school. 
That  brought  him  his  permanent  position  and  con- 
nection in  school  affairs,  and  for  fifty-one  years 
he  was  at  the  head  of  the  academy  without  los- 
ing so  much  as  five  weeks  from  duty.  The  old 
institution  lost  its  buildings  by  fire  after  the 
war,  and  Mr.  Wilkinson  then  re-established  the 
school  as  an  independent  institution  under  his  in- 
dividual proprietorship.  It  had  two  departments, 
one  for  female  and  the  other  for  male  pupils. 
These  two  departments  were  kept  separate,  though 
most  of  the  teachers  did  work  both  among  the 
boys  and  the  girls. 

During  the  war,  as  the  school  had  an  average 
attendance  of  more  than  seventy-five  pupils,  Mr. 
Wilkinson  was  exempted  from  active  military  serv- 
ice in  the  Confederate  army,  though  he  was  re- 
quired to  drill  recruits.  That  was  a  continuous 
work  and  with  the  title  of  first  lieutenant  of  the 
Home  Guards  he  spent  euery  winter  and  summer 
vacation  on  military  duty,  sometimes  being  sent 
to  Newbern  and  Washington,  North  Carolina.  He 
was  also  employed  as  the  enrolling  officer  and 
in  the  quartermaster's  department  and  frequently 
hunted  up  deserters  in  adjacent  counties. 

Besides  his  duties  at  his  academy  Mr.  Wilkinson 
was  for  fifteen  years  superintendent  of  the  pub- 
lie  schools  of  Edgecombe  County.  During  that 
period  he  held  institutes  for  teachers  in  the  two 
counties  of  Edgecombe  and  Nash.  The  first  in- 
stitute in  the  state  was  held  in  Edgecombe  under 
his  supervision,  and  it  is  also  noteworthy  that  the 
first  literary  society  was  held  at  Tarboro  as  the 
outgrowth    of   the   institute. 

Politically  Mr.  Wilkinson  has  always  been  a 
democrat,  but  never  held  any  public  position  ex- 
cept during  Reconstruction  days.  He  has  never 
affiliated  witli  any  secret  society  except  of  a  lit- 
erary character,  though  at  the  close  of  the  war 
with    others    in    Tarboro   and    Edgecombe   County 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


213 


he  helped  form  a  temperance  society  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reclaiming  good  men  who  had  fallen  vic- 
tims to  excessive  drinking.  Mr.  Wilkinson  has 
never  had  an  active  church  membership,  though 
his  wife  and  children  have  all  been  Presbyte- 
rians. 

It  was  in  June,  1839,  at  Raleigh,  that  Mr. 
Wilkinson  and  Miss  Annie  M.  Stroneh  were  mar- 
ried. She  was  the  oldest  child  of  William  and 
Saliie  Stroneh.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Scot- 
land. Her  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sav- 
age, was  connected  with  the  family  of  the  noted 
General  MacGruder  of  Virginia.  Mrs.  Wilkinson 
had  one  sister,  Mary,  and  four  brothers.  Of 
these  brothers  George,  William  and  Alexander  all 
entered  the  war  before  they  were  seventeen  years 
of  age.  Her  youngest  brother  Frank  is  still  living 
at  Ealeigh. 

Professor  Wilkinson  and  wife  had  three  daugh- 
ters and  two  sons.  The  oldest  daughter,  Annie, 
married  Dr.  C.  C.  Cheney  and  went  out  to  the 
State  of  Kansas.  Sally  E.  married  Alexander 
Robertson,  now  of  New  York  City.  The  third  daugh- 
ter is  Mrs.  R.  E.  Jones,  of  Suffolk,  Virginia.  Both 
the  sons  are  now  living  at  Rocky  Mount,  North 
Carolina.  The  older,  W.  S.  Wilkinson,  married 
the  youngest  daughter  of  Professor  Wilkinson 's 
old  room  and  class  mate  for  seven  years,  George 
L.  Wimberley,  who  is  still  living  on  his  farm  in 
Edgecombe  County.  The  youngest  child  and  sec- 
ond son  married  Miss  Mary  Geiger. 

Hon.  Thomas  M.  Washington.  To  successfully 
manage  large  property  interests  and  at  the  same 
time  give  freely  of  judgment  and  efforts  towards 
a  betterment  in  administration  of  civic  and  legis- 
lative conditions  requires  more  than  ordinary 
ability.  Many  men  achieve  prosperity;  others  rise 
to  high  positions  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  but 
all  do  not  prove  equally  efficient  along  both  lines. 
When  a  man  is  found,  however,  who  has  demon- 
strated his  ability  as  a  sound,  reliable  and  success- 
ful business  man,  willing  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bilities of  public  life,  the  office  he  accepts  benefits 
accordingly.  Such  a  man  will  give  to  his  duties 
the  same  conscientious  and  capable  administration 
that  resulted  in  his  material  advancement.  Wilson 
County  and  others  have  benefited  greatly  from  the 
fact  that  Thomas  M.  Washington,  capitalist,  agri- 
culturist and  virile  business  man,  has  represented 
the  Sixth  District  of  North  Carolina  in  the  State 
Senate,  after  an  honorable  record  in  other  official 
positions  and  in  business  life. 

Hon.  Thomas  M.  Washington  was  born  in  Gran- 
ville County,  North  Carolina,  April  16,  1862,  his 
parents  being  M.  C.  and  Nancy  ( Jones)  Washing- 
ton. His  academic  education  was  secured  in  the 
local  schools  of  his  home  community,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1874,  and  much  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth  were  passed  on  the  home  farm, 
where  he  was  reared  to  habits  of  industry  and 
principles  of  integrity.  His  primary  education 
being  completed,  he  was  sent  to  Rnap  of  Reeds 
Academy,  which  institution  he  attended  in  1875 
and  1876,  and  later  he  was  a  student  at  Caldwell 
Institute.  His  early  training,  as  noted,  had  been 
in  the  field  of  agriculture,  and  the  vocation  of 
fanning  was  adopted  by  him  when  he  attained 
man's  estate  and  was  ready  to  enter  upon  a  career 
of  his  own.  Through  the  exercise  of  enterprise, 
hard  effort  and  good  management  he  became  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  property  when  still  a  young 
man,  and  as  the  years  have  passed  he  has  added  to 
his  acreage  until  he  now  is  in  possession  of  one 


of  the  best  farms  in  Wilson  County.  As  his 
resources  grew,  his  interests  expanded,  and  busi- 
ness affairs  soon  began  to  demand  a  large  share 
of  his  attention.  His  associates  in  various  ven- 
tures came  to  depend  upon  him  for  leadership,  and 
placed  him  at  the  head  of  business  organizations 
which  have  benefited  and  grown  under  the  stimu- 
lating power  of  his  business  acumen  and  foresight. 
At  this  time,  among  others,  he  is  vice  president  of 
the  Farmers  Cotton  Oil  Company,  president  of  the 
Wilson  Ice  and  Fuel  Company  and  president  of  the 
Wilson  Livestock  Company.  Always  honorable  and 
straightforward  in  his  dealings  and  true  to  his 
engagements,  his  name  lends  strength  and  solidity 
to  any  enterprise  with  which  it  is  identified. 

From  young  manhood  Mr.  Washington  has  been 
interested  in  public  affairs.  His  first  public  office 
was  that  of  register  of  deeds,  which  he  held  in 
Granville  County  from  1884  to  1886.  He  was  sent 
to  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Representatives  in 
1907  and  rendered  his  constituents  and  his  com- 
munity excellent  service  as  a  member  of  that  body. 
In  1908  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
National  Convention,  held  at  Denver,  Colorado,  and 
in  1913  became  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the 
state  senatorship  of  the  Sixth  District,  including 
the  counties  of  Franklin,  Nash  and  Wilson.  As 
senator  he  has  worked  faithfully  in  endeavoring  to 
represent  ably  and  helpfully  the  best  aims  of  the 
people  who  showed  their  confidence  in  his  ability 
and  integrity,  and  his  record  is  one  that  will  bear 
the  closest  scrutiny.  Although  a  man  of  distinc- 
tion, Mr.  Washington  is  as  easy  of  approach  as 
any  man  in  Wilson  County.  He  has  contributed 
liberally  towards  churches  and  benevolent  move- 
ments and  has  given  his  loyal  support  to  the  cause 
of  education.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  his  name 
stands  with  the  people  of  Wilson  as  a  synonym 
for  public  spirit  and  disinterested  patriotism.  He 
was  in  past  years  captain  of  the  Wilson  Military 
Company,  and  is  fraternally  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Masons. 

On  July  4,  1901,  Mr.  Washington  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Clarke,  widow  of  James  A. 
Clarke.  Mrs.  Washington's  maiden  name  was 
Nettie  E.  Ellis. 

Hugh  Waddell's  name  was  well  placed  among 
the  "Makers  of  North  Carolina,''  and  while  re- 
peated reference  to  his  services  in  the  twenty  years 
preceding  the  Revolution  are  demanded  by  any 
adequate  account  of  that  period,  this  brief  sketch 
is  confined  to  an  account  of  his  life  as  a  whole. 

He  was  of  the  Scotch-Irish  race,  noted  for  their 
love  of  liberty,  of  learning  and  of  religion,  and 
was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland  in  1737,  son  of 
Hugh  Waddell,  Sr.  In  1742  his  father,  having 
killed  a  man  in  a  duel,  fled  to  America,  bringing 
his  children  with  him.  Locating  at  Boston,  the  boy 
was  sent  to  school.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few- 
years  Hugh,  Sr.,  thought  he  could  safely  return ' 
to  Ireland,  but  on  reaching  that  country  found 
that  all  his  property  had  been  confiscated,  and 
he  soon  afterwards  died,  leaving  his  son  without 
any  estate. 

In  1753,  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  one 
of  his  father's  Irish  friends,  Arthur  Dobbs,  was 
appointed  governor  of  North  Carolina.  It  was 
this  that,  probably  was  the  chief  influence  in  at- 
tracting Hugh  Waddell  to  North  Carolina.  He 
arrived  in  the  colony  about  the  beginning  of  1754. 
He  had  been  in  the  colony  only  a  short  time  when 
its   assembly   voted   to   raise   a   regiment   to   serve 


214 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


against  the  French.  Hugh  Waddell  was  appointed 
one  of  the  lieutenants  of  the  command,  and  during 
the  campaign  in  Virginia  so  distinguished  him- 
self that  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain. 
Not  long  afterward  he  was  given  an  important 
command  to  protect  the  western  frontier  of  North 
Carolina  from  Indians,  and  in  1755  was  selected 
to  built  a  fort  and  take  command  of  the  garrison. 
He  carried  out  this  important  duty  with  charac- 
teristic promptness  and  energy,  and  when  the  fort 
was  constructed  he  named  it  Fort  Dobbs  in  honor 
of  the  governor.  Fort  Dobbs  was  near  the  site 
of  the  present  Town  of  Statesville,  and  then  and 
for  several  years  remained  the  most  important 
military  post  in  the  colony.  Captain  Waddell 
remained  in  command  two  years,  and  in  the 
words  of  the  governor  was  ' '  in  every  way  quali- 
fied for  such  a  command,  as  he  was  young,  active 
and  resolute. ' ' 

His  next  brilliant  exploit  was  the  relief  of  the 
English  garrison  at  Fort  Loudon  on  the  Tennessee 
River.  He  took  some  of  the  best  men  from  the 
garrison  of  Fort  Dobbs,  made  a  toilsome  and 
dangerous  over-mountain  march  in  1757,  and  after 
accomplishing  his  purpose  returned  to  North 
Carolina,  and  was  soon  afterward  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  major. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  colonies  had 
become  involved  in  the  Seven  Year  war,  as  it  was 
known  in  Europe,  the  American  war  being  more 
familiarly  called  the  French  and  Indian  war. 
Major  Waddell  commanded  the  North  Carolina 
Troops  in  the  notable  campaign  against  the  French 
and  Indians  of  Western  Pennsylvania  in  1758, 
known  in  history  as  the  Forbes  Expedition.  He 
and  his  Carolina  riflemen  were  among  the  most 
experienced  in  methods  of  Indian  warfare,  and 
General  Forbes  placed  Major  Waddell  and  his 
detachment  along  with  Colonel  Washington  and 
his  Virginia  followers  in  the  front  of  the  army 
to  act  as  scouts,  pioneers  and  road  makers  in  that 
long  and  toilsome  march  over  the  mountains,  end- 
ing with  the  attack  upon  and  capture  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  which  after  falling  into  Washington's 
hands  was  changed  to  Fort  Pitt.  It  is  said  that  the 
first  member  of  the  English  expedition  to  enter 
Fort  Duquesne  was  a  large  dog  belonging  to 
Major  Waddell.  For  his  services  in  that  campaign 
Hugh  Waddell  was  promoted  to  colonel. 

During  the  winter  of  1759-60  Colonel  Waddell 
was  busy  in  protecting  Fort  Dobbs  and  the 
western  frontier  from  the  hostile  Indian  tribes. 
In  February,  1760,  his  little  garrison  was  besieged 
by  Indian  forces  many  times  its  number,  but 
Colonel  Waddell  handled  Ms  men  so  resourcefully 
and  inspired  them  to  such  deeds  of  courage  that 
the  enemy  was  driven  off  with  great  confusion. 
In  the  campaign  of  the  following  year  Colonel 
Waddell  commanded  the  North  Carolina  Troops  in 
the  great  expedition  sent  by  North  Carolina,  South 
.  Carolina,  and  Virginia  against  the  western  Indians, 
terminating  in  a  brilliant  victory  near  the  present 
Town  of  Franklin  in  Macon  County. 

As  his  biographer  states:  "Colonel  Waddell 
had  now  become  the  foremost  soldier  in  North 
Carolina.  As  an  Indian  fighter  he  had  no  equal 
in  the  province  and  no  superior  anywhere.  He 
had  learned  all  the  tricks  of  the  savage  and  he 
knew  how  to  meet  them.  His  hard  life  on  the 
frontier  had  made  him  used  to  hardships  and 
dangers.  He  had  grown  into  a  large,  powerful 
man,  with  strong,  active  limbs,  broad  chest  and 
shoulders.     As  a  leader  he  was  fearless,  cool  and 


calm  in  the  midst  of  danger,  and  quick  to  see  the 
best  way  out  of  it. ' ' 

Not  all  his  time  was  taken  up  with  fighting. 
In  1757,  while  in  command  at  Fort  Dobbs,  he  was 
elected  to  represent  Rowan  County  in  the  As- 
sembly, and  attended  the  session  of  that  year  at 
Winning-ton.  While  there  he  experienced  the 
romance  of  his  life,  and  fell  a  captive  in  love 
to  Mary  Haynes,  daughter  of  Capt.  Roger  Haynes, 
an  officer  of  the  British  Army.  Captain  Haynes 
owned  a  fine  place  named  "Castle  Haynes"  near 
Wilmington.  After  his  marriage  Colonel  Waddell 
made  his  home  at  Wilmington,  but  owned  several 
plantations  in  Eowan,  Anson,  New  Hanover  and 
Bladen  counties.  His  favorite  residence  was  at 
Bellefont  in  Bladen  County  on  the  Cape  Fear, 
about  two  miles  below  Elizabethtown. 

In  1760  Colonel  Waddell  was  again  elected  a 
member  of  the  Assembly,  and  after  his  removal  to 
Bladen  County  he  was  elected  four  times.  He  was 
also  recommended  to  the  king  for  appointment  to 
the  Council,  by  both  Governor  Dobbs  and  Gover- 
nor Tryon. 

Hugh  Waddell  was  the  leader  of  the  North 
Carolina  forces  in  active  resistence  to  the  notor- 
ious stamp  act,  and  in  November,  1765,  was 
commander  of  the  armed  colonists  who  assembled 
on  the  banks  of  Cape  Fear  and  forbade  and  pre- 
vented the  captain  of  the  English  war  vessel 
Diligence,  from  bringing  the  stamps  to  shore. 
On  this  occasion  Colonel  Waddell  placed  himself 
squarely  in  opposition  to  Governor  Tryon  and  the 
king's  government,  but  only  a  little  later  he  stood 
by  Governor  Tryon  in  his  fight  against  the  regu- 
lators, who  were  in  open  rebellion  and  refusing 
to  obey  the  laws  or  to  pay  taxes.  There  is  good 
ground  for  holding  that  Colonel  Waddell 's  course 
was  justified  by  consistency  rather  than  incon- 
sistency. He  was  an  enemy  both  of  tyranny  and 
of  lawlessness,  and  the  regulators  he  considered  a 
lawless  body.  Hugh  Waddell  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Tryon  as  general  of  the  army  raised  by 
the  governor  to  oppose  the  regulators.  However. 
Waddell  did  not  arrive  in  Alamance  in  time  to 
take  part  in  the  famous  battle  there. 

In  1772  General  Waddell  started  on  a  trip  to 
England,  but  was  suddenly  taken  ill  before  board- 
ing ship,  and  after  nearly  a  year  of  suffering  died 
April  9,   1773. 

Bosworth  Clifton  Beckwith  during  his  thirty 
years  of  honorable  and  active  membership  in  the 
North  Carolina  bar  has  attained  position  and  in- 
fluence that  ranks  him  among  the  ablest  lawyers  of 
his  state.  Born  in  New  Hanover  County,  North 
Carolina,  October  2,  1859,  a  son  of  James  L.  S.  and 
Evelyn  (Clifton)  Beckwith,  he  is  the  son  of  a  man 
who  rose  to  distinction  in  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine and  in  the  service  of  his  home  state  and  nation. 
Dr.  James  L.  S.  Beckwith  was  appointed  to  mid- 
shipman in  the  United  States  navy  by  President 
John  Tyler,  but  resigned  from  the  navy  in  1846. 
He  took  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  and  applied  himself  to  the  private 
practice  of  medicine.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
between  the  states  lie  entered  the  Confederate 
army  and  served  with  the  rank  of  surgeon  until 
he  was  killed  in  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Bosworth  C.  Beckwith,  who  was  six  years  of  age 
when  his  father  died,  was  liberally  educated, 
graduating  A.  B.  in  1883  from  Trinity  College, 
North  Carolina,  and  then  pursuing  his  law  course 
in  the  Greensboro  Law  School.     He  was  admitted 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


215 


to  practice  law  by  the  Supreme  Court  in  February, 
1884,  and  a  few  years  later,  in  1887,  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Raleigh,  where  he  has  since 
looked  after  his  large  general  practice. 

1  n  the  meantime  frequent  honors  have  come  to 
him  in  public  life.  In  1885  he  was  engrossing  clerk 
In  the  State  Senate.  From  1884  for  ten  years  he 
served  as  secretary  of  the  State  Democratic  Com- 
mittee. He  was  elected  and  served  for  fourteen 
vears  as  a  commissioner  of  internal  improvements 
'for  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  In  1900  Mr. 
Beckwith  was  a  presidential  elector  on  the  demo- 
cratic ticket,  and  for  the  past  six  years,  from  1910 
to  1916,  he  has  given  a  capable  service  as  county 
attorney  of  Wake  County.  His  service  covered 
three  terms  of  two  years  each.  He  is  one  of  the 
honored  members  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation. 

February  2,  1S92,  in  Wake  County,  Mr.  Beck- 
with married  Iola  Bledso.  They  have  two  children. 
Clifton  Warren  Beckwith  was  educated  in  the 
literary  and  law  departments  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  graduating  in  February,  1916, 
and  is  now  in  early  practice  at  Raleigh.  Chloe, 
the  only  daughter,  is  a  graduate  of  St.  Mary's 
School. 

Of.orge  D.  Hodgin.  The  Hodgin  family  has 
been  closely  identified  with  the  commercial,  civic 
and  institutional  life  of  Winston-Salem  for  half 
a  century.  Among  the  former  business  men  of 
the  city  the  name  of  Stephen  Hodgin  is  espe- 
cially well  remembered.  His  son,  George  D.  Hod- 
gin, Jias  also  been  active  in  commercial  life  and 
during  the  past  ten  years  has  developed  some  of 
the  most  attractive  residence  districts  in  the  sub- 
urban sections. 

The  High  School  Building  and  the  Young 
Men 's  Christian  Association  Building  now  mark 
the  site  formerly  occupied  by  the  old  Hodgin 
homo,  which  stood  on  Cherry  Street  at  the  cor- 
ner of  West  Fourth.  That  home  was  occupied 
by  the  late  Stephen  Hodgin  for  mauy  years.  Ste- 
phen Hodgin  was  born  in  Randolph  County,  North 
Carolina,  February  8,  1827.  His  parents  were 
natives  of  England  and  were  members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  Stephen  acquired  a  good  busi- 
ness education  and  as  a  young  man  went  to 
Virginia,  where  he  clerked  in  a  mercantile  es- 
tablishment for  several  years.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  between  the  states  he  returned 
to  North  Carolina  and  became  an  employe  of  the 
Confederate  Government.  For  the  Government  he 
operated  a  general  supply  store  in  Randolph 
County,  and  his  capable  energies  were  employed  in 
that  direction  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
then  removed  to  Bairdstown,  where  he  was  a 
merchant  for  several  years,  but  in  1868  came  to 
Winston  and  thenceforward  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  city  until  he  retired  sev- 
eral years  before  his  death.  He  was  first  in 
business  with  N.  D.  Sullivan,  their  store,  con- 
ducted under  the  name  Hodgin  &  Sullivan,  being 
located  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Liberty  and 
Fourth  streets.  Later  George  Hinshaw  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  firm,  the  name  being  Hodgin, 
Hinshaw  &  Company.  When  Mr.  Hinshaw  with- 
drew the  firm  again  became  Hodgin  &  Sullivan. 
Soon  after  coming  to  Winston  Stephen  Hodgin 
became  a  member  and  treasurer  of  the  Planters 
Warehouse  Company.  This  Company  erected 
a  warehouse  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Trade 
and  Fifth  streets.  The  building  was  leased  to 
M.    W.    Norfleet.      Stephen    Hodgin   had    unusual 


business  ability,  and  his  power  and  influence 
were  recognized  for  the  good  of  the  community 
during  the  many  years  he  lived  in  Winston- 
Salem. 

Stephen  Hodgin  married  Lucy  Moir.  She  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Rockingham  County,  North 
Carolina,  February  24,  1832.  Her  father,  Alex- 
ander Moir,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  settled 
in  Rockingham  County  when  he  came  to  America, 
bought  some  extensive  land,  and  operated  a 
plantation  with  the  aid  of  slave  labor.  Besides 
farming  he  was  a  tobacco  manufacturer.  Alex- 
ander Moir  reared  a  large  family  of  children. 
Stephen  Hodgin  and  wife  had  four  children: 
Anna,  who  married  John  W.  Hanes;  James 
Moir,  deceased;  George  D.;  and  Mary,  deceased. 
George  D.  Hodgin  was  born  at  Bairdstown 
in  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina,  October  24, 
1867.  He  came  to  Winston  when  an  infant, 
grew  up  in  that  city  and  attended  the  public 
schools.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  started  out 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  His  first 
employment  was  as  collecting  teller  for  the 
First  National  Bank.  After  four  years  in  that 
position  he  was  promoted  to  head  bookkeeper 
and  remained  with  the  bank  three  years  longer. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  resigned  to  engage 
in  tobacco  manufacturing  with  his  brother  James 
and  L.  L.  Lunn.  His  brother  died  about  three 
years  later,  and  he  and  Mr.  Lunn  then  contin- 
ued the  business  until  Mr.  Lunn's  death  three 
years  later.  The  business  was  then  discontinued. 
From  tobacco  manufacturing  Mr.  Hodgin  en- 
gaged in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business. 
He  was  associated  with  G.  A.  Follin  under  the 
name  of  Follin  &  Hodgin,  but  after  three  years 
sold  his  interests  and  then  organized  the  Realty 
Exchange  of  which  he  is  president  and  principal 
owner.  In  1906  Mr.  Hodgin  bought  200  lots  in 
what  is  known  as  Liberty  Heights  in  North  Win- 
ston-Salem. He  has  used  a  great  deal  of  care 
in  developing  this  property  for  residence  pur- 
poses and  much  the  greater  part  has  been  sold 
to  individual  purposes.  He  subsequently  -bought 
the  land  near  the  Granville  school  in  West  Win- 
ston-Salem, and  also  in  the  locality  known  as 
Lewis  Heights  in  North  Winston.  Each  of  these 
tracts  have  been  developed  and  that  develop- 
ment has  added  materially  to  the  expansion  and 
improvement  of  the  city. 

Outside  of  busines  affairs  Ml  Hodgin  takes 
his  greatest  delight  in  his  church.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  West  End  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  His  affiliation  formerly  was  with  the 
Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  he 
was  a  member  of  its  board  of  stewards  in  1887. 
In  1888  the  quarterly  conference  voted  to  build 
a  church  in  North  Winston.  Mr.  Hodgin  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  building  committee 
and  trustee.  A  lot  was  bought  and  the  church 
edifice  erected  in  1889.  It  was  named  the  Burk- 
head  Church,  in  honor  of  a  former  pastor  of 
Centenary  Church.  It  is  now  known  as  Burk- 
head  Institutional  Church.  In  December,  1909. 
Mr.  Hodgins  became  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  West  End  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
being  elected  one  of  its  first  trustees  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  building  committee.  Services  were 
held  in  the  chapel  of  the  West  End  graded 
school  building  until  the  church  building  was 
completed  in  1912.  In  1910  this  church  had 
a  membership  of  262,  while  in  1916  its  member- 
ship rose  to  more  than  600.  Mr.  Hodgin  is  a 
member  of  the  Bible  class  of  its  Sunday  school. 


216 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


He  is  a  member  and  has  served  as  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Twin  City  Club.  He  was  a  member 
of  its  finance  and  building  committee  when  in 
1912  the  present  home  of  the  club  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $50,000.  This  club  has  a  member- 
ship of  500,  the  membership  being  limited  to 
that  number,  and  there  is  a  large  waiting  list. 

James  Lafayette  Egerton,  M.  D.  In  the  prac- 
tical work  of  his  profession  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon  and  in  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
medical  fraternity  and  welfare  of  the  community 
Doctor  Egerton  is  one  of  the  conspicuous  citizens 
of  Hendersonville,  where  he  has  lived  and  practiced 
his  calling  for  forty  years.  He  is  a  fine  representa- 
tive of  the  older  type  of  medical  practitioners  and 
at  the  same  time  has  all  the  ability  and  skill  of  the 
modern  doctor,  and  is  highly  esteemed  for  the  con- 
scientious devotion  he  has  given  to  the  duties  of 
his  calling. 

Dr.  Egerton  was  born  in  Rutherford  County, 
North  Carolina,  November  30,  1856,  a  son  of  Dr. 
Thomas  E.  and  Sarah  (Logan)  Egerton.  He  had 
a  worthy  example  before  him  to  lead  him  into  the 
choice  of  a  profession,  since  his  father  practiced 
medicine  from  early  days  until  the  closing  years 
of  his  life  and  also  served  with  the  rank  of  sur- 
geon in  the  Confederate  Army.  Dr.  James  L.  was 
liberally  educated,  having  attended  public  schools, 
Yarborough  Academy  at  Eorest  City,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  took  his  medical  work  in  the  University 
of  Maryland  Medical  Department  at  Baltimore, 
where  he  graduated  M.  D.  in  1877.  In  July  of  the 
same  year  he  located  at  Hendersonville,  and  that 
city  has  been  the  home  and  the  center  of  his  labo- 
rious life  ever  since.  He  has  handled  a  general 
practice,  was  for  years  an  active  member  of  the 
Board  of  Health,  and  is  a  member  in  high  stand- 
ing of  the  Henderson  County,  North  Carolina,  Tri- 
State  and  Southern  Medical  societies  and  the 
American  Medical  Association. 

Doctor  Egerton  has  also  been  called  and  has 
responded  to  various  demands  upon  his  time  for 
public  duty.  Eor  four  years  he  was  postmaster 
of  Hendersonville.  He  has  been  a  director  since 
organization  of  the  First  Bank  &  Trust  Company 
and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Doctor  Egerton  married  for  his  first  wife 
Martha  Fletcher,  daughter  of  Dr.  George  W. 
Fletcher,  of  Fletcher,  Henderson  County.  Mrs. 
Egerton  died  leaving  three  children:  Josephine, 
wife  of  Dr.  William  E.  Kirk;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Erskin  Ehringhouse,  a  dentist;  and  Estelle,  wife 
of  Perry  Quatterbaum,  of  Conway,  South  Caro- 
lina. In  1893  Doctor  Egerton  married  for  his 
present  wife  Effie  Burroughs,  of  Conway,  South 
Carolina,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  G-.  Bur- 
roughs. Mr.  Burroughs  was  a  Confederate  sol- 
dier, going  through  the  entire  war,  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  men  of  his  locality,  a  general 
business  man,  and  the  founder  of  ' '  The  Burroughs- 
Collins  Company"  at  Conway. 

Martin  Luther  Kesler,  D.  D.  As  general 
manager  of  the  Thomasville  Baptist  Orphanage, 
Martin  Luther  Kesler  has  proved  himself  a  wise 
and  efficient  administrator,  executing  the  affairs 
of  the  institution  with  great  skill,  keen  foresight, 
and  much  ability,  being  alert  in  promoting  its 
scholastic  status  and  in  the  furtherance  of  its 
Christian  ideals.  A  native  son  of  North  Carolina, 
he  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Cool  Spring  Township, 
Iredell  County,  coming  from  pioneer  ancestry.  His 
grandfather  Kesler,  a  prosperous  planter,  was,  as 


far  as  known,  a  life-long  resident  of  Eowan 
County,  North  Carolina. 

Charles  Washington  Kesler,  Mr.  Kesler 's  father, 
was  born  and  brought  up  in  Eowan  County,  and 
being  studiously  inclined  acquired  a  very  good 
education  when  young.  At  the  beginning  of  his 
active  career  he  taught  school  for  a  while.  Later 
he  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  having 
settled  on  land  in  Cool  Spring  Township,  Iredell 
County,  was  there  a  resident  until  his  death,  at 
the  venerable  age  of  eighty-six  years.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  was  Elizabeth  Lazenby.  She 
was  born  in  Cool  Spring  Township,  a  daughter  of 
Eobert  and  Margery  (Lewis)  Lazenby.  Her 
father  taught  school  in  Iredell  County  when  young, 
and  was  afterwards  a  farmer  until  his  death. 
,  Mr.  Kesler 's  mother  was  but  fifty  years  old  when 
called  to  the  life  beyond.  To  her  and  her  husband 
five  children  were  born,  namely :  Martin  Luther, 
John  Lewis,  Minnie  May,  Mary  and  Margery. 

Brought  up  on  the  home  farm,  Martin  L.  Kesler 
first  attended  a  subscription  school,  and  later  was 
a  pupil  in  a  free  public  school.  Fitted  for  a 
higher  education  at  Cool  Spring  Academy,  and  at 
Moravian  Falls  Academy,  where  for  three  years 
he  was  under  the  tutelage  of  Prof.  George  W. 
Greene,  he  entered  in  1885,  Wake  Forest  College, 
and  was  there  graduated  three  years  later  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His  alma  mater  later 
conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity.  Mr.  Kesler  then  entered  the  Southern 
Baptist  Theological  Seminary  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1891.  Returning  to  North  Carolina,  he  was,  or- 
dained to  the  ministry  at  his  old  home  church  in 
Iredell  County,  and  immediately  after  that  event 
accepted  the  pastorates  of  the  Spring  Hill  and 
Laurinburg  churches  in  Scotland  County,  where 
he  remained  five  years.  The  ensuing  year  Mr. 
Kesler  had  charge  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  High 
Point,  from  there  going  to  Rocky  Mount,  Edge- 
comb  County,  where  he  was  engaged  in  his  minis- 
terial work  for  two  and  a  half  years.  Accepting 
then  a  call  to  Scotland  Neck,  he  was  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  Church  there  for  three  and  a  half 
years.  In  1903  Mr.  Kesler  assumed  charge  of  a 
chureh  at  Morganton,  North  Carolina,  and  served 
as  its  pastor  for  two  years,  resigning  in  1905  to 
accept  his  present  position  as  general  manager  of 
the   Thomasville   Baptist  Orphanage. 

This  orphanage  was  opened  November  11,  1885, 
with  three  members,  a  widow  and  two  children. 
Improvements  and  enlargements  of  much  value 
have  since  been  made,  many  of  them  having  been 
made  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Kesler.  The 
estate  at  the  present  time  consists  of  a  tract  of 
land  containing  450  acres,  a  part  of  it  lying  within 
the  city  limits.  A  branch  of  the  institution  known 
as  the  Kennedy  Memorial  Home,  was  opened  in 
1914  with  fifty  children.  Connected  with  this 
branch  of  the  orphanage  is  a  farm  of  1,200  acres 
of  land.  The  many  substantial  buildings  at 
Thomasville,  mostly  of  brick  are  conveniently  ar- 
ranged, and  will  easily  accommodate  500  pupils. 
Under  a  corps  of  efficient  teachers  the  boys  and 
girls  of  the  institution  are  prepared  for  college, 
and  while  the  girls  are  taking  lessons  in  domestic 
science  the  boys  are  taking  lessons  in  manual 
training  and  being  taught  useful  trades. 

Mr.  Kesler  married,  in  1892,  Ethel  Browne, 
who  was  horn  in  Aiken,  South  Carolina,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  J.  C.  Browne,  a  prominent  Baptist  minister. 
Of  their  union  three  sons  have  been  born,  namely: 
John  Malcolm,  a  graduate  of  Wake  Forest  College, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


217 


is  now  employed  as  a  mechanical  engineer;  James 
Courtney,  a  student  at  Wake  Forest  College;  and 
Martin  L.,  Jr.,  a  fourth-grade  pupil  at  the 
Orphanage. 

Prominent  and  active  in  educational  circles,  Mr. 
Kesler  is  a  trustee  of  both  Wake  Forest  College 
and  Meredith  College,  and,  by  appointment  of  the 
governor,  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
for  the  School  for  the  Blind  at  Ealeigh,  and  like- 
wise a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities 
and  Public  Welfare. 

Wallace  Carl  Biddick.  If  a  great  educational 
institution  can  express  the  personalities  and  indi- 
vidual effort  of  one  man,  no  better  illustration  could 
be  found  than  the  close  relationship  which  exists 
between  the  North  Carolina  State  College  of  Agri- 
culture and  Engineering  and  its  beloved  president, 
W.  C.  Biddick.  Mr.  Biddick  has  been  a  member  of 
the  faculty  and  one  of  the  executive  officers  of  the 
college  since  1892,  when  he  was  elected  to  fill  the 
chair  of  engineering  and  mathematics.  His  fame 
as  an  engineer  is  widespread  over  North  Carolina, 
but  aside  from  what  he  has  done  as  a  member  of 
that  profession,  he  has  exercised  his  most  potent 
influence  upon  the  great  body  of  students  who 
have  from  year  to  year  assembled  within  the  halls 
of  the  Agricultural  and  Engineering  College  and 
from  that  institution  have  gone  out  to  perform  the 
tasks  fitted  to  their  powers  and  carry  the  influence 
of  the  college  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  state. 

For  seven  years  Mr.  Biddick  served  as  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Agricultural  and  Engineering  College 
and  at  the  1916  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees 
he  was  unanimously  elected  for  the  presidency. 
That  was  only  a  fitting  mark  of  appreciation  for 
his  many  years  of  unceasing  devotion  to  the  school. 
Next  to  the  honor  thus  conferred  by  the  board  of 
trustees,  Mr.  Biddick  takes  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
the  action  of  the  body  of  alumni  of  the  college 
when  in  their  annual  meeting  in  1916  they  gave 
Professor  Biddick  their  unanimous  and  enthusiastic 
endorsement  for  the  presidency  of  the  college. 

His  has  been  a  long  career  of  practical  work 
and  broadening  educational  influence.  He  was  born 
on  a  farm  seven  miles  northeast  of  Baleigh  in 
Wake  County,  August  5,  1864,  a  son  of  Wiley 
Goodman  and  Anna  Ivy  (Jones)  Biddick.  The 
Riddick  family  were  among  the  earliest  settlers 
in  Eastern  North  Carolina,  the  old  family  seat  hav- 
ing been  in  Gates  County.  Professor  Biddick 's 
mother  was  born  and  reared  in  Wake  County. 
After  instruction  under  a  private  tutor  Mr.  Biddick 
entered  a  preparatory  school  at  Forestville,  North 
Carolina,  under  Dr.  B.  H.  Lewis.  He  attended 
Wake  Forest  College  and  the  University  of  North 
<  'arolina,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the  classical 
course  in  1885.  For  two  years  after  leaving  col- 
lege he  taught  in  Stokes  County.  In  1887  he 
entered  Lehigh  University  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  pursued  the  technical  studies  leading  up  to  the 
degree  of  civil  engineer.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
football  team  in  Lehigh  University  and  his  interest 
in  athletics  has  never  subsided.  He  has  always 
encouraged  wholesome  outdoor  sport  as  a  supple- 
mentary part  of  the  training  received  in  the 
Agricultural  and  Engineering  College,  and  it  is 
a  happy  tribute  to  his  influence  in  this  direction 
that  the  college  athletic  park  is  named  Biddick 
Field. 

After  receiving  his  diploma  as  a  civil  engineer 
Mr.  Biddick  spent  two  years  as  resident  engineer 
of    the    Boanoke    Navigation    and    Water    Power 


Company  's  canal  at  Weldon,  North  Carolina.  The 
City  of  Baleigh  and  the  state  at  large  owe  much 
to  his  thorough  experience  and  broad  ideals  as  an 
engineer.  As  engineer  in  charge  he  is  given  credit 
for  the  efficient  waterworks  system  installed  by 
the  municipal  government  of  Baleigh  in  1914. 
The  efficiency  of  this  system  has  no  superior  in 
any  city  of  the  size  in  the  South.  When  Baleigh 
bought  the  old  waterworks  from  its  private  owners, 
a  complete  rebuilding  and  remodeling  of  the  plant 
became  necessary,  and  Professor  Biddick  had 
charge  of  the  work  of  construction  of  a  storage 
pond  on  Walnilt  Creek  and  the  installation  of  all  the 
new  machinery  and  water  mains. 

Naturally  enough  he  has  been  keenly  interested 
in  the  movement  for  better  highways  for  the  state. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Good  Boads 
Society,  the  State  Highway  Commission,  the  Na- 
tional Highways  Association  and  has  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Wake  County  Boads  Commission. 
He  was  a  member  of  Governor  Glenn's  staff  as 
lieutenant  colonel  of  the  engineers  and  is  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Academy  of  Science  and  of 
the  National  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Engi- 
neering Education.  In  June,  1917,  the  honorary 
degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Wake 
Forest  College  and  by  Lehigh  University.  Socially 
he  belongs  to  the  Kappa  Alpha  fraternity  and  the 
Country  Club,  the  Capital  Club  and  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  and  is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church.  Ln  1893  Mr.  Biddick  married  Miss  Lillian 
Daniel  of  Weldon,  North  Carolina.  They  are  the 
parents  of  five  children:  Wallace  W.  Biddick, 
Lillian,  Narcissa,  Anna  and  Eugenia.  Wallace  W. 
was  graduated  in  civil  engineering  from  the 
Agricultural  and  Engineering  College,  class  of 
1916,  and  is  at  the  present  time  (February,  1918), 
captain  and  adjutant  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fifteenth    Artillery,   United   States   Army. 

Hox.  Frank  Shepherd  Spruill.  Among  the 
men  of  mark  in  Eastern  North  Carolina  must 
be  named  Frank  Shepherd  Spruill,  who  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  state. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  Boeky  Mount  since 
January,  1908,  having  come  to  make  his  home 
in  this  city  when  appointed  division  counsel  of 
the  gTeat  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Bailway  system. 
Brilliant  and  successful  in  the  law,  scarcely  less 
important  have  been  his  achievements  in  public 
life,  he  having  been  associated  with  some  of  the 
greatest  men  of  this  nation. 

Frank  S.  Spruill  was  born  December  9,  1862, 
in  Martin  County,  North  Carolina.  His  parents 
were  William  E.  and  Harriet  (Arrington)  Spruill, 
of  Scotch-Irish  and  English  stock.  During  the 
war  between  the  states  the  family  removed  from 
Martin  to  Halifax  county.  The  father  of  Mr. 
Spruill  served  through  the  war  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army. 

In  the  public  and  in  the  private  schools  Frank 
Spruill  secured  his  early  educational  training, 
and  after  deciding  on  the  law  as  a  career  he 
directed  his  studies  particularly  along  that  line 
and  completed  a  course  in  law  in  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  obtaining  his  license  to  prac- 
tice in  February,  1884.  He  located  at  Hender- 
son, North  Carolina,  and  for  one  year  was  asso- 
ciated there  with  William  H.  Young,  and  then 
removed  to  Louisburg  in  Franklin  County,  where 
he  became  a  partner  of  Hon.  Joseph  J.  Davis, 
a  former  member  of  Congress  and  later  judge 
of  the  North  Carolina  Supreme  Court.  His 
talents    were    immediately    recognized    and    from 


218 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


that  day  to  the  present  he  has  taken  high  rank 
at  the  bar. 

Heredity,  training  and  invironment  were  all 
factors  in  bringing  the  brilliant  young  lawyer 
to  the  front  in  politics  and  he  soon  became  re- 
cognized as  one  of  the  democratic  leaders  in 
the  county,  his  usual  gift  of  oratory  making 
him  a  powerful  force  in'  every  campaign.  In 
1888  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  that  nominated  Hon. 
Grover  Cleveland  for  the  presidency  for  a  second 
term,  and  in  the  campaign  of  that  year.  Mr. 
Spruill  was  reckoned  one  of  the  most  effective 
public  speakers  in  the  state.  In  1898  he  was 
sent  to  the  State  Legislature  from  Franklin 
County,  and  during  his  period  of  service  rendered 
conspicuous  service,  especially  on  the  judiciary 
committee  and  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
railroads  and  railroad  commissioners.  Many  pub- 
lie  positions  were  tendered  Mr.  Spruill  at  this 
time  and  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
directing  board  of  the  state  prison,  by  Governor 
Carr.  From  this  position  he  soon  resigned  but 
later  accepted  an  appointment  as  a  director  of 
the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  and  in  this  position 
he  rendered  invaluable  services  in  opposition  to 
the  proposed  new  lease  for  ninety-nine  years  of 
that  railroad  to  the  Southern  Railway  Company. 
During  President  Cleveland's  second  term  Mr. 
Spruill  served  with  great  ability  as  assistant 
United  States  district  attorney  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  North  Carolina.  In  1904  his  party 
once  more  demonstrated  confidence  in  Mr.  Spruill 
by  nominating  him  for  another  term  as  repre- 
sentative, but  this  honor  he  felt  compelled  to  de- 
cline because  of  his  subsequent  nomination  as 
one  of  the  presidential  electors  for  the  state  at 
large  by  the  Democratic  State  Convention.  He 
took  a  most  active  part  in  the  campaign  of  that 
year  and  his  speeches  in  Mr.  Alton  B.  Parker's 
behalf  were  favorably  commented  on  all  over  the 
state,  not  only  because  of  their  beautiful  dic- 
tion but  of  their  unanswerable  logic.  Mr. 
Spruill  had  much  to  do  with  bringing  out  the 
great  democratic  majority  that  marked  the  North 
Carolina  vote.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was 
counted  one  of  the  great  political  forces  in  the 
state,  capable  of  arousing  enthusiasm  wherever 
he  went  on  a  political  mission  and  loyally  serv- 
ing party  and  candidates. 

On  January  1,  1908,  Mr.  Spruill  came  to 
Rocky  Mount  and  through  choice  this  beautiful 
little  city  has  ever  since  been  his  home  and  its 
citizens  appreciate  the  distinction  his  presence 
gives.  He  is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Bunn 
&  Spruill,  justly  considered  one  of  the  strongest 
combinations  of  .legal  talent  in  the  state.  As 
division  counsel  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Rail- 
road system,  he  occupies  a  position  of  profes- 
sional  eminence. 

Mr.  Spruill  was  married  in  1886  to  Miss  Alice 
Capehart  Winston.  She  belongs  to  a  celebrated 
family.  Her  parents  were  Hon.  Patrick  Henry 
and  Martha  Elizabeth  (Byrd)  Winston.  She 
is  a  sister  of  ex-Judge  and  ex-Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor Francis  D.  Winston,  Judge  Robert  W.  Win- 
ston, Patrick  Henry  Winston,  ex-attorney  gen- 
eral of  the  state  of  Washington,  and  George 
Taylor  Winston,  ex-president  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  ex-president  of  the  North  Car- 
olina A.  &  M.  College  and  of  the  University  of 
fexas.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spruill  have  three  children: 
Mrs.  Thomas  Alexander,  of  Charlotte,  North  Caro- 


lina, Miss  Martha  Byrd  and  Frank  Shepherd. 
The  family  home  is  an  elegant  residence  situated 
on  Falls  Road,  and  in  its  hospitality  tendered 
and  its  refined  atmosphere  there  pervades  the 
charm  that  has  made  social  life  in  exclusive 
circles  in  North  Carolina  a  notable  part  in  the 
intimate  history  of  the  state. 

James  William  Hays,  cashier  of  the  Toisnot 
Banking  Company  at  Elm  City,  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  North  Car- 
olina, and  the  work  he  did  as  an  individual 
teacher  and  as  a  school  administrator  is  not 
easily  overestimated. 

Mr.  Hays  was  born  in  Nash  County,  North 
Carolina,  March  27,  1857,  a  son  of  Levi  Mercer 
and  Martha  (Batts)  Hays.  His  father  was  a 
farmer.  Mr.  Hays  was  educated  in  the  Wilson 
Collegiate  Institute,  and  from  early  boyhood 
showed  unusual  talent  for  artistic  performance.  To 
cultivate  these  talents  he  went  to  New  York  City, 
and  was  a  student  in  Cooper  Institute  and  also 
the  National  Academy  of  Design.  In  1881  he 
returned  home  at  the  death  of .  his  father,  and 
through  the  burdens  of  responsibility  thrown  upon 
him  as  manager  of  the  estate  he"  gave  up  his 
ambition  for  an  artistic  career. 

However,  he  found  an  outlet  for  his  talents  in 
the  field  of  teaching.  He  began  his  work  as  a 
teacher  in  1883,  and  for  some  time  was  super- 
intendent of  the  Toisnot  graded  schools.  In 
1881-82  he  taught  art  and  drawing  in  the  Nor- 
mal School  at  Wilson  and  for  a  number  of  years 
had  charge  of  drawing  and  penmanship  in  sum- 
mer schools.  From  1885  to  1891  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  bookkeeper  at  Wilson  and  in  1892 
became  principal  of  the  Creswell  private  schools 
and  in  1893  became  connected  with  the  Wilson 
Collegiate  Institute.  In  1894  Mr.  Hays  was 
elected  county  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion of  Wilson  County  and  filled  that  position 
eleven  years,  part  of  the  time  being  also  prin- 
cipal of  the  Elm  City  Academy.  He  finally  gave 
up  teaching  as  a  personal  matter  and  gave  all 
his  time  to  the  supervision  of  the  county  schools 
and  did  much  to  build  up  the  entire  school  system 
of  Wilson  County. 

In  the  meantime  for  a  number  of  years  from 
1903  to  1909  he  was  in  the  life  and  fire  insur- 
ance business,  and  he  still  has  a  large  amount 
of  farming  land  in  Wilson  County.  Mr.  Hays 
was  elected  cashier  of  the  Toisnot  Banking  Com- 
pany in  1909. 

He  has  long  been  prominent  in  Odd  Fellowship, 
has  filled  all  the  chairs  in  the  Subordinate  Lodge. 
is  a  member  of  the  Encampment  and  has  sat  in 
the  State  Grand  Lodge.  He  took  his  first  de- 
grees in  Masonry  in  1887  and  is  a  past  master 
of  his  lodge  and  a  Knight  Templar.  He  is  one 
of  the  charter  members  of  Elm  City  Council  of 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 
His  church  affiliations  are  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  South,  in  which  he  is  a  steward.  Mr. 
Hays  is  a  man  of  thorough  culture,  has  traveled 
extensively,  and  in  1891  made  a  tour  of  Europe, 
where  he  paid  particular  attention  to  the  great  art 
centers. 

On  July  3,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Beulah  Grady, 
of  Halifax,  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Hays  died  Oc- 
tober 12,  1913,  leaving  two  children:  Mary  Belle, 
still  at  home;  and  James  William,  Jr.,  now  a 
student  in  Trinity  College  at  Durham,  North  Car- 
olina. 


** 


J  *k   49% 


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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


221 


eepted  the  more  readily  since  it  would  enable 
him  to  continue  his  residence  in  Charlotte.  A 
word  should  now  be  said  regarding  some  general 
aspeets  of  this  industry,  with  which  the  public 
in  general  is  perhaps  not  familiar.  • 

In  April,  1917,  a  new  $20,000,000  dye  stuff  cor- 
poration was  formed  by  the  reorganization  of 
the  National  Aniline  and  Chemical  Company,  to 
include  the  old  interests  of  the  original  company 
and  the  plants  and  interests  of  a  number  of 
other  dye  stuff  manufacturers.  This  great  amal- 
gamated concern  absorbed  the  former  Sehoelkopf 
Aniline  and  Chemical  Works,  the  W.  Beckers  Ani- 
line and  Chemical  Works,  the  Benzol  Products 
Company  of  Marcus  Hook,  Pennsylvania,  and 
such  sections  of  the  plants  of  the  Semet-Solvay 
Company  of  Syracuse:  the  Barrett  Company  Works 
at  Frankfort.  Pennsylvania;  the  General  Chemical 
Company  of  New  York :  and  other  factories  which 
produce  those  coal  tar  intermediates  entering  into 
the  manufacture  of  the  finished  colors.  The  en- 
tire business  of  this  new  amalgamation  is  under 
the  control  and  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
National  Aniline  and  Chemical  Company,  Incor- 
porated, of  which  Mr.  William  J.  Matheson  is 
president,  and  the  general  office  headquarters  are 
in  New  York. 

This  was  the  first  step  taken  since  the  war 
began  in  Europe  toward  the  mobilization  of  all 
the  factors  entering  into  the  creation  of  a  strictly 
American  dye  stuffs  industry,  for  the  purpose  of 
insuring  its  permanency  and  to  meet  upon  more 
approximately  even  terms  the  business  compe- 
tition with  foreign  dye  stuff  manufacturers  which 
must  ensue  inevitably  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
The  amalgamated  interests  are  not  a  trust  or 
combination  in  the  accepted  sense  of  the  word,  but 
is  an  effective  "pooling"  or  centralization  of 
productive  efforts  and  capital  in  the  coal  tar 
and  chemical  industries  of  this  country  against 
the  possibilities  of  all  future  foreign  competi- 
tion. This  great  corporation  actually  delivers  its 
product  .from  the  coal  mine  to  the  consumer,  hav- 
ing control  of  every  process  from  one  end  of  the 
line  to  the  other.  It  owns  its  own  mines,  and 
also  utilizes  various  coke  oven  by-products  plants, 
and  manufactures  all  intermediates  and  acids.  The 
primary  purpose,  as  already  stated,  is  to  meet 
the  post-bellum  competition  with  a  united  front 
and  with  a  strength  of  resource  which  can  be 
found  alone  in  such  industrial  co-operation. 

As  a  citizen  of  Charlotte  Mr.  Dabbs  is  known 
for  his  public  spirit  and  helpfulness  in  forward- 
ing every  progressive  movement.  One  of  the 
chief  factors  in  this  progressive  era  of  the  city 
is  the  Rotarians,  of  which  Mr.  Dabbs  is  a  mem- 
ber and  officer,  and  also  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, with  which  he  is  actively  connected.  Mr. 
Dabbs  is  a  high  degree  Mason,  a  Knight  Templar 
and  thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite,  has  filled 
chairs  in  all  the  orders  and  degrees,  and  is  a  past 
potentate  of  Oasis  Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shrine 
at  Charlotte.  Mr.  Dabbs  married  Miss"  Zoe  Baker, 
of  Chesterfield  County,  South  Carolina.  Their  two 
children  are  Miss  Mabel  Dabbs  and  John  L. 
Dabbs. 

Benjamin  Kittrell  Lassitee  is  a  prominent 
business  man  of  Oxford  and  is  also  serving  the 
town  as  postmaster. 

Mr.  L:is-iter  is  a  native  of  Oxford,  born  No- 
vember 25,  1884,  a  son  of  Robert  W.  and  Letty 
(Kittrell)  Lassiter.  His  father  is  a  well  known 
banker   of   this   section   of  North   Carolina.      The 


son  was  educated  in  Oxford  !s  most  famous  insti- 
tution, the  Horner  Military  School,  aud  from  there 
entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  the  literary  course  in  1905 
and  obtained  his  LL.  B.  degree  from  the  law  de- 
partment in  1907.  Mr.  Lassiter  practiced  law 
five  years  with  Gen.  B.  S.  Royster,  after  which  he 
was  alone  in  the  profession,  and  is  now  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Parham  &  Lassiter,  his  partner 
being  B.  W.  Parham. 

Besides  a  general  practice  as  a  lawyer  Mr.  Lassi- 
ter is  treasurer  of  Robert  W.  Lassiter  &  Company, 
treasurer  of  the  Raleigh  Granite  Company,  and 
came  to  his  responsibilities  and  duties  as  post- 
master of  Oxford  by  open  competition  with  rivals 
for  that  office,  a  primary  having  been  held  on 
April  6,  1917,  at  which  Mr.  Lassiter  polled  a 
plurality  of  votes.  He  has  been  active  in  demo- 
cratic party  affairs,  was  chairman  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  Granville  County  in  1911,  and  in 
1912  was  elected  chairman  of  the  County  Board 
of  Education.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic- 
Order,  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  in  1916 
was  delegate  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  latter 
order  at  Raleigh.  He  is  junior  warden  in  St. 
Stephen's  Episcopal   Church. 

December  29,  1915,  Mr.  Lassiter  married  Doro- 
thea Coggeshall  Niles,  daughter  of  Dr.  G.  A.  and 
Eliza  S.  Coggeshall.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Letty  Kittrell  Lassiter. 

John  A.  Park.  A  leading  representative  of  the 
Raleigh  press,  John  A.  Park  has  proved  himself 
one  of  the  most  forceful  of  the  younger  genera- 
tion of  citizens  of  Raleigh  having  always  used 
his  fine  journalistic  talents  in  the  furtherance  of 
what  he  has  conceived  to  be  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  city,  and  merging  the  two  characters  of 
citizen  and  newspaper  man  into  a  high  personal 
combination  which  has  been  generally  recognized 
as  an  example  well  worthy  of  emulation. 

Mr.  Park  was  born  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina, 
in  1885,  and  secured  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city.  Seeking  further  training 
he  entered  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege, and  in  order  to  secure  the  means  for  his 
higher  education  did  newspaper  work  during  his 
vacation  periods  and  also  conducted  several  col- 
lege magazines.  During  his  college  career  he  won 
considerable  reputation  as  an  orator,  in  proof  of 
which  he  can  show  two  medals  won  in  this  direction. 
Upon  his  graduation,  with  the  degree  of  Mechanical 
Engineer,  he  began  teaching  higher  mathematics  in 
the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  and  con- 
tinued to  be  so  engaged  for  three  years,  in  the 
meantime  selling  automobiles  as  a  side  line.  Also, 
he  had  experience  as  a  cowboy  and  as  a  fireman 
on  a  steamship,  and  finally  went  to  Paris  to  study 
art,  but  returned  to  the  land  of  his  birth  when  con- 
vinced that  other  pursuits  called  him.  On  his 
return  Mr.  Park  became  proprietor  of  an  automo- 
bile garage,  but  found  this  not  profitable  in  that 
day  of  poor  roads,  and  in  1912  disposed  of  his 
interests  in  the  automobile  line  to  become  manager 
of  the  Raleigh  Times,  an  evening  newspaper  which, 
under  his  management,  has  grown  to  large  pro- 
portions and  is  now  considered  in  the  light  of  a 
necessary  journalistic  adjunct. 

Mr.  Park  is  decidedly  what  is  known  as  a  "live 
wire.''  No  movement  for  t)  betterment  of  civic 
conditions  is  considered  complete  without  his  name 
upon  its  list  of  supporters,  and  he  has  been  the 
leader  of  a. number  of  enterprises  which  have  re- 


222 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


suited  in  progress  and  advancement,  particularly 
along  the  lines  of  good  roads  and  better  schools. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  success- 
fully launched  commission  government  in  Raleigh, 
and  led  the  fight  for  a  bond  issue  which  resulted 
in  magnificent  streets  for  his  home  city.  Also, 
he  has  promoted  various  concerts  by  eminent 
artists,  a  market  house  opening  and  several  trade 
extension  movements.  Mr.  Park  is  a  director  of  the 
Rotary  Club,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Southern  Association  of  Newspaper  Publishers,  is 
vice  president  of  the  Young  Men  's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, and  is  actively  identified  with  the  Merchants 
Association,  the  Baraca  Union,  the  Pi  Kappa 
Alpha  fraternity  and  the  North  Carolina  Press 
Association.  He  belongs  to  the  Edenton  Street 
Methodist  Church,  is  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school,  and  for  several  years  has  served 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  stewards. 

In  1909  Mr.  Park  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lily  Helen  Pair,  of  Johnston  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children. 

William  Weldon  Huske,  of  Fayetteville,  is  a 
member  of  one  of  the  old  and  prominent  families 
of  this  section  of  North  Carolina.  He  is  a  son  of 
Major  Wright  and  Harriet  (Hall)  Huske.  His 
grandfather  was  John  Huske.  One  of  Major 
Wright  Huske 's  brothers  was  Rev.  Joseph  Cald- 
well Huske  who  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman  and 
one  of  the  finest  characters  and  most  beloved  men 
among   the    people    of    Cumberland    County. 

Major  Wright  Huske  was  born  at  Fayetteville 
and  prior  to  the  war  was  a  member  and  an 
officer  of  the  Fayette  Independent  Light  Infan- 
try. He  held  the.  rank  of  major  at  the  time 
the  organization  volunteered  for  service  in 
the  Confederate  Army  at  the  time  of  the  war. 
He  was  with  his  command  at  Bethel,  the  first 
battle  of  the  war,  and  was  in  service  during  the 
six  months'  term  of  enlistment.  The  members 
of  the  organization  then  returned  home  and 
joined  other  regiments.  Major  Huske  became  an 
officer  in  McNeill's  Cavalry  and  performed  some 
of  the  strenuous  work  laid  upon  the  cavalry 
branch  of  the  Confederate  Army  during  the  oper- 
ations in  Virginia.  After  about  two  years  his 
health  gave  way  under  the  hard  service,  and  after 
that  he  was  in  charge  of  Camp  Mangum  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

Before  the  war  Major  Huske  had  been  teller 
in  the  old  Bank  of  Cape  Fear  at  Fayettville. 
Following  the  war  he  was  engaged  in  farming  in 
Cumberland  County,  was  also  a  successful  tur- 
pentine and  lumber  operator  for  some  years, 
but  for  a  considerable  time  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1907,  w:as  engaged  in  the  seed 
and  grocery  business  with  his  nephew  A.  S. 
Huske. 

Major  Huske 's  first  wife  was  Miss  Harriet 
Hall.  She  was  a  beautiful  and  cultured  young 
woman  who  died  in  1857,  before  reaching  her 
twenty-second  year.  Hers  was  a  distinguished  an- 
oestory.  Born  in  Halifax  County,  North  Caro- 
lina she  was  a  great-granddaughter  of  Judge  Hall, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state,  and  was  a 
great-great-granddaughter  of  Gen.  H.  W.  Har- 
rington. General  Harrington  was  one  of  the 
historic  characters  in  North  Carolina  and  helped 
make  glorious  the  Revolutionary  annals  of  Rich- 
mond County.  William  W.  Huske  in  his  home 
at  Fayetteville  has  some  interesting  relics  and 
heirlooms  on  his  mother's  side  of  the  family. 
Among  these   are  the   private   desk   and  bookcase 


of  General  Harrington  and  also  a  hand  wrought 
silver  inkstand,  quill  pen,  sword,  cane,  and  other 
relics  of  Revolutioaary  times  once  the  posses- 
sions of  General  Harrington.  Mr.  Huske  also 
«has  a  complete  set  of  daguerrotype  portraits  of 
his  mother  and  of  four  grandmothers  up  to  the 
time  of  General  Harrington,  including  one  of 
that  Revolutionary  patriot.  There  is  also  in  the 
collection  a  daguerrotype  of  William  W.  Huske, 
taken  in  1860,  when  he  was  five  years  of  age. 
This  portrait  shows  him  dressed  in  the  full  dress 
uniform  of  the  Fayetteville  Independent  Light 
Infantry,  his  father 's   old   regiment. 

Just  before  the  war  Major  Huske  married  Miss 
Annie  McDiarmid,  member  of  one  of  the  early 
Scotch   families    of   Cumberland   County. 

William  Weldon  Huske  was  born  at  Fayette- 
ville in  1855,  grew  up  and  received  his  education 
in  his  native  city,  and  for  several  years  of  his 
young  manhood  was  engaged  in  the  retail  shoe 
business  at  Thomasville.  However,  agriculture 
has  been  the  vocation  to  which  he  has  given  long- 
est and  sturdiest  allegiance.  He  has  a  beauti- 
ful home  on  his  farm,  which  consists  of  from 
ninety  to  a  hundred  acres  and  lies  on  the  west  side 
of  the  city,  adjoining  Haymount,  the  fashionable 
residence  district.  Mr.  Huske  was  for  some  time 
a  vestryman  of  St.  Thomas  Episcopal  Church, 
situated  three  miles  west  of  Fayetteville,  and  this 
was  founded  by  his  urn  ie  Rev.  J.  C.  Huske  After 
that  church  organization  was  abandoned  Mr. 
Huske  became  a  communicant  of  St.  John 's 
Church  in  Fayetteville,  where  he  still  worships. 

His  wife  was  before  her  marriage  Miss  Eliza 
Hall  Manning.  Her  father,  Judge  John  Manning, 
was  for  many  years  dean  of  the  Law  School  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Huske 
is  also  a  sister  of  Judge  J.  S.  Manning  of  Raleigh. 
Various  members  of  the  Manning  family  axe  re- 
ferred to  on  other  pages.  Mrs.  Huske  was  born 
at  Pittsboro,  North  Carolina,  but  was  reared  at 
Chapel  Hill.  Like  her  husband,  she  reckons 
among  her  ancestors  Judge  John  Hall  of  Hali- 
fax County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huske  have  five 
children:  Mary  Weldon,  wife  of  Dick  Lewis,  Jr., 
of  Oxford;  Louise  Manning,  wife  of  Dr.  John 
W.  S.  Jordan,_  of  Fayetteville :  Harriet  Eleanor ; 
John  Manning',  is  now  with  the  United  States 
Army;   and  Isaac  Fall  Huske. 

Charles  Coleman  Covington.  Wilmington  has 
long  honored  Charles  Coleman  Covington  as  one  of 
its  leading  importing  jobbers  who  has  been  an 
effective  factor  in  building  up  a  large  trade  in  im- 
ported molasses.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  best 
grades  made  in  the  West  Indies.  He  is  also  ac- 
tively interested  in  every  movement  for  the  moral 
and  industrial  advancement,  of  the  city. 

He  was  born  in  Rockingham,  Richmond  County, 
North  Carolina,  July  3,  1857,  and  represents  an  old 
and  distinguished  family  of  North  Carolina  on 
both  maternal  and  paternal  lines.  His  parents 
were  Edwin  Poythrcss  and  Louisa  (Coleman)  Cov- 
ington. His  father  was  a  commission  merchant  for 
many  years  in  Wilmington. 

Mr.  Covington  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  a  Pythian  and  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  by 
reason  of  his  lineage  on  both  sides  of  the  house. 
He  is  a  great-great-grandson  of  Lieut.  William 
Covington  and  Capt.  Benjamin  Andrew  Coleman 
of  the  North  Carolina  Continental  Line. 

He  was  prepared  for  College  by  the  late  George 
W.   Jewett  and  entered  the  University  of   North 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


223 


Carolina  in  1875  where  he  was  graduated  in  1878. 
He  at  once  embarked  upon  an  active  business 
career. 

In  December,  1S84,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Emmie  Cromartie,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Duncan 
and  Mary  A.  Cromartie  of  Bladen  County,  North 
Carolina. 

Julian  Percival  Kitchin  is  a  lawyer  who  has 
sustained  a  high  reputation  and  a  record  for 
most  efficient  work,  has  for  a  number  of  years 
been  identified  with  Asheville  and  that  section  of 
the  state  where  he  is  member  of  the  law  firm 
Britt  &  Kitchin,  his  partner  being  former  con- 
gressman J.  J.  Britt. 

Mr.  Kitchin  was  born  in  Scotland  Neck,  Halifax 
County,  North  Carolina,  March  10,  1879,  son  of 
Lewis  L.  and  Addie  G.  (Smith)  Kitchin.  His 
father  was  a  farmer  and  lumberman.  Julian  P. 
Kitchin  attended  the  Vine  Hill  Male  Academy  at 
Scotland  Neck,  and  spent  three  years  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Polytechnic  School.  For  a  year  he  worked 
in  the  electrical  engineering  department  of  the 
Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  at  Norfolk, 
Virginia,  and  returning  to  North  Carolina  was 
secretary  to  the  superintendent  of  the  North 
Carolina  School  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  at  Mor- 
ganton.  During  one  year  he  was  a  student  of  law 
in  private  offices,  and  much  of  his  time  while  a 
student  of  law  and  since  admission  to  the  bar 
has  been  taken  up  with  business  affairs.  He  was 
secretary-treasurer  of  the  Scotland  Neck  Cotton 
Mills  three  years. 

April  9,  1902,  Mr.  Kitchin  married  Hesta  Reed 
of  Biltmore,  daughter  of  M.  L.  Reed,  a  farmer  and 
former  county  commissioner  of  Buncombe  County. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kitchin  have  two  children,  Mark 
Beed  and  Julian  Percival,  Jr. 

On  account  of  the  ill  health  of  his  wife,  Mr. 
Kitchin  moved  to  the  Asheville  district  of  the 
state,  and  for  eight  years  he  was  secretary  and 
assistant  to  the  manager  of  the  Biltmore  Farms. 
In  August,  1913,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
soon  afterward  entered  practice  with  J.  J.  Britt 
under  the  firm  name  of  Britt  &  Kitchin  at  Ashe- 
ville. From  1907  to  1910  Mr.  Kitchin  served  as 
mayor  of  Biltmore,  and  after  returning  to  that 
town  to  reside  was  elected  to  the  same  office  in 
1912,  and  has  continued  the  chief  executive  of  the 
municipality  ever  since.  He  organized  the  Bilt- 
more Board  of  Trade,  has  been  president  of  that 
organization  from  the  beginning,  is  a  former 
secretary  of  the  Biltmore  Forest  School,  is  attorney 
for  South  Biltmore  and  is  one  of  the  men  of  chief 
influence  upon  whom  devolve  most  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  leadership  in  civic  affairs  in  his  home 
community.  He  is  superintendent  of  the  Baptist 
Sunday  School  and  is  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Precinct  Committee. 

Edmund  Burwell  Crow.  Raleigh  has  long  been 
distinguished  for  its  high  rank  in  its  banking  sys- 
tem, and  in  this  field  of  activity  the  business  here 
is  represented  by  many  men  of  high  standing  and 
state-wide  prominence.  Among  the  alert  and  enter- 
prising financiers  of  this  city  who  during  the  past 
decade,  have  utilized  the  opportunities  offered  for 
business  preferment  and  have  attained  thereby  a 
notable  success,  and  whose  careers  are  typical  of 
modern  progress  and  advancement,  one  who  is 
well  known  is  Edmund  Burwell  Crow,  cashier  of 
the  Commercial  National  Bank. 

Mr.  Crow  is  a  native  son  of  Raleigh,  and  was 
born  August  18,  1875,  his  parents  being  William  H. 


and  Nannie  (Burwell)  Crow.  His  father  was 
identified  with  the  insurance  business  throughout 
his  life,  and  was  a  pioneer  in  that  line  of  activity 
in  North  Carolina.  Edmund  B.  Crow  received  his 
education  in  the  Raleigh  city  schools  and  Morson 
Academy,  and  when  he  graduated  from  the  last- 
named  institution,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
became  identified  with  banking.  His  first  position 
was  as  collector  for  the  Commercial  and  Farmers 
Bank,  which  subsequently  became  the  Commercial 
National  Bank  of  Raleigh,  as  now.  He  applied 
himself  to  his  work  with  industry  and  fidelity  and 
was  gradually  advanced  to  position  after  position 
of  added  importance  and  responsibility  until  in 
1910  he  was  made  cashier  of  the  institution,  which 
post  he  still  retains.  He  is  widely  known  in  bank- 
ing circles  as  a  skilled  and  well-trained  financier, 
and  various  other  enterprises  and  corporations 
have  had  the  benefit  of  his  business  skill  and  finan- 
cial foresight. 

As  a  man  of  sound  and  discriminating  judgment 
Mr.  Crow  is  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to 
modern  progress  and  advancement  along  material, 
intellectual  and  moral  lines.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Wake  County  Board  of  Education,  a  trustee 
of  Peace  Institute,  secretary  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Rex  Hospital,  and  a  director  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  He  has  long 
been  active  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  is 
ex-treasurer  of  the  Raleigh  Rotary  Club,  while  his 
fraternal  connection  is  with  the  Junior  Order 
United  American  Mechanics.  He  has  likewise 
been  active  in  the  work  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  being  an  elder,  member  of  the  "Van- 
guard ' '  and  teacher  of  this  Bible  class. 

On  July  3,  1900,  Mr.  Crow  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Dinwiddie,  daughter  of  James  Dinwiddie, 
the  president  of  Peace  Institute,  and  to  this  union 
there  have  been  born  four  children :  Nannie 
Burwell,  Edmund  Burwell,  Jr.,  Hubert  Dinwiddie 
and  Mary  Dinwiddie.  The  family  residence  is  one 
of  Raleigh's  beautiful  homes. 

W.  Conyers  Herring,  M.  D.  A  southerner 
by  birth,  member  of  a  prominent,  family  of 
Georgia,  Dr.  Herring  after  extended  experience 
and  prominent  connections  with  medical  and  sur- 
gical professions  abroad  and  in  New  York  City 
has  brought  his  talents  and  experience  to  North 
Carolina  and  is  now  in  active  charge  of  the  re- 
cently installed  X-Ray  and  bacteriological  depart- 
ments of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  at  Charlotte. 
A  large  part  of  Dr.  Herring's  experience  has 
been  in  connection  with  leading  hospitals  rather 
than  as  a  general  practitioner.  He  did  work  in 
his  special  lines  in  the  hospitals  of  New  York 
City  and  Paris,  and  for  a  number  of  years  had 
charge  of  the  X-Ray  department  of  the  German 
Hospital  in  New  York  City. 

Dr.  Herring  was  born  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  son 
of  William  F.  and  Chloe  (Conyers)  Herring. 
About  two  centuries  ago  the  Herring  family  in 
England  had  as  its  most  prominent  representa- 
tive Sir  Thomas  Herring,  who  became  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  Three  of  his  nephews  came  to 
Virginia  in  1721,  and  it  is  from  one  of  them  that 
Dr.  Herring  is  descended.  Dr.  Herring's  grand- 
father, William  Herring,  was  born  in  Virginia. 
In  early  life  he  went  to  Georgia,  locating  in  Fay- 
etteville,  and  afterwards  moving  to  Fulton  Coun- 
ty. His  home  was  in  the  community  then  or 
afterward  for  some  years  known  as  Marthas- 
ville,  and  that  nucleus  of  early  settlement  has 
since   developed   into  the  great  commercial  center 


224 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  '  Atlanta.  Friends  of  the  Herring  family 
seemed  to  think  it  possible  that  old  Marthasville 
was  named  for  Martha  Herring,  wife  of  William 
Herring,  since  they  were  among  the  first  settlers 
of  that  locality. 

William  F.  Herring,  father  of  Dr.  Herring,  was 
also  a  native  Georgian  and  a  man  of  great  promin- 
ence in  that  state  both  in  business  and  commer- 
cial affairs.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Cleghorn  &  Herring  partnership, 
cotton  merchants  and  exporters.  He  was  a  pio- 
neer in  introducing  commercial  fertilizer  into 
Georgia,  effecting  a  revolution  in  the  cotton  grow- 
ing industry.  He  was  also  one  of  the  builders 
and  was  president  of  the  Augusta  &  Port  Royal 
Railroad,  extending  from  Augusta,  Georgia,  to 
Port .  Royal,   South   Carolina. 

Dr.  Herring  was  named  for  his  maternal  grand- 
father Dr.  William  Denson  Conyers.  The  Conyers 
family  in  Georgia  is  descended  from  Thomas 
Conyers,  a  native  of  England,  from  which  country 
he  came  to  America  after  participation  in  a  re- 
bellion by  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  in  1685. 
Thomas  Conyers  lies  buried  under  the  old  Huguenot 
Church  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  was 
descended  by  separate  female  lines  from  William 
the  Conqueror  and  from  Charlemagne.  The  Con- 
yers family  was  probably  more  prominent  in 
South  Carolina  than  elsewhere.  Five  or  six  of 
them  were  captains  in  the  Revolution  or  in  the 
early  wars  prior  to  that  struggle.  Three,  Daniel, 
James  and  John  Conyers,  were  majors  in  the  Con- 
tinental  army. 

Dr.  Conyers  was  one  of  the  most  influential  char- 
acters of  Georgia  for  many  years.  Besides  being 
a  physician  he  owned  a  large  amount  of  land  and 
slaves,  and  was  the  leader  in  various  business  and 
industrial  enterprises  of  the  ante-bellum  period. 
The  name  of  his  plantation  was  Rockdale,  and 
Rockdale  County  in  which  it  was  situated  was 
named  for  this  plantation.  The  town  of  Conyers 
in  Rockdale  County,  now  a  flourishing  and 
wealthy  little  city,  was  also  named  in  his  honor. 
He  was  a  native  of  Georgia  and  among  other 
achievements  was  one  of  the  builders  of  the 
Georgia  Railroad,  from  Atlanta  to  Augusta. 

Dr.  Herring  was  reared  and  received  his  early 
education  both  at  Augusta  and  Atlanta.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  he  was  sent  abroad  and  was  given 
a  liberal  education,  chiefly  in  England  and  France. 
He  began  the  study  of  medicine  while  in  Europe 
and  in  the  late  '80s  returned  to  America  and  was 
graduated  M.  D.  in  1890  from  the  University  of 
New  York.  He  also  has  a  degree  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris,  and  much  of  his  student  career 
was  spent  in  the  French  capital. 

Dr.  Herring  returned  to  America  permanently 
in  1906.  Until  December,  1917,  he  practiced  his 
profession  in  New  York  City  and  in  New  York 
State.  In  December,  1917,  having  a  strong  de- 
sire to  return  to  his  native  Southland,  and  partly 
also  as  a  matter  of  health,  he  came  to  Charlotte 
and  arranged  to  make  this  city  his  future  home 
and  the  scene  of  his  professional  activities.  He 
accepted  the  offer  from  the  Presbyterian  Hospital 
at  Charlotte  to  establish  in  the  new  hospital 
building  an  X-Ray  and  bacteriological  laboratory 
with  modern  and  complete  equipment  which  Dr. 
Herring  brought  with  him  from  the  North.  His 
principal  work,  however,  is  that  of  diagnostician 
for  the  hospital.  Few  men  in  any  State  excel 
Dr.  Herring  in  diagnosis,  and  every  judgment  he 
pronounces  is  fortified  by  a  quarter  century  of 
training  and  association  with  many  of  the   largest 


institutions  and  most  noted  men  in  medicine  and 
surgery.  The  wealthy  city  of  Charlotte,  situated 
in  the  center  of  one  of  the  richest  agricultural 
and  industrial  districts  in  the  South,  offers  a 
splendid   field   for   Dr.   Herring's   efforts. 

In  1914  he  married  Miss  Mary  Joy.  Mrs.  Her- 
ring is  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Charles  Guy  Weaver  has  recently  rounded  out 
ten  years  of  growing  and  successful  law  practice 
at  Asheville,  and  today  has  a  secure  prestige  as  one 
of  the  leading  civil  lawyers  of  a  bar  that  stands 
second  to  none  in  the  state  in  point  of  ability  and 
character  of  its  membership. 

Mr.  Weaver  was  born  at  Weaverville  in  Bun- 
combe County,  North  Carolina,  January  20,  1882. 
His  great-uncle,  Monterville  M.  Weaver,  was  the 
man  who  laid  out  the  Town  of  Weaverville.  In 
that  community  Charles  G.  Weaver,  better  known 
as  Guy  Weaver,  grew  to  manhood,  received  his 
early  education  in  Weaverville  College,  from  which 
so  many  prominent  men  in  the  western  part  of  the 
state  went  into  the  practical  walks  of  life,  and  in 
1906  completed  his  law  course  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  and  was  admitted  to  the  North 
Carolina  bar  in  August,  1906.  During  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  taught  in  Weaverville  College,  and 
began  general  practice  at  Asheville,  August  27, 
1907.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Asheville  and  North 
Carolina  Bar  associations  and  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Northwest  Realty  Company  of 
Asheville,  and  president  of  the  Elk  Mountain  Brick 
Company. 

Mr.  Weaver  while  a  busy  lawyer  has  become 
prominent  in  fraternal  affairs  and  is  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason,  is  a  past  grand 
master  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
of  North  Carolina,  and  has  served  as  grand  repre- 
sentative to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  for  two 
years.  He  is  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Stewards 
of  the  Chestnut  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  and  teacher  of  a  Baraca  Class  in  Chestnut 
Street  Sunday  School. 

Mr.  Weaver  was  a  member  of  the  Legal  Ad- 
visory Board  of  Buncombe  County  under  the 
Selective  Service  Act,  and  has  given  a  great  deal 
of  his  time  to  advising  registrants  for  military 
service  in  the  National  Army,  as  well  as  having 
served  in  Liberty  Bond,  War  Savings  Stamps  and 
Red  Cross  campaigns  in  Buncombe,  Haywood  and 
Swain   counties. 

January  1,  1913,  Mr.  Weaver  married  Berta  M. 
Hughes,  of  Leicester,  Buncombe  County,  daughter 
of  Dr.  William  J.  and  Addie  L.  (Brown)  Hughes. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weaver .  have  one  daughter,  Berta 
Adelaide. 

Peter  Rensselaer  Allen  came  to  Asheville 
in  1907  as  manager  of  the  insurance  department 
of  the  Wachovia  Bank  and  Trust  Company.  He 
is  an  insurance  man  of  wide  and  successful  ex- 
perience, and  a  few  years  ago  established  the 
P.  R.  Allen  Company,  handling  general  insurance, 
fire,  life,  casualty,  etc.  Mr.  Allen  has  identified 
himself  closely  with  the  important  civic  and  social 
affairs  of  Asheville,  and  his  associates  recognize 
him  as  a  man  of  great  energy  and  of  forceful 
ability. 

He  was  born  in  West  Virginia  December  1, 
1873,  a  son  of  Nicholas  N.  and  Susan  (Martin) 
Allen.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  had  a 
rural  environment  during  7iiost  of  his  youth,  and 
afterward  managed  to  acquire  a  higher  education. 
In  1897  he  graduated  from  the  normal  college  at 


/tzym^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


227 


Carolina,  December  29,  1867,  and  has  a  very  inter- 
esting ancestry.  All  the  members  of  the  family  are 
descended  from  Richard  Few,  of  Quaker  stock, 
who  came  to  America  with  the  Pennsylvania 
colonists  in  1681,  settling  in  what  is  now  Chester 
County.  One  of  his  grandsons  was  William  Few, 
who  moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  Baltimore  County, 
Maryland,  where  he  married  Mary  Wheeler  a  de- 
vout Catholic,  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  that  section.  In  1758  the  family 
came  to  North  Carolina,  where  William  Few  bought 
a  tract  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Eno  near 
Hillsboro.  William 's  second  son,  James,  was 
leader  of  the  North  Carolina  Regulators,  fought 
in  the  Battle  of  Alamance,  was  captured,  and  ex- 
ecuted without  trial.  After  his  death  the  Few 
family  removed  to  Richmond  County,  Georgia. 
James  left  a  widow  and  two  children,  William  and 
Sally.  Sally  married  a  Methodist  minister.  Wil- 
liam came  to  South  Carolina  and  settled  in  Green- 
ville. His  son  William  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812.  Benjamin  Few,  the  youngest  son  of  the 
War  of  1812  soldier,  was  the  father  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Preston  Few,  and  served  as  an  assistant  sur- 
geon in  the  Confederate  army.  He  married  Rachel 
Keudrick. 

William  Preston  Few  did  his  preparatory  work 
in  Greer 's  High  School  at  Greer,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  from  that  entered  Wofford  College  at 
Spartanburg,  where  he  was  graduated  A.  B.  in 
1889.  His  graduate  work  was  done  in  Harvard 
University,  from  which  he  received  the  Master  of 
Arts  degree  in  1893  and  the  Doctor  of  Philosophy 
degree  in  1896.  Doctor  Few  also  has  the  honorary 
degree  Doctor  of  Laws  conferred  by  Wofford  Col- 
lege in  1911,  Southwestern  University  in  1912,  and 
Allegheny  College  in  1915.  Following  his  gradua- 
tion at  Wofford  College  he  taught  during  the  year 
1889-90  in  St.  John's  Academy  at  Darlington, 
South  Carolina,  and  in  1890-91  was  instructor  of 
Latin  and  English  in  Wofford  College  Fitting 
School,  and  in  1891-92  instructor  in  English  at 
Wofford  College. 

In  1896  on  returning  from  Harvard  University 
Doctor  Few  became  professor  of  English  in  Trinity 
College.  In  1902  he  was  given  the  additional  re- 
sponsibilities of  dean,  and  in  1910  became  presi- 
dent of  the  college.  Doctor  Few  is  a  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Board  of  Overseers  to  visit  the 
Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences  of  Harvard 
University  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Jeanes  Founda- 
tion. Since  1909  he  has  been  a  joint  editor  of  the 
South  Atlantic  Quarterly  and  is  a  frequent  writer 
and  speaker  on  educational  and  social  questions. 
He  is  an  independent  democrat,  a  member  of  the 
Harvard  Club  of  New  York,  of  the  Commonwealth 
and  Country  clubs  of  Durham,  and  a  member  of 
the  Chi  Phi  Fraternity.  Doctor  Few  is  a  prom- 
inent layman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South.  He  was  delegate  to  the  General  Conference 
in  1914  and  ill  1918,  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Educational  Commission  since  1898,  and  since  1914 
a  member  of  the  General  Sunday  School  Board. 

August  17,  1911,  at  Martinsville,  Virginia,  he 
married  Mary  Reamey  Thomas,  daughter  of  Lyne 
Starling  Thomas.  They  have  three  children,  Wil- 
liam, Lyne  Starling  and  Kendrick  Sheffield. 

Hon'.  Cameron  Morrison.  Prominent  among 
the  native  sons  of  the  Old  North  State  who  have 
won  distinction  in  publie  life  and  high  standing 
in  the  legal  profession  is  Hon.  Cameron  Morrison, 
ex-state  senator,  leading  democratic  politician, 
and    since    1906    a    distinguished    member    of    the 


Charlotte  bar.  Mr.  Morrison  is  a  man  whose  in- 
dustry has  been  indefatigable,  and  whose  efforts 
have  been  so  well  directed  that  with  little  effort 
lie  has  accomplished  large  achievements.  His 
mind  is  so  quick  and  comprehensive  and  he  makes 
upon  others  such  a  strong  impression  that  he 
has  always  inspired  confidence.  This  has  helped 
in  large  measure  to  gain  him  his  enviable  posi- 
tion  in   his   community   and   his   county. 

Mr.  Morrison  was  born  at  Rockingham,  Rich- 
mond County,  North  Carolina,  in  1869,  and  is 
a  son  of  Daniel  M.  and  Martha  (Cameron)  Mor- 
rison, the  former  of  whom  is  still  living  at  Rock- 
ingham, while  the  latter  is  deceased.  Daniel 
M.  Morrison  was  born  in  Chesterfield  County, 
South  Carolina,  a  son  of  a  native  of  Scotland  who 
was  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  parents 
when  twelve  years  old,  first  locating  at  Fayette- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  and  subsequently  removing 
to  Chesterfield  County,  South  Carolina.  Mrs. 
Morrison  was  the  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Worthy 
Cameron,  a  native  of  Moore  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, a  man  of  extraordinary  talents,  and  one  of 
the  most  prominent  lawyers  and  political  lead- 
ers of  ante-bellum  days  in  his  section  of  the 
state.  He  bore  the  reputation  of  being  at  least 
the  equal  of  any  lawyer  of  his  day  in  his  section 
of  the  state  and  was  a  very  active  and  widely  in- 
fluential man,  both  in  his  profession  and  in  the 
publie  and  political  affairs  of  his  time.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Car- 
olina, acted  in  the  capacity  of  presidential  elec- 
tor and  held  various  minor  offices  in  his  county 
and  state.  He  likewise  became  known  as  an  edi- 
tor, having  for  several  years  acted  in  that  ca- 
pacity on  the  Fayetteville  Argus,  and  his  brilliant 
gifts  as  a  writer  are  still  remembered  by  the  older 
generation,  who  subscribed  to  the  paper.  His  wife 
was   Caroline    (Crawford)    Cameron. 

Cameron  Morrison  was  given  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  Richmond  County, 
following  which  he  studied  law  under  the  pre- 
ceptorship  of  Judge  Dick,  of  Greensboro,  North 
Carolina,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1892, 
his  practice  beginning  in  Richmond  County.  He 
soon  became  interested  in  public  affairs,  was  rec- 
ognized as  a  man  of  ability  and  executive  powers, 
and  was  elected  mayor  of  Rockingham,  acting  as 
chief  executive  of  the  county  seat  of  Richmond 
for  one  term.  As  his  practice  increased  and  he 
came  more  and  more  favorably  before  the  peo- 
ple, additional  honors  were  given  him,  culminat- 
ing in  his  election,  in  1900,  to  the  Upper  House  of 
the  North  Carolina  General  Assembly.  His  serv- 
ices in  that  body  were  of  a  nature  calculated  to 
increase  his  popularity  among  the  people,  and 
he  was  slated  for  higher  honors,  and  in  1902  be- 
came the  candidate  of  the  democratic  party  for  a 
seat,  in  Congress  but  met  with  defeat  by  a  small 
majority  after  a  close  and  exciting  campaign.  In 
1906  he  came  to  Charlotte,  which  has  been  his 
home  and  the  seene  of  his  success  as  a  lawyer, 
and  where  his  fine  talents  and  ability  have  at- 
tracted to  him  a  large  and  representative  clien- 
tele. Mr.  Morrison  has  been  connected  with  much 
litigation  of  an  important  character,  his  work 
having  carried  him  into  all  the  courts.  Not  alone 
before  the  courts  and  juries  as  a  pleader,  but  in 
political  speaking  as  well,  Mr.  Morrison  is  gifted 
with  splendid  talents  as  an  orator — forceful,  elo- 
quent and  winning.  For  this  reason  he  is  called 
upon  in  every  campaign  to  do  a  goodly  share  of 
the  work  on  the  stump  throughout  the  state,  and 
has   become   personally   acquainted   with  the   lead- 


228 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


ing  men.  He  takes  a  deep  and  intelligent  inter- 
est in  politics,  is  a  close  student  of  party  history 
and  party  principles,  and  for  several  years  past 
has  been  chairman  of  the  committee  on  platform 
of  every  Democratic  State  Convention.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  Superior  Court,  but  he  declined 
the   honor. 

Mr.  Morrison  married  Miss  Lottie  Tomlinson, 
daughter  of  S.  F.  Tomlinson,  of  Durham,  North 
Carolina,  and  they  have  one  daughter:  Angela. 
Mr.  Morrison's  offices  are  located  in  the  Lawyers 
Building. 

Paul  F.  Haddock.  The  chemistry  that  lies  at 
the  bottom  of  the  art  of  imparting  colors  to  tex- 
tile and  other  materials  has  been  made  use  of 
from  time  immemorial,  and  marvelous  have  been 
the  results,  particularly  since  1856,  when  Perkm 
introduced  the  first  of  the  coal  tar  colors.  The 
manufacturers  of  these  dyes  and  chemicals  have 
carried  on  a  great  industry.  Perhaps  at  no 
previous  time  in  the  United  States  have  these 
manufacturers  given  more  study,  research  and  ex- 
periment to  the  discovery  of  new  chemical  agents 
and  combinations  than  at  present.  A  firm  that 
has  admirably  met  the  demand  for  American  made 
chemicals  for  the  bleaching  and  dyeing  industry 
is  the  E.  C.  Klipstein  &  Sons  Company,  of  which 
A.  Klipstein  &  Company,  of  New  York  City,  are 
selling  agents,  and  Paul  F.  Haddock,  who  is 
southern  manager  for  this  company,  maintains 
branch  offices  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

While  Paul  F.  Haddock  is  yet  a  young  man,  he 
is  thoroughly  experienced  in  the  bleaching  and 
dyeing  business.  He  was  born  in  1886,  at  Adling- 
ton  in  Lancashire,  England,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Lucy  (Fairclough)  Haddock,  Sir  Robert  Fair- 
clough  being  a  maternal  ancestor.  For  several 
generations  the  Haddocks  have  been  connected  with 
bleaching  and  dyeing  plants  in  the  great  cotton 
manufacturing  centers  in  Lancashire,  both  the 
father  and  grandfather  of  Paul  F.  Haddock  being 
so  employed,  the  latter  being  foreman  of  one  of 
the   great  establishments. 

Paul  F.  Haddock  attended  the  public  schools  at 
Adlington  until  sixteen  years  old,  when  he  became 
self  supporting  and  during  the  next  two  years  at- 
tended a  chemical  school  at  night  in  order  to 
thoroughly  become  instructed  in  the  line  of  work 
he  desired  to  follow,  and  when  he  completed  the 
course  he  had  practical  as  well  as  technical  knowl- 
edge. In  the  meanwhile,  from  the  age  of  sixteen, 
he  worked  in  the  bleachery  with  the  firm  of  Davies 
&  Eckersley,  Ltd.,  who  owned  the  Huyton  Bleach- 
ing, Dyeing  and  Finishing  "Works  at  Adlington. 
In  June,  1910,  he  decided  to  come  to  the  United 
States  and  resigned  the  first-class  position  he  had 
held  so  long  with  the  British  house.  In  New  York 
City  he  secured  a  position  as  mechanic's  helper 
with  a  firm  just  organized,  the  Lancashire  Bleach- 
ing, Finishing  and  Dyeing  Company,  its  plant 
being  situated  at  "Waldwick,  New  Jersey.  Within 
one  week  he  had  shown  such  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  business  that  he  was  given  charge  of  all  the 
mechanics  and  superintended  the  installation  of 
the  expensive  machinery,  and  when  the  plant 
started  to  operate  he  was  made  superintendent. 

From  there  Mr.  Haddock  went  to  Memphis,  Ten- 
nessee, and  for  one  year  was  superintendent  of  the 
American  Finishing  Company  of  that  city.  He 
then  took  a  vacation,  during  which  he  revisited 
his  home  in  England,  and  on  his  return  to  New 
York,  in  September,  1912,  accepted  a  position  with 
the   firm    of   A.   Klipstein   &   Company,   extensive 


manufacturers  of  dyes  and  chemicals.  He  was  sent 
through  the  South  as  a  demonstrator,  soon  was 
made  a  salesman  and  later  assistant  manager  and 
finally  was  promoted  to  his  present  position.  As 
southern  manager  his  territory  embraces  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Florida.  Mr. 
Haddock  has  made  rapid  advance  in  the  business 
field  and  his  identification  in  so  important  a  posi- 
tion with  so  prominent  a  concern  reflects  credit 
not  only  upon  his  business  knowledge  and  ability, 
but  gives  a  fair  estimate  of  the  impression  he 
made  through  his  personality  and  force  of  char- 
acter. 

A.  Klipstein  &  Company  are  manufacturers  and 
dealers  of  dyes,  chemicals  for  bleaching,  finish- 
ing, dyeing,  tanning,  etc.,  selling  agents  for  the 
E.  C.  Klipstein  &  Sons  Company,  manufacturers 
of  sulphur  black,  sulphur  brown,  olive,  gray  and 
tan,  also  sulphur  blue  and  sulphur  khaki,  also  sell- 
ing agents  for  the  Bulls  Ferry  Chemical  Company, 
manufacturers  of  soluble  oils,  soaps,  sizings, 
softeners,  gums,  waxes  and  finishings.  This  con- 
cern also  manufactures  oxitan,  a  new  soluble  tan- 
ning compound,  invented  by  W.  A.  Klipstein.  The 
above  company  are  also  selling  agents  for  the 
Warner-Klipstein  Chemical  Company,  owners  of  a 
large  plant  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  man- 
ufacturers of  tetrachloride  of  carbon,  chlorine, 
chlor-benzol  and  muriatic  acid.  They  have  addi- 
tional selling  connections  and  are  also  selling 
agents  for  The  Society  Chemical  Industry  of  Basle, 
Switzerland. 

Mr.  Haddock  was  married  to  Miss  Willie  Louise 
Skinner,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina  and  was 
reared  and  educated  at  Concord.  They  have  one 
child,  Paul  F.,  Jr.  They  have  a  handsome  resi- 
dence in  Myers  Park,  Charlotte,  and  are  valued 
acquisitions  to  the  city 's  pleasant  social  circles. 
Mr.  Haddock  has  shown  interest  and  public  spirit 
since  coming  to  Charlotte  and  is  a  valued  member 
of  the  Charlotte  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Manu- 
facturers Club,  Suburban  Club,  Phalanx  Lodge  of 
Masons,  Carolina  Consistory  of  Scottish  Bite 
Masons,  is  a  Shriner,  a  member  of  the  Bed  Fez 
Club,  the  Southern  Textile  Association,  the  Ameri- 
can Cotton  Manufacturing  Association  and  also  of 
the  Society  of  Dyers  and  Colourists  in  England. 

Mr.  Haddock 's  parents  survive  and  he  has  one 
sister,  Elizabeth,  and  two  brothers,  Thomas  and 
Gilbert.  Both  brothers  were  trained  in  the  bleach- 
ing and  dyeing  industry  and  the  elder,  Thomas 
Haddock,  is  counted  an  expert  and  because  of  his 
skill  in  a  necessary  war  industry  has  never  been 
called  to  the  colors  in  the  great  World  war.  It  has 
been  otherwise,  however,  with  Mr.  Haddock 's 
younger  brother,  Gilbert,  who  has  been  in  active 
service  since  1914.  He  enlisted  in  General  Kitch- 
ener 's  army  and  was  first  assigned  to  duty  with 
the  Home  Guards.  Later  he  was  one  of  that  brave 
contingent  of  British  youth  that  was  sent  to 
France,  then  to  Belgium,  then  to  Egypt  and  later 
to  Salonica,  many  times  performing  deeds  of  valor 
and  thus  far  has  escaped  being  wounded,  although 
taking  part  in  a  great  many  engagements. 

I 

Frederick  Rutledge   is  one   of  the  older  men 

in  insurance  circles  in  North  Carolina,  and  it  was 

a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  that  he  established  the 

Rutledge  Insurance  Agency  at  Asheville. 

Mr.  Rutledge  has  spent  practically  all  his  life  in 
and  around  Asheville.  He  was  born  in  Henderson 
County  February  10,  1868,  son  of  Col.  Henry 
Middleton  Rutledge,  who  came  from  South  Caro- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


229 


lint  and  during  the  war  between  the  states  was 
colonel  of  the  Twenty-fifth  North  Carolina  Regi- 
ment throughout  the  entire  war.  After  the  war 
for  a  number  of  years  he  engaged  in  rice  planting 
near  Georgetown,  South  Carolina.  Colonel  Rut- 
ledge  was  a  student  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

Frederick  Rutledge  was  a  cadet  in  the  Virginia 
Military  Institute.  He  came  to  Asheville  in  1889 
and  entered  the  general  insurance  business.  He 
wa-s  general  agent  for  both  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina of  the  Girard  and  Franklin  companies  of 
Philadelphia  and  also  the  City  of  New  York  Fire 
Insurance  Company.  He  was  at  one  time  vice 
president  of  the  Local  Agents  Association  of 
North  Carolina.  He  also  organized  and  was  one 
time  secretary  of  the  Home  Building  and  Loan 
Association.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
a  director  of  the  Dixie  Fire  Insurance  Company 
of  Greensboro. 

Mr.  Rutledge  was  captain  of  Troop  B,  North 
Carolina  National  Guard  Cavalry,  and  was  in  ac^ 
tive  service  on  the  Mexican  border  in  1916  and 
1917  and  now  his  elder  son  is  in  the  field  artillery, 
regular  army.  This  makes  an  unbroken  record 
of  three  successive  generations  of  the  Rutledge 
family  who  have  distinguished  themselves  as  sol- 
diers. Mr.  Rutledge  married  April  21,  1892, 
Mabel  Reeves,  daughter  of  Dr.  R.  H.  Reeves,  of 
Asheville.  The  elder  son,  Frederick  Reeves,  re- 
ceived his  commission  after  a  period  in  the  train- 
ing camp  at  Fort  Oglethorpe  and  is  now  an  of- 
ficer in  the  United  States  Field  Artillery.  The 
younger  son  is  Reginald  Edmond.  Mr.  Rutledge 
is  a  stockholder  in  the  Asheville  Country  Club 
and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  is  af- 
filiated With  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  now 
actively  engaged  in  local  fire  insurance  business 
in  the  City  of  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 

Walter  T.  and  Rufus  A.  Spaugh,  twin  brothers, 
are  both  prominently  identified  with  Winston- 
Salem  's  industrial,  civic  and  religious'  life,  and 
are  members  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known 
families  of  this  section  of  North  Carolina. 

They  are  direct  descendants  of  that  interesting 
historical  character  in  Western  North  Carolina, 
Adam  Spach,  who  was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany, 
January  20,  1720.  Coming  to  America  a  young 
man,  he  lived  a  time  with  the  Moravians  in  Penn- 
sylvania, but  in  1753  came  to  North  Carolina  and 
located  in  the  wilderness  two  miles  from  the  present 
site  of  Friedberg  Church.  At  first  his  nearest 
neighbors  were  twelve  miles  away  at  Bethania,  and 
in  order  to  have  access  to  that  community  he  cut 
a  road  through  the  wilderness.  His  surroundings 
were  exceedingly  wild  and  primitive,  and  it  was 
possible  in  those  days  to  supply  the  table  with  meat 
of  all  kinds  from  the  wild  game  that  existed  in 
the  forest.  Indians  were  the  jealous  neighbors  of 
all  the  early  white  settlers.  Adam  Spach  built 
a  substantial  rock  house,  still  standing  as  a  land- 
mark in  that  section.  This  served  not  only  as  a 
shelter  but  as  a  fortification,  and  there  were  port- 
holes in  the  walls,  while  in  the  basement  was  a 
spring  of  living  water.  This  frontiersman  lived  a 
long  and  active  life  and  died  August  23,  1801.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Huster.  Their  descendants  are 
many,  not  only  in  this  section  of  North  Carolina 
but  elsewhere,  and  while  some  of  the  present  gen- 
eration retain  the  original  spelling  of  the  name 
Spach,  most  spell  the  name  more  nearly  as  it  is 
pronounced,  Spaugh.  It  was  the  father  of  these 
brothers  who  adopted  that  form  of  spelling  for 
his  name. 


Adam  Spach,  the  pioneer,  had  a  son  Adam,  who 
was  born  two  miles  from  Friedberg,  and  who  was 
the  father  of  George  Spach,  grandfather  of  Walter 
and  Rufus  Spaugh.  George  was  born  near  Fried- 
berg, became  a  planter,  owned  and  occupied  a  large 
place  in  South  Fork  Township  of  Forsyth  County, 
and  spent  his  last  years  there.  He  and  his  wife 
are  both  buried  in  Friedberg  churchyard.  They 
reared  three  sons,  named  Levi,  Thomas  and  Trau- 
gott. 

Thomas  Spaugh,  father  of  the  twin  brothers,  was 
born  in  South  Fork  Township  of  Forsyth  County 
in  1819,  was  educated  at  the  Salem  Boys'  School, 
and  for  a  time  was  a  teacher  in  rural  schools.  He 
bought  farms  in  South  Fork  Township  and  was 
successfully  identified  with  their  management  and 
cultivation  until  1876.  Selling  out,  he  then  re- 
moved to  Winston-Salem,  where  he  lived  retired 
until  his  death  in  1891.  During  the  war  between 
the  states  he  was  in  the  Confederate  service,  de- 
tailed for  the  transportation  of  salt  and  also  in 
the  making  of  barrels  for  the  Government. 

Thomas  Spaugh  married  Melvina  Lash.  She  was 
born  near  Bethania  in  1822,  a  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  (Transou)  Lash.  She  survived  her  hus- 
band a  number  of  years  and  passed  away  in  1900. 
There  were  five  children ;  Charles,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-six;  Frances,  who  died  in  1892; 
Byron;  and  Rufus  and  Walter,  twins.  The  son 
Byron  attended  Winston  Academy  and  the  Morav- 
ian College  and  Theological  Seminary  at  Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania,  and  after  his  graduation  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  at  Salem.  His  promising 
career  was  cut  short  by  an  early  death  at  the  age 
of  twenty-eight. 

Walter  T.  Spaugh  found  his  life  work  early, 
exercised  the  substantial  virtues  in  him  and  those 
inherited  from  his  ancestors,  and  step  by  step  has 
advanced  in  the  scale  of  industrial  importance 
until  he  is  now  president  of  the  Salem  Iron  Works. 

He -was  born  on  his  father's  plantation  in  South 
Fork  Township  of  Forsyth  County,  and  completed 
hjs  education  in  the  Salem  Boys'  School.  He  then 
began  an  earnest  apprenticeship  at  the  machinist 's 
trade  with  the  Salem  Iron  Works.  This  apprentice- 
ship Was  followed  by  a  .journeyman  's  experience  of 
a  few  months,  and  he  was  then  admitted  to  part- 
nershin  in  the  Salem  Iron  Works  with  Mr.  Constan- 
tine  Hege,  founder  of  this  local  industry.  In  1900 
the  business  was  incorporated,  Mr.  Spaugh  becom- 
ing secretary  and  treasurer.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Hege  in  1914  Mr.  Spaugh  became  vice  president 
and  treasurer,  and  in  1917  bought  the  outstanding 
stock  of  the  company  and  after  reorganization  took 
the  chief  executive  office  as-'president.  He  is  now 
at  the  head  of  one  of  the  important  industries  in 
this  section  of  North  Carolina,  and  his  own  judg- 
ment and  work  have  entered  largely  as  factors  in 
its  growth  and  upbuilding. 

Walter  T.  Spaugh  was  married  in  1902  to  Jennie 
E.  Frazier,  who  was  born  in  Jacksonville,  Florida, 
daughter  of  George  W.  and  Jennie  (DaCosta) 
Frazier.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spaugh  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth,  Janet  and  Walter  T.,  Jr.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Home  Moravian  Church. 
Mr.  Spaugh  is  one  of  its  most  influential  workers, 
belongs  to  the  Central  Board  of  Elders  of  the 
Salem  Congregation,  and  is  treasurer  of  the  Church 
Aid  and  Extension  Board  of  the  Southern  Province 
of  the  Moravian  Church,  and  has  served  as  assist- 
ant superintendent  and  superintendent  of  the  Home 
Moravian  Sunday  School  ten  years.  He  is  now 
superintendent  of  a  rural  Sunday  school  near  Win- 
ston-Salem. 


230 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Rufus  A.  Spaugh  was  bom  November  5,  1865,  on 
his  father's  plantation  near  Winston-Salem,  North 
Carolina,  moving  with  the  family  to  Salem  in  1876, 
where  he  attended  the  Salem  Boys '  School.  After 
graduating  from  this  institution  and  a  business 
college  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  he  accepted 
a  position  in  the  office  of  the  Salem  Iron  Works. 

A  few  years  later  he  became  associated  with  a 
large  mercantile  establishment.  After  several 
changes  in  partnership  the  business  was  incorpo- 
rated as  Vaughn  &  Company.  Mr.  Spaugh  became 
its  secretary  and  treasurer  and  devoted  his  time  for 
a  number  of  years  to  its  upbuilding  and  advance- 
ment. 

In  1903,  while  still  retaining  his  financial  in- 
terest in  this  company,  and  remaining  on  its  board 
of  directors,  he  applied  his  extensive  experience 
and  business  ability  to  the  Forsyth  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  in  which  he  was  already  a  stock- 
holder, becoming  its  vice  president,  treasurer  and 
manager. 

At  that  time  this  company  had  a  small  plant  on 
Sunnyside  Avenue,  Winston-Salem.  It  needed  only 
capable  direction  to  attain  success,  and  this  suc- 
cess is  now  represented  by  two  large  and  finely 
equipped  plants  with  many  times  the  capacity  and 
output  of  the  old  one  which  he  took  the  manage- 
ment of  in  1903. 

In  1893  Mr.  Spaugh  was  married  to  Miss  Anna 
Louise  Hege,  a  native  of  Salem,  and  daughter 
of  Edward  L.  and  Mary  (Hunt)  Hege.  He  has  had 
a  very  happy  and  congenial  home  life  with  his 
wife  and  three  sons.  The  sons  are,  Walter  Herbert, 
Rufus  Arthur  and  Ralph  Edward.  Herbert  at- 
tended the  Salem  Boys'  School,  Tinsley  Military 
Institute  and  the  Moravian  College  and  Theological 
Seminary  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  graduating 
from  the  latter  in  1916.  The  son  Arthur  is  now  a 
student  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  while 
Ralph  is  still  in  the  Winston-Salem  High   School. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  Mr.  Spaugh  united  with 
the  Home  Moravian  Church  in  Salem,  and  has  since 
then  always  been  greatly  interested  in  all  kinds  of 
Christian  work,  contributing  liberally  to  numerous 
causes  and  organizations  both  local  and  foreign. 
For  thirty  years  or  more  he  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  Sunday  school  work,  both  as  a  teacher 
and  superintendent,  serving  in  the  latter  capacity 
for  nearly  twenty  years. 

In  1907  Mr.  Spaugh  and  family  moved  their  resi- 
dence to  the  new  suburban  section  of  Southside; 
and  when  Trinity  Moravian  Church  was  built  there 
in  1911-12,  on  Sunnyside  Avenue,  to  care  for  the 
Moravian  Church  members  in  this  part  of  the  city, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spaugh  transferred  their  membership 
from  the  Home  Church  to  Trinity  Church.  Since 
that  time  Mr.  Spaugh  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Elders  on  Trinity  Church,  and  also  the 
representative  of  this  church  on  the  Central  Board 
of  Elders  of  the  Salem  Congregation. 

Isham  Faison  Hicks.  M.  D.  The  work  and 
skill  and  character  which  constitute  the  real  ele- 
ments of  success  in  the  medical  profession  have 
been  earned  and  acquired  in  abundant  measure 
by  Doctor  Hicks  during  his  fifteen  years  of  prac- 
tice at  Dunn  in  Harnett  County. 

His  name  suggests  some  of  the  honorable  fam- 
ily associations  which  were  something  like  a  guar- 
antee and  inspiration  for  his  individual  career. 
Doctor  Hicks  was  born  at  Faison  in  Duplin  Coun- 
ty, North  Carolina,  in  1876.  His  father,  the 
late  Capt.  Louis  Thomas  Hicks,  spent  all  his  life 
at  Faison,  where  he  was  born  and  where  he  died 


in  1904.  He  was  a  member  of  a  prominent  and  his- 
torical family  of  Duplin  County.  His  Faison  con- 
nections constitute  one  of  the  most  prominent  fam- 
ilies of  Eastern  North  Carolina.  Captain  Hicks  had 
more  than  an  honorary  title.  He  was  captain  of 
Company  E,  Twentieth  North  Carolina  Infantry, 
during  the  war  between  the  states,  and  was  in  ac- 
tive service  for  two  years.  He  was  at  the  head  of 
his  company,  in  one  of  the  desperate  charges  of 
Gettysburg,  and  on  the  third  day  of  the  fight  there, 
was  captured,  taken  as  a  prisoner  to  Johnson 's 
Island  in  Lake  Erie,  and  held  during  the  remainder 
of  the  war.  His  record  of  service  was  that  of  a 
brave,  dashing  and  skillful  officer.  After  the  war 
he  became  a  merchant  and  planter,  and  few  citi- 
zens of  Duplin  County  enjoyed  so  much  respect  and 
honor. 

Captain  Hicks  married  Rachel  Mclver,  who  is 
still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two.  The 
Mclvers  have  from  early  days  been  prominent  in 
Moore,  Lee  and  Chatham  counties.  One  of  its 
members  was  Hon.  Charles  D.  Mclver,  and  Mrs. 
Hicks  was  a  cousin  of  that  well  known  jurist. 

The  boyhood  and  early  associations  of  Doctor 
Hicks  was  of  a  very  agreeable  and  comfortable 
character,  to  which  as  a  grown  man  he  takes 
pleasure  in  reverting.  His  early  schooling  was 
obtained  at  Faison,  and  he  was  also  a  student  in 
Fishburne  Military  School  at  Waynesville,  Vir- 
ginia. He  studied  medicine  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Medical  College  at  Charlotte  and  in  the  Uni- 
versity College  of  Medicine  at  Richmond,  graduat- 
ing M.  D.  in  1902.  With  his  diploma  and  license 
he  located  at  Dunn  in  Harnett  County  and  has 
been  steadily  in  practice  there  for  fifteen  years. 
Real  eminence  has  come  to  him  in  his  profession 
and  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  his  name  may 
properly  rank  with  those  of  the  professional  lead- 
ers in  the  state.  He  served  a  number  of  years 
as  city  health  officer  of  Dunn,  and  is  surgeon  at 
Dunn  for  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  and  Durham  & 
Southern  Railways  companies.  His  splendid  qual- 
ities as  a  genuine  good  man  and  useful  citizen 
have  won  for  him  equally  high  regard  and  esteem. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  County  and  State  Medical 
societies,  American  Medical  Association,  is  a  Ma- 
eon  and  Knight  of  Pythias  and  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Doctor  Hicks  is  chairman 
of  the  Jarvis  Red  Cross   Chapter   at  Dunn. 

Soon  after  beginning  practice  Doctor  Hicks 
married  Miss  Mary  Gertrude  Harper,  daughter 
of  the  late  Dr.  M.  W.  Harper. 

Dr.  Martin  W.  Harper  was  born  at  Benton - 
ville  in  Johnston  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1844, 
and  died  at  his  home  in  Dunn  in  1907.  He  was 
born  and  reared  at  Bentonville,  which  is  now  a 
very  small  village,  but  which  will  always  have  an 
historical  significance  as  the  scene  of  the  last 
real  battle  of  the  war  between  the  states,  and 
the  surrender  of  General  Johnston's  army  to 
General  Sherman.  Doctor  Harper  before  reach- 
ing his  seventeenth  year  had  volunteered  in  the 
Confederate  service  in  Company  H  of  the  Twen- 
tieth North  Carolina  Infantry.  He  was  all  through 
the  war  except  a  period  at  home  recuperating 
from  a  wound  received  at  the  battle  of  Stone 
Mountain.  Toward  the  close  of  the  war  he  was 
a  member  of  General  Baker 's  staff. 

Doctor  Harper  was  for  a  time  a  student  of  the 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Kentucky 
at  Lexington,  and  then  took  up  the  study  of  med- 
icine in  the  Louisville  Medical  College,  where  he 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1873.  He  at  once 
returned   to   his  old   home   at   Bentonville,  and   be- 


fa  L  7-1 


all 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


231 


gan  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1886  the 
Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railroad  building  southward 
through  Johnston  and  Harnett  counties,  over  a 
route  that  now  constitutes  the  main  line  of  the 
system,  reached  Dunn.  At  the  very  beginning  of 
this  village  Doctor  Harper  moved  his  family  from 
Bentonville  and  his  was  one  of  the  first  resi- 
dences in  the  town.  With  all  his  splendid  quali- 
ties as  a  physician  and  surgeon  and  kindly  and 
capable  practitioner,  his  name  is  almost  equally 
well  remembered  for  his  part  as  a  town  builder. 
Everything  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  new  com- 
munity elicited  his  interest  and  co-operation.  He 
established  the  first  drug  store  in  the  town,  eon- 
ducting  it  for  several  years  while  his  private 
practice  was  growing.  He  also  organized  the 
Dunn  Road  District,  under  which  the  first  good 
roads  were  built  in  Harnett  County.  He  helped 
to  locate  the  first  cemetery.  His  name  was  prom- 
inently connected  with  other  movements  which 
served  to  promote  the  growth  of  Dunn  into  the 
flourishing  and  wealthy  little  city  it  has  become. 
Dunn  is  the  center  of  one  of  the  finest  agricul- 
tural districts  in  North  Carolina  Doctor  Har- 
per organized  the  Harnett  County  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  at  one  time  was  its  president.  One  of 
his  chief  interests  in  life  was  the  Disciples  Church 
at  Dunn,  of  which  he  was  a  working  member  for 
many  years.  In  1875  Doctor  Harper  married 
Miss  Eugenia  Wilson,  of  Newton  Grove,  Sampson 
County,  North  Carolina.  She  is  still  living,  and 
her  four  daughters  are  Mrs.  McD.  Holliday,  Mrs. 
I.  F.  Hieks,  Mrs.  Annie  Young,  and  Mrs.  J.  A. 
McLean. 

Before  closing  this  article  it  should  be  noted 
that  Doctor  Hicks'  sister,  Mrs.  Mary  Lyde  (Hicks) 
Williams,  wife  of  Marshall  Williams  of  Faison, 
is  now  president  of  the  Daughters  of  Revolution 
for  North  Carolina.  While  prominent  in  that 
order,  she  is  more  widely  known  in  North  Carolina 
because  of  her  well  earned  achievements  as  a  por- 
trait painter.  She  is  one  of  the  state  's  most  tal- 
ented daughters.  Mrs.  Williams  has  four  sons, 
all  college  trained,  who  are  now  officers  in  the 
new  National  Army. 

William  Columbus  Hall  is  postmaster  of  Black 
Mountain  and  is  a  resident  of  that  city  who  is 
widely  known  throughout  this  section  of  the  state 
by  his  activities  as  a  railway  contractor  and  a 
general  business  man. 

Mr.  Hall  was  born  in  McDowell  County,  North 
Carolina,  April  25,  1855,  a  son  of  Elijah  and  Aline 
(Biddix)  Hall.  His  father  had  a  farm  in  Mc- 
Dowell County,  and  during  the  war  between  the 
states  was  for  four  years  a  Confederate  soldier 
with  Company  F  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Regiment  of 
North  Carolina.  The  limited  advantages  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  William  C.  Hall  supplemented 
by  attending  Rutherford  College.  From  college 
work  he  went  almost  immediately  into  railroad 
construction,  part  of  the  time  as  an  employee  and 
part  of  the  time  as  a  sub-contractor.  He  helped 
cut  some  of  the  tunnels  on  the  Southern  Railway 
along  the  Asheville  branch,  and  helped  build  the 
Murphy  branch  and  various  other  lines  of  that 
great  system.  Altogether  Mr.  Hall  put  in  about 
thirty  years  in  railway  work. 

In  1882  he  made  his  home  at  Black  Mountain  in 
Buncombe  County  and  in  1906  opened  a  stock  of 
general  merchandise  in  that  town  and  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  merchants  there  ever  since.  He 
was  appointed  to  his  first  term  as  postmaster  May 


26,  1913,  and  was  reappointed  for  a  second  term 
on  September  14,  1917. 

Mr.  Hall 's  position  in  the  community  may  be 
measured  by  many  interests.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Commonwealth  Bank  and  a  member  of  its 
finance  committee  and  is  a  director  of  the  Black 
Mountain  Electric  Light  Company.  He  is  a 
steward  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

December  25,  1879,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Caro- 
line Finley  of  McDowell  County.  Eight  children 
have  been  born  to  their  marriage:  Annie  Lillian, 
Mrs.  W.  R.  Goodson  of  Black  Mountain ;  Wil- 
helmina  Cleveland,  Mrs.  Solomon  Evans  of  Black 
Mountain;  Maud,  Mrs.  R.  E.  Dodson  of  Black 
Mountain;  Winford,  who  married  Nora  Mizell  and 
is  a  merchant,  real  estate  dealer  and  orange  grower 
at  Deland,  Florida;  James  Finley,  who  is  now  a 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Service  stationed 
on  the  Panama  Canal  Zone;  Frank,  associated  with 
his  father  in  business;  William  Newton,  in  the 
United  States  Navy  and  at  present  a  quarter 
master  on  a  merchant  ship ;  and  Janet,  deceased, 
who   married    Ralph    Patton   of    Black    Mountain. 

Thomas  Joshua  Harkins,  lawyer  and  business 
man  of  Asheville  and  widely  known  over  the  state 
for  his  prominence  as  a  leader  in  the  republican 
party,  is  for  all  his  achievements  and  experiences 
still  a  comparatively  young  man,  not  yet  forty. 

Mr.  Harkins  was  born  in  Buncombe  County, 
North  Carolina,  January  15,  1879,  a  son  of 
Hirshel  Springfield  and  Sarah  Jane  (Jones) 
Harkins.  His  father  was  a  carpenter  and  con- 
tractor and  a  man  of  wide  prominence  in  Western 
North  Carolina,  having  served  two  years,  1888-90, 
as  mayor  of  Asheville  and  was  collector  of  internal 
revenue  at  Asheville  for  the  western  district  until 
1907,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  retired.  Thomas 
J.  Harkins  was  educated  in  North  Carolina  public 
schools  and  at  the  State  University,  and  also  took 
his  law  work  in  the  university,  graduating  in 
1901. 

For  several  years  after  finishing  his  education 
Mr.  Harkins  lived  in  Oklahoma,  and  was  one  of 
the  prominent  lawyers  and  bankers  of  that  terri- 
tory and  state.  His  home  was  at  Weatherford, 
and  while  there  he  engaged  in  general  practice  as 
a  lawyer  and  also  organized  the  Independent  State 
Bank,  the  State  Bank  of  Colony,  the  Bridgeport 
State  Bank,  the  Hydro  State  Bank  and  was  the 
active  vice  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Weatherford.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Oklahoma  Republican  State  Executive  Committee. 

While  in  the  West  on  December  25,  1904,  Mr. 
Harkins  married  Roxy  Seevers,  of  Osceola,  Mis- 
souri, daughter  of  Dr.  John  and  Fidelia  (Seaborn) 
Seevers.  In  1906,  on  account  of  ill  health,  Mr. 
Harkins  disposed  of  his  various  interests  in  Okla- 
homa, closed  up  his  law  office,  and  returning  to 
North  Carolina  settled  in  Asheville,  where  in  May, 
1907,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Kingsland 
Van  Winkle  under  the  name  of  Harkins  &  Van 
Winkle.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of 
Asheville,  and  handles  a  large  corporation  and 
insurance  practice. 

As  a  republican  Mr.  Harkins  is  chairman  of  the 
City  Executive  Committee  of  Asheville,  in  1908 
was  secretary  of  the  State  Executive  Committee, 
1912  to  1914  was  member  of  the  National  Repub- 
lican Committee  and  in  1916  was  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Convention  at  Chicago  which  nominated 
Hughes. 

Mr.    Harkins    is    vice    president    of    the    Brown 


232 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Banking  Company,  vice  president  of  the  Pack 
Square  Book  Company,  and  director  of  the  Turn- 
bull  Cone  Machine  Company.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Asheville  Country  Club,  the  Rotary  Club,  and 
in  October,  1916,  was  elected  captain  of  the  Second 
North  Carolina  Reserve  Militia  under  the  com- 
mand of  Governor  Bickett.  Mr.  Harkins  has 
attained  the  supreme  honorary  thirty-third  degree 
of  Scottish  Rite  Masonry,  and  was  on  April  29, 
1918,  commissioned  deputy  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil of  the  thirty-third  degree  in  North  Carolina. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and 
the  Knights   of  Pythias. 

Rev.  Jacob  Calvin  Leonard,  D.  D.  a  man  of 
earnest  convictions,  strong  in  character  and  per- 
sonality, and  of  a  deeply  religious  nature,  Rev. 
Jacob  C.  Leonard,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Re- 
formed Church  of  Lexington,  North  Carolina,  has 
led  a  busy  life  filled  with  usefulness,  and  his  work 
has  been  abundantly  blessed  to  the  advancement  of 
the  Master's  kingdom.  A  native  of  Davidson 
County,  North  Carolina,  he  was  born  on  a  farm 
situated  1%  miles  east  of  Lexington,  the  ancestral 
estate  of  his  father  and  grandfather.  He  comes 
from  substantial  pioneer  stock,  being  a  descendant 
in  the  fifth  generation  of  Valentin  Leonhardt, 
the  immigrant  and  Revolutionary  war  patriot,  the 
line  of  descent  being  as  follows:  Valentin,  Jacob, 
Jacob,  Valentine,  Jacob  C. 

Valentin  Leonhardt  was  born  at  Katzenbach  in 
the  Electorate  of  Palatinate,  Germany,  not  many 
miles  across  the  Rhine,  October  13,  1718,  of  pious 
parents.  The  name  is  now  spelled  Valentine  Leon- 
ard. His  parents  were  Martin  and  Anna  Barbara 
(nee  Spohn)  Leonhardt.  They  were  married  No- 
vember 11,  1704,  by  Rev.  Karl  Gervinus,  pastor 
of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Katzenbach  from  1691 
to  1710.  Valentin  was  the  youngest  of  four  sons. 
His  older  brothers  were:  Sebastian,  baptized  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1706;  Henry,  baptized  July  24,  1713; 
Philip,  ' baptized  March  18,  1717;  and  Valentin, 
who  was  baptized  October'  23,  1718,  in  the  Re- 
formed Church  at  Katzenbach,  by  Rev.  Gotthard 
Steitz,  the  pastor.  The  sponsors'  for  Valentin  were 
John  Paul  Neuss  and  his-.wife,  Anna  Ottilia:  He 
was  confirmed  a  full  member  of  the  same  church 
at  Easter,'  1733,  by  Rev.  Henry  Julius  Wagner, 
pastor  from  1719  to  1763. 

Valentin  Leonhardt  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  took 
passage  from  Rotterdam  on  the  good  ship  Neptune, 
Capt.  Thomas  Wilkinson,  arriving  at  the  Port  of 
Philadelphia  October  25,  1746.  About  Christmas 
of  the  same  year  they  reached  what  was  to  be 
their  future  home  in  North  Carolina,  being  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  what  is  now  Davidson 
County.  Purchasing  several  tracts  of  land  from 
Earl.  Granville  through  the  earl's  agent,  Henry 
McCulloh,  this  pioneer  erected  a  house  about  3% 
miles  northeast  of  the  present  site  of  Lexington. 
Reared  in  the  "Reformirte  Kirche"  in  Europe,  he 
became  one  of  the  founders  of  what  was  for  years 
known  as  " Leonhardt 's  Church,"  the  real  title  of 
which  was  ' '  The  Church  of  the  Reformed  Pil- 
grims. ' '  The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  about 
1757,  a  two-story  log  house.  The  door  was  fast- 
ened with  a  bolt  that  was  locked  and  unlocked 
with  a  key  that  pushed  it  backward  and  for- 
ward. That  key  is  now  one  of  the  treasured 
possessions  of  this  man's  great-great-grandson, 
Rev.  J.  C.  Leonard,  D.  D.,  and  is  probably  one  of 
only  a  few  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States.  A 
soldier  in  the  American  army  of  the  Revolutionary 


war,  Valentin  Leonhardt  took  part  in  many  en- 
gagements of  that  struggle,  the  last  one  being 
the  Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House  in  March,  1781, 
about  thirty  miles  east  of  his  home.  Here  Gen- 
eral Greene's  army  was  partly  disbanded,  and  he 
returned  to  his  farm.  On  the  evening  of  Novem- 
ber 2d  of  that  year,  while  sitting  quietly  by 
his  hearthstone  with  his  family,  he  was  stealthily 
shot  by  a  band  of  tories  and  died  of  his  wounds 
eleven  days  later.  On  the  soapstohe  slab  at  the 
head  of  his  grave  is  this  inscription:  "Valentin 
Leonhardt,  geboren  in  der  Kuhr  Pfaltz  in  Katz- 
enbach den  13  October,  1718,  und  ist  dem  Herrn 
entschlaffen  den  13  November,  1781.  Nun  hier  ligt 
eine  Handvoll  Ashen  mit  Christi  Blut  gewashen. " 
On  the  stone  at  the  foot  of  the  grave  are  the  lines 
in   English: 

"Beneath  this  stone  doth  now  remain 
An  ancient  man  by  murder  slain." 

It  is  a  quaint  inscription.  The  word  "ancient" 
would  seem  to  suggest  the  idea  that  there  was  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  erected  the  stone  the  con- 
viction that  in  the  years  to  come,  down  through 
many  generations,  men  and  women  and  children 
would  look  with  reverence  upon  this  grave.  It 
would  tell  them  how  this  man  came  to  his  death. 
And  so  it  has  been.  Thousands  have  looked  upon 
the  grave,  have  read  the  simple  words  and  have 
thanked  God  for  brave  men  who  fought  and  died 
to  give  us  a  free  country  in  which  to  live.  A 
handsome  monument  erected  by  a  grateful  citizen- 
ship and  unveiled  in  the  presence  of  10,000  people 
July  4,  1896,  115  years  after  the  death  of  this 
brave  soldier,  now  marks  his  last  earthly  resting 
place. 

Besides  the  key  above  mentioned,  Doctor  Leon- 
ard of  this  sketch  has  the  bank  in  which  Valentin 
Leonhardt  kept  his  gold  during  the  Revolutionary 
war.  It  is  a  piece  of  black  walnut  about  15  inches 
long  and  3  inches  square,  with  1%  inch  hole  bored 
nearly  its  entire  length,  which  was  closed  with  a 
stopper  of  the  same  wood.  The  gold  was  placed 
in  this  and  concealed  in  the  wall  of  the  cellar 
under  his  house.  A  man  of  great  industry  and 
thrift,  he  became  an  extensive  landholder.  In 
his  will,  made  in  1779,  he  bequeathed  a  large  farm 
to  each  of  his  five  sons,  and  money  and  chattels 
to  his  three  daughters.  To  his  wife,  Elizabeth, 
he  left  the  "Manor  Plantation  that  I  now  live  on, 
during  her  bearing  the  name  Leonhardt,  and  in 
case  she  does  not  change  her  name  she  is  to  keep 
it  to  have  full  rule  over  it  during  her  lifetime; 
and  likewise  I  leave  to  my  wife  all  my  horses, 
cattle,  and  my  personal  estate- wholly. "        > 

Jacob  Leonard,  as  he  spelled  his  name  and  as 
subsequently  spelled,  son  of  the  pioneer,  was  born 
on  the  home  farm  November  16,  1758.  Though 
scarcely  more  than  a  boy,  he  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  his  country  during  the  last  years  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  fought  against  the  British  and  tories 
along  with  his  father  under  General  Greene.  And 
with  his  father  he  returned  from  the  army  after 
the  Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House.  Following 
his  father 's  death  he  became  a  farmer  on  a  large 
scale,  operating  his  large  estates  with  the  aid  of 
slaves.  He  married  Elizabeth  Shoaf,  with  whom 
he  brought  up  a  large  and  influential  family  of 
sons  and  daughters.  He  succeeded  his  father  in 
the  eldership  of  the  home  church,  and  the  official 
records  show  that  he  frequently  represented  the 
local  body  in  the  higher  counsels  of  the  denomina- 
tion.    This  splendid  man  reached  the  advanced  age 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


233 


of  9eventy-seven  years,  passing  away  January  27, 
1835.  His  body  lies  close  to  that  of  his  father 
in   the   Leonhardt's   Church   burying   ground. 

Jacob  Leonard,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born 
on  the  parental  homestead  February  20,  1789,  and 
died  November  17,  1845.  His  wife  was  Susan 
Byerly,  likewise  of  pioneer  descent.  Following  in 
the  ancestral  footsteps,  he  was  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  during  a  large  part  of  his  natural 
life.  His  large  farm  was  1%  miles  east  of  Lex- 
ington. Like  his  father  he  was  a  large  owner  of 
slaves.  He  was  of  military  age  when  the  War 
of  1812  came  on,  and  was  drafted  for  service. 
Instead  of  going  himself  he  hired  a  substitute,  ac- 
cording to  the  privilege  of  the  time.  This  sub- 
stitute in  company  with  several  other  soldiers  one 
day  when  off  duty  saw  a  company  of  Indian 
squaws  at  a  distance.  And  this  fellow  proposed  to 
take  a  shot  at  one  of  them  just  for  the  fun  of  the 
thing.  The  others  warned  him  .that  it  was  a 
dangerous  piece  of  business,  and  tried  to  persuade 
him  not  to  do  it.  But  he  raised  his  gun  and  fired, 
and  in  spite  of  the  gTeat  distance  one  of  them 
fell  dead,  showing  his  accurate  marksmanship. 
The  squaws  at  once  set  out  to  report  the  tragedy 
to  their  Indian  braves.  The  latter  in  a  few  hours 
overtook  the  band  of  soldiers  and  asked  who  had 
shot  the  woman.  At  first  none  would  tell.  But 
the  Indians  warned  them  that  they  would  shoot 
every  man  in  the  bunch  unless  the  murderer  was 
pointed  out.  The  white  men  were  far  outnumbered, 
and  so  finally  they  pointed  out  Mr.  Leonard 's  sub- 
stitute as  the  one  w-ho  had  committed  the  deed. 
The  Indians  took  the  man  and  flayed  him  alive. 
When  the  operation  was  finished  they  released  him. 
He  ran  several  yards  and  fell  down  dead. 

Jacob  Leonard,  as  were  his  father  and  grand- 
father, was  a  devoted  churchman,  and  an  office 
bearer  in  his  local  congregation  until  the  day  of 
his  death,  being  frequently  elected  a  representa- 
tive to  the  higher  judicatories.  He  was  also  cap- 
tain of  a  military  company  mustered  in  his  county, 
which  met  regularly  for  drill. 

Valentine  Leonard  was  born  November  10,  1824, 
and  as  a  boy  became  familiar  with  all  branches 
of  agriculture.  He  married  Caroline  B-ebeckah 
Cox,  the  granddaughter  of  James  Cox,  who  was 
born  in  England  and  kidnapped  by  sailors  at  the 
docks  of  Liverpool  and  secretly  carried  on  board 
a  ship  bound  for  America.  The  last  view  he  ever 
had  of  his  father  showed  him  standing  at  the 
very  brink  of  the  water  tearing  his  hair  in  agony. 
James  Cox,  soon  after  landing  in  America,  was 
apprenticed  to  a  hatmaker  near  Salisbury,  North 
Carolina.  Having  learned  the  hatter's  trade,  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Rowan  County. 
His  son,  John  Cox,  married  Barbara  Turner.  He 
was  a  school  teacher,  and  also  served  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Davidson  County  Home  for  several 
terms.  Valentine  Leonard  was  a  strong  character, 
always  standing  for  religion  and  morality.  He 
was  a  devoted  churchman,  like  his  ancestors,  and 
was  aUo  an  office  bearer  in  ' '  Leonhardt  's  Church. ' ' 
In  his  early  life  he  gave  considerable  attention  to 
vocal  music,  and  became  an  old-fashioned  "singing 
master. ' '  He  was  thirty-seven  years  of  age  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  member 
of  what  was  called  the  "Fpper  Begiment,"  which 
met  for  muster  and  regular  drill  at  a  point  on 
the  old  SaJem-Salisbury  Road  eight  miles  above 
Lexington.  The  names  of  all  members  of  the 
regiment  were  recorded  in  a  book  called  the  muster 
roll.  In  a  hat  were  placed  slips  of  paper  marked 
"  go "  and   ' '  blank. ' '     Under  the   draft  law  the 


men  marched  two-abreast  along  by  where  the  of- 
ficers stood  with  the  register.  When  a  name  was 
called  a  little  child  drew  a  slip  from  the  hat.  If 
the  paper  read  "blank,"  the  man  was  not  drafted; 
if  it  read  "go,"  by  that  sign  he  was  drafted. 
Mr.  Leonard's  name  read  "blank."  So  he  missed 
the  first  draft.  The  ' '  conscription  act ' '  came  in 
1863,  first  calling  out  all  men  from  18  to  35  years 
of  age.  This  left  him  out  again.  In  the  winter  of 
1863  the  second  conscription  called  out  all  men 
from  35  to  40.  This  included  Mr.  Leonard.  He 
took  Mr.  Jesse  Shaw  with  him  to  Raleigh  when 
he  went  to  appear  before  the  board  of  examiners. 
He  offered  Mr.  Shaw  as  a  substitute,  and  the 
latter  was  accepted  because  he  was  a  more  robust 
man  than  the  principal,  though  past  the  draft  age. 
The  substitute,  supplemented  by  a  government 
wood  contract,  kept  Mr.  Leonard  out  of  the  regu- 
lar service  a  year.  In  1864  even  many  of  those 
who  had  substitutes  had  to  go  to  the  army  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  "rich  men"  and  could  af- 
ford to  help  out  the  country  by  both  employing 
substitutes  and  going  themselves.  Mr.  Leonard 
first  went  to  Charleston,  though  many  feared  to 
go  there  on  account  of  yellow  fever.  His  prefer- 
ence was  to  join  the  cavalry,  but  he  was  assigned 
to  service  in  connection  with  the  navy.  His  first 
work  was  to  help  build  an  ironclad  boat.  The 
iron  was  so  hot  from  the  sun 's  rays  that  the 
workmen  had  to  sit  on  boards.  When  the  boat 
was  finished,  they  ran  her  out  for  a  trial.  A  shot 
was  fired  at  a  tree  at  a  great  distance  and  the 
tree  was  smashed;  but  the  boat  was  not  strong 
enough,  and  it  broke  apart.  While  at  Charleston 
his  headquarters  were  on  the  boat  "Indian  Chief." 
From  Charleston  his  boat  went  to  Georgetown,  and 
then  to  Cheraw.  The  water  was  so  low  that  often 
they  had  to  draw  the  boat  with  rope  and  tackle. 
Sherman 's  army  was  now  so  close  that  the  men 
were  ordered  to  leave  the  ' '  Indian  Chief ' '  and 
march  on  foot  in  the  direction  of  Charlotte,  from 
which  point  they  were  taken  by  train  to  Drury's 
Bluff.  After  the  fall  of  Bichmond,  they  had  to 
get  out  of  the  latter  place  and  join  General  John- 
ston 's  army.  They  were  finally  captured  above 
Petersburg,  and  were  taken  in  May  to  Point  Look- 
out. Here  he  remained  until  the  last  of  June, 
1865,  when  he  was  released  to  return  home.  To 
Valentine  Leonard  and  his  wife,  Caroline  Bebeckah, 
were  born  five  sons:  P.  James,  George  E.,  William 
Valentine,  J.  Thomas,  and  Jacob  Calvin. 

The  last  one  of  these,  Bev.  J.  C.  Leonard,  D.  D., 
laid  a  wise  foundation  for  his  education  in  the 
rural  schools  of  his  native  county.  Compared  with 
the  schools  of  the  present  day,  the  school  which 
he  attended  presented  a  sorry  spectacle.  It  was 
a  small  log  house  furnished  with  slab  benches. 
There  were  neither  desks  nor  blackboards,  and 
there  were  only  a  few  small  windows  to  admit  any 
light.  There  was  not  even  a  stove  to  render  the 
room  warm  in  cold  weather,  only  an  open  fire- 
place giving  any  comfort  at  all.  The  teachers  were 
naturally  not  very  well  equipped  educationally, 
but  they  were  men  of  good  common  sense,  and 
they  knew  how  to  "manage  the  boys."  School 
books  were  a  very  uncertain  quantity  in  those  days, 
and  this  young  student  took  to  school  as  his  chief 
text-book  Webster 's  blueback  speller,  and  he  also 
had  such  other  miscellaneous  books  as  had  been 
handed  down  by  his  older  brothers.  Such  a  thing 
as  a  graded  series  of  books  was  unknown  in  this 
school  out  in  the  Pilgrim  ' '  district. ' '  But  this 
uncouth  boy  in  home-made  garments,  hungering 
and  thirsting  for  knowledge,  did  the  best  he  could 


234 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


with  the  tools  in  hand.  And  after  all  it  is  true 
that  there  is  "more  in  the  man  than  in  the  land" 
in  successful  farming;  and  the  same  thing  is  true 
in  getting  an  education.  Young  Jacob  Leonard 
was  rated  as  a  bright  boy,  and  the  older  people 
said  he  ' '  would  make  his  mark ' '  in  the  world. 
The  schools  were  short  and  sadly  handicapped 
without  necessary  equipment.  But  this  boy  man- 
aged to  work  up  through  such  course  of  studies  as 
was  offered  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Then  he  studied  four  months  in  the  Lexington 
Academy.  At  the  end  of  the  term  he  went  before 
the  county  superintendent  of  schools  for  examina- 
tion and  obtained  a  first-grade  certificate  for  teach- 
ing. He  was  then  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  taught 
his  first  public  school  at  Burkhart's  schoolhouse, 
two  miles  from  his  home.  The  next  spring  (the 
last  of  January,  1884),  he  entered  Catawba  High 
School  at  Newton,  North  Carolina.  He  entered 
the  freshman  class  of  Catawba  College  at  the  same 
place  in  August,  1885.  He  graduated  from  that 
institution  in  1889,  having  led  his  class  through 
the  four  years,  and  was  awarded  the  valedictory 
oration  as  the  highest  honor.  The  college  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and  three  years  later 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  cursu.  Subsequently  he 
graduated  from  Ursinus  Theological  Seminary,  at 
Philadelphia,  with  the  degree  of  B.  D.  In  1906  his 
alma  mater  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  D.  D.  in  recognition  of  his  work  in 
homiletical  and  theological  studies  and  historical 
researches. 

Doctor  Leonard 's  first  pastorate  consisted  of 
four  churches  in  Davidson  County,  among  them 
' '  Leonhardt  's  Church ' '  founded  by  his  ancestor  of 
Revolutionary  war  fame;  the  others  were  Bethany, 
Sowers  and  Hebron.  In  1892  he  organized  Calvary 
Church  at  Moffitt's  Grove  and  built  the  house  of 
worship  there.  Likewise  he  organized  Heidelberg 
Church  in  Thomasville  in  1895  and  built  the  house 
of  worship  the  same  year.  In  1897  this  young 
minister,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  trustees 
of  Catawba  College,  resigned  his  charge  to  become 
field  representative  of  this  growing  and  important 
institution.  Doctor  Leonard  traveled  over  several 
states  and  spoke  in  many  churches  during  this 
time,  and  raised  large  sums  of  money  for  the  col- 
lege. Later  for  two  years  he  was  professor  of 
English  in  the  college,  resigning  in  1900  to  accept 
the  challenge  of  the  board  of  missions  of  the 
denomination  to  begin  the  work  of  the  church  in 
the  towns  of  Lexington  and  High  Point,  in  both 
of  which  towns  he  organized  congregations  and 
built  churches.  The  church  at  Lexington  was  fin- 
ished by  the  first  of  the  year  1901  and  the  con- 
gregation was  organized  January  20th  with  seven- 
teen members,  now  numbering  over  400.  The  house 
of  worship  was  built  at  High  Point  during  the 
summer  of  1901.  The  minister  served  both  until 
1903,  when  he  turned  over  to  an  assistant  that  at 
High  Point,  since  which  time  he  has  given  his 
entire  energy  to  the  development,  of  the  work  at 
Lexington.  The  parsonage  was  built  in  1901. 
The  church  was  rebuilt  in  1907.  The  Second  Re- 
formed Church  was  organized  and  the  house  of 
worship  built  in  1904.  The  Sunday  school  build- 
ing of  the  First  Church  was  erected  in  1913.  The 
Second  Church  was  rebuilt  in  1917.  A  man  of 
earnest  purpose,  laboring  willingly  at  all  times, 
Doctor  Leonard  has  been  the  moving  spirit  in  the 
upbuilding  of  the  church  with  which  he  is  as- 
sociated, its  present  prosperous  condition  being 
largely  due  to  his  wise  efforts.  And  in  the  multi- 
plicity of  the  heavy  duties  of  his  local  pastorate, 


he  has  always  found  time  to  help  in  many  other 
general  enterprises  of  the  church  and  state.  He 
has  been  a  trustee  of  Catawba  College  many  years, 
and  his  -judgment  is  always  sought  by  his  fellows. 
He  has  also  long  been  a  member  of  tjie  Lexing- 
ton School  Board.  Doctor  Leonard  has  delivered 
numerous  educational,  religious,  philanthropic,  and 
fraternal  addresses  in  a  wide  section  of  the  coun- 
try. He  has  represented  his  Classis  many  times 
in  the  higher  bodies  of  his  denomination,  the  Po- 
tomac Synod  and  the  General  Synod.  He  has  been 
stated  clerk  of  the  Classis  of  North  Carolina  over 
twenty-five  years. 

January  29,  1902,  Doctor  Leonard  was  married 
to  Miss  Willie  Yorke  Cress,  of  Concord,  North 
Carolina,  They  are  the  happy  parents  of  one 
son,  Jacob  C,  Jr.,  a  student  in  the  Lexington  High 
School.  Fraternally  Doctor  Leonard  is  a  member 
of  Lexington  Lodge  473,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons;  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America; 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and 
Royal  Arcanum. 

Charles  Harwell  Carroll  is  one  of  the  men 
burdened  with  the  heavy  responsibilities  of  execu- 
tive position  in  North  Carolina,  being  district 
commercial  superintendent  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company  at  Charlotte.  The  importance 
of  this  office  can  be  better  appreciated  when  its 
jurisdiction    and   responsibilites   are   mentioned. 

Charlotte  as  the  headquarters  office  for  the 
district  is  the  largest  wire  center  between  Wash- 
ington and  Atlanta,  and  is  the  second  largest  re- 
lay point  in  the  southern  division.  In  the  dis- 
trict are  128  uptown  offices  and  723  offices  in  rail- 
road depots.  On  Mr.  Carroll's  own  staff  as  dis- 
trict superintendent  are  seventeen  men,  includ- 
ing five  field  men.  ■  The  local  manager's  office 
in  Charlotte  has  a  staff  of  thirty-two  clerks  and 
other  employes,  not  including  messengers,  while 
in  th«  operating  department  of  the  ctiy  are  em- 
ployed 175  operators,  including  several  clerks. 

As  the  incumbent  of  such  a  position  it  is  nat- 
ural to  be  expected  that  Mr.  Carroll  is  a  veteran 
in  telegraphic  circles.  He  is  in  fact  a  veteran 
in  experience  though  still  comparatively  young  in 
years.  He  was  born  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in 
1881,  a  son  of  C.  H.  and  Birdie  (Newman)  Car- 
roll. At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  left  the  Nash- 
ville schools  to  begin  work  in  the  Nashville  office 
of  the  Western  Union  Company  as  a  messenger 
boy.  His  experience  in  the  telegraph  industry 
has  been  continuous  since,  covering  a  period  of 
over  twenty  years.  He  learned  the  art  of  te- 
legraphy at  Nashville,  and  for  a  time  was  an 
operator  with  the  Nashville  Terminals  Railroad 
Company.  Successive  promotions  and  transfers 
took  him  to  many  parts  of  the  country.  For 
three  years  he  was  train  dispatcher  for  the  Mis- 
souri, Kansas  &  Texas  Railway  at  Denison,  Texas, 
and  then  occupied  similar  positions  with  the  Gulf, 
Colorado  and  Santa  Fe  at  Cleburne,  Texas,  and 
the  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco  Railway  at  Spring- 
field, Missouri. 

On  October  1,  1909,  returning  to  Nashville,  he 
re-entered  the  service  of  the  Western  Union  as  an 
operator.  A  month  later,  on  November  1st,  he 
was  made  district  commercial  agent  with  head- 
quarters at  Nashville.  On  May  1,  1910,  he  was 
promoted  to  district  manager  of  Kentucky  with 
headquarters  at  Louisville.  March  19,  1915,  he 
became  manager  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  on 
July   1,   1916,   was  appointed  to  his  present  posi- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


235 


tion  as  district  superintendent  for  the  district 
embracing  North  and  South  Carolina  with  head- 
quarters at  Charlotte. 

From  this  record  it  is  easy  to  understand  that 
Mr.  Carroll  possesses  executive  ability,  energy  and 
intelligence  of  high  order,  since  those  are  the 
qualities  which  insure  promotion  with  the  great 
telegraph  company.  He  holds  a  position  that 
requires  tact,  courtesy,  and  complete  concentra- 
tion of  faculties.  Now,  during  war  time,  the 
business  of  the  telegraph  company  is  strictly  un- 
der control  of  the  Government,  and  Government 
business  is  given  preference  over  everything  else 
no  matter  how  important  it  may  be. 

Mr.  Carroll  married  Miss  Mary  Ferguson.  She 
was  born  and  reared  in  Southeastern  Missouri. 
They  have  a  son,  Harwell  Carroll. 

Lemuel  Weyher  Koknegay,  M.  D.  To  one  of 
the  great  writers  of  the  day  is  attributed  the 
remark  that  when  posterity  comes  to  study  the 
present  age  it  will  find  that  its  noblest  figure  is 
the  doctor.  His  choice  of  profession  proclaims  un- 
selfishness, and  its  proper  study  compels  the  re- 
linquishment of  many  of  the  recreations  and  occu- 
pations attractive  to  ordinary  young  manhood, 
while  its  practice  wears  on  brain,  body  and  spirit, 
far  beyond  the  conception  of  those  who  are  the 
recipients  of  this  acquired  skill  and  scientific 
knowledge.  Eastern  North  Carolina  has  contrib- 
uted her  share  of  conscientious,  well  trained  medi- 
cal men,  but  there  are  few  who,  while  yet  young 
men,  have  advanced  so  far  and  have  demonstrated 
such  surgical  skill  as  has  Dr.  Lemuel  Weyher  Kor- 
negay,  who  is  founder  and  president  of  the  Rocky 
Mount  Sanitarium,  Eocky  Mount,  North  Carolina. 

Doctor  Koruegay  was  born  October  30,  1881,  in 
Wayne  County,  North  Carolina.  His  parents  are 
Robert  and  Henrietta  (Parrott)  Kornegay.  His 
father  is  a  farmer  in  Wayne  County  and  carries 
on  a  general  mercantile  business  at  Mount  Olive. 

Lemuel  W.  Kornegay  attended  the  public  schools 
and  after  completing  the  high  school  course  at 
Oak  Ridge,  attended  Davidson  College  and  then 
entered  the  medical  department  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Medical  College  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 
For  two  years  afterward  he  served  as  interne  in 
the  St.  Francis  Hospital,  at  Jersey  City,  New 
Jersey,  and  then  located  as  a  general  practitioner 
at  Mount  Olive,  North  Carolina,  making  a  specialty 
of  surgical  cases  and  engaging  in  special  hos- 
pital work  in  the  Goldsboro  Hospital.  In  1911 
Doctor  Kornegay  opened  a  private  hospital  at 
Mount  Olive,  and  in  1913  he  opened  the  Rocky 
Mount  Sanitarium  and  Hospital,  of  which  he  is 
president  and  devotes  himself  exclusively  to  sur- 
gical cases  in  the  hospital. 

Few  North  Carolina  surgeons  have  had  better 
or  more  scientific  training,  and  to  name  his  in- 
structors is  to  mention  the  most  eminent  men  of 
the  profession  that  have  added  luster  to  medicine 
and  surgery  within  the  last  decade  or  more  in  the 
United  States.  Doctor  Kornegay  took  post  gradu- 
ate work  in  the  New  York  Polyclinic  Hospital  and 
clinic  work  in  the  New  York  Post  Graduate  College, 
and  subsequently  attended  clinics  at  Johns  Hop- 
kins University,  Baltimore,  Maryland,  the  clinic  of 
the  late  Doctor  Murphy,  one  of  Chicago 's  most 
distinguished  men  of  scientific  attainments,  and 
the  noted  Mayo  Brothers  at  Rochester,  Minnesota. 
These  unusual  advantages  have  served  to  bring  to 
perfection  the  knowledge  and  skill  that  Doctor 
Kornegay  exercises  as   diagnostician   and  surgeon. 

Doctor  Kornegay  was  married  June  7,  191:!,  to 


Miss  Leoninie  Dumais,  who  was  born  at  Adams, 
Massachusetts.  She  is  of  French  parentage,  her 
parents  having  been  born  in  Alsace  Province. 
She  is  a  lady  of  many  social  graces  and  numerous 
accomplishments.  After  completing  the  regular 
course  of  study  in  the  high  school,  residing  then  in 
New  York  City,  she  entered  the  Boston  Conserva- 
tory of  Music  and  subsequently  studied  the  art 
in  both  France  and  Germany.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Kornegay  have  one  son,  Robert  Dumais  Kornegay, 
who  was  born  June  30,  1914. 

Doctor  Kornegay  is  identified  with  various  scien- 
tific •  bodies  and  is  a  highly  valued  member  of 
the  Nash  County,  the  Seaboard,  the  Fourth  Dis- 
trict and  the  North  Carolina  State  Medical  socie- 
ties. It  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  not  only 
brings  to  his  patients  the  fine  skill  that  will  re- 
lieve their  disabilities,  but  an  atmosphere  that  en- 
courages and  a  quiet,  strengthening  influence  that 
assures  healing. 

Marcus  Wiley  Brown  was  admitted  to  the 
North  Carolina  bar  twenty  years  ago,  and  since 
then  has  made  a  commendable  record  of  achieve- 
ment in  the  general  work  of  his  profession  and 
also  in  the  successful  handling  of  various  adminis- 
trative and  executive  public,  offices.  He  is  one  of 
the  recognized  leaders  of  the  Asheville'  bar. 

Mr.  Brown  was  born  in  Leicester,  Buncombe 
County,  North  Carolina,  September  21,  1876,  a 
son  of  Thomas  Caney  and  Margaret  Lucinda 
(Hawkins)  Brown.  His  father  for  a  number  of 
years  was  a  merchant  and  served  as  chairman  of 
the  Board  of  County  Commissioners  of  Buncombe 
County.  A  member  of  a  substantial  and  honored 
family,  Marcus  Wiley  Brown  grew  up  in  a  good 
home,  was  educated  both  in  public  and  private 
schools,  and  took  his  literary  education  and  law 
training  both  in  the  University  of  Tennessee  and 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  September,  1897,  when  he 
had  just  turned  twenty-one,  and  since  then  has 
been  busied  with  an  accumulating  general  practice. 
In  addition  to  his  private  clientage  he  has  filled 
the  office  of  county  attorney,  was  police  judge 
for  a  time,  and  for  two  terms  was  solicitor  of  the 
Nineteenth  Judicial  District.  Mr.  Brown  is  a 
thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Dramatic  Order 
of  the  Knights  of  Khorassan,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  a  member  of  the 
Kappa  Alpha  College  Fraternity.  He  is  one  of 
the  governors  of  the  AsheviHe  Club  and  is  a 
steward  of  the  Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  at  Asheville.  June  20,  1906,  Mr. 
Brown  married  Leonora  Eugenia  Johnston, 
daughter  of  Robert  B.  and  Leonora  V.  (Pulliam) 
Johnston,  a  well-known  family  of  Asheville,  where 
her  father  has  long  been  prominent  in  business 
and  financial  circles.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  have 
four  children:  Leonora  Eugenia,  Sarah  Eleanor, 
Marcus   Wiley,   Jr.,   and   Margaret   Lucinda. 

William  Henry  McKee,  M.  D.  Distinguished 
in  that  long  and  honorable  roll  of  North  Carolina's 
medical  men  was  William  Henry  McKee,  the  last- 
ing benefit  of  whose  services  was  rendered  during 
the  middle  of  the  last  century. 

He  was  born  at  Raleigh  September  7,  1814,  and 
died  April  24,  1875,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  His 
parents  were  James  McKee  of  Orange  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  Priscilla  Macon,  of  Frank- 
lin County,  a  niece  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Macon. 

In   1839  Doctor  McKee  received  his  M.  D.  de- 


236 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


gree  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
spent  two  years  as  an  interne  in  Blockley  Hos- 
pital. Prior  to  taking  up  the  active  practice  of 
medicine  he  was  a  druggist  for  several  years.  For 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  practiced 
actively  at  Raleigh,  and  in  that  time  there  came 
to  him  a  large  share  of  professional  and  civic 
honors. 

He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  State  Medical 
Society  in  1849  and  was  its  secretary  during  its 
first  three  years.  In  1857  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  society  and  in  1859  was  elected  one  of  the 
first  State  Medical  Examining  Board,  North  Caro- 
lina being  the  first  state  in  the  Union  to  estab- 
lish such  a  board.  Doctor  McKee  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors,  was  also 
president  and  attending  physician  to  the  State 
School  for  the  Deaf,  Dumb  and  Blind.  He  also 
served  a  long  time  as  one  of  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners of  Raleigh,  a  position  afterwards  called 
alderman.  He  was  at  one  time  grand  master  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  in  North  Caro- 
lina. 

March  8,  1842,  Doctor  McKee  married  Susan  E. 
Battle,  a.  member  of  the  prominent  family  of 
that  name  in  North  Carolina.  The  children  of 
that  marriage  were:  James,  who  married  Mildred 
Sasser;  Laura,  who  married  W.  B.  Gulick;  Lewis; 
and  William.  On  November  20,  1854,  Doctor  Mc- 
Kee married  Eliza  O.  Nixon.  The  only  child  of 
that  marriage  was  Eliza  N,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Dr.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  Jr.,  of  Raleigh. 

James  McKee,  M.  D.  For  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  the  name  McKee  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  medical  profession 
of  North  Carolina.  One  of  the  name  to  gain  dis- 
tinction was  the  late  Dr.  James  McKee,  who  was 
the  son  of  an  earlier  leader  in  medicine  and  pub- 
lic affairs  of  North  Carolina,  Dr.  William  Henry 
McKee  and  his  wife,  Susan  E.  Battle.  Reference 
to  the  life  and  work  of  Dr.  William  H.  McKee 
will  be  found  on  other  pages. 

Born  at  Raleigh  January  5,  1845,  Dr.  James  Mc- 
Kee spent  more  than  forty  years  in  the  active 
work  of  his  profession,  and  died  January  10,  1912. 
He  received  his  early  training  in  the  Lovejoy 
Academy  at  Raleigh,  and  then  entered  the  State 
University,  whose  halls  he  left  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen to  take  up  arms  for  the  Confederacy.  After 
the  war  he  did  not  resume  his  studies  at  the  uni- 
versity, but  forty  years  later  was  granted  a  diploma 
by  that  institution.  Entering  the  army,  he  spent 
four  years  and  gave  the  utmost  loyalty  of  his 
nature  and  his  strength  to  the  Confederate  cause. 
He  was  in  active  service  four  years,  and  was  ad- 
vanced from  private  to  lieutenant. 

After  the  war  Doctor  McKee  entered  the  Belle- 
vue  Hospital  Medical  College  at  New  York,  where 
he  was  granted  his  M.  D.  degree  in  1869.  From 
that  time  forward  he  practiced  medicine  in  Raleigh, 
and  besides  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by 
his  patients  and  host  of  friends,  he  had  more  than 
an  ordinary  share  of  professional  honors. 

For  several  years  he  served  as  secretary  and  was 
also  president  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  For 
many  years  he  was  professor  of  obstetrics  in  the 
Leonard  Medical  School  in  Shaw  University  for 
the  Colored  in  Raleigh,  which  he  served  as  its  first 
professor  and  for  many  years  as  its  dean.  His 
great  public  service,  however,  was  rendered  to  the 
insane  asylum  at  Raleigh.  He  was  one  of  its  di- 
rectors from  1896  until  1901,  when  he  was  elected 
superintendent,  and  in  that  capacity  he  wisely  ad- 


ministered the  affairs  of  one  of  the  state's  most 
important  public  institutions  until  his  death. 

Doctor  McKee  was  one  of  the  founders  and  for 
many  years  president  of  the  Capital  Club  of 
Raleigh.  Fraternally  he  was  an  Odd  Fellow.  On 
September  30,  1873,  at  Raleigh  he  married  Mildred 
Sasser,  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Lueinda  (Hay- 
wood) Sasser.  Their  children  were  William  Henry; 
John  Sasser,  who  married  Elizabeth  Purnell; 
James  B.,  who  married  Margaret  McPheeters; 
Edwin  Borden ;  Lewis  Middleton,  who  married  Ada 
Strayhorn;   and  Philip. 

/ 

James  McKee.  It  can  hardly  be  said  that 
James  McKee  has  neglected  any  opportunity  since 
he  started  out  to  make  a  name  in  the  world.  His 
active  career  began  as  soon  as  he  had  completed 
his  education  in  the  Raleigh  Male  Academy.  He 
was  born  at  Raleigh  December  10,  1878,  a  son  of 
James  and  Mildred  (Sasser)  McKee.  His  father 
was  long  a  well  known  physician  at  Raleigh. 

On  leaving  school  James  McKee  found  employ- 
ment in  the  executive  offices  of  the  Southern  Rail- 
way under  Col.  A.  B.  Andrews.  He  remained  there 
four  years.  He  left  the  railroad  to  enter  the  life 
insurance  business,  and  made  a  record  as  an  ag- 
gressive business  getter  during  the  next  six  years. 
He  was  then  for  four  years  manager  of  the  new 
business  department  of  the  Carolina  Power  and 
Light  Company,  and  in  1914  he  and  Mr.  James 
McKinnon  established  the  MeKinnon  and  McKee 
Real  Estate  and  Insurance  Company.  This  com- 
pany are  successors  to  the  Raleigh  Insurance  and 
Real  Estate  Company  and  they  handle  a  large 
volume  of  real  estate  transactions  in  and  outside 
of  Raleigh  and  also  represent  a  number  of  the 
standard  insurance  lines.  Mr.  McKee  is  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  company. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Capital  and  Country 
clubs,  of  the  Elks'  Lodge  and  the  Milburnie  Fish- 
ing Club.,  He  was  married  November  4,  1914,  to 
Miss  Margaret  McPheeters,  Of  Raleigh,  daughter 
of  Alexander  M.  McPheeters,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Raleigh.  They  have  one  son,  James,  Jr.,  born 
March  31,  1916. 

Richard  Alvah  Sentelle.  The  position  of 
Richard  Alvah  Sentelle  in  Haywood  County  is 
measured  neither  by  large  accumulations  of  ma- 
terial property  nor  by  conspicuous  honors  of  poli- 
tics. His  work,  quietly  and  efficiently  performed 
through  a  period  of  half  a  century,  has  consisted 
in  the  training  of  minds'  and  the  turning  of  many 
to  righteousness.  It  has  been  well  said  that  his 
chief  fortune  is  that  invested  in  the  lives  and 
characters  of  a  host  of  men  and  women  in  Haywood 
and  other  counties,  in  the  form  of  teaching  and 
inspiration,  the  influence  and  results  of  which  will 
go  on  forever. 

Mr.  Sentelle  was  born  in  Henderson  County, 
North  Carolina,  December  23, '  1846.  Thus  his 
early  youth  and  boyhood  had  to  pass  through  the 
ordeals  and  obstacles  of  war  times.  Even  before 
the  war  it  was  possible  to  attend  school  only  a 
few  months  each  year.  During  the  four  years  of 
strife  the  schools  of  the  county  were  closed  al- 
together. 

He  arrived  in  Haywood  County  soon  after  the 
war  and  during  the  spring  of  I860  was  working  as 
a  hand  on  the  farm  of  W.  W.  Lenoir  in  East  Fork 
Township.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  en- 
tered school  under  Dr.  J.  M.  Mease,  and  during 
the  winter  of  1867  was  under  the  instruction  of 
Rev.  Dr.  D.  B.  Nelson.     It  was  during  that  winter 


flJjjuMu, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


237 


that   the   foundation    of   his   aims   and   ambitions 
was  laid. 

Mr.  Sentelle  taught  his  first  school  in  the  fall 
of  1867.  This  was  on  the  west  fork  of  Pigeon,  and 
since  then  for  every  year  except  one  he  has  been 
connected  with  school  work.  In  1871  he  taught  a 
public  school  for  the  first  time  at  the  Thickety 
schoolhouse.  Capt.  W.  J.  Wilson,  under  whom 
he  had  studied  and  recited,  was  county  examiner 
at  the  time  and  granted  him  his  first  teacher's 
certificate.  Mr.  Sentelle  early  realized  that  no 
amount  of  training  could  be  too  much  for  a  man 
whose  career  was  to  be  a  teacher  of  use.  Thus  in 
1875  he  was  again  in  school  at  Waynesville  under 
Dan  M.  Jones,  considered  one  of  the  best  teachers 
in  Haywood  County.  For  two  years  he  alternated 
between  teaching  and  studying,  and  then  left  off 
teaching  altogether  and  spent  an  entire  year  de- 
voted to  his  books.  Almost  every  year  since  then 
he  has  attended  summer  normals  and  has  accepted 
every  opportunity  to  equip  himself  the  better  for 
his  duties. 

At  different  times  Mr.  Sentelle  was  principal  of 
schools  at  Bethel,  Waynesville,  Clyde,  Eock  Springs 
and  at  Bellevue  in  Cherokee  County,  and  has  taught 
many  free  schools  In  different  points  of  the  county. 
It  was  his  wide  experience  and  his  knowledge  of 
local  school  conditions  that  has  enabled  him  to 
render  such  splendid  service  in  the  office  of  county 
superintendent.  He  was  first  elected  to  that  posi- 
tion in  1881,  and  remained  in  office  twelve  years. 
He  was  then  out  of  office  for  eight  years,  but  in 
1901  was  again  elected  and  has  had  the  super- 
vision of  the  public  school  work  in  Haywood 
County  continuously  since. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Sentelle  has  been  an  active 
minister  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  has  performed 
a  great  deal  of  preaching  and  pastoral  work.  For 
ten  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Baptist  Convention,  and  for  several  years 
was  moderator  of  the  Haywood  County  Baptist 
Association.  As  he  looks  back  over  his  busy  life 
it  must  be  a  matter  of  pride  and  satisfaction  to  see 
the  several  churches  and  many  schoolhouses  that 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  efforts  and  influence, 
and  also  the  many  leading  citizens  of  the  county 
who  at  different  times  have  been  pupils  in  his 
school. 

In  1867  Mr.  Santelle  married  Addie  Blaylock. 
They  have  reared  and  trained  a  most  worthy 
family  of  children,  namely :  Lizzie,  wife  of  Zimri 
Sogers,  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  Lavonia,  wife  of 
W.  E.  Sheppard,  of  Mooresville,  North  Carolina; 
Nannie,  who  married  C.  H.  Chamblee,  of  Wake- 
field; Iola,  wife  of  John  MeElroy;  John  E.,  Horace 
N.,  Boone,  Ennis,  who  is  superintendent  of  graded 
schools  at  Lamberton;  and  Jennie  May. 

Hon.  A.  G.  Mangum.  Among  the  members  of 
the  Gaston  County  bar  none  have  attained  more 
honorable  or  respected  position  than  Hon.  A.  G. 
Mangum,  of  Gastonia,  an  ex-member  of  the  Leg- 
islature and  a  citizen  of  public,  spirit  and  gen- 
eral worth.  Mr.  Mangum  is  generally  acknowl- 
edged to  possess  a  ready  and  sound  judgment  in 
broad  and  intricate  matters  of  civil  jurisprudence 
and  his  knowledge  of  the  law  is  extensive  in  its 
comprehensiveness  and  accuracy,  while  in  its  ap- 
plication he  is  earnest,  concise,  logical  and  force- 
ful, fairly  earning  his  high  standing  in  the  ranks 
of  his   calling. 

Mr.  Mangum  was  born  in  1868,  in  Mangum 
Township,  Orange  County,  North  Carolina,  a  son 
of  Addison  and  Nannie  Taylor  (Speed)   Mangum, 


and  a  member  of  an  old  aud  ditsinguished  family 
of  the  Old  North  State  whose  members  were  for 
several  generations  large  planters,  and,  before 
the  war  between  the  states,  extensive  slavehold- 
ers. The  paternal  grandfather  of  Mr.  Mangum 
was  Ellison  G.  Mangum,  who  was  a  first  cousin 
of  Wilie  P.  Mangum,  the  distinguished  North 
Carolina  statesman  of  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  who  had  a  long  and  eminent  ca- 
reer as  a  United  States  senator  and  who  at  one 
time  was  president  of  the  Senate.  Addison  Man- 
gum, who  fought  as  a  soldier  iu  the  ranks  of 
the  gray  during  the  last  two  years  of  the  Civil 
war,  passed  his  entire  life  in  Orange  County,  and 
died  in  1908,  at  nearly  eighty-two  years  of  age, 
at  the  old  family  home  ' '  The  Cedars. ' '  This 
home  is  not  far  from  old  ' '  Walnut  Hall, ' '  which 
was  the  home  and  plantation  of  Senator  Wilie  P. 
Mangum  in  Orange  County.  One  of  the  brothers 
of  Addison  Mangum,  Dr.  A.  W.  Mangum,  was 
in  his  day  professor  of  English  and  moral  philoso- 
phy in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  the 
son  of  the  latter,  Dr.  Charles  Staples  Mangum,  is 
a  prominent  physician  and  holds  the  chair  of 
anatomy   in   the  University   of  North  Carolina. 

On  Mr.  Mangum 's  mother 's  side  the  family 
history  is  very  interesting.  The  Speeds  came  from 
England  in  early  colonial  days,  one  of  them  set- 
tling in  Virginia,  and  from  him  Mrs.  Mangum 
was  descended.  Members  of  this  family  were 
prominent  in  colonial,  Revolutionary  and  subse- 
quent American  history.  William  Speed,  one  of 
the  members  of  this  family,  who  lived  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  was  a  merchant  at  the  time  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  went  to  that  city  as  an  unknown 
young  lawyer  to  gain  a  start  in  his  profession. 
Looking  over  the  town  for  an  office,  because  of 
having  no  money  he  was  unsuccessful  in  his  search 
until  he  met  Mr.  Speed,  who  had  a  vacant  office 
in  his  store  building  and  who  told  young  Lincoln 
to  go  ahead  and  occupy  it  and  not  to  worry  about 
the  rent  until  he  got  ready  to  pay  it.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, when  he  became  president,  offered  Mr.  Speed 
a  lucrative  political  appointment,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  his  business  affairs,  the  latter  did  not 
accept,  whereupon  Mr.  Lincoln  appointed  Mr. 
Speed 's  brother,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  the 
office  of  attorney-general.  Mrs.  Mangum  was 
born  at  Buffalo  Springs,  Virginia,  and  died  at 
the  home  place  in  Orange  County,  North  Car- 
olina. 

A.  G.  Mangum  received  his  early  education  at 
Horner's  Military  School  at  Oxford,  North  Car- 
olina, following  which  he  attended  the  State  Uni- 
versity, and  was  duly  graduated  therefrom.  He 
read  law  under  the  capable  preceptorship  of  Judge 
Avery,  of  Durham,  North  Carolina,  and  in  1893 
was  licensed  to  practice.  In  189-t  he  changed  his 
residence  to  Gaston  County,  locating  at  Gas- 
tonia, the  county  seat,  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  He  is  now  a  prominent  and  successful  law- 
yer of  large  practice,  representing  legally  a 
number  of  the  large  and  important  industrial  in- 
terests which  are  located  at  Gastonia  and  in  Gas- 
ton County.  At  the  present  time  he  is  serving 
in  the  capacity  of  county  attorney,  and  at  various 
times  has  held  other  positions  of  trust,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1907-08. 
As  a  citizen  he  has  shown  a  desire  to  assist 
his  community  in  its  growth  and  welfare  in  every 
possible  way,  and  is  always  found  with  other  pub- 
lic-spirited men  in  the  promotion  of  beneficial 
enterprises.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 


238 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


has   always   been   a   close  and  generous   friend   of 
the  cause  of  education. 

Mr.  Mangum  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Annie  Walton,  of  Morganton,  North  Carolina,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Francis  and  Annie  Speed. 

John  Edward  Swain,  since  January,  1915, 
solicitor  of  the  Nineteenth  Judicial  District,  was 
admitted  to  the  North  Carolina  bar  in  the  fall  of 
1905  and  for  the  past  twelve  years  has  maintained 
a  successful  position  in  the  profession  at  Ashe- 
ville,  where  he  is  member  of  the  firm  Jones,  Wells 
&  Swain,  with  offices  in  the  Legal  Building. 

Mr.  Swain  was  born  at  the  village  or  postoffiee 
known  as  Democrat  in  Buncombe  County,  North 
Carolina,  September  26,  1876,  a  son  of  Rev.  John 
L.  and  Harriett  E.  (Carter)  Swain.  His  father 
gained  honorable  distinction  by  his  services  as 
captain  of  Company  K  in  the  Seventeenth  Regi- 
ment of  North  Carolina  Infantry  during  the  war 
between  the  states.  Later  for  many  years  he 
served  as  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church.  John  Edward  Swain  besides  the  advan- 
tages of  an  education  in  the  public  schools  attended 
Weaverville  College  and  in  1902  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  After  that 
he  taught  school  and  studied  law  in  the  summer 
sessions  of  the  university  until  he  was  admitte'd 
to  practice  in  1905.  During  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  continued  teaching  school,  but  in  January, 
1906,  came  to  Asheville  and  practiced  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  Wells  &  Swain  in  partnership 
with  R.  M.  Wells  until  January  15,  1917.  At  that 
date  the  firm  was  reorganized  as  Jones,  Wells  & 
Swain. 

Mr.  Swain  has  been  a  leader  in  the  democratic 
party  in  Western  North  Carolina  and  he  was 
chairman  of  the  County  Executive  Committee  from 
1910  to  1914,  and  since  January,  1915,  has  made 
a  splendid  record  by  his  capable  and  fearless 
administration  of  the  office  of  solicitor  for  the 
Nineteenth  Judicial  District.  In  1912  Mr.  Swain 
was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  State 
Colored  School  at  Greensboro,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  County  and  State  Bar  associations.  Mr. 
Swain  is  one  of  the  prominent  laymen  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  has  sat  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General '  Conference  and  is  chairman 
of  the  BoaVd  of  Trustees  of  the  Asheville  church 
of  this  denomination. 

August  14,  1913,  Mr.  Swain  married  Mozelle  B. 
Stringfield,  a  native  of  Wake  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  a  daughter  of  Rev.  O.  L.  Stringfield,  a 
widely  known  Baptist  minister  in  this  state.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Swain  have  two  children,  John  Edward, 
Jr.,  and  Dorothy  Mozelle. 

Cary  Kennedy  Durpey,  though  only  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  has  gone  far  in  business  accomplish- 
ment, and  is  one  of  the  leading  real  estate  and 
insurance  men  of  North  Carolina. 

Born  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  December 
28,  1882,  he  is  a  son  of  William  Edwin  and  Fannie 
Ida  (Carroll)  Durfey.  His  father  was  a  mechanic 
and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  home  of  modest  comfort, 
with  only  such  advantages  as  the  public  schools  pro- 
vided in  the  way  of  education. 

His  real  entrance  into  life  of  practical  expe- 
rience was  when  he  came  to  Raleigh  and  accepted 
a  position  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store  and  after- 
wards accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper  with  Mrs. 
Florence  P.  Tucker.  He  arose  from  this  position  to 
a    trusted    assistant,    whose    honesty,    ability    and 


energy  was  so  marked  as  to  cause  her  to  name  him 
as  one  of  her  two  executors  and  trustees  of  her 
estate  at  her  death.  A  few  months  after  her 
death  the  other  trustee  died  leaving  Mr.  Durfey  in 
complete  charge.  In  the  eight  years  which  have 
since  passed  he  has  ably  justified  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him,  having  handled  the  estate  with 
such  business  foresight  as  to  greatly  enhance  its 
value  each  year. 

He  is  now  president  of  the  Capital  Insurance 
&  Realty  Co.,  president  of  the  Highlands  Farms  Co., 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Central  Building 
Co.,  a  director  of  the  Raleigh  Banking  &  Trust 
Company,  a  director  of  the  Raleigh  Building  & 
Loan  Association,  and  a  director  of  the  Atlantic 
Fire  Insurance  Co. 

Mr.  Durfey  finds  time  also  for  social  and  civic 
interests.  He  is  treasurer  of  the  Raleigh  Young 
Men 's  Christian  Association,  a  member  of  the 
Rotary  Club  and  is  a  Mason  and  belongs  to  the 
Country  Club,  and  is  also  a  director  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce. 

On  April  22,  1914,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Whitmel  Allen  of  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  two  children:  Frances  Alston  and  Florence 
Tucker.  Mr.  Durfey  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Deacons  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

Thomas  Whitmel  Allen,  father  of  Mrs.  Durfey, 
was  born  in  Halifax  County,  North  Carolina,  April 

5,  1849,  a  son  of  Christopher  Blake  and  Mariam 
Bradford  Alston  Allen.  The  Allen  family  for 
several  generations  were  railroad  men,  and  Thomas 
W.  Allen,  who  died  October  18,  1901,  was  in  active 
service  as  a  railroad  man  all  his  career.  His 
widow,  Elizabeth  Alston,  is  now  living  in  Raleigh. 
They  were  the  parents  of  four  children:  B.  Lacy, 
of  Raleigh;  Jomes  O.,  of  Raleigh;  Thomas  W.,  Jr., 
of  Raleigh;  and  Margaret  W.,  now  Mrs.  Cary  K. 
Durfey.  Mrs.  Durfey  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's 
and  Southern  Conservatory  of  Music  at  Durham. 
The  Alstons  in  North  Carolina  were  of  colonial 
ancestors  who  founded  homes  in  the  wilds  of 
America,  the  wisdom  and  genius  of  whose  sons 
contributed  to  the  forming  and  establishing  of 
this  great  republic.  They  have  also  furnished  men 
for  Colonial  Congress  and  congressmen  of  today. 

Donnell  Gilliam.  Through  several  generations 
the  name  Gilliam  has  been  prominent  in  the  legal 
profession  and  in  the  public  life  of  North  Carolina. 
One  of  the  ablest  of  these  lawyers  and  citizens 
was   Donnell   Gilliam,  who   died   at   Tarboro   May 

6,  1908. 

He  was  a  son  of  Judge  Henry  A.  Gilliam  and 
was  born  at  Plymouth,  North  Carolina,  October 
31,  1861.  His  father,  Judge  Gilliam,  was  for  many 
years  distinguished  as  a  lawyer  and  also  served 
as  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the  Second  Dis- 
trict. Judge  Gilliam  at  the  close  of  his  term  as 
judge  located  at  Tarboro  in  December,  1882,  and 
a  few  weeks  later  Donnell  Gilliam  joined  him  from 
Elizabeth  City,  where  he  had  shortly  before  begun 
the  practice  of  law.  At  Tarboro  he  entered  a 
partnership  with  his  father  and  this  firm  enjoyed 
a  distinctive  position  in  the  profession  until  the 
death  of  the  senior  member  in  1890.  Soon  after 
that  Donnell  Gilliam  joined  practice  with  his 
brother  Henry  A.  Gilliam. 

Henry  A.  Gilliam,  it  should  be  noted,  was  born 
in  Edenton  County,  North  Carolina,  September  7, 
1870,  a  son  of  Henry  Augustus  and  Hannah  (Cle- 
ments) Gilliam.  He  was  educated  in  Horner's 
Military  School,  the  Tarboro  Male  Academy,  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  finished  his  law 


A, 


J/O^L 


fi-ClW^t 


7 


i^l/J         7t£&OL^U-f_ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


239 


course  in  the  University  in  1892  He  became 
prominent  as  a  leader  in  democratic  politics  and 
represented  Edgecombe  Count)'  in  the  Legislature 
in  1899,  and  was  state  senator  in  1913  and  1915. 

Donnell  Gilliam  was  also  prominent  in  public 
affairs,  though  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held 
was  not  due  to  official  honors  but  rather  to  per- 
sonal character.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the 
editor  of  a  local  newspaper  who  had  known  him 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  told  the  story  of  his 
life  perhaps  more  effectively  and  with  a  greater 
approximation  to  justice  than  anyone  else  could. 
From  the  sketch  written  by  this  editor  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  are  made.  The  first  refers  to  Mr. 
Gilliam  soon  after  he  came  to  Tarboro. 

'  •  Two  unrelated  events  soon  followed  to  bring 
Don  Gilliam  into  favorable  notice  ami  esteem. 
The  State  Medical  Society  met  here  in  the  spring 
of  188.'!  and  the  address  of  welcome  was  made  by 
him.  It  was  a  great  effort.  The  writer  was 
present  and  sees  now  a  handsome  young  athlete 
proffering  a  welcome  in  diction  so  choice,  in  sen- 
tences so  vividly  depicting  the  altruism  of  the 
medical  profession  that  young  and  old,  doctors  and 
laymen,  were  moved  to  hearty  applause.  His  repu- 
tation as  a  speaker  was  established. 

' '  Soon  after  this  came  his  first  big  case,  Farrar 
vs.  Weathersbee,  on  exceptions  to  the  findings  of 
the  referee.  Older  lawyers  represented  the  plain- 
tiff, and  young  Gilliam  the  defendant.  In  his  argu- 
ment, which  the  judge  and  all  who  heard  him 
pronounced  masterly,  he  displayed  an  acquaintance 
with  the  law,  a  research  and  a  knowledge  which 
convinced  all  that-  he  could  hold  his  own  with  the 
best.  Time  proved  him  to  be  both  a  foremost 
lawyer  and  pleader  and  from  that  time  till  now 
he  enjoyed  a  lucrative  practice. 

' '  Mr.  Gilliam  had  developed  the  quality  of  thor- 
oughness to  a  rare  degree.  In  his  practice  when  a 
subject  of  law  came  up  he  studied  it  thoroughly 
and  briefed  it,  thus  acquiring  such  a  full  and 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  law  in  all  its  ramifica- 
tions that  it  was  almost  impossible  .to  take  him 
unawares.  No  speaker  have  we  ever  heard  was 
happier  in  his  choice  of  words.  He  always  used 
the  best  word  to  convey  his  idea.  He  was  never 
prolix  and  never  in  his  speeches  resorted  to  slang. 
His  English,  whether  addressing  the  jury  on  the 
evidence,  or  the  court  on  law,  was  of  the  best. 
He  probably  never  made  a  speech  that  was  not  a 
classic.  Learned  as  he  was,  he  was  equally  as  re- 
sourceful, as  members  of  the  bar  who  came  in  touch 
with  him  appreciated.  To  laymen  this  quality  was 
exemplified  in  the  redeeming  of  the  county  from 
negro  rule  in  1892  and  1898.  Those  who  were  with 
him  in  those  fights  will  bear  ample  testimony  of 
his  courage,  judgment  and  resourcefulness. 

"For  many  years  he  was  the  most  popular  man 
in  the  county.  Not  since  the  war  has  there  been, 
we  believe,  a  man  so  popular  or  who  had  so  many 
friends.  In  1884  he  was  an  elector  and  the 
youngest  in  the  electoral  college.  The  following 
year  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Inferior  Court 
of  this  county  and  served  nearly  ten  years  with 
an  ability  and  a  success  that  made  this  tribunal 
more  dreaded  by  the  law  breaker  than  the  Superior 
Court.  He  also  served  two  terms  as  mayor  and 
three  as  town  commissioner.  To  his  efforts  was 
due  the  installation  of  the  water  system. 

' '  He  served  two  terms  as  state  senator  and 
could  have  been  such  again  and  again  had  he  sig- 
nified the  slightest  wish.  In  1896  he  at  the  demand 
of  his  party  headed  the  county  ticket  for  senator, 
but  with  the  rest  of  his  colleagues  he  went  down 


in  defeat  by  the  combined  republicans  and  popu- 
lists. Probably  the  only  political  office  he  ever 
sought  was  that  of  congressman  in  1900,  when  he 
was  defeated  for  the  nomination  by  Claude  Kit- 
chin,  the  present  congressman.  The  Edgecombe 
delegation  stood  by  him  to  a  man  even  to  the 
last  ballot.  He  was  widely  known  throughout  the 
state  and  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest 
men  ever  born  in  the  state. ' ' 

November  10,  1886,  he  married  Miss  Mamie 
Rawls,  oldest  daughter  of  E.  W.  Rawls.  Their  four 
children  were:  Hannah  Clements,  named  for  her 
grandmother;  Donnell,  a  successful  member  of 
the  Tarboro  bar;  Louis  and  Mary  Rawls. 

Donnell  Gilliam,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Tarboro  bar,  was  born  at  Tarboro  March  12, 
1889,  a  son  of  Donnell  and  Mamie  (Rawls)  Gilliam. 
His  father  's  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  pub- 
lication. 

Mr.  Gilliam  was  educated  in  the  high  school, 
attended  the  University  of  North  Carolina  from 
1905  to  1910,  graduating  A.  B.,  and  took  his  law 
degree  in  February,  1910.  In  September,  1911, 
he  moved  from  Tarboro  to  Greenville,  where  he 
was  in  practice  for  several  years,  but  in  March, 
1916,  returned  to  Tarboro  and  handles  a  large 
general  practice.  In  June,  1916,  he  was  appointed 
attorney  for  Tarboro.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Executive  Com- 
mittee in  Edgecombe  County,  and  is  now  secretary 
of  the  County  Board  of  Electors.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association,  the 
Tar  Heel  Club,  the  Tarboro  Golf  Club,  is  a  Mason 
and  a  Knight  of  Pythias.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  March  25,  1916,  he 
married  Miss  Alice  Farley,  of  Aurora,  Nebraska. 

Eugexe  Whitmel  Smith  is  proprietor  of  a 
farm  and  country  seat  that  would  easily  furnish 
material  for  almost  a  book,  not  only  descriptive 
of  its  charms  and  productive  enterprise  but  also 
of  its  wealth  of  associations  with  North  Carolina 
history  and  especially  the  annals  of  the  Smith 
family.  This  farm,  known  as  Lebanon,  is  in 
Duke  Township,  five  miles  southwest  of  Dunn 
on  the  Raleigh  and  Fayetteville  Road  and  on 
Rural  Route  No.  4  out   of  Dunn. 

The  present  owner  and  proprietor  belongs  to 
one  of  the  old  and  noted  families  of  the  Cape 
Fear  and  Little  River  sections  of  North  Carolina, 
and  one  that  has  kinship  with  numerous  other 
historic  families  in  the  annals  of  the  state.  This 
branch  of  the  Smiths  was  founded  in  North  Car- 
olina by  E.  W.  Smith 's  great-grandfather,  John 
Smith,  whose  ancestors  came  from  Scotland  and 
first  settled  in  Virginia.  A  few  years  before  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war  John  Smith 
came  to  North  Carolina  and  located  on  a  tract 
of  land  near  the  junction  of  the  Little  River  and 
the  Cape  Fear  River.  This  land  was  then  in 
Cumberland  County,  but  is  now  in  the  extreme 
southeastern  part  of  Harnett  County.  He  was  one 
of  the  large  landed  proprietors  of  his  time.  Mdst 
of  that  land  has  been  continuously  lived  on  by 
his  descendants  and  is  still  owned  by  them.  The 
old  house  built  by  John  Smith  for  his  home 
is  still  standing.  That  it  was  the  scene  of 
more  than  one  passage  at  arms  is  shown 
by  the  numerous  holes  in  the  building  caused 
by  bullets  and  cannon  balls.  It  is  in  fact 
one  of  the  oldest  structures  of  habitation  found 
in  the  state.  All  the  region  around  it  is  known 
as    Smithville    and    is    especially    rich   in    historj'. 


240 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


On  what  was  originally  Smith  lands  is  Chicora 
Battlefield,  whei;e  the  last  battle  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  states  prior  to  the  surrender  at  Ben- 
tonville  was  fought.  Adjoining  is  old  Averasboro, 
now  an  extinct  village,  but  which  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  North  Carolina  was  of  such  importance 
that  it  came  very  near  being  selected  as  the  cap- 
ital of  the  state.  Thus  all  this  ground  is  hal- 
lowed with  history  and  with  associations  that  are 
prized  by  many  families.  John  Smith  was  a  man 
of  prominence  in  his  day,  noted  for  his  learning, 
his  dignity,  his  substantial  wealth,  and  his  lead- 
ership in  public  and  political  affairs.  He  was  at 
one  time  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  House 
of  Commons. 

A  son  of  this  pioneer  was  Farquhard  Smith, 
who  was  born  at  Smithville.  One  of  his  sons  is 
still  living,  Dr.  Farquhard  Smith  of  Dunn,  a  grand- 
son of  John  Smith  and  uncle  of  the  Eugene  W. 
Smith  above  named.  Doctor  Smith  was  born  in 
1839  and  was  one  of  seven  brothers  who  served 
all  through  the  war  in  the  Confederate  Army. 
Following  the  war  he  studied  medicine  in  the  Med- 
ical College  of  South  Carolina  at  Charleston, 
graduated  in  1869,  practiced  his  profession  in 
Johnston  County  for  six  or  eight  years,  and  then 
removed  to  Harnett  County,  where  for  something 
over  thirty  years  he  carried  his  patience,  skill,  learn- 
ing and  ability  to  a  large  round  of  people  who 
counted  him  a  precious  friend  as  well  as  a  most 
trusted  medical  adviser.  He  is  now  living  re- 
tired, makes  his  home  among  his  children  and  is 
a  gentleman  of  most  interesting  personality,  with 
a  mind  replete  with  interesting  and  historical 
remineseences  of  both  the  old  and  the  new  South. 
Doctor  Smith's  mother  was  Sallie  (Sloeomb) 
Smith.  Her  family  was  a  most  interesting  one. 
Her  grandmother  was  the  famous  Polly  Sloeomb 
of  Bladen  County,  wife  of  Ezekiel  Sloeomb,  a' 
Eevolutionary  soldier.  Polly  Sloeomb  herself  per- 
formed acts  of  heroism  during  that  war 
which  made  her  name  familiar  to  all  who  have 
followed  the  fortunes  of  this  state  in  the  strug- 
gle  for  independence. 

The  father  of  Eugene  W.  Smith  was  Henry 
Elliott  Smith.  He  was  born  at  Smithville,  and 
like  his  brothers  served  through  the  war  in  the 
Confederate  Army  in  a  cavalry  regiment.  With 
the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Fayetteville, 
Cumberland  County,  and  there  spent  the  rest  of 
his  life,  and  he  died  in  1903.  He  married  Miss 
Maria  Louise  Cross,  of  Louisiana,  both  of  whose 
parents  were  natives  of  France.  She  was  a  stu- 
dent during  the  later  years  of  the  war  at  Burwell 
School  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  While  a 
student  there  she  first  met  the  dashing  young 
cavalryman  whom  she  afterwards  married.  She 
died  in   1905. 

Eugene  Whitmel  Smith,  son  of  Henry  E.  Smith, 
was  born  at  Fayetteville  in  1875.  He  was  reared 
and  educated  in  his  native  city  and  was  a  student 
in  the  graded  military  school  there  which  before 
the  war  was  known  as  the  Donaldson  Military 
Academy.  While  a  member  of  the  Fayette  Mili- 
tary Company  he  won  the  first  prize  for  being 
the  best  drilled  man  in  his  company.  For  some 
years  Mr.  Smith  was  engaged  in  the  turpentine 
business  in  Alabama  and  other  parts  of  the 
South,  but  in  1909  returned  to  Smithville  in  Har- 
nett County  and  has  busied  himself  with  the  de- 
velopment and  cultivation  of  his  fine  farm,  Leb- 
anon, comprising  something  over  600  acres.  The 
place  is  the  original  home  of  his  grandfather, 
and  is  two  miles  from  the  first  home  of  the  John 


Smith  above  mentioned.  As  a  home  it  leaves  noth- 
ing to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  attractiveness, 
environment  and  comforts,  and  the  farm  sur- 
rounding it  combines  all  those  elements  which  have 
made  this  one  of  the  rich  agricultural  sections  of 
the  state.  Mr.  Smith  carries  on  general  farming 
operations,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  producers  "of 
cotton  and  corn  in  Harnett  County.  Like  his  fore- 
fathers, he  measures  up  to  all  the  tests  applied 
to  good  citizenship,  is  enterprising  and  public- 
spirited,  and  while  without  political  ambition  is 
always  willing  to  help  solve  some  problem  that 
concerns  the  welfare  of  his  immediate  commu- 
nity. 

Mr.  Smith  married  Miss  Mary  Eleanor  Robin- 
son, of  Clinton,  Sampson  County.  They  have  four 
children,  Mary  Robinson,  Eugene  Whitmel,  Jr., 
Annabelle   and  Sidney   Douglas. 

Homer  LeGrand  Lyon  in  his  personal  career 
as  a  lawyer  and  public  official  has  added  further 
honors  to  a  name  which  has  long  enjoyed  dis- 
tinction in  the  legal  profession  and  public  life 
of   the  state. 

He  was  born  in  Elizabethtown,  North  Carolina, 
March  1,  1879.  His  father  is  Judge  Chatham  Cal- 
houn Lyon,  a  prominent  lawyer  and  former  judge 
of  the  Ninth  Judicial  District.  The  mother  is 
Maggie  (Richardson)   Lyon. 

Homer  L.  Lyon  determined  early  in  his  career 
to  take  up  the  law,  and  his  choice  of  a  profession 
has  been  well  justified  by  the  results  since  he 
began  practice  over  fifteen  years  ago.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Davis  Military  School,  spent  two 
year's  in  the  literary  department  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  and  then  finished  in  the  law 
department.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
September,  1900,  and  on  January  of  the  follow- 
ing year  began  his  practice  at  Whiteville.  His 
has  been  a  general  practice,  and  he  has  handled 
many  important  eases.  In  1913  Governor  Locke 
Craig  appointed  him  to  the  office  of  solicitor  of 
the  Eighth  Judicial  District,  and  in  1914'  he  was 
elected  for  the  regular  term,  which  expires  in  1918. 

Mr.  Lyon -is  a  member  of  the  State  Executive 
Committee  of  the  democratic  party  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  1904  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Convention  at  St.  Louis.  He  is  a  past  master  of 
his  Masonic  Lodge,  is  past  chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  belongs  to  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  steward 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Whiteville. 

Mr.  Lyon  was  married  October  26,  1904, 
to  Miss  Kate  Mallory  Burkhead  of  Whiteville. 
Born  to  their  union  are  three  children:  Catherine 
Graee,  Homer  LeGrand,  Jr.,  and  Margaret  Dixie. 

Obediah  Thomas  Carver  has  been  active  in  mer- 
cantile and  manufacturing  business  in  North  Car- 
olina for  many  years,  and  is  now  handling  many 
of  the  details  of  the  Duke  interests  at  Durham. 

He  was  born  near  Roxboro  in  Person  County, 
North  Carolina,  January  30,  1866,  a  son  of 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Eliza  Gordon  (Lawson) 
Carver.  His  father  was  a  farmer.  Obediah  Carver 
was  educated  in  private  schools  and  in  1884  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  came  to  Durham  and  found  his  first 
employment  as  clerk  in  a  wholesale  and  retail 
grocery  house.  In  1889  he  became  paymaster  dur- 
ing the  construction  of  the  Norfolk  and  Western 
Railway.  In  1890  upon  the  completion  of  that 
line  of  road  he  engaged  in  the  warehouse  business 
for  four  vears  and  from  1902  to  1906  was  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


241 


tobacco  warehouse  business.  In  May,  1906,  he  be- 
came private  secretary  to  B.  L.  Duke,  and  is  still 
Mr.  Duke's  confidential  man.  In  July,  1908,  the 
organization  of  Duke  Land  and  Improvement  Com- 
pany was  consummated  at  which  time  he  was  made 
assistant  secretary  and  manager  of  the  company. 
Mr.  Carver  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order 
and  the  Mystic  Shrine,  is  a  past  exalted  ruler  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  has 
affiliations  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Pel- 
lows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Durham  Rotary  Club.  February  12,  1890,  he 
married  Nannie  E.  Bradsher.  They  have  one  son, 
Gordon  Malone  Carver,  who  was  educated  in  Trin- 
ity College,  graduating  in  1915,  and  is  now  second 
lieutenant  in  the  quartermaster 's  department  of 
the  United  States  Army. 

Angus  Dhu  MacLean.  Both  through  his  pro- 
fession and  through  his  business  and  civic  rela- 
tions Mr.  MacLean  has  had  a  successful  career 
since  he  came  to  Washington  in  1899.  He  long 
since  attained  a  high  place  in  his  profession  and 
through  his  ability. and  character  enjoys  the  excep- 
tional confidence  and  esteem  of  clients  and  fellow 
lawyers. 

Mr.  MacLean  represents  the  solid  old  Scotch 
stock  so  numerously  and  prominently  represented 
in  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  at  Maxton,  in 
Robeson  County,  North  Carolina,  July  12,  1877,  a 
son  of  John  Allen  and  Mary  Virginia  (Brown) 
MacLean.  His  mother  was  a  sister  of  Judge 
Brown  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina,  and 
a  sister-in-law  of  Chief  Justice  Shepherd.  The 
father  is  a  merchant  and  farmer.  Angus  MacLean 
was  educated  in  private  schools  at  Maxton  and  at 
Laurinburg,  North  Carolina,  and  there  came  under 
the  instruction  of  the  noted  Professor  Quackenbush. 
From  1894  to  1898  he  was  a  student  in  the  "Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  in  August,  1898, 
graduated  from  the  law  department.  Mr.  MacLean 
had  a  brief  experience  in  practice  at  Maxton  with 
G.  B.  Patterson,  until  April,  1899,  and  at  that 
date  located  at  Washington,  where  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  John  H.  Small,  congressman  from  this 
district.  The  firm  of  Small  &  MacLean  has  since 
been  increased  by  the  addition  of  other  competent 
lawyers  and  is  now  Small,  MacLean,  Bragaw  & 
Rodman. 

Mr.  MacLean  handles  a  general  practice,  but 
largely  tending  to  corporation  work.  He  is  presi- 
dent and  general  counsel  of  the  Washington  & 
Vandemere  Railroad,  division  counsel  for  the 
Norfolk  Southern,  attorney  for  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  Railroad,  general  counsel  in  North 
Carolina  for  The  Interstate  Cooperage  Company 
and  the  Roanoke  R.  R.  &  Lumber  Company,  divi- 
sion counsel  for  the  Roper  Lumber  Company,  gen- 
eral counsel  for  Albemarle  farms  and  other  large 
development  projects  in  Eastern  North  Carolina, 
in  which  he  has  been  active  attorney  for  E.  R. 
Mixon  &  Company,  The  First  National  Bank  of 
Washington,  Bank  of  Bellehaven,  and  many  other 
business  enterprises  in  his  section  of  the  state. 

He  is  one  of  the  members  in  high  standing  of 
the  North  Carolina  and  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciations and  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  In  October,  1900,  Mr.  MacLean  married  An- 
netta  Everett,  daughter  of  Capt.  Lawrence  Everett 
of  Laurinburg,  North  Carolina.  They  have  five 
children :  Angus  D.,  Jr.,  Mary  Virginia,  Martha 
Lawrence,  Annetta  Everett  and  Janie.     . 


Henry  Clay  Dockehy.  Standing  prominent  on 
the  list  of  the  younger  members  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession of  North  Carolina  is  found  the  name  of 
Henry  Clay  Dockery,  who  has  been  engaged  in 
practice  at  Charlotte  since  1915  and  is  adding  to 
the  prestige  which  he  secured  at  Rockingham. 
He  comes  of  an  old  and  distinguished  family  of 
the  Old  North  State,  the  members  of  which  have 
been  eminent  in  profession  and  public  life, 
and  bids  fair  to  prove  a  worthy  successor  to  those 
who   have   gone   before  him. 

Mr.  Dockery  was  born  at  Rockingham,  Rich- 
mond County,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  son  of 
Hon.  Henry  C.  and  Minnie  (Everett)  Dockery. 
His  grandfather,  Hon.  Alfred  Dockery,  was  one 
of  the  distinguished  men  of  his  day  in  North 
Carolina  and  one  who  had  great  influence  in  the 
political  destinies  of  his  state.  He  was  a 
son  of  Thomas  Dockery,  was  born  in  Richmond 
County,  December  11,  1797,  and  early  adopted  the 
vocation  of  planter,  continuing  to  be  engaged  as 
such  during  the  active  period  of  his  life.  Al- 
fred Dockery  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina 
House  of  Commons  in  1822,  and  served  therein 
for  several  years,  and  in  1836  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Senate  and  acted  in  that  body 
until  1844.  He  was  a  strong  whig  in  politics 
and  as  a  representative  of  that  party  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  beginning  his  services  March  4, 
1845,  and  serving  until  March  3,  1847.  He  de- 
clined renomination.  He  was,  however,  elected 
to  the  Thirty-second  Congress,  beginning  March 
4,  1851,  and  serving  until  March  3,  1853.  In 
the  following  year  he  was  the  whig  candidate  for 
governor  of  the  state,  but  met  with  defeat.  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  Richmond  County  De- 
cember 7,  1875.  General  Dockery,  as  he  was 
known  in  his  lifetime,  was  one  of  the  most  useful 
and  public-spirited  citizens  of  his  day  and  one 
who  did  a  great  deal  for  his  state,  particularly 
the  western  portion  thereof.  The  people  of  the 
state  cherish  his  memory  with  great  affection. 
He  was  a  man  of  many  strong  friendships.  The 
people  of  the  western  and  southern  sections  of 
the  state  particularly  felt  a  warm  degree  of  grat- 
itude for  General  Dockery  for  his  successful  ef- 
forts, in  1854,  to  compel  the  somewhat  reluctant 
democrats  of  the  eastern  and  central  sections  of 
the  state  to  adopt  a  more  liberal  attitude  toward 
internal  improvements,  without  which  the  western 
and  southern  portions  of  the  commonwealth  were 
practically  shut  in  from  the  world  and  deprived 
of  the  means  and  advancement  which  were  indis- 
pensable to  their  progress  and  prosperity.  He 
was  an  unselfish,  patriotic  man  in  every  respect. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1835 
which  was  called  to  remodel  the  old  constitution 
which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Congress  at  Hali- 
fax in  1776. 

Among  the  children  of  Gen.  Alfred  Dockery 
was  the  late  Col.  Oliver  Hart  Dockery,  the  uncle 
of  Henry  Clay  Dockery.  He  was  born  in  Rich- 
mond County,  North  Carolina,  August  12,  1830, 
graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
in  1848,  and  became  a  planter.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature  in  1858-59,  and  first 
entered  the  Confederate  service,  but  after  serv- 
ing a  short  time  in  the  army  withdrew  and  took 
a  strong  stand  in  favor  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. He  was  elected  as  a  republican  to  the 
Fortieth  and  Forty-first  congresses,  beginning 
March    4,    1S67,    and    was    United    States    consu- 


242 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


general  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil,  from  1899  to 
1903,  inclusive.  His  death  occurred  at  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  to  which  city  he  had  gone  for  medi- 
cal treatment,  February  22,  1906.  Like  his  fa- 
ther, he  was  a  man  of  wide  influence  in  public 
and  political  affairs  of  North  Carolina. 

Henry  C.  Dockery,  father  of  Henry  Clay  Doek- 
ery,  who  died  at  his  home  at  Rockingham  in  1911, 
was  born  at  the  old  Dockery  home  in  Richmond 
County,  six  miles  north  of  Rockingham.  He  was 
a  very  prominent  man,  both  in  his  native  county 
and  in  the  state,  and,  following  the  traditions  of 
his  whig  ancestry,  was  a  republican  in-  politics. 
He  was  United  States  marshal  for  the  "Western 
District  of  North  Carolina  for  two  terms,  under 
both  the  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  administra- 
tions, and  was  a  man  of  wide  influence  in  politi- 
cal affairs  in  the  state.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  for  two  terms,  and  as  a  private 
citizen  was  extensively  engaged  as  a  farmer  and 
had  large  property  interests.  One  of  his  sons, 
John  Dockery,  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
successful  farmers  in  North  Carolina  and  the 
owner  and  operator  of  a  large  agricultural  prop- 
erty in  Richmond  County.  Henry  C.  Dockery 
married  Miss  Minnie  Everett,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Captain  Everett,  who  was  the  father  of  W. 
N.  Everett,  of  Rockingham,  a  sketch  of  whose 
career   will   be   found   elsewhere   in  this  work. 

Henry  Clay  Dockery  was  reared  at  Rocking- 
ham and  there  received  his  early  education  in  the 
public  schools.  He  was  graduated  from  Wake 
Forest  College  with  the  class  of  1909,  and  studied 
law  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1910 
and  1911,  being  graduated  in  the  latter  year  and 
granted  his  license  to  practice.  He  began  the 
pursuance  of  his  professional  duties  at  Rocking- 
ham, and  in  1915  came  to  Charlotte,  where  he 
has  since  continued  to  be  successfully  engaged, 
and  is  now  the  law  partner  of  Hon.  Cameron 
Morrison.  He  is  adjudged  one  of  the  thorough 
and  promising  younger  members  of  the  bar,  and 
it  is  predicted  that  he  will  go  a  long  way  in  his 
profession.  On  May  28,  1918,  Mr.  Dockery  was 
selected  for  service  as  a  soldier  in  the  National 
Army. 

Hon.  Joseph  Shepard  Adams.  One  of  North 
Carolina's  great  and  eminent  lawyers  and  jurists 
was  the  late  Joseph  Shepard  Adams,  who  was 
serving  as  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the 
Sixteenth  Judicial  District  when  death  arrested  his 
labors  at  Warrenton  on  April  2,  1911,  at  the  age 
of  sixty  years.  Of  the  experiences  of  his  life  and 
of  the  value  of  his  character  and  attainments  it 
is  possible  to  recover  much  for  the  purpose  of  a 
written  record  through  the  memorial  address 
delivered  by  Hon.  J.  C.  Pritchard  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Asheville  bar. 

Joseph  Shepard  Adams  was  born  at  Strawberry 
Plains,  Tennessee,  October  12,  1850.  His  father, 
Rev.  Stephen  B.  Adams,  was  a  native  of  the  same 
state.  His  mother,  Cordelia  Shepard,  was  a  native 
of  Yancey  County,  North  Carolina.  Rev.  Stephen 
B.  Adams  moved  from  Tennessee  to  North  Caro- 
lina and  established  a  school  at  Burnsville,  known 
as  Burnsville  Academy.  He  was  a  great  educator 
and  a  very  eminent  divine.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  one  of  the  most  eloquent  Methodist  ministers 
of  his  day. 

Judge  Adams  owed  much  to  the  example  and 
training  of  his  excellent  parents,  who  supervised 
his  early  education  and  that  education  obviously 
was    much   better   than    fell   to   the   lot    of    many 


who  grew  up  with  him.  He  afterwards  went  to 
school  to  Col.  Stephen  Lee  in  Chunn  's  Cove,  just 
east  of  Asheville,  a  school  which  supplied  advan- 
tages to  a  number  of  other  prominent  North  Caro- 
lina men.  In  1872  Judge  Adams  graduated  with 
honor  from  Emory  and  Henry  College. 

Moving  to  AsheviDe,  he  studied  law  under  that 
modest  old  jurist  who  was  literally  ' '  without  fear 
and  without  reproach, ' '  Judge  John  L.  Bailey. 
Admitted  to  practice,  he  soon  afterwards  opened 
an  office  in  Bakersville,  Mitchell  County,  North 
Carolina.  From  his  modest  law  office  in  that 
town  he  was  promoted  by  election  to  the  office  of 
solicitor  of  the  Eighth  Judicial  District.  He 
served  in  the  office  of  solicitor  with  ability  and 
distinction  for  eight  years.  That  he  administered 
its  duties  with  marked  satisfaction  is  still  attested 
by  many  older  men  who  remember  the  enthusiasm, 
■the  courage  and  thoroughness  with  which  Jo 
Adams,  as  he  was  affectionately  called,  conducted 
the  prosecutions  of  the  state.  His  reputation  was 
not  confined  to  the  Eighth  District.  He  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  ablest  solicitors  in  the  state. 
He  continued  in  the  office  of -solicitor  for  eight 
years,  during  which  time  he  removed  to  States- 
ville,  where  he  continued  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

At  this  point  the  direct  words  of  Judge  Prit- 
chard 's  memorial  address  should  be  used  as  a  more 
adequate  statement  of  Judge  Adams'  career  and 
attainments. 

' '  Judge  Adams  was  essentially  a  son  of  the 
mountains.  While  he  was  born  in  Tennessee,  his 
mother  came  from  the  mountains  of  Western 
North*  Carolina,  and  was  a  representative  of  one 
of  the  leading  families  of  Yancey  county.  He 
was  reared  among  our  own  people  and  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  was  an  educated  man 
and  a  good  lawyer  he  was  absolutely  devoted  to 
the  mountain  people.  He  never  imagined  that 
he  was  above  those  sturdy  people  who  nad  not 
had  his  opportunities.  He  understood  them  and 
they  understood  him.  On  our  trips  to  Bakersville 
and  other  places,  where  we  practiced,  we  would 
stop  and  spend  the  night  with  the  people  of  that 
section  and  talk  with  them  about  their  crops, 
politics  and  religion,  and  in  all  of  these  matters 
he  had  a  common  interest.  In  this  way  he  became 
endeared  to  the  people  of  this  section  as  much  as 
any  man  of  his  day.  In  those  times  the  lawyers 
cultivated  the  social  side  of  life  more  than  they 
do  now  and  good  fellowship  was  the  order  of  the 
day.  The  counties  in  which  we  practiced  were 
Buncombe,  Mitchell,  Madison,  Yancey  and  Mc- 
Dowell and   sometimes  Rutherford   and  Haywood. 

"In  1885  Judge  Adams  moved  from  States- 
ville  to  Asheville,  where  he  established  his  perma- 
nent home  and  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  until  his  election  as  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  the  Fifteenth  Judicial  Dis- 
trict to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  the  late 
lamented  Judge  Fred  Moore.  Judge  Moore  had 
been  on  the  Bench  for  several  years  and  was 
acknowledged  one  of  the  ablest  and  purest  judges 
the  state  had  ever  had.  Tims  it  will  be  seen  that 
Judge  Adams  assumed  no  easy  task  when  he 
qualified  as  judge  of  this  district  in  view  of  the 
splendid  record  that  his  honored  predecessor  had 
made.  Judge  Adams  had  been  reelected  in  1910 
and  had  just  begun  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
when  the  end  came. 

"There  is  no  man  who  ever  felt  that  Joseph 
Adams,  either  as  a  man,  solicitor,  lawyer  or  judge, 
had  done  him   an   injustice.     During  his  term  of 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


243 


office  as  solicitor  he  had  frequent  opportunities 
to  oppress  and  wrong  the  poor  and  ignorant  who 
were  brought  before  him  for  prosecution.  But 
never  once  did  he  allow  the  hope  of  reward  or 
personal  enmity  to  influence  him  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty.  Neither  did  he  ever  permit  himself 
to  be  influenced  by  the  fear  of  evil  consequences 
to  himself  or  his  fortunes  while  he  was  solicitor. 
He  showed  no  man  any  favor  because  of  superior 
birth  or  fortune  or  because  of  social  or  political 
influence.  He  did  his  duty  simply  and  faithfully, 
without  fear  and  without  favor;  and  when  his 
career  as  prosecuting  officer  expired  he  had  per- 
haps as  few  enemies  among  those  upon  whom 
the  punishment  of  the  law  had  fallen  through  his 
efforts  as  a  prosecuting  attorney  as  any  other 
man  who  ever  held  that  important  office. 

' '  As  a  judge  he  never  hesitated  to  spend  all 
the  time  he  thought  necessary  to  enable  him 
thoroughly  to  understand  and  grasp  every  feature 
of  every  case  that  came  before  him.  He  had  no 
vanity  to  wish  to  appear  abnormally  quick  and 
ready  to  see  a  point  unless  he  actually  saw  and 
understood  it  in  all  of  its  bearings.  These  are 
the  characteristics  that  bring  a  .judge  in  close 
contact  with  the  bar  and  the  community  and 
enable  him  to  command  the  respect  of  the  good 
people  of   all  classes. 

"After  his  election  as  judge  and  he  had  served 
during  the  unexpired  terms  in  this  district,  there 
was  never  any  doubt  that  he  would  receive  the 
unanimous  nomination  for  the  next  term.  He  had 
just  entered  upon  his  career  as  an  elected  judge 
when  the  end  came. 

' '  In  his  race  against  the  Hon.  Richmond  Pear- 
son for  Congress  from  this  district,  his  true  quali- 
ties shone  forth.  He  was  fair  and  temperate  in 
debate,  and  the  animosities  and  disagreements 
which  had  characterized  previous  joint  debates 
were  conspicuously  absent  from  this  campaign. 
It  is  true  that  he  was  defeated,  yet  he  emerged 
from  this  raee  with  the  respect  of  the  best  men 
of  both  parties  and  the  increased  affection  of  those 
who  knew  and  loved  him  best. 

' '  But  it  was  as  a  friend  anfl  the  father  of  a 
family  that  Joseph  Adams'  finest  qualities  shone 
brightest.  Knowing  the  value  of  education  he 
made  it  his  business  often  times,  I  am  afraid  of 
great  sacrifices  of  his  own  comfort  and  pleasure 
to  see  that  each  of  his  children  received  the  best 
education  the  country  could  supply.  Knowing,  too, 
the  importance  of  religious  training,  he  saw  to  it 
that  his  family  should  be  brought  up,  as  he  him- 
self had  been,  in  the  fear  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord.  Two  of  his  sons  are  already  successful 
lawyers  at  the  bar,  and  a  third  is  a  successful 
physician.  His  daughter  is  the  wife  of  an  eminent 
educator  who  holds  a  professorship  in  North- 
western ITniversity.  He  made  a  companion  of  his 
children,  and  himself  being  a  consistent  member 
of  the  Methodist  church  he  set  for  them  an 
example  of  unostentatious  and  sincere  piety  which 
must  influence  them  throughout  all  the  trials  and 
pleasures  of  life. 

"As  a  friend  I  knew  him  best;  there  was  no 
truer,  sweeter,  more  affectionate  man  than  Joseph 
Adams — none  more  loyal,  more  unselfish  or  more 
disinterested  than  he.  Incapable  of  anything  that. 
was  small  or  mean,  above  all  low  suspicion  and 
cunning,  looking  with  charitable  eyes  upon  the 
weaknesses  and  shortcomings  of  other  men,  bear- 
ing no  malice  in  his  heart  azainst  aiiv  man, 
woman   or   child,    he    was    one    of   the   'tall    men. 


suncrowned,  who  dwell  above  the  clouds  in  public 
and  in  private  thinking. '  ' ' 

In  1877  Judge  Adams  married  Sallie  Sneed 
Greene,  of  Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  She  died 
November  16,  1901.  Their  children  were:  John 
Sneed  Adams,  attorney;  Mrs.  Julia  Bryan,  wife 
of  Professor  Bryan  of  Northwestern  University; 
Junius  G.,  a  well  known  attorney  of  Asheville ; 
J.  L.  Adams,  a  Philadelphia  physician;  and 
Shepard  R.  and  William  G.  Adams. 

Charles  Carroll  Cooper.  Few  people  outside 
those  intimately  interested  realize  the  extent  of 
the  great  tobacco  industry  in  the  United  States. 
When  it  is  realized  that  the  annual  production 
of  tobacco  amounts  to  more  than  1,000,000,000 
pounds,  enough  to  give  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  United  States  ten  pounds  each, 
this  stupendous  fact  illustrates  the  volume  and 
importance  of  this  great  industry.  More  than  that, 
the  United  States  produces  two-thirds  of  all  the 
tobacco  used  by  mankind.  In  peaceful  times,  when 
conditions  were  normal,  Russia,  Austria-Hungary 
and  Germany  all  grew  large  tobacco  crops,  but 
this  industry,  like  others  in  those  countries,  is 
languishing  and  it  is  to  the  United  States  that 
tobacco  users  must  turn  for  many  years  to  come 
for  a  luxury  that  has  become  a  necessity.  The 
growing,  the  handling,  the  warehousing  of  this 
yearly  crop,  gives  employment  to  many  thousands 
and  has  brought  to  the  front  a  number  of  men 
who  have  been  trained  to  the  business  from  early 
manhood.  One  of  these  able  and  experienced  to- 
bacco men  at  Rocky  Mount  is  found  in  Charles 
Carroll  Cooper,  who  is  president  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  C.  C.  Cooper  Tobacco  Company,  opera- 
tors of  the  old  reliable  Cooper 's  Warehouse  and  a 
pioneer  of  the  Rocky  Mount  Tobacco  Market. 

Charles  Carroll  Cooper  was  born  in  Nash  County, 
North  Carolina,  February  9,  1866.  His  parents 
are  Neverson  Wright  and  Patsy  (Battle)  Cooper. 
His  father  was  an  extensive  planter  for  many 
years  and  was  prominent  and  influential  in  public 
matters,  serving  as  sheriff  and  treasurer  of  Nash 
County  uninterruptedly  for  twenty-seven  years  in 
the  two  offices.  The  family  homestead  in  Nash 
County  has  belonged  to  the  Coopers  for  more  than 
200  years  and  no  name  is  held  in  higher  esteem. 

Charles  C.  Cooper  received  an  academic  education 
in  the  best  institutions  in  the  county  and,  although 
a  practical  business  man  all  his  life,  possesses 
many  of  the  qualifications  that  would  have  made 
him  successful  in  some  of  the  professions.  He  is 
active,  courageous,  patient,  generous  and  often 
self-sacrificing,  and  his  fellow  citizens  know  these 
characteristics  well. 

After  leaving  school  Mr.  Cooper  went  into  the 
tobacco  business,  first  as  a  warehouse  bookkeeper. 
In  1894  he  established  a  business  under  the  trade 
name  of  Cooper's  Warehouse,  after  an  experience 
of  four  years  in  the  business  for  himself,  for  two 
years  being  in  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  but  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  a  resident  of 
Rocky  Mount  and  identified  with  the  warehouse 
business  at  this  place.  The  business  he  ■  estab- 
lished prospered  from  the  first  and  in  1894  he 
established  a  record  of  sales  that  has  been  repeated 
every  year  since  then,  selling  more  pounds  of  to- 
bacco than  any  other  warehouse  man.  This  is 
ample  proof  of  his  thoroughness  as  a  business  man. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  more  competent  man  in 
the  tobacco  business  in  Eastern  North  Carolina 
can  be  found  today  than  Mr.  Cooper  and  he  has 


244 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


surrounded  himself  with  men  who  are  thoroughly 
experienced  in  this  business.  Mr.  Cooper  served 
two  terms  as  president  of  the  Tobacco  Board  of 
Trade. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  married  December  20,  1893,  to 
Miss  Eva  Bassette,  who  was  born  in  Edgecombe 
County,  North  Carolina,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Eva  Bassette.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Cooper  is  a  contracting  painter,  well  known  all 
through  this  section.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper  have 
three  children:  Chloe  Miller,  Helen  Clifford  and 
Charles  C,  Jr. 

Mr.  Cooper  has  been  an  active  and  useful  citi- 
zen, and  during  the  time  he  was  one  of  the  city 
aldermen  he  advocated  many  of  the  measures  that 
have  brought  about  Rocky  Mount's  commercial 
prosperity.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and 
both  in  and  outside  the  fraternity  has  a  host  of 
warm,  personal  friends.  Although  a  man  of  promi- 
nent position,  he  is  exceedingly  unostentatious  in 
manner,  is  genial  and  friendly  at  all  times  and 
the  poor  and  discouraged  have  often  found  in 
him  a  ready  helper:  There  are  enterprises  now 
prosperously  conducted  at  Eocky  Mount  that  in 
their  early  days  were  generously  financed  by  Mr. 
Cooper.  He  is  too  busy  a  man  to  actually  seek 
recreation  but  when  he  feels  the  necessity  for 
rest  he  sometimes  retires  to  the  old  homestead, 
now  the  property  of  his  brother.  On  that  land  his 
maternal  great-great-grandfather,  Lawrence  Battle, 
settled  when  he  came  to  America  in  1735.  The 
Battles  of  Swift  Creek,  Nash  County,  of  which  Mr. 
Cooper 's  mother  was  one,  are  known  all  over  this 
section  of  the  state  and  have  been  prominent  in 
business,  agricultural  and  professional  life. 

Archibald  Cheatham,  M.  D.  A  busy  profes- 
sional man  over  thirty  years,  widely  known  as  one 
of  the  foremost  physicians  and  surgeons  of  North 
Carolina,  a  host  of  other  interests  has  claimed  the 
time  and  abilities  of  Doctor  Cheatham  and  with 
these  his  name  is  probably  more  intimately  asso- 
ciated in  the  minds  of  many  people  than  with  his 
profession. 

Doctor  Cheatham  was  born  in  Grandville  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  that  portion  that  is  now  Vance 
County,  on  August  16,  1864.  He  comes  of  a  pro- 
fessional family.  His  father  was  Dr.  William  T. 
Cheatham,  who  at  one  time  in  his  career  achieved 
the  dignity  and  honor  of  being  elected  president  of 
the  North  Carolina  Medical  Society.  Doctor  Archi- 
bald's  mother  was  Geneva  (Davis)   Cheatham. 

Doctor  Cheatham  was  educated  in  private  schools, 
in  the  Horner  's  School  at  Henderson,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  1885  graduated  from  the  literary  de- 
partment of  Trinity  College.  He  began  his  medi- 
cal studies  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  but  fin- 
ished them  in  the  University  of  Maryland,  where 
he  graduated  M.  D.  in  1888.  From  that  year  until 
1893  he  was  in  practice  at  Henderson,  and  since 
then  his  home  and  professional  interests  have  been 
at  Durham.  In  1913  he  was  elected  superintendent 
of  health  of  Durham  County  and  city.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Public  Health  Association,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Association  for  the  Study  and 
Prevention  of  Infantile  Mortality.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  North  Carolina  Medical  Society. 

In  1901-02  Doctor  Cheatham  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  Durham,  In  1888  he 
entered  the  North  Carolina  Guards  as  a  private,  and 
subsequently  served  as  surgeon  with  the  rank 
of  major  in  his  regiment.  He  was  with  the  state 
military  organization  until   1892. 


Some  of  his  best  service  has  been  rendered  as  a 
pioneer  and  always  an  active  advocate  of  good 
roads  movements.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  give 
definite  form  to  good  roads  agitation,  and  his  in- 
terests have  been  by  no  means  provincial,  and  have 
extended  in  recent  years  to  the  great  national  high- 
ways. He  was  a  member  by  appointment  of  the 
State  Highway  Commission  in  carrying  out  the 
' '  Seashore  to  Mountains ' '  improvement.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Appa- 
lachin  Commission  comprising  seven  states.  In 
November,  1911,  Governor  Kitehin  appointed  him 
a  member  of  the  American  Highways  Association 
and  in  1913  Governor  Craig  sent  him  as  a  delegate 
from  North  Carolina  to  the  American  Eoads  Con- 
gress at  Detroit,  Michigan.  He  has  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Roads  Committee  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  at  Durham. 

Doctor  Cheatham  is  a  .member  of  the  United 
States  Selection  Service  Exemption  Board,  in  1916- 
17  was  president  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
Health  Officers '  Association,  is  president  of  the 
Athletic  Committee  of  Trinity  College,  and  is  for- 
mer president  and  for  many  years  has  been  active 
in  the  Durham  City  and  County  Medical  Board. 
He  is  a  steward  of  the  Memorial  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  of  Durham. 

Doctor  Cheatham  married  for  his  first  wife  Ida 
Shaw  of  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina.  She 
died  in  1903,  the  mother  of  five  children:  Geneva, 
Malcolm,  Elizabeth,  Archibald,  Jr.,  and  Ida  Mae. 
In  1907  Doctor  Cheatham  married  Ethel  Gibbs 
of  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Robert  Hunter  and  Bessie  Gibbs. 

Welch  Galloway.  A  representative  member 
of  the  bar  of  his  native  state,  Mr.  Galloway  is 
engaged  in  a  successful  practice  at  Brevard,  and 
his  present  attainments  are  backed  by  twenty 
years  of  active  experience.  He  has  done  much 
in  a  public  way,  has  served  as  mayor  of  Bre- 
vard, and  is  in  every  sense  a  public-spirited,  pro- 
gressive  and   loyal  citizen. 

Mr.  Galloway  was  born  near  Rosman,  Transyl- 
vania County,  North  Carolina,  January  3,  1872, 
a  son  of  Andrew  Jackson  and  Alpha  M.  (Aiken) 
Galloway.  He  spent  his  boyhood  on  his  father 's 
farm,  attending  the  local  schools,  and  afterwards 
availed  himself  of  the  privileges  of  the  Normal 
School  in  Jackson  County.  He  finally  took  up 
the  study  of  law  in  the  University  of  North  Car- 
olina, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  February, 
1897,  since  which  date  he  has  handled  a  grow- 
ing general  practice  at  Brevard.  Mr.  Galloway 
served  as  mayor  of  Brevard  two  years.  He  was 
never  an  office  seeker,  but  in  the  democratic  pri- 
mary held  June  1,  1918.  he  was  a  candidate  for 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court  for  the  Eighteenth 
Judicial  District  of  North  Carolina.  He  had 
two  other  opposing  democratic  candidates.  He 
did  not  secure  the  nomination,  but  there  were 
only  twelve  votes  cast  against  him  in  his  home 
county.  He  is  one  of  the  stewards  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South,  of  Brevard,  and 
fraternally  is  identified  with  the  Masons  and  the 
Knights  bf  Pythias.  May  21,  1902,  he  married 
Miss  Effie  Hawkins,  of  Hendersonville.  They  have 
two   children,   Q.   Lamar   and   Marian   Amelia. 

James  Eugene  Rankin.  If  a  list  were  being 
made  of  the  oldest  bankers  of  the  state,  and  those 
who  had  been  most  successful  in  guiding  their 
respective  institutions  through  the  storms  of 
adversity    and    distress,    few    would    dispute    the 


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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


215 


appropriateness  of  the  name  of  James  Eugene 
Rankin  of  Asheville  standing  well  at  the  top. 
Mr.  Eankin  entered  banking  in  the  years  imme- 
diately following  the  devastating  period  of  the 
war.  He  retired  only  recently,  and  his  service 
was  as  successful  as  it  was  long. 

He  was  born  in  Cocke  County,  Tennessee,  April 
27,  1845,  a  son  of  William  D.  and  Elizabeth 
(Roadman)  Rankin.  His  father  was  a  merchant 
and  in  1846,  the  year  following  James  Eugene's 
birth,  moved  to  Asheville  and  conducted  a  large 
and  prosperous  establishment  in  that  town  until 
the  time  of  the  war.  The  son  was  educated  in 
local  schools,  was  reared  in  a  home  of  social  taste 
and  comfort,  and  his  early  training  fitted  him  to 
take  charge  as  successor  to  his  father 's  business, 
which  he  continued  for  about  twenty  years. 

Mr.  Rankin  went  into  banking  as  vice  president 
of  the  Bank  of  Asheville,  which  was  the  first 
financial  institution  established  at  Asheville  after 
the  war.  He  was  with  that  bank  until  1888,  and 
the  following  three  years  was  cashier  of  the 
Western  Carolina  Bank.  In  1891  he  and  Col. 
Frank  Coxe  and  Capt.  J.  P.  Sawyer  organized  the 
Battery  Park  Bank  of  Asheville.  Mr.  Rankin 
served  this  institution  as  cashier  until  1914,  when 
he  retired  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son.  This 
bank  from  the  beginning  has  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  in  its  integrity  and  the  per- 
sonnel of  its  managing  directory,  and  sustained 
this  confidence  to  the  full  during  the  panic  of 
1907,  when  it  was  the  only  institution  at  Ashe- 
ville which  went  through  without  the  impairment 
of  its  credit  or  resources  for  a  single  hour. 

Mr.  Rankin  has  been  a  useful  figure  in  public 
affairs  at  Asheville.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  the 
city  in  1911  and  has  filled  that  office  continuously 
since  that  date.  He  was  first  elected  mayor  in 
1872,  and  the  honor  of  this  office  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  him  a  number  of  times.  For  twenty- 
two  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  County  Board 
of  Commissioners  of  Buncombe  County.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  and  for  ten  years  has  been 
president  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  is  a  former  director  of  the  Asheville 
Board  of  Trade,  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ashe- 
ville Club  since  organization,  and  is  a  dyed  in 
the  wool  democrat,  cast  his  first  vote  in  1866  and 
has  never  missed  an  election  in  more  than  fifty 
years. 

October  10,  1867,  Mr.  Rankin  married  Miss 
Fannie  Cocke,  daughter  of  Congressman  William 
M.  Cocke  of  Asheville.  Six  children  were  born  to 
their  marriage:  Clarence,  who  succeeded  his  father 
as  cashier  of  the  Battery  Park  Bank;  William  E., 
a  horticulturist  at  Tryon,  North  Carolina;  Arthur, 
cashier  of  the  American  National  Bank  of  Ashe- 
ville; James  G.,  who  is  in  the  cotton  business; 
Edgar  R.,  a  brick  manufacturer  at  Statesville; 
and  Grace,  wife  of  P.  H.  Branch,  proprietor  of 
the  Morgo   Terrace  at   Asheville. 

Willis  James  Brogdex.  Teaching  and  school 
administration,  a  growing  reputation  as  a  lawyer, 
public  office  and  business  affairs  have  successively 
and  together  filled  up  the  active  years  and  de- 
manded the  best  energies  of  Mr.  Brogden.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  prominent  Durham  law  firm  of 
Bryant  &  Brogden. 

He  was  born  in  Wayne  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  18,  1877,  a  son  of  Willis  H.  and  Vir- 
ginia E.  (Robinson)  Brogden.  He  spent  his  early 
life  on  his  father  's  farm,  attended  district  schools, 
the  high  school  at  Goldsboro,  from  which  he  grad- 


uated in  1894,  and  from  that  year  until  1898  was 
a  student  in  the  literary  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  On  leaving  university 
he  accepted  a  position  as  an  instructor  in  the 
Raleigh  Male  Academy.  In  1901  he  came  to  Dur- 
ham and  for  five  years  was  principal  of  the  Fuller 
School  and  then  was  promoted  to  principal  of  the 
Durham  High  School.  In  the  meantime  from  1905 
to  1907  he  studied  law  in  Trinity  College,  and  in 
the  latter  year  resigned  his  office  as  principal, 
entered  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on 
September  1,  1907.  Since  then  he  has  been  in 
active  practice  at  Durham,  at  fiist  with  Col.  S.  C. 
Chambers  under  the  firm  name  of  Chambers  & 
Brogden.  In  March,  1909,  he  formed  his  present 
partnership   with  Victor  S.   Bryant. 

Mr.  Brogden  served  as  county  attorney  of  Dur- 
ham County  from  1908  to  1911,  and  from  1911  to 
1915  was  the  progressive  mayor  of  Durham.  He 
is  director  of  and  attorney  for  the  First  National 
Bank.  He  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
North  Carolina  and  the  American  Bar  associa- 
tions, and  is  affiliated  with  Lodge  No.  352,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Durham. 

January  9,  1917,  Mr.  Brogden  married  Lila 
Markham  of  Durham.  She  is  a  daughter  of  John 
L.  Markham  and  a  niece  of  W.  T.  Blaekwell, 
originator  of  the  famous  ' '  Bull  Durham ' '  tobacco. 

Richard  Dillard,  M.  D.  Among  the  names  that 
are  widely  and  favorably  known  in  Northeastern 
North  Carolina,  few  have  gained  greater  distinc- 
tion than  that  of  Dillard.  While  this  is  particu- 
larly true  as  applying  to  the  profession  of  medicine, 
many  benefits  have  accrued  from  the  family  's  par- 
ticipation in  literature,  history  and  other  fields  of 
endeavor,  and  in  this  connection  special  mention 
should  be  made  of  Dr.  Richard  Dillard,  the  present 
worthy  representative  of  the  family  at  Edenton. 
Doctor  Dillard  was  born  at  the  home  of  his 
grandfather,  "Farmers  Delight,"  Nansemond 
County,  Virginia,  December  5,  1857,  and  is  a  son 
of  Dr.  Richard  and  Mary  Louisa  Beverly  (Cross) 
Dillard.  He  comes  of  old  Colonial  stock  of  Eastern 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  is  a  descendant 
of  John  Campbell,  who  founded  the  Town  of 
Colerain  in  Bertie  County,  North  Carolina,  was  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  at  Halifax  and 
at  Hillsborough,  and  resided  at  his  place  near 
Colerain,  named  "Lazy  Hill."  The  elder  Dr. 
Richard  Dillard,  father  of  the  present  doctor,  was 
one  of  the  eminent  men  of  his  day,  and  as  a 
distinguished  and  useful  life  is  a  heritage  to  pos- 
terity whose  lessons  should  be  charished  by  its 
beneficiaries,  a  plain  and  unpretentious  record  of 
his  life,  written  in  the  sincerity  of  friendship  and 
in  the  candor  of  biographical  truthfulness  by  one 
who  loved  and  admired  him,  may  not  be  without 
benefit — certainly  not  without  interest — to  his  sur- 
vivors. 

Dr.  Richard  Dillard,  the  elder,  had  reached  the 
patriarchal  age  of  sixty-five  years  when  the  pale 
messenger  beckoned  him  away  from  earth,  and  for 
nearly  a  half  a  century  his  life  had  been  an  ex- 
ample of  usefulness,  of  energy  and  diligence  in 
business,  and  of  patriotic  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  his  country  and  his  fellow  men.  His  father, 
Maj.  James  Dillard,  was  a  native  and  long  resident 
of  Sussex  County,  Virginia.  It  was  at  his  father's 
home  at  Sussex  that  Dr.  Richard  Dillard  was  born, 
December  1,  1822.  His  early  years  were  passed 
as  those  of  other  boys,  in  school  and  play,  and 
in    that    physical    development    which    afterwards 


246 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


made  him  conspicuous  among  men.  Of  Scotch 
lineage,  he  inherited  the  personal  and  intellectual 
characteristics  of  that  race  which  has  so  enriched 
the  history  of  our  country.  He  was  by  nature 
greatly  endowed.  To  a  large  and  commanding 
presence  was  added  gracefulness  of  bearing  and  a 
winning  expression  which  won  the  confidence  and 
commanded  the  respect  of  men.  These  personal 
gifts  of  nature  formed  a  setting  for  the  social 
and  intellectual  qualities  that  made  him  the  genial 
companion  in  the  charmed  circle  of  private  friend- 
ship, the  mentor  of  private  confidence,  the  trusted 
counsellor  in  business,  the  safe  leader  in  times  of 
disturbance  that  tried  men's  souls.  Cast  in  heroic 
mold  of  mind  and  form,  he  would  in  any  associa- 
tion anywhere  have  been  singled  out  as  a  leader 
among  men.  All  the  mental  characteristics  of 
leadership  were  his.  His  judgments  were  de- 
liberate and  singularly  unerring,  and,  when  formed, 
were  firm  and  unvarying.  These,  we  think,  were 
the  striking  combinations  in  the  mental  character- 
istics of  our  friend;  independence  of  thought, 
self-reliant  resources,  deliberation  in  judgment,  un- 
ering  accuracy  in  his  conclusions  and  tenacity 
when  his  conclusions  had  been  reached.  With  such 
qualities  men  naturally  turned  to  him  for  counsel 
and  guidance.  We  have  often  reflected  with  pain 
that  such  qualities  could  not  have  been  conserved 
in  the  public  service;  that  fate,  or  destiny,  or  cir- 
cumstances, or  whatever  it  may  be  called,  had  not 
made  such  men  poor  in  worldly  possessions  and  not 
encumbered  them  with  the  cares  of  worldly  pros- 
perity. There  are  many  striking  cases  of  this  kind 
in  the  history  of  the  Albemarle  section.  Had 
Richard  Dillard  been  a  poor  man  and  not  blessed 
(so  called)  with  business  prosperity,  he  would  have 
been  one  of  North  Carolina 's  jewels,  given  to  us 
by  Virginia,  and  would  have  read  his  history  in  a 
nation's  eyes.  Had  Lewis  Thompson  of  Bertie 
been  a  poor  man  and  not  been  blessed  (so  called) 
with  business  prosperity,  he  would  have  com- 
manded ' '  the  applause  of  listening  senates. ' '  And 
some  others.  Our  friend  came  near  consecrating 
himself  to  the  public  service,  for  which  he  always 
had  an  instinctive  longing,  once  when  a  young 
man,  not  long  in  his  adopted  home,  when  the 
admiring  throng  of  his  countrymen  lifted  the 
young  man  in  their  enthusiastic  arms  and  placed 
him  in  the  Legislative  Hall  in  the  Senate  of  North 
Carolina,  and  later,  when,  late  in  life,  the  governor 
of  North  Carolina  called  him  from  his  retirement 
to  the  public  service,  and  the  pale  messenger  ' '  with 
the  inverted  torch ' '  warned  him  of  the  time  which 
too  surely  came. 

Doctor  Dillard  determined  to  devote  himself  to 
the  profession  which  his  grandfather  had  so  suc- 
cessfully followed,  and  graduated  in  the  collegiate 
course  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  subsequently 
taking  his  degree  in  medicine  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1839.  He  was  the 
first  honorary  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Medi- 
cal Society.  After  travel  and  recreation,  he  re- 
moved to  North  Carolina  from  Virginia  and  en- 
tered earnestly  upon  that  profession  in  which  he 
acquired  honor,  usefulness  and  wealth,  until 
stricken  down  in  the  full  tide  of  honor  and  dis- 
tinction by  that  mysterious  and  fell  destroyer — ■ 
paralysis,  which  repeated  its  assaults  for  two  years, 
with  mind  unimpaired  and  body  a  wreck,  until 
death  came  to  his  relief  and  bore  him  to  that 
undiscovered  country  where  the  weary  are  at  rest 
and  where  it  is  our  reasonable  hope  that  lives  of 
usefulness  here  will  be  followed  by  lives  of  hap- 
piness there. 


Doctor  Dillard  was  always  a  politician,  deeply 
interested  in  the  affairs  of  his  country,  a  democrat 
of  positive  convictions,  a  partisan,  in  its  better 
sense,  a  Southern  man  in  all  its  tender  ties,  a 
State  Eights  man  from  careful  study  of  our  Con- 
stitutional history,  and  when  the  civil  conflict  be- 
tween the  states  came  on,  he  was  by  the  sequence  of 
his  convictions  a  Southern  secessionist.  His 
acknowledged  ability  and  fidelity  to  his  section 
made  him  the  choice  of  the  party  for  representa- 
tive in  Congress  in  the  troubulous  times  that  pre- 
ceded the  bloody  conflict,  but  ere  he  was  elected 
the  tocsin  was  sounded  and  the  lurid  glare  of  war 
had  dissevered  our  connection  with  the  Federal 
counsels.  He  was  then  elected  by  the  people  of 
the  Secessionist  Convention  of  North  Carolina,  and 
when  war  darkened  the  firmament  he  devoted  all 
his  energies  of  mind  and  body  and  contributed  of 
his  ample  means  to  the  support  of  the  Southern 
cause.  He  turned  over  one  of  his  valuable  farms 
to  the  Chowan  County  authorities  and  gave  the 
proceeds  derived  from  it  to  be  devoted  to  the  care 
and  equipment  of  our  newly-organized  soldiers,  and 
was  himself  appointed  by  the  governor  of  North 
Carolina  aide-de-camp  with  the  rank  of  colonel  and 
was  specially  instructed  to  superintend  the  defense 
of  the  Albermarle  and  Currituck  sounds.  These 
instructions  were  given  by  autograph  letter  from 
Governor  Clark.  Later  in  the  war  he  was  acting 
brigade  surgeon  to  Gen.  Roger  A.  Pryor  when  sta- 
tioned near  Pranklin,  Virginia,  and  performed  the 
duties  of  the  office  with  signal  ability  and  skill, 
being  in  active  service  in  the  memorable  seven 
days '  fight  around  Richmond. 

When  peace  came  Doctor  Dillard  returned  to  his 
old  home  on  Chowan  River  to  find  it  a  desolation. 
It  had  long  been  an  especial  object  of  vengeance 
to  the  Federal  troops  and  the  war  had  swept  it  as 
with  the  besom  of  destruction.  Fire  and  shot  and 
shell  had  made  it  uninhabitable  and  Doctor  Dil- 
lard took  possession  of  another  place  near  by  and 
soon  resumed  his  profession  to  repair  his  broken 
fortune.  Success  came  and  he  was  able  to  prosper 
again  in  business  and  accumulated  the  means  of 
spending  the  close  of  his  life  in  comfort  and  af- 
fluence, with  "honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of 
friends, ' '  and  when  the  last  summons  came  he 
passed  away  quietly  and  peacefully  in  the  arms 
of  his  loving  children  and  surrounded  by  weeping 
friends.  In  his  later  years  Governor  Scales,  who 
was  his  lifelong  friend,  appointed  Doctor  Dillard 
director  of  the  Western  Insane  Asylum  of  North 
Carolina,  and  afterward  to  the  State  Insane 
Asylum  at  Raleigh,  for  which  place  he  was  pecu- 
liarly fitted  by  his  eminent  medical  attainments 
and  by  his  fondness  for  questions  of  mental 
analysis.  Soon  after,  his  active  work  on  earth 
was  done.  In  full  health,  with  full  capacity  for 
enjoyment,  with  a  bright  future  and  in  the  full 
career  of  usefulness,  a  mysterious  and  inscrutable 
Providence  gave  him  warning  and  in  an  instant 
made  of  a  Hyperion  a  physical  wreck,  but  left 
his  mental  powers  all  intact,  until  that  fatal  Tues- 
day, two  years  after,  which  swept  his  conscious- 
ness, and  in  a  few  days  called  him  away. 

Doctor  Richard  Dillard  the  younger,  the  bril- 
liant son  of  a  brilliant  father,  was  given  excellent 
opportunities  for  the  attainment  of  an  educational 
training,  attending  Horner  's  School,  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  the  University  of  Virginia,  and 
the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  from  which  last 
named  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine in  1879,  and  which  college  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  1901.     Imme- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


247 


diately  after  his  graduation  he  settled  at  Edenton, 
where  he  has  since  been  in  the  enjoyment  of  an 
ever  increasing  practice,  the  mantle  of  his  father 's 
greatness  as  a  man  of  medicine  and  surgery  hav- 
ing 'without  a  question  fallen  upon  his  shoulders. 
In  1880  Doctor  Dillard  became  acting  assistant 
surgeon  to  the  U.  S.  P.  H.  service  at  Edenton, 
and  this  position  he  has  retained  without  interrup- 
tion for  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years.  At  various 
times  he  has  been  honored  with  other  appoint- 
ments and  with  identification  with  some  of  the 
leading  learned  bodies  of  the  state  and  country. 
He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Historical  Commission  by  Governor  Alcock, 
and  at  present  is  president  of  the  Eoanoke  Colony 
Memorial  Association,  a  member  of  the  Council 
for  National  Defense  for  Chowan  County  and  vice 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  Folk  Lore  Society. 
At  one  time  he  was  vice  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  Medical  Society,  and  in  1907  was  elected 
vice  president  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical 
Association,  and  also  has  the  honorary  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  Politically  the  doctor  is  a  demo- 
crat, while  his  religious  connection  is  with  Saint 
Paul  'a  Episcopal  Church. 

Doctor  Dillard  is  a  bachelor  and  resides  at  beau- 
tiful ' '  Beverly  Hall. ' '  His  ancestral  home  was 
formerly  "  Wingfield, "  on  the  Chowan  River,  and 
was  built  by  the  Brownriggs  in  1760  and  destroyed 
during  the  Civil  war.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 
In  literary  circles  there  are  few  men  in  North- 
eastern North  Carolina  who  are  better  known  or 
who  have  a  wider  circle  of  readers  and  admirers. 
He  is  the  author  of  numerous  historical  mono- 
graphs, including  The  Edenton  Tea  Party,  1774, 
and  of  numerous  short  stories,  nature  essays  and 
miscellany.  He  is  likewise  a  public  speaker  of 
much  more  than  local  reputation,  and  is  a  naturalist 
by  taste,  ha%ing  made  a  thorough  study  of  the 
trees  and  plants  of  Eastern  North  Carolina  and 
being  considered  an  authority  on  the  subject,  as 
he  is  also  in  regard  to  the  Indian  lore  of  this 
section.  It  is  the  doctor's  own  opinion,  however, 
that  his  best  work  has  been  done  in  the  preserva- 
tion, etc.,  of  local  history. 

J.  Plummek  Wiggixs.  Among  the  members  of 
the  Robeson  County  bar  who  in  recent  years  have 
made  rapid  strides  and  have  forged  to  the  fore- 
front in  the  ranks  of  their  profession  is  found  J. 
Plummer  Wiggins,  now  engaged  in  practice  at 
Maxton.  During  the  comparatively  short  period 
of  his  professional  life  he  has  gained  a  substan- 
tial reputation  as  a  close  student  of  the  law  and 
as  a  painstaking,  able  and  strietly  reliable  law- 
yer. 

Mr.  Wiggins  was  born  at  Whiteville,  Columbus 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1878,  his  parents  be- 
ing J.  L.  and  Missouri  (Prigden)  Wiggins,  both 
of  whom  are  now  deceased.  His  father  was  a 
native  North  Carolinian,  born  in  Sampson  County, 
and  there  reared  and  educated,  and  his  youth  was 
devoted  to  learning  the  vocation  of  general  me- 
chanic. When  the  war  between  the  states  came 
on  his  services  were  cheerfully  offered  to  the 
Confederacy,  and  throughout  the  period  of  the 
great  struggle  he  worked  in  railroad  shops,  not  a 
spectacular  service,  but  one  just  as  necessary  and 
valuable  as  that  rendered  by  the  soldier  on  the 
field  of  battle.  When  the  war  closed  he  took  up 
his  residence  at  Columbus,  and  the  remainder  of 
his  useful  and  industrious  life  was  divided  be- 
tween  working   as   a   mechanic   and  labors   as   an 


agriculturist.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry, 
and  inherited  many  of  the  desirable  traits  of  both 
races.  His  death,  and  that  of  his  wife,  occurred 
in  Columbus  County,  in  which  both  were  highly 
respected. 

The  early  education  of  J.  Plummer  Wiggins 
was  secured  in  the  public  sehools  of  Whiteville, 
and  he  early  showed  a  predilection  for  the  law, 
which  he  favored  rather  than  either  of  his  fa- 
ther 's  vocations  of  mechanic  or  farmer.  In  or- 
der to  gain  the  necessary  education  he  was  forced 
to  overcome  some  obstacles  and  undergo  some 
hardships,  but  he  was  persevering  and  ambitious, 
and,  after  a  long  course  of  home  study  and  at- 
tendance at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  law- 
department,  he  finally  mastered  his  vocation,  and 
in  1908  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Mr.  Wiggins 
at  once  chose  Maxton  as  the  scene  for  his  pro- 
fessional labors,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
engaged  in  a  general  practice  in  civil  and  crim- 
inal law.  He  is  one  of  the  able  young  members 
of  the  bar  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  his 
talents  have  been  rewarded  by  a  large  and  rep- 
resentative clientele.  His  interest  in  matters  of 
civic  importance  have  given  him  the  reputation, 
well  deserved,  of  being  one  of  the  active  and 
public-spirited  citizens  of  the  thriving  little  City 
of  Maxton. 

Mr.  Wiggins  married  Miss  Lillian  MacQueen, 
of  Robeson  County,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of 
the  late  James  Stewart  MacQueen,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  one  son,  James  MacQueen.  Mr. 
Wiggins  is  secretary  of  the  MacQueen  Clan  As- 
sociation, an  organization  composed  of  the  de- 
scendants of  Col.  James  MacQueen,  who  settled 
in  Robeson  County,  coming  from  Scotland,  prior 
to  the  war  for  the  winning  of  American  inde- 
pendence. They  are  a  notable  family  and  the 
men  and  women  bearing  the  name  have  been  and 
are  among  the  best  and  most  substantial  citizens 
of  the  state,  while  other  members  have  achieved 
prominence  in  other  states. 

Julius  C.  Martin.  Every  year  of  the  thirty 
since  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  has  brought 
increasing  power  and  reputation  to  the  career 
of  Julius  C.  Martin  of '  Asheville,  one  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  of  the  state  and  one  to  whom  has  been 
entrusted  interests  and  responsibilities  as  are 
placed  in  the  hands  only  of  the  wisest  and  most 
skillful  attorneys  and  business  men. 

While  member  of  an  old  and  prominent  family 
of  North  Carolina,  Julius  C.  Martin  entered  into 
his  professional  career  only  after  a  long  and  ardu- 
ous apprenticeship,  involving  the  necessity  of 
earning  his  own  living  from  boyhood.  This  was 
due  largely  to  the  fact  that  when  he  himself  was 
hardly  conscious  of  the  tremendous  events  going 
on  around  him,  his  father,  a  gallant  officer  and 
soldier,  lost  his  life  on  one  of  the  battlefields  of 
the  war  between  the  states. 

This  branch  of  the  Martin  family  is  descended 
from  Peter  Martin,  who  came  from  Germany  to 
Virginia  about  1700,  settling  on  the  Chickahominy 
River.  His  son  Henry  Martin  married  Mary 
Bryan,  daughter  of  John  Bryan,  a  Virginian  of 
high  character.  Of  the  several  children  of  Henry 
and  Mary  one  was  Benjamin  Martin,  who  married 
Diana  Harrison,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Harrison 
of  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia,  and  a  first  cousin 
of  William  Henry  Harrison,  president  of  the 
United   States. 

In  1792  Benjamin  and  Diana  Martin  moved 
from     Fluvanna     County,     Virginia,     to     Wilkes 


248 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


County,  North  Carolina.  Five  years  previously, 
on  January  26,  1787,  their  son  James  Martin  was 
born. 

Col.  James  Martin  in  1806  acquired  a  farm  at 
the  mouth  of  Brier  Creek  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Yadkjn  River  and  eleven  miles  east  of  Wilkesboro. 
Here  Colonel  James  lived  for  a  great  many  years 
and  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  distinction 
in  his  community.  He  died  March  26,  1846.  He 
was  survived  by  his  widow,  Elvira  Bryan  Martin, 
and  eleven  children,  namely:  John  Martin;  Felix 
Bryan  Martin;  Diana  Adelaide,  who  married 
James  Hunt;  Benjamin  Oliver  Haggard  Ferry 
Martin;  Mary  Ann  Martin,  who  married  Jacob 
Cansler;  Emeline  Martin,  who  married  Elkanah 
Shuford;  Elvira  Martin,  who  married  Burgess 
Heathman;  Leland  Martin;  Ruf us '  W.  Martin; 
James  Oscar  Martin;  and  Augustus  Harrison 
Martin. 

Augustus  Harrison  Martin,  youngest  son  of 
Col.  James  Martin,  was  born  at  the  old  Martin 
homestead  in  1832,  and  was  liberally  educated. 
He  distinguished  himself  as  a  ready  public 
speaker  and  early  became  prominent  in  polities. 
In  1856,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  was  elected 
to  the  House  of  Commons  from  Wilkes  County 
and  was  reelected  in  1858.  He  was  a  whig,  a 
stanch  Union  man,  and  consistently  opposed  the 
policy  of  secession.  He  proposed  and  advocated 
to  the  very  last  submitting  the  question  of  seces- 
sion to  a  general  and  popular  vote.  And  when 
the  convention  finally  definitely  settled  the  matter 
he  accepted  the  decision  with  a  heavy  heart  and 
with  many  misgivings  as  to  its  wisdom. 

Soon  after  secession  was  an  accomplished  fact 
he  organized  a  company  among  his  old  neighbors 
and  friends,  and  many  of  them,  like  himself,  had 
formerly  been  strongly  union  in  sentiment  and 
were  non-slave  holders.  It  is  an  interesting  testi- 
mony to  their  devotion  to  the  cause  which  they 
could  not  embrace  wholeheartedly  that  of  the 
entire  company  only  six  remained  to  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  the  others  having  been  left  dead 
on  battlefields  in  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. As  captain  of  his  company  Augustus  H. 
Martin  was  in  service  from  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg until  the  retreat  from  Richmond  to  Appo- 
mattox. While  in  command  of  the  54th  North 
Carolina  Regiment  as  a  senior  captain  he  fell 
instantly  killed  in  the  battle  of  Sailors  Creek  on 
April  6,  1865,  three  days  before  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee.  His  body  was  temporarily  interred 
by  Federal  soldiers  and  a  board  put  up  at  the 
head  of  the  grave  marked — ' '  Capt.  A.  H.  Martin 
54th  N.  C.  Regiment — a  brave  man. ' '  His  remains 
were  afterwards  removed  and  lie  in  the  church- 
yard at  Brier  Creek  Baptist  Church  in  Wilkes 
County.  He  was  a  leader  in  the  Baptist  Church 
and  his  ancestors  as  far  back  as  the  record  goes 
have  been  identified  with  the  same  denomination. 

Captain  Martin  married  Susan  Virginia  Corpen- 
ing,  a  daughter  of  David  Corpening,  a  wealthy 
planter  of  Burke  County,  North  Carolina.  At  his 
death  Captain  Martin  left  three  children :  Dr. 
James  Everett  Martin  of  Bluefield,  West  Virginia; 
Laura  A.  Linney,  of  Wilkes  County;  and  Julius 
C.  Martin. 

Julius  C.  Martin  grew  up  on  the  old  farm  in 
the  Yadkin  Valley.  His  widowed  mother  man- 
aged to  keep  her  children  about  her,  and  while 
allowing  them  the  advantages  of  the  limited  terms 
of  the  common  schools  in  the  neighborhood  she 
also  depended  upon  them  for  much  assistance  in 
cultivating    the    farm.      Julius    Martin    lived    at 


home  until  about  eighteen  and  in  the  meantime 
had  put  forth  strenuous  and  well  rewarded  efforts 
to  secure  a  real  education.  One  of  the  most 
influential  of  his  early  teachers  was  Mr.  R.  A. 
Spainhour,  who  for  about  two  years  taught  a 
private  school  at  Oak  Forest  in  Wilkes  County, 
about  two  miles  from  the  Martin  homestead.  In 
this  school  Julius  Martin  was  a  student  in  1869-70 
and  one  of  the  youngest  pupils.  He  and  his  old 
teacher  have  ever  since  been  the  warmest  personal 
friends.  It  was  as  a  result  of  the  inspiration 
received  from  this  teacher  that  from  the  age 
of  fourteen  to  fifteen  Mr.  Martin,  after  following 
the  plow  all  day  across  the  wide  and  hot  Yadkin 
River  bottoms,  would  spend  several  hours  at  night 
over  his  Latin,  algebra  and  other  studies.  In 
1880,  then  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  taught  the 
public  school  at  Rdaring  River  in  Wilkes  County. 
In  May  of  the  following  year  he  left  home  and 
with  all  his  property  in  a  handbag  walked  across 
the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  to  Virginia  as  far  as 
Grayson  County.  There  he  found  a  brother  of  his 
old  teacher,  J.  F.  Spainhour,  who  had  charge  of 
a  school  at  Oak  Hill.  Mr.  Martin  worked  on  a 
farm  in  that  vicinity  for  several  months  and 
attended  a  session  of  the  school,  serving  as  assist- 
ant teacher  and  paying  his  board  by  diligent  work 
on  Saturdays.  This  was  the  journeyman  ex- 
perience of  Mr.  Martin 's  life  and  the  summer  of 
1882  found  him  in  Johnson  County,  Tennessee. 
He  taught  a  couple  of  winters  in  public  schools 
in  that  state,  and  during  1884  was  also  a  teacher 
in  the  Cove  Creek  Academy  in  Watauga  County, 
Tennessee.  All  this  teaching  and  the  careful 
economy  which  went  with  it  was  inspired  by  one 
purpose,  and  that  was  to  give  himself  the  benefits 
of  a  higher  collegiate  education.  In  August, 
1884,  Mr.  Martin  was  able  to  enter  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  spent  a  year  in  an  elective 
course  in  preparation  for  the  study  of  law.  His 
determination  to  become  a  lawyer  had  received 
its  first  impulse  when  he  was  about  ten  years  old, 
while  listening  to  Justice  Court  trials  conducted 
by  his  step-father.  Though  Mr.  Martin  had  en- 
joyed little  of  the  continuity  of  formal  schooling 
he  distinguished  himself  as  a  very  solid  student 
while  in  the  university,  and  it  was  a  matter  of 
regret  to  his  instructors  and  newly  formed  friends 
there  that  he  had  to  leave  school  in  the  spring  of 
1885  for  lack  of  funds.  His  father's  farm  had 
been  temporarily  taken  from  its  true  owners  and 
to  relieve  the  family  distress  and  refill  his  own 
pocket  book  he  spent  another  two  years  teaching 
in  Cove  Creek  in  Watauga  County,  Tennessee. 
From  the  summer  of  1887  to  1888  he  was  a  student 
in  a  law  school  conducted  by  Col.  George  N.  Folk 
at  his  country  home  in  Caldwell  County.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1888,  Mr.  Martin  was  licensed  to  practice 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina. 

It  is  said  that  when  Mr.  Martin  arrived  at 
Asheville  August  4,  1888,  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  himself  in  practice  in  that  city,  he 
had  hardly  enough  funds  to  keep  him  in  the  com- 
forts of  one  of  the  average  hotels  of  the  city  a 
single  day,  and  possessed  less  than  half  a  dozen 
acquaintances  in  Buncombe  County.  For  two  or 
three  months  he  shared  an  office  with  William  M. 
Cooke,  Jr.,  and  then  entered  the  offices  of  H.  A. 
Gudger  and  H.  B.  Carter.  January  1,  1889,  he 
was  admitted  to  a  partnership,  becoming  junior 
member  of  the  firm  Gudger,  Carter  &  Martin. 
Mr.  Martin  had  the  benefit  of  association  with 
these  fine  lawyers  until  Mr.  Carter  was  elected 
judge   of    the    Criminal    Court    in    1892    and    Mr. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


249 


Gudger  retired  in  1894  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
United  States  Government.  In  1898  Mr.  Martin 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  C.  A.  Webb,  which 
continued  three  years.  After  that  he  practiced 
alone  for  ten  years  or  more,  and  in  January,  191:3, 
became  senior  member  of  the  firm  Martin,  Rollins 
&  Wright.  Individually  and  as  a  member  of  this 
firm  Mr.  Martin  lias  given  his  services  as  attorney 
and  counsel  to  many  of  the  largest  corporations 
of  the  city  and  state,  including  the  Asheville 
Light  and  lJower  Company,  the  Southern  Express 
Company,  as  assistant  division  counsel  in  sixteen 
counties  for  the  Southern  Railway  Company, 
attorney  for  the  Champion  Fiber  Company,  the 
Citizens  Bank  of  Asheville,  and  many  other  cor- 
porations. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Martin  as  a  lawyer,  one  of 
his  tornier  legal  associates  has  characterized  him 
as  follows:  "He  is  a  thorough  student  and  by 
careful  study  has  mastered  all  the  difficult 
branches  of  the  law.  He  is  perhaps  as  familiar 
with  the  decisions  oi  the  Supreme  Court  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  United  States  as  any  practitioner 
in  the  state.  He  can  readily  refer  to  any  of  the 
important  cases  of  these  two  courts.  He  is  well 
versed  in  text  book  law  and  is  not  only  a  most 
successful  practitioner,  but  is  a  splendid  adviser. 
His  opinion  on  questions  of  law  is  sought  after  by 
many  clients  as  well  as  by  his  brother  attorneys 
and  in  the  writer 's  opinion  his  judgment  is 
scarcely  ever  wrong. ' ' 

As  is  true  of  many  of  the  men  who  have  gained 
the  highest  prizes  in  the  law,  Mr.  Martin  has  had 
little  to  do  with  practical  politics  and  that  chiefly 
in  recent  years  after  his  success  and  reputation 
as  a  lawyer  were  established  beyond  all  question. 
More  than  twenty  years  ago,  in  1894,  he  was 
nominated  on  the  democratic  ticket  for  the  oliice 
of  mayor  of  Asheville,  and  contested  the  honor 
with  a  well  known  local  citizen  who  had  been 
nominated  previously  on  a  citizens  ticket  sup- 
ported by  both  republicans  and  democrats.  Mr. 
Martin  in  view  of  the  circumstances  took  his 
defeat  very  gracefully.  It  was  some  sixteen 
years  later  that  he  again  became  a  candidate  for 
an  important  office,  when  in  1910  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Senate,  succeeding  the  former  repub- 
lican from  that  district.  The  two  years  he  spent 
as  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  were  character- 
ized by  much  hard  work  in  behalf  of  his  con- 
stituents and  the  advocacy  of  measures  which  he 
believed  vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  state  and  its 
people.  His  name  is  associated  with  the  Martin 
Act,  passed  while  he  was  in  the  Senate,  an  im- 
portant law  revising  and  modifying  the  laws  of 
debt.  Senator  Martin  was  for  four  or  five  years 
chairman  of  the  County  Board  of  Education, 
resigning  that  office  in  1910,  and  has  always  been 
devoted  to  the  uplift  and  improvement  of  public 
schools.  For  six  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
School  Committee  of  the  City  of  Asheville.  Among 
other  interests  Mr.  Martin  is  vice  president  of 
the  Citizens  Bank  of  Asheville  and  for  ten  years 
wa9  president  of  the  Asheville  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association,  an  institution  which  has 
called  forth  his  enthusiasm  and  cooperation  ever 
since  it  was  "established.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Asheville  and  fraternally 
is  a  Mason. 

The  Martin  home  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
in  Asheville,  and  that  means  in  the  state.  On 
December  29,  1891,  Mr.  Martin  married  ivnss  Helen 
Emilie  Werres-Goertz.  She  was  born  at  Crefeld, 
Germany,    and    was    educated    in    vocal    music    at 


Strassburg,  Germany,  where  she  lived  for  several 
years.  Mrs.  Martin  has  always  delighted  her 
friends  and  the  social  circles  in  which  she  moves 
by  her  varied  accomplishments  and  especially  her 
talents  in  musi«.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  have 
three  sons:  Augustus  Harrison,  Julius,  second, 
and  Frederick  Norman.  Julius  is  now  a  student 
in  the  University  of  Virginia  and  Norman  is  in 
the  Asheville  schools.  The  son  Augustus  Harri- 
son has  already  achieved  some  distinctions  that 
make  him  a  worthy  grandson  of  his  namesake 
who  fell  in  one  of  the  last  battles  of  the  war 
between  the  states.  For  his  higher  education  he 
spent  one  year  in  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  four  years  in  the  University  of  Virginia 
and  in  May,  1917,  became  a  student  in  the  officers 
training  camp  at  Fort  Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  and 
came  out  with  the  commission  of  first  lieutenant, 
being  assigned  to  the  ordnance  department  of 
the  regular  army,  in  the  gun  division  of  the  French 
Warfare  branch  at  Washington. 

Cicero  L.  Badqett.  For  many  years  prom- 
inently associated  with  one  of  the  more  important 
industries  to  which  a  man  may  devote  his  time 
and  talent,  Cicero  L.  Badgett,  a  former  builder 
and  contractor,  has  accumulated,  through  industry, 
thrift,  and  wise  investment,  a  handsome  property, 
and  is  now  living  retired  from  active  business 
cares  at  his  pleasant  home  just  at  the  edge  of  the 
old  Village  of  Jackson  Hill.  He  was  born  in 
Alleghany  Township,  Davidson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1846,  a  son  of  William  Harris  Badgett. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  James  Badgett,  was 
born  in  Granville  County,  North  Carolina,  of 
thrifty  French  stock.  He  was  brought  up  on  a 
farm,  and  when  ready  to  settle  in  life  moved  to 
that  part  of  Bowan  County  that  is  now  included 
within  the  boundaries  of  Davidson  County,  and 
having  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  what  is  now 
Jackson  Hill  Township,  cleared  and  improved  a 
homestead,  and  was  there  a  resident  until  his  death, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  He  was  a  preacher 
in  the  Primitive  Baptist  Church,  and  active  in  the 
ministry  for  many  years.  The  maiden  name  of 
his  wife  was  Jemima  Kinney.  She  survived  him 
many  years,  dying  at  an  advanced  age.  They 
reared  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  as  follows: 
Samuel,  James,  Wilson,  William  Harris,  Jonathan, 
Daniel,  Charity,  Jemima,  Jiney,  and  Priscilla. 

Born  in  Jackson  Hill  Township,  in  1817,  Wil- 
liam Harris  Badgett  grew  to  man  's  estate  on  the 
parental  homestead,  and  as  a  boy  assisted  in  the 
pioneer  task  of  clearing  and  improving  it.  Sub- 
sequently buying  land  in  Alleghany  Township,  he 
carried  on  general  farming  with  satisfactory  re- 
sults for  many  years,  being  one  of  the  foremost 
agriculturists  of  his  neighborhood.  He  was  acting 
magistrate  for  over  forty  years  and  county  sur- 
veyor for  many  years.  He  was  above  the  age  for 
active  service  during  the  Civil  war  but  served  as 
home  guard  for  some  time  before  the  close  of  the 
war.  Late  in  life  he  bought  a  home  at  Jackson 
Hill,  and  there  lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Cameron,  a  Scotch  lassie,  who  was  born  on 
a  farm  at  Healing  Springs  Township,  where  her 
father,  James  Cameron,  was  a  life-long  resident. 
She  attained  the  good  old  age  of  four  score  and 
four  years.  Two  children  were  born  into  their 
household,  James  Madison  and  Cicero  L. 

James  M.  Badgett  was  raised  on  the  farm  and 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  entered  the  mercantile  pro- 
fession  at   Jackson   Hill,   North   Carolina,  buying 


250 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


an  interest  in  the  company  of  E.  S.  Adderton  & 
Co.  In  this  occupation  he  was  very  successful  and 
accumulated  a  handsome  little  property.  He  died 
January  23,  1895. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  having  improved  to 
the  utmost  every  offered  opportunity  for  acquir- 
ing an  education,  Cicero  L.  Badgett  entered  the 
professional  ranks  as  a  school  teacher.  In  the 
spring,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  First  North 
Carolina  Battalion,  in  which  he  was  elected 
second  lieutenant  and  acted  as  captain  on 
many  occasions  when  the  commanding  officer 
was  absent.  He  made  out  most  of  the  pay- 
rolls for  Company  C  and  late  in  1864  two 
or  three  depleted  battalions  were  merged  into 
the  Seventieth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  troops, 
with  which  he  served  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war.  He  was  with  his  regiment  in  various  marches, 
campaigns  and  battles,  until  the  close  of  the  con- 
flict, being  with  Johnson's  army  when  it  surren- 
dered. Returning  home  April  19,  1865,  he  served 
an  apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  after 
which  he  worked  for  awhile  as  a  journeyman  car- 
penter. Becoming  efficient  at  his  trade,  Mr.  Badg- 
ett established  himself  as  a  carpenter  and  builder, 
and  subsequently  filled  many  important  building 
contracts  in  both  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 
erecting  not  only  large  and  substantial  residences, 
but  municipal  and  factory  buildings,  operating  in 
many  of  the  larger  cities  and  villages  of  both 
states.  Mr.  Badgett  continued  in  active  business 
until  1905,  and  during  the  time  accumulated  con- 
siderable wealth;  a  part  of  his  money  having  been 
invested  in  valuable  farm  lands  in  Jackson  Hill 
Township.  He  was  acting  magistrate  for  a  period 
of  several  years  in  Montgomery  County  and  was 
county  commissioner  for  Davidson  County. 

Mr.  Badgett  has  been  twice  married.  He  mar- 
ried first,  in  1867,  Martha  J.  Adderton,  who  was 
born  in  Jackson  Hill  Township,  a  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Temperance  (Johnson)  Adderton. 
His  second  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Nellie 
Surratt,  was  born  in  Jackson  Hill  Township,  a 
daughter  of  William  M.  Surratt.  By  his  first  mar- 
riage, Mr.  Badgett  had  four  children,  namely: 
Stephen  Harris,  Eugenia  I.,  William  R.,  and  Sam- 
uel B.  Stephen  H.  Badgett,  a  commissioned  of- 
ficer in  the  United  States  navy,  with  which  he  has 
been  connected  for  fifteen  years,  married  Karo 
Reed,  and  they  have  one  child,  Stephen  Harris, 
Jr.  Eugenia  I.  Badgett  married  J.  T.  Wood,  and 
has  five  children,  Grace,  Thomas,  Jessie,  Sidney, 
and  Jamie.  William  R.  Badgett  married  Julia 
Surratt,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  five  children, 
Kenneth,  Marvin,  Eugenia,  Elizabeth,  and  Wil- 
liam Cicero.  Samuel  B.  Badgett  married  Mabel 
Lowe,  and  to  them  three  children  have  been  born, 
John  Lowe,  McDonald,  and  Annie  L.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Badgett  are  both  faithful  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Badgett  is  a  member  of  Farmers  Lodge  No.  404, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons. 

Fordyce  Cunningham  Harding  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Greenville  twenty-three  years  ago, 
and  has  won  his  worthy  prominence  and  achieve- 
ment by  his  strongly  marked  native  abilities  and 
by  the  care  and  conscientious  fidelity  he  has  given 
to  every  interest  entrusted  to  his  charge.  Mr. 
Harding  has  become  a  forceful  factor  in  local  busi- 
ness affairs,  and  is  a  man  whose  public  spirit 
and  effective  work  in  civic  causes  make  him  one 
of  the  leaders  of  his  home  community. 


He  was  born  in  Pamlico  County,  North  Carolina, 
February  12,  1869,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Susan 
Elizabeth  (Sugg)  Harding.  His  father  was  long 
identified  with  educational  work,  served  four  years 
as  superintendent  of  schools  of  Pitt  County,  also 
was  registrar  of  deeds  of  the  county  two  years, 
and  when  not  teaching  or  in  public  office  was  a 
farmer.  The  son  was  educated  in  public  schools, 
took  both  his  literary  and  law  work  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  has  the  degree 
Ph.  B.  and  LL.  B.  He  finished  the  work  of  the 
law  department  in  1894,  and  at  once  moved  to 
Greenville  and  entered  upon  a  general  practice. 
His  success  as  a  lawyer  and  in  business  affairs  have 
made  him  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  com- 
munity. Mr.  Harding  is  a  director  in  the  Green- 
ville Cotton  Mills,  a  director  of  the  National 
Bank  of  Greenville,  and  through  the  ownership 
of  2,000  acres  of  land  is  identified  with  the  agri- 
cultural resources  of  his  part  of  the  state.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  and  American 
Bar  associations,  of  the  Carolina  Club,  the  Southern 
Geographical  Association,  and  is  secretary  to  the 
executive  committee  and  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  East  Carolina  Training  School.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  Green- 
ville two  years,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  for  the  sessions  of  1917  and  1919, 
and  is  president  pro  tern  of  the  Senate  at  the 
present  time.  For  fourteen  years  he  wa3  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Greenville 
graded  schools.  Mr.  Harding  takes  part  in  church 
affairs  and  teaches  a  Sunday  sehool  class  in  St. 
Paul's  Episcopal  Church.  On  November  15,  1899, 
he  married  Miss  Annie  Buxton  Harding,  of  Pitt 
County.     They  have   one   daughter,  Mary  Louise. 

John  Sumter  MacRae.  Introductory  to  the 
personal  career  of  one  of  Robeson  County's  best 
known  citizens,  a  merchant,  banker  and  extensive 
planter  at  Maxton,  it  is  appropriate  to  tell  some- 
thing of  his  family  and  antecedents.  The  Mac- 
Raes  are,  of  course,  Scotch,  and  representatives 
of  the  best  of  the  people  of  that  race  who  have 
been  so  prominent  in  the  settlement  and  the  cit- 
izenship of  North  Carolina  from  colonial  days  to 
the  present.  While  the  MaeRaes  were  among  the 
original  settlers  of  Robeson  County,  this  brief 
sketch  may  begin  with  John  MacRae,  who  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  owned  an  exten- 
sive landed  estate  in  Robeson  County,  extending 
for  several  miles  south  of  Maxton.  He  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  men  of  large  affairs  in  his 
day,  and  his  broad  acres  were  tended  by  a  large 
number  of  slaves.  One  of  his  sons  was  Col.  Mur- 
doch MacRae,  who  became  widely  known  in  pub- 
lic life  as  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  and  in 
other  offices,  and  gained  distinction  in  the  war 
between  the  states.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners  of  Robeson  County 
when  it  was  redeemed  from  carpet  bag  misrule 
in  1870.  A  son  of  Colonel  Murdoch  was  the  late 
Col.  Elijah  F.  MacRae,  also  a  prominent  figure, 
who  served  his  county  both  in  the  House  and  in 
the  State  Senate,  was  three  times  elected  county 
commissioner  and  five  years  was  chairman  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  was  chairman  of 
the  county  board  of  education,  several  years  a 
member  of  the  Democratic  State  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  vice  president  of  the  North  Carolina 
Agricultural  Society.  His  country  home,  "Rae- 
inont, ' '  now  occupied  by  his  nephew,  Murdoch 
MacRae,  is  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of  Robe- 


& e 


/^2-  &£i~-t^z^-C2- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


251 


son  County,  where  the  MacRae  ancestors  dwelt, 
and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  country  estates 
in   this   part  of  North   Carolina. 

Another  son  of  John  MaeRae  was  J.  W.  Mac- 
Rae, father  of  John  S.  J.  W.  MacRae  was  born 
in  the  old  MacRae  community  in  Maxton.  Upon 
the  division  of  his  father 's  estate  he  took  his 
patrimony  in  money  instead  of  land.  His  ob- 
ject in  doing  so  was  to  invest  his  means  in  a 
superior  education.  He  entered  Davidson  College, 
was  graduated,  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  in  early  manhood  went  to  Alabama, 
where,  beginning  his  professional  career  at  Hunts- 
ville,  and  shortly  before  the  war  removing  to 
Demopolis,  he  built  up  a  practice  that  gave  him 
every  promise  of  a  substantial  career  and  for- 
tune. Then  the  war  came  on.  He  volunteered  in 
the  Confederate  service,  and  was  away  fighting 
the  battles  of  the  South  four  years.  He  returned 
home  to  find  his  practice  gone  and  his  property 
completely  destroyed,  including  home,  farm  and 
crops,  and  even  his  law  library  and  other  personal 
possessions.  His  life  as  a  soldier  had  broken  him 
physically,  and  from  many  successive  blows  of 
adversity  he  was  never  able  to  recover  and  re- 
gain his  health  and  spirit.  Soon  after  the  war 
he  returned  to  the  old  MaeRae  community  in  Rob- 
eson County,  and  died  here.  He  married  Emma 
J.  Walpoole. 

John  Sumter  MaeRae  was  born  at  his  father's 
home  in  Columbiana,  Alabama,  in  1861.  After 
what  has  been  said  it  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to 
review  in  detail  the  circumstances  that  surrounded 
his  early  boyhood.  It  is  to  his  supreme  credit 
that  he  could  live  through  the  blighting  conditions 
of  after  war  times  when  this  part  of  North  Car- 
olina had  no  industries,  no  money  in  circulation, 
no  commercial  enterprises,  no  real  agriculture,  and 
when  loeal  society  was  demoralized  and  to  an 
extent  brutalized  by  low  saloons  and  unlimited 
whiskey  traffic — that  with  all  these  obstacles 
he  retained  the  fighting  spirit  of  his  ancestors 
and  could  rise  superior  to  his  environment.  He 
was  nine  years  old  when  he  came  here  from  Ala- 
bama with  his  father,  and  he  can  hardly  remem- 
ber a  time  when  he  was  not  doing  some  useful 
work.  At  first  he  was  on  a  farm,  later  was  clerk 
in  the  store  of  Col.  E.  F.  MacRae  at  Maxton,  and 
the  educational  advantages  given  him  were  only 
such  as  could  be  obtained  from  the  limited  school 
system  of  the  day.  But  every  year  there  was 
some  progress,  and  finally  he  was  able  to  opeu 
a  modest  stock  of  merchandise  at  Maxton,  and 
this  he  has  kept  growing  and  has  developed  it  to 
a  large  and  profitable  business.  The  profits  of 
his  business  he  judiciously  invested  in  farms  and 
farm  lands,  and  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars 
clearing  up  and  improving  land  in  Robeson  County 
which  was  formerly  totally  unproductive.  He  now 
has  many  hundreds  of  acres,  lying  to  the  south 
and  in  other  directions  from  Maxton.  His  home- 
stead is  a  fine  farm  within  and  beyond  the  city 
limits  of  Maxton  on  the  south.  Probably  his 
finest  farm,  and  the  one  in  which  he  takes  a 
great  deal  of  pride,  is  at  Cambro  in  Harnett 
County.  Thus  today,  long  before  he  could  be 
called  an  old  man,  Mr.  MacRae  enjoys  the  posi- 
tion of  a  prosperous  merchant,  banker,  extensive 
planter   and   landlord. 

Mr.  MacRae  was  leader  in  the  movement  for 
organizing  the  Bank  of  Robeson  at  Maxton,  which 
he  served  as  vice  president,  and  in  which  he  is 
now  a  director.  He  has  been  mayor  of  Maxton, 
and    is     a    deacon    in    the     Maxton    Presbyterian 


Church.  This  church  is  an  offshoot  of  the  his- 
toric old  Center  Church  at  Floral  College.  Mr. 
MacRae  has  been  constantly  a  leader  in  civic  af- 
fairs and  reform  movements.  He  was  one  of 
the  men  that  freed  Robeson  County  from  the  whis- 
key evil.  This  was  the  nrst  county  in  the  state 
to  go  dry. 

Mr.  MaeRae 's  first  wife,  now  deceased,  was 
Maud  Fleming,  daughter  of  the  late  Capt.  J.  M. 
Fleming,  of  Raleigh.  By  that  marriage  he  had 
one  daughter,  Miss  Maud  F.  MacRae.  His  pres- 
ent wife,  formerly  Miss  Julia  Wiswall,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  a  prominent  family  of  Washington,  North 
Carolina.  They  have  one  son,  John  Sumter  Mac- 
Rae, Jr. 

E.  Lloyd  Tillet.  Well  qualified  in  every  way 
to  carry  into  the  practice  of  an  honorable  pro- 
fession all  the  requirements  necessary  for  success, 
E.  Lloyd  Tilley  has  proved  his  ability  both  in 
public  office  and  as  a  practicing  lawyer  at  Dur- 
ham during  the  few  years  since  he  came  out  of 
the  State  University  with  his  law  diploma. 

Mr.  Tilley  was  born  in  Durham  County,  North 
Carolina,  February  20,  1893,  a  son  of  Cassan  and 
Iola  (Peed)  Tilley.  His  father  has  for  many 
years  been  a  merchant  at  Durham.  Lloyd  Tilley 
attended  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  Dur- 
ham County  and  then  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  pursued  the  law  course 
until  graduating  in  February,  1914.  Instead  of 
taking  up  active  private  practice,  he  accepted  an 
unusual  opportunity  for  experience  at  home,  and 
from  May,  1914,  to  August  26,  1916,  served  as 
deputy  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court.  At  the  latter 
date  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court 
and  filled  out  the  remaining  portion  of  the  time 
until  December  of  that  year.  On  January  1, 
1917,  he  entered  private  practice  with  Robert  H. 
Sykes,  under  the  firm  name  of  Sykes  &  Tilley. 

Mr.  Tilley  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Alder 
men  of  Durham,  and  has  fraternal  affiliations  with 
the  Masonic  Order,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Junior  Order  of  United  Ameri- 
can Mechanics,  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias.  January  14,  1914,  at  Huston, 
Virginia,  he  married  Elizabeth  Estelle  Burton. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Pauline  Elizabeth. 

Hon.  Hiram  Hamilton  Hartley.  A  venerable 
and  wealthy  agriculturist  of  Davidson  County,  and 
a  citizen  of  prominence,  Hon.  Hiram  H.  Hartley 
is  justly  regarded  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  worth, 
and  is  held  in  high  respect  throughout  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  resides,  and  in  the  advancement 
of  which  he  takes  an  intelligent  interest,  being 
ever  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  promoting 
its  prosperity.  A  son  of  John  Hartley,  he  was 
born,  September  14,  1839,  in  Tyro  Township,  on 
the  farm  he  now  owns  and  •  occupies.  He  comes 
of  pioneer  stock,  his  paternal  grandfather,  Thomas 
Hartley,  having  been  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Davidson  County. 

Reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  John  Hartley 
succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  parental  home- 
stead, which  he  managed  successfully  with  the 
aid  of  slaves,  and  there  spent  his  entire  life  of 
sixty  years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Swaim,  whose 
father,  Michael  Swaim,  was,  it  is  thought,  a  native 
of  Guilford  County,  this  state,  although  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  spent  on  a  farm  in  Davidson 
County.  He  married  a  Miss  Sherwood,  and  of 
their  union  several  children  were  born  and  Teared. 
Mr.   and  Mrs.  John  Hartley  reared  five  children, 


252 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


as  follows:  Thomas  Washington,  Malinda,  Daniel, 
Hiram  Hamilton,  and  Wesley.  The  mother  died 
on  the  home  farm,  in  Tyro  Township,  at  the  age 
of  three  score  and  ten  years. 

Brought  up  on  the  home  farm,  Hiram  H.  Hart- 
ley made  the  best  of  his  limited  opportunities  for 
obtaining  an  education,  and  while  assisting  his 
father  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  agri- 
cultural arts,  and  naturally  adopted  farming  as 
his  chief  occupation,  being  thus  busily  employed 
when  the  Civil  war  occurred. 

In  1862  Mr.  Hartley  entered  the  Confederate 
service,  enlisting  in  Company  K,  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment,  North  Carolina  troops,  and  subsequently, 
with  his  command,  participated  in  many  important 
engagements.  At  the  Battle  of  South  Mountain, 
he  was  captured,  and  confined  as  a  prisoner  of 
war  at  Fort  Delaware  for  a  few  months  before 
being  exchanged.  In  May,  1864,  Mr.  Hartley  was 
again  taken  prisoner,  and  remained  in  confinement 
at  Elmira,  New  York,  until  March,  1865,  when  he 
was  paroled  for  thirty  days  in  order  that  he  might 
take  convalescent  prisoners  South.  Before  the 
expiration  of  his  parole,  Lee  surrendered  and  Mr. 
Hartley  returned  home,  and  resumed  his  agricul- 
tural labors.  Succeeding  to  the  ownership  of  the 
ancestral  homestead,  on  which  his  birth  occurred, 
he  still  owns  and  occupies  it,  having  since,  by  im- 
provement, added  materially  to  its  value  and  at- 
tractiveness. Successful  in  his  undertakings,  Mr. 
Hartley  has  purchased  other  tracts  of  land  at 
different  times,  and  is  now  among  the  largest  real 
estate  owners  in  Davidson  County,  having  title  to 
valuable  land  in  Davidson,  Rowan  and  Davie 
counties.  His  remarkable  success  has  been  brought 
about  by  persistent  energy,  well-directed  toil,  and 
exceptional  business  ability  on  his  part;  and  he 
is  well  deserving  of  the  respect  and  confidence  in 
which  he  is  everywhere  held. 

Mr.  Hartley  has  been  three  times  married.  He 
married  first,  in  1860,  Alice  Wilson,  who  was  born 
in  Tyro  Township,  a  daughter  of  Henderson  and 
Sallie  (Gobble)  Wilson.  She  died  in  1874.  Mr. 
Hartley  married  second  Ellen  T.  Davis,  a  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Phoebe  (Farrabee)  Davis,  of  Tyro 
Township,  and  she  died  a  few  years  later,  in  1889. 
Mr.  Hartley  subsequently  married  for  his  third 
wife,  in  1892,  Lou  H.  Creath.  She  was  born  in 
Sussex  County,  Virginia.  Her  father,  Rev.  Thomas 
B.  Creath,  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  County,  Vir- 
ginia, spent  his  entire  life  of  ninety-one  years  in 
his  native  state,  dying  in  Sussex  County.  A 
preacher  in  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church,  he 
held  pastorates  in  many  different  places.  He 
married  Mary  Atkinson,  and  they  reared  thirteen 
children,  namely:  William  J.,  who  died  while  in 
the  Confederate  service;  Thomas,  who  also  lost  his 
life  while  serving  in  the  Confederate  army;  Lewis 
L.;  Lou  H.;  Andrew  F.;  Emma;  Luther  M.;  Cora 
L.;  Hannah  A.;  William  T.,  a  Baptist  minister; 
Addie  B.;  Sallie;  and  Henrietta. 

Of  Mr.  Hartley's  first  marriage,  seven  children 
were  born,  namely:  Jennie;  Thomas  W. ;  Baxter; 
Ida  M. ;  Alice;  William  B.,  deceased;  and  James 
Karr,  deceased.  By  his  second  marriage  there 
were  six  children,  Harold,  Eugene,  Jerome,  Ernest 
O.,  Clarence,  and  Ellen  F.  Leonard.  Mr.  Hartley 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  Mrs.  Hartley  belongs  to  the  Baptist  Church. 
Mr.  Hartley  is  interested  in  various  industrial  con- 
cerns, and  is  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Lexington. 
He  has  been  active  and  influential  in  public  affairs, 
and  in  addition  to  representing  his  county  in  the 


State   Legislature  has    served   as   county   commis- 
sioner, and  for  forty  years  was  magistrate. 

James  LaFayette  Little,  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Greenville,  has  been  a  banker  in 
that  city  over  twenty  years,  and  through  his  finan- 
cial and  other  activities  is  widely  known  over  the 
entire  state. 

Mr.  Little  was  born  in  Pitt  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  9,  1863,  a  son  of  William  Gray  and 
Nicey  (House)  Little.  His  father  was  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Pitt  County,  and  for  many  years  served 
as  chairman  of  the  county  board  of  commissioners. 
James  L.  Little  was  educated  in  the  country  schools 
in  the  Greenville  Academy  and  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  His  first  business  experience  was 
as  clerk  in  a  general  store,  and  in  1883,  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  he  engaged  in  general  merchandising  at 
Greenville  for  himself.  In  1889  he  sold  his  store, 
following  which  he  was  employed  as  a  bookkeeper 
in  a  local  business  establishment  for  a  year,  and 
then  again  for  two  years  sold  goods  on  his  own 
responsibility. 

Leaving  the  merchandise  business,  Mr.  Little  en- 
tered the  private  bank  known  as  the  Bank  of 
Greenville,  owned  by  the  firm  of  Tyson  &  Rawls, 
as  assistant  cashier.  In  1896  he  became  cashier 
of  the  newly  organized  Bank  of  Greenville,  and  on 
May  1,  1913,  this  was  merged  with  the  National 
Bank  of  Greenville  and  Mr.  Little  was  made  presi- 
dent of  the  consolidated  institution.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  has  had  a  prominent  work  in  the 
North  Carolina  Bankers  Association,  was  on  its 
executive  committee  two  years,  and  is  president  of 
group  one  of  that  association. 

Mr.  Little  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Pitt 
County  branch  of  the  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Asso- 
ciation of  North  Carolina,  and  in  1895-96  he  served 
as  treasurer  of  Pitt  County,  by  appointment. 
When  he  took  the  office  the  county  treasury  had 
only  $284.91  in  net  assets,  and  he  was  active  in 
rehabilitating  the  financial  resources  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Little  has  been  a  member  since  its  organiza- 
tion and  is  now  vice  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Greenville  graded  schools.  He  is 
one  of  the  prominent  working  members  of  the 
Jarvis  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was 
for  many  years  chairman  of  the  board  of  stewards 
and  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  church.  He  is  treasurer 
for  Greenville  of  the  firemen's  relief  fund  of  the 
North  Carolina  Firemen 's  Association. 

November  22,  1899,  Mr.  Little  married  Miss 
Mary  Thomas,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee.  They  have 
two  sons:  James  Thomas,  born  May  7,  1901,  and 
Robert  Gray,  born  May  23,  1904.  Mrs.  Little  is  a 
daughter  of  James  Washington  and  Mary  Emma 
(DeJarnette)  Thomas.  Her  father  was  a  promi- 
nent Tennesseean,  was  born  at  Nashville  in  1838, 
and  died  in  1889.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  states  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany C  of  the  Twentieth  Tennessee  Infantry,  and 
upon  the  reorganization  of  the  regiment  was  made 
adjutant.  At  the  battle  of  Hoover's  Gap  he  rushed 
ahead  of  the  men  of  his  company  to  the  colors, 
and  was  shot  down.  Lying  helpless  on  the  field, 
he  called  out  to  his  comrades  ' '  Go  on,  boys,  don 't 
mind  me. ' '  For  a  long  time  his  life  was  despaired 
of,  but  he  finally  recovered  and  after  the  war 
became  prominent  in  Tennessee  and  served  as  state 
treasurer  during  Governor  Bates'  administration, 
and   died   while    in    office. 

Col.  Jerome  C.  Horner.  Prominent  among 
the    educational    institutions    of    the    South,    and 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


253 


more  particularly  of  North  Carolina,  is  the  Hor- 
ner Military  School,  located  at  Charlotte.  This 
institution,  which  is  now  more  than  sixty-seven 
years  old,  has  become  known  as  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  the  schools  of  its  class,  and  its  graduates 
are  yearly  sent  forth  to  take  positions  of  honor 
and  importance  in  business,  in  the  professions 
and  in  public  life,  fully  equipped  mentally  and 
physically  for  competition  with  their  fellows.  The 
principal  of  this  excellent  military  school,  Col. 
Jerome  C.  Horner,  has  been  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work  and  connected  with  this  institution 
all  his  life,  and  is  justly  accounted  one  of  the 
leading  military  teachers  of  the  state.  He  was 
born  at  Oxford,  Granville  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  James  H.  and  So- 
phronia   (Moore)    Horner. 

James  H.  Horner,  M.  A.,  LL.  D.,  the  founder 
of  Horner  Military  School,  was  born  in  Orange 
County,  North  Carolina,  to  which  locality  his  fa- 
ther, William  Horner,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
had  come  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  James  H.  Horner  became  one  of  the 
state 's  most  distinguished  citizens  and  a  life- 
long educator  of  wide  renown,  and  died  at  Ox- 
ford, North  Carolina,  in  1892,  at  which  time  a 
very  fine  appreciation  of  him  was  written  by  Dr. 
George  T.  Winston,  who  was  then  president  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  By  those  who 
knew  him  best  Doctor  Horner  was  described  as 
an  extraordinary  man,  a  physical,  intellectual  and 
moral  giant,  possessing  all  the  sterling  qualities 
of  real  manhood  and  being  a  teacher  of  nnnmal 
ability  and  success.  He  graduated  with  the  high- 
est honors  from  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina in  1844,  and  after  teaching  for  a  few  years 
in  Florida  and  Eastern  North  Carolina  established 
the  Horner  School  at  Oxford  in  1851,  and  very 
soon  made  the  institution  a  potent  factor  in  the 
educational  life  of  the  Old  North  State.  Through 
the  perils  of  war  and  the  uncertainties  of  the 
period  of  reconstruction,  the  school  continued  its 
career  of  usefulness  in  making  men  who  became 
governors,  judges,  preachers,  cantains  of  industry 
and  loyal  citizens.  Doctor  Horner  married  So- 
T'hronia  Moore,  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Stephen 
Moore,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  American 
Revolution,  who  served  throughout  that  conflict 
with  erreat  distinction.  He  was  descended  from 
Sir  John  Moore,  members  of  the  family  coming 
from  England  in  colonial  days  and  settling  in 
•New  York.  Gen.  Stephen  Moore  was  born  in 
1734  and  died  in  1799.  Before  the  Revolution  he 
had  fought  in  the  colonial  wars,  and  during  the 
progress  of  that  struggle  removed  from  New  York 
to  Mount  Tirza.  North  Carolina,  continuing  his 
services  as  a  Continental  officer  after  removing  to 
this  state.  His  home  in  New  York  State  was 
known  as  "Moore's  FolIy-on-the-Hudson."  and 
this,  after  the  war  closed,  he  sold  to  the  United 
States  Government  and  it  became  the  site  of 
West  Point   Military   Academy. 

Jerome  C.  Horner,  present  principal  of  Horner 
Military  School,  is  a  graduate  of  Davidson  Col- 
lege, where  he  received  the  degrees  of  B.  A.  and 
M.  A.,  and  after  two  years '  experience  as  prin- 
cipal of  Albemarle  Academy  at  Edenton.  North 
Carolina  became  associate  principal  with  his  fa- 
ther in  1877.  Bishop  J.  M.  Horner  also  devoted 
a  considerable  part  of  his  early  manhood  to  the 
«chnnl.  After  Graduating  from  the  University  of 
Virginia  and  the  General  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York,  he  became  associated  with  his  brother, 
Col.   J.  C.   Horner,  and   remained   steadfast   in   the 


development  of  boys  into  Christian  manhood  until 
he  was  made  bishop  in  1898.  Since  then  Col.  J. 
C.  Horner  has  been  in  direct  charge  of  the  school. 
The  military  feature  was  introduced  in  1880,  and 
year  by  year  the  school  has  sent  forth  its  students, 
strong  and  soldierly  in  body,  with  disciplined 
minds  and  high  ideals  of  life.  In  October,  1913, 
the  barracks  were  totally  destroyed  by  fire,  but 
temporary  quarters  were  secured  and  the  school 
continued  for  the  scholastic  year.  It  was  then 
decided  to  build  at  Charlotte,  a  city  which  as  a 
religious,  social  and  educational  center  has  no  su- 
perior in  the  state,  a  community  noted  for  its 
character  for  cleanliness,  purity,  sanitation  and 
religion,  yet  one  where  the  best  in  public  enter- 
tainment could  be  found.  In  addition  to  its  many 
admirable  features  as  a  center  of  religion,  edu- 
cation and  morality,  Charlotte  has  excellent  rail- 
road facilities,  is  the  second  lowest  city  in  the 
United  States  in  regard  to  death  rate,  and  has 
a  wonderfully  pleasing  climate. 

The  Horner  Military  School  is  located  three 
miles  from  Charlotte,  in  the  beautiful  residential 
section  known  as  Myers  Park,  no  school  having 
a  better  site.  The  campus,  the  ball  fields,  the 
woods,  Briar  Creek  and  the  adjacent  open  coun- 
try all  combine  to  make  the  location  an  ideal 
spot  for  a  boys '  school.  The  barracks,  located  on 
the  highest  point  of  Myers  Park,  is  a  modern, 
fireproof,  three-story  structure,  132  by  64  feet, 
of  reinforced  concrete,  and  outside  walls  finished 
in  red  tapestry  bricks,  with  an  open  central  court 
and  galleries  running  around  on  the  inside  of 
the  second  and  third  stories.  It  contains  recita- 
tion rooms,  society  halls,  bedrooms,  teachers' 
apartments  and  principal's  office,  and  every  room 
has  two  outside  exposures,  all  doors  opening  on 
the  side  towards  the  central  court.  An  officer 
in  the  central  court  has  a  full  view  of  all  doors, 
and  maintains  order  during  study  hours.  The 
administration  building  is  a  large  separate  struc- 
ture, 142  by  64  feet,  and  contains  the  auditorium, 
dining-hall,  quarters  for  matron  and  housekeeper, 
and,  in  the  left  wing,  next  to  the  principal 's 
residence,  quarters  for  the  lower  school.  The 
appointments  in  the  students '  rooms  are  perfect, 
and  throughout  the  school 's  buildings  the  heating, 
lighting,  plumbing  and  water  supply  are  excel- 
lent. 

Colonel  Horner  has  received  letters  of  commen- 
dation from  prominent  men  all  over  this  and  into 
other  states,  who  have  watched  the  progress  of 
the  school  and  who  know  the  advantages  to  be 
gained  by  its  students.  If  it  were  necessary  the 
testimony  of  these  men  would  go  a  long  way 
toward  conclusively  showing  that  there  is  no  need 
for  North  Carolina  boys  to  go  outside  of  their 
state  for  an  education.  The  equipment,  the  fac- 
ulty, the  methods,  the  experience,  the  reputation 
and  the  products  of  the  Horner  Military  School 
are  enual  to  any.  Among  the  alumni  of  the  school 
are  the  "overnor  of  North  Carolina,  two  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  commissioner  of  in- 
ternal revenue  of  the  United  States,  the  presi- 
dents of  four  colleges,  the  presidents  of  three 
large  railroads.  rTeachers,  iudges.  bank  officials, 
and  presidents  of  great  business  concerns  too  nu- 
merous to  mention.  From  one  small  class  the 
school  produced  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  a  presiding  elder,  a  judge 
and  two  bishops.  Such  results  are  not  acciden- 
tal. The  school  has  ample  grounds,  comfortable 
buildings  and  complete  material  eouipment,  away 
from   external   temptations  and   distractions,  with 


254 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


a  corps  of  experienced  teachers,  loyal,  conscien- 
tious, well  trained  and  energetic.  In  the  past 
it  has  accomplished  a  great  and  good  work,  and 
under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Horner  will  con- 
tinue to  do  so  in  the  future. 

Kingsland  Van  Winkle  is  a  lawyer  of  prom- 
inence at  Asheville,  junior  member  of  the  firm 
Harkins  &  Van  Winkle,  and  is  one  of  a  rather 
numerous  group  of  Northern  men  who  have 
gained  distinctive  positions  in  this  noted  city  of 
North   Carolina. 

Mr.  Van  Winkle  was  born  in  Hudson  County, 
New  Jersey,  December  5,  1879,  and  is  of  old 
Holland  Dutch  pedigree.  He  is  a  son  of  Matthew 
A.  and  Helen  H.  (Crane)  Van  Winkle.  His  father 
was  in  the  brokerage  business.  Kingsland  Van 
Winkle  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Yonkers,  New  York,  the  Central  High  School  of 
Buffalo,  and  in  1896,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  came 
to  North  Carolina  in  the  employ  of  the  Biltmore 
Estate  as  timekeeper  and  payroll  clerk.  While 
here  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  and  was  graduated  LL.  B. 
in  1901  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one.  He  practiced  for  a  time  with 
Samuel  H.  Beed  under  the  name  Beed  &  Van 
Winkle.  In  1904  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
New  York  State.  In  May,  1909,  Mr.  Van  Winkle 
formed  a  partnership  with  Thomas  J.  Harkins 
under  the  name  Harkins  &  Van  Winkle,  and  they 
have  since  received  a  large  share  of  the  important 
clientage  of  Asheville. 

Mr.  Van  Winkle  is  vice  president  of  the  Ashe- 
ville Club.  He  was  for  two  years,  1909-11,  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  city 
and  in  politics  is  a  democrat.  He  is  a  Beta  Theta 
Pi  college  fraternity  man,  is  a  vestryman  and 
trustee  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  a  member  of 
American  Bar  Association.  He  is  serving  as 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Home.  Mr.  Van  Winkle  is  a  man  of 
studious  pursuits,  owns  a  splendid  private  library, 
and  has  a  big  future  in  the  law  and  in  the  public 
spirited  citizenship  of  the  state. 

Bt.  Rev.  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire  has  been 
bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Diocese  of  North  Carolina  for  nearly  twenty-five 
years.  His  active  career  covers  almost  half  a  cen- 
tury and  has  been  employed  usefully  in  the  fields 
of  education,   the  law  and  the  ministry. 

Born  March  27,  1850,  at  Tarboro,  Edgecombe 
County,  North  Carolina,  he  attended  the  Tarboro 
Academy  until  he  was  fifteen,  then  entered  Trinity 
College  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  he  grad- 
uated B.  A.  in  1869  and  M.  A.  in  1872.  He  re- 
ceived the  honorary  degree  D.  D.  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  in  1890,  and  a  similar 
degree  from  the  University  of  the  South  at  Sewanee 
in  1894,  and  from  his  Alma  Mater  in  1916. 

Having  graduated  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was 
a  classical  teacher  from  1869  to  1871  in  St.  Clem- 
ent's Hall,  Ellicott  City,  Maryland.  His  ambi- 
tion at  that  time  was  for  the  law,  and  having 
carried  on  his  preparatory  studies  under  the  late 
William  K.  Ruffin  and  the  Hon.  George  Howard, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  North  Carolina  January  1,  1872.  For  the 
first  year  after  his  admission  he  practiced  in  Balti- 
more, and  then  at  Tarboro,  North  Carolina,  until 
1878. 

A  number  of  his  family,  including  his  honored 
father,  had  distinguished   themselves  in  the  min- 


istry and  Bishop  Cheshire  on  April  21,  1878,  was 
ordained  a  deacon,  and  on  May  30,  1880,  a  priest. 
He  served  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Cross,  Chapel  Hill, 
North  Carolina,  during  1878-81,  and  was  rector 
of  St.  Peter 's  Church,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina, 
from  1881  to  1893.  October  15,  1893,  he  was  con- 
secrated bishop-coadjutor  to  Bishop  Lyman,  of  the 
Diocese  of  North  Carolina.  By  the  death  of  Bishop 
Lyman,  December  13,  1893,  he  became  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  and  has  since  administered  its  duties 
from  the  City  of  Raleigh. 

Without  attempting  to  describe  his  work  as 
bishop,  which  would  to  a  large  degree  be  a  history 
of  the  church  in  North  Carolina  during  the  past 
twenty  years,  it  should  be  said  that  Bishop  Ches- 
hire was  particularly  vigorous  in  pushing  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  mountains  of  the  state  while 
it  remained  part  of  his  diocese.  He  revived  the 
old  Valle  Crucis  Mission  in  Watauga  County,  and 
in  1895  secured  the  erection  of  the  western  counties 
of  the  state  into  the  "Missionary  District  of 
Asheville. ' '  As  bishop  he  also  brought  about  the 
establishment  of  St.  Mary's  School,  Raleigh,  as  a 
permanent  church  institution  under  the  ownership 
and  control  of  the  Carolina  Dioceses.  In  line  with, 
and  incidental  to,  this  progressive  work  he  has 
accepted  every  opportunity  to  extend  religious 
influence  among  the  negroes  of  the  diocese  and  in 
developing  and  extending  St.  Augustine's  Sehool 
at  Raleigh. 

Though  his  career  has  been  marked  by  a  large 
amount  of  practical  and  executive  administration, 
Bishop  Cheshire  is  by  nature  a  student  and  is  a 
recognized  authority  on  many  phases  of  state  and 
local  history.  He  has  written  many  addresses  and 
papers  on  local  and  church  history,  and  in  1912 
brought  out  a  "History  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church  in  the  Confederate  States, ' '  published 
by  Longmans,  Green  &  Company.  He  has  served 
as  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  the  South  at 
Sewanee  since  1885.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Phi 
Kappa  Chapter  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  college 
fraternity,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  being  chaplain  of  the 
North  Carolina  Society  and  one  of  the  chaplains 
general  of  the  national  organization. 

Bishop  Cheshire  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Joseph  Blount 
Cheshire.  D.  D.,  who  for  over  fifty  years  was 
rector  of  Calvary  Church  at  Tarboro,  and  Eliza- 
beth Toole  (Parker")  Cheshire.  Various  branches 
of  the  family  represent  some  of  the  distinguished 
names  of  North  Carolina.  His  father  was  a  son ' 
of  John  and  Elizabeth  Ann  (Blount)  Cheshire,  of 
Edenton,  the  latter  being  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Anne  (Gray)  Blount.  The  Blounts  were  a 
large  and  notable  family  in  Chowan  County,  while 
the  Grays  were  prominent  in  Bertie  County.  Bishop 
Cheshire's  mother.  Elizabeth  Toole  Parker,  was  a 
daughter  of  Theophilus  and  Mary  (Toole)  Parker, 
Mnry  Toole  being  a  daughter  of  Henry  I.  and 
Elizabeth  (Haywood)  Toole.  Henry  I.  Toole,  of 
a  notable  Edgecombe  County  family,  was  a  cap- 
ta'n  in  the  F;rst  Regiment  of  the  North  Carolina 
Continental  Line  and  ai  nephew  of  Lieut.-Col. 
Henrv  Irwin  of  the  Fifth  Regiment  of  the  North 
Carolina.  Continental  Line,  who  was  killed  in  the 
Battle  of  Germantown  in  1777.  Elizabeth  Hay- 
wood, a  daughter  of  Col.  William  Haywood  of 
Edgecombe  County,  was  granddaughter  of  John 
Haywood,  one  of  the  treasurers  of  the  Province  of 
North  Carolina  before  the  Revolution,  and  an- 
cestor of  a  large  family  which  has  had  many  dis- 
tinaruished   members   in   this   and   other  states. 

On    December    17,    1874,    Bishop    Cheshire   was 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


255 


married  at  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina,  to  Annie 
Huske  Webb,  daughter  of  James  Webb,  of  Hills- 
boro. She  died  January  12,  1897,  about  three 
years  after  her  husband  had  been  elevated  to  the 
bishopric.  On  July  19,  1899,  at  Beltsville,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  Bishop  Cheshire  married  Eliza- 
beth Lansdale  Mitchell,  daughter  of  Rev.  Walter 
A.  Mitchell,  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 
Bishop  Cheshire's  children,  all  by  his  first  mar- 
riage, are  as  follows:  Elizabeth  Toole,  born  July 
2,  1879,  married  Rev.  Albert  S.  Cooper,  a  mission- 
ary in  China;  Sarah  Frances,  born  April  23,  1881, 
is  unmarried;  Joseph  Blount,  born  December  20, 
1882,  is  an  attorney  at  Raleigh  and  married  Ida 
J.  Rogerson;  Annie  Webb,  born  April  23,  1884, 
is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Augustin  W.  Tucker,  who  is 
in  charge  of  St.  Luke 's  Hospital  at  Shanghai, 
China;  James  Webb,  born  September  9,  1890,  is 
unmarried  and  is  treasurer  and  secretary  of  the 
Orange  Trust  Company  at  Hillsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina; Godfrey,  born  September  21,  1893,  is  now 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  North  Carolina 
Fire  Insurance  Rating  Bureau,  and  married  Alice 
C.  Shiell.  James  is  second  lieutenant  in  the 
Twenty-eighth  Regiment  Infantry,  now  in  France, 
and  Godfrey  is  first  lieutenant,  Coast  Artillery, 
now  at  Fort  Caswell. 

John  Exum  Woodard,  of  Wilson,  is  one  of  the 
eminent  lawyers  in  North  Carolina.  Among  his 
contemporaries,  and  he  has  been  in  active  practice 
for  forty  years,  his  name  commands  the  fullness 
of  esteem  paid  the  highly  accomplished  and  ver- 
satile lawyer,  man  of  affairs  and  cultured  gentle- 
man. 

While  Mr.  Woodard  has  proved  his  ability  in 
many  civil  cases  of  importance,  his  reputation 
doubtless  rests  most  securely  upon  his  fame  as  a 
criminal  lawyer.  During  his  career  he  has  handled 
nearly  150  capital  cases  and  some  of  them  have 
attracted  state  wide  attention.  Among  the  causes 
celebres  with  which  practically  every  lawyer  of 
North  Carolina  is  familiar  was  the  case  of  State 
v.  John  Jefferson.  As  the  sole  counsel  for  the  de- 
fense. Mr.  Woodard  contested  this  case  through  the 
Criminal,  Superior  and  Supreme  courts  of  North 
Carolina,  and  after  the  Supreme  Court  granted  a 
new  trial,  it  was  again  tried  by  a  jury  of  the 
Superior  Court,  and  a  verdict  of  not  guilty  was 
rendered  in  favor  of  his  client.  He  was  also  lead- 
ing counsel  for  the  defense,  in  the  case  of  Dr. 
Lemuel  T.  Johnson,  indicted  in  the  Hastings  Court, 
at  Richmond.  Va.,  for  poisoning  his  wife.  After  a 
hotly  contested  trial,  which  attracted  much  atten- 
tion and  lasted  for  two  weeks,  the  jury  rendered 
a   verdict   of   "not    guilty." 

John  Emm  Woodard  was  born  in  WilsO"  Countv 
May  8,  1855.  and  is  a  son  of  Calvin  and  Winifred 
(Exum)  Woodard.  Mr.  Woodard  received  some 
of  his  earlier  education  in  the  Wilson  Collegiate 
Institute  and  Graduated  from  the  Fniversitv  of 
Virginia  in  1875.  He  studied  law  with  Chief 
Justice  R.  M.  Pearson,  at  Richmond  H'll.  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  at  Wilson,  in  1877.  Tn  the 
same  year  of  his  admission  to  the  bar.  Mr.  Wood- 
ard was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Cnferior  Court  when 
that  court  was  organized,  and  he  filled  the  position 
until  the  office  was  abolished.  He  has  since  been 
both  county  attorney  and  district  solicitor;  was 
elected  mayor  of  Wilson  in  1882;  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  in  1885;  in  1888  repre- 
sented the  Second  Congressional  District  as  presi- 
dential elector,  served  as  solicitor  of  the  Third 
Judicial    District    from    1891    to    1895,    and    was 


elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1901  and 
1903.  During  the  1901  session,  he  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  penal  institutions,  and  a 
member  of  the  judiciary,  federal  relations  and 
judicial  reform  committees.  In  1903  he  was 
chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee.  Mr.  Wood- 
ard was  democratic  delegate  at  large  to  the 
St.  Louis  National  Convention  in  1904. 

He  owns  what  is  generally  regarded  as  the  best 
selected  law  and  private  library  in  this  part  of 
North  Carolina,  and  he  is  a  man  of  learning  and 
information  on  many  subjects  outside  of  his  own 
profession.  He  is  one  of  the  active  members  of  the 
North  Carolina  Bar  Association  and  the  American 
Bar  Association.  Mr.  Woodard  's  college  fraternity 
was  the  Zeta  Psi,  and  he  has  attended  the  meet- 
ings of  that  fraternity  and  has  been  officially  iden- 
tified with  the  organization  both  in  the  state  and 
in  the  nation.  He  belongs  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  served  as  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  State  and  as  Representative  to  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of  the  World.  For  eight 
years  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  University  of 
North    Carolina. 

On  July  31,  1878,  soon  after  beginning  his  law 
practice  at  Wilson,  he  married  Mary  Lee  Ruffin, 
daughter  of  Etheldred  and  Elizabeth  (Kennedy) 
Ruffin.  After  nearly  forty  years  of  married  com- 
panionship, Mr.  Woodard  lost  his  wife  December 
15,  1916.  Five  children  were  born  to  them : 
Thomas  Ruffin  is  in  the  real  estate  business  at 
Sacramento.  California ;  John  Exum.  Jr.,  is  in  the 
insurance  and  farm  loan  business  in  Wilson  County, 
North  Carolina;  Delzell  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  B.  T. 
Cowper,  an  insurance  man  of  Raleigh;  Mary  Lee 
is  the  wife  of  C.  B.  Hassell,  of  Williamston,  North 
Carolina;  Etheldred  H.  was  educated  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  in  the  literary  and  law 
departments,  and  also  in  Wake  Forest  College ; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  September,  1916,  and 
practiced  with  his  father  at  Wilson.  He  is  now 
in  France,  a  member  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixth 
Regiment  of  Scottish  Highlanders.  Mr.  Woodard 
was  married  a  second  time,  November  14,  1917,  to 
Miss  Frances  L.  Jordan,  of  Danville,  Virginia. 

William  Nehemiah  Harriss.  A  public  honor 
that  came  as  a  culmination  of  a  long  and  useful 
business  and  civic  career  was  the  election  in  1912 
of  William  N.  Harriss  as  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  and  Recorder's  Court  at  Wilmington.  Mr. 
Harriss  has  since  occupied  that  dignity  and  per- 
formed all  the  services  with  careful  and  conscien- 
tious ability,  and  is  one  of  the  most  popular  men 
in   public   affairs   of  New   Hanover   Countv. 

His  birth  occurred  in  Wilmington  February 
4.  1865,  and  he  is  a  son  of  George  and  Julia  O. 
(Sanders)  Harriss.  After  an  education  in  pri- 
vate schools  and  the  Cape  Fear  Academy  he  en- 
gaged with  his  father  in  the  shipping  business 
and  continued  to  be  active  in  business  affairs  un- 
til quite  recently. 

An  honor  that  came  to  him  many  years  ago 
was  his  election  as  mayor  of  Wilmington  in  1894. 
There  has  been  no  more  influential  worker  in  be- 
half of  the  military  organization  of  the  state  than 
Captain  Harriss.  In  1883  he  joined  the  Wil- 
mington Light  Infantry  and  a  few  years  ago  he 
received  the  state  fold  medal  for  twenty-five  years 
of  continuous  service.  During  that  time  he  filled 
his  place  in  the  ranks  and  also  as  captain  of  this 
company,  and  is  now  in  the  Reserve  Corps  with 
the  rank  of  maior.  For  five  years  he  was  adju- 
tant  of  the  Third   Regiment. 


256 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Mr.  Harriss  is  vice  president  of  the  Progressive 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  has  long 
been  active  as  a  democrat,  is  vestryman 
in  St.  James  Episcopal  Church,  and  a  member  of 
the  Cape  Fear  Country  Club  and  the  Carolina 
Yacht  Club.  January  24,  1887,  he  married 
Prances  Latham,  of  Washington,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. They  have  two  sons,  Marion  Sanders, 
born  January  25,  1889,  is  now  assistant  civil  en- 
gineer with  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Eailway  Com- 
pany. George  Latham,  the  second  son,  is  senior 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Navy. 

Robert  Malachai  Wells  has  been  a  practicing 
lawyer  at  Asheville  for  over  twenty  years,  and 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  profession  and  in  the 
general  ranks  of  citizenship  has  lived  a  successful 
and  fruitful  life. 

Mr.  Wells  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Buncombe 
County,  North  Carolina,  October  10,  1870,  son  of 
Robert  Chrisley  and  Angie  Barbara  (Reeves) 
Wells.  He  was  educated  in  district  schools,  spent 
three  years  at  the  Parrottsville  School  and  also 
in  the  Judson  School  at  Hendersonville.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1894,  he  graduated  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  has  been  engaged 
in  a  general  practice  of  law  at  Asheville.  Prom 
1905  to  1918  he  was  head  of  the  prominent  firm 
Wells  &  Swain.  A  reorganization  of  partnership 
was  affected  on  January  15,  1918,  and  the  firm  is 
now  Jones,  Wells  &  Swain. 

Mr.  Wells  is  an  active  member  of  the  Asheville 
and  the  State  Bar  associations,  is  a  director  of 
the  Bank  of  West  Asheville,  is  a  director  of  the 
Asheville  Milling  Corporation.  He  is  a  Mason, 
Knight  of  Pythias,  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  an  Independent  Odd 
Fellow.  December  22,  1899,  Mr.  Wells  married 
Annie  L.  Wilson  of  Buncombe  County.  The  five 
children  are  Annie  Kate,  Eveline,  Christa  Gillis, 
Virginia  and  Robert  Malachai,  Jr. 

Henry  Hammond  Carr,  of  Raleigh,  whose  life 
work  has  been  in  connection  with  engineering  and 
with  the  management  of  large  public  utilities,  is 
now  at  the  head  of  several  large  transportation  and 
power  corporations  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  born  near  Annapolis,  Maryland,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1865,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Eliza  (Brown) 
Carr.  His  father  was  a  substantial  Maryland 
farmer.  Educated  in  a  private  academy  in  Mary- 
land, he  took  up  civil  engineering,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  was  engaged  in  many  branches  of  the 
work,  surveying,  railroad  construction  and  on  other 
commissions.  In  September.  1891,  he  became  divi- 
sion superintendent  of  the  Baltimore  Street  Rail- 
way, and  directed  the  city  transportation  system 
until  1898.  From  that  date  until  June,  1906,  he 
was  general  manager  of  the  Newport  News  and 
Old  Point  Comfort  Railway  and  Power  Company 
at  Newport  News,  Virginia. 

Since  September,  1906,  Mr.  Carr  has  had  his 
home  and  business  headquarters  at  Raleigh,  and 
at  that  date  became  general  manager  of  the 
Raleigh  Street  Railway.  Upon  the  organization  of 
the  Carolina  Power  and  Light  Company  he  was 
made  vice  president  and  general  manager,  and  is 
also  vice  president  and  general  manager  of  the 
Yadkin  River  Power  Company,  is  vice  president  of 
the  Asheville  Power  &  Light  Company,  of  Asheville, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association   and  of  the  National  Gas  Association. 


He  takes  an  active  part  in  Raleigh 's  social  and 
business  life,  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
governors  in  both  the  Capital  and  Country  clubs. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  when 
the  Good  Shepherd  Church  was  erected.  Frater- 
nally he  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks. 

.  Near  Annapolis,  Maryland,  on  January  11,  1894, 
Mr.  Carr  married  Miss  Mary  Alice  Lyles.  They 
have  one  son,  William  Lyles,  now  a  student  in  the 
University  of  Virginia. 

Edwin  Gibbons  Moore,  M.  D.,  who  located  at 
Elm  City,  then  known  as  the  Village  of  Toisnot, 
in  1883,  has  been  distinguished  alike  in  his  pro- 
fessional attainments  and  service  and  in  the  quality 
of  his  public  spirit  and  his  work  for  his  home 
community.  He  has  in  fact  been  called  ' '  the  bal- 
ance wheel  in  the  life  of  his  town  for  many  years. ' ' 

Doctor  Moore  was  born  at  Williamston,  North 
Carolina,  November  13,  1861,  son  of  John  Edwin 
and  Martha  (Jolly)  Moore.  From  boyhood  he 
manifested  that  strong  intellectual  curiosity  which 
makes  books,  schools  and  environment  a  constant 
opportunity  for  improvement  and  progress.  He 
was  educated  in  the  Arrington  High  School  at 
Rocky  Mount,  the  Conyers  High  School  at  Elm 
City,  and  Trinity  College,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  June,  1880.  For  one  term  following  his  gradua- 
tion he  taught  at  Ridgeway,  North  Carolina,  and 
then  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons at  Baltimore  in  1881.  The  next  year  he 
transferred  his  studies  to  the  University  of  Mary- 
land, and  was  graduated  M.  D.  in  1883,  in  his 
twenty-first  year.  In  the  same  year  he  passed  the 
State  Board  at  Tarboro,  North  Carolina. 

Recently  Doctor  Moore 's  activities  were  reviewed 
in  an  issue  of  the  Charlotte  Medical  Journal,  in 
which  Drs.  D.  W.  and  Ernest  S.  Bullock  referred 
to  his  initial  experience  at  Elm  City  and  his  sub- 
sequent career  in  the  following  words: 

"Elm  City  needed  him  and  he  still  resides 
within  her  gates.  His  serious,  practical  face,  his 
stately  form,  his  firm  martial  tread,  his  cool  and 
equable  temper,  his  impartial  justice  and  withal 
his  courteous  bearing  and  kindly  spirit  spon  planted 
him  in  the  hearts  of  his  people  and  built  up  a 
stronghold  thereabouts.  They  learned  to  associate 
his  appearance  with  sure  victory  and  constant  care 
for  their  comfort  and  safety.  He  has  run  full 
abreast  of  the  times  by  doing  post-graduate  work — ■ 
at  Post  Graduate  of  New  York  and  New  York 
Polyclinic." 

Doctor  Moore  is  a  moving  spirit  of  the  medical 
organization.  He  is  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Wilson  County  Medical  Society,  organized 
in  1895.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Tri-State  Medical 
Association,  the  Seaboard  Medical  Association,  and 
the  Fourth  District  Medical  Society,  which  he  has 
served  as  president.  He  has  also  been  a  member 
of  the  State  Medical  Society  since  1890.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  A.  C.  L.  Surgeons  for  several 
years.  Recently  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Medical  Examiners  of  his  state. 

"Doctor  Moore  has  practiced  concentration  on 
little  things  until  he  mastered  them  and  then 
moved  on  to  larger  things.  The  medical  associa- 
tions have  recognized  his  talents  and  in  1894  he 
delivered  the  annual  oration  before  the  State 
Medical  Society.  And  we  must  not  dwarf  our 
praise  of  the  beautiful  tribute  he  paid  to  Gen. 
Robert.  E.  Lee  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  January 
19,  1916,  under  the  auspices  of  John  W.  Dunham 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


257 


Chapter,  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  annual  Lee- Jackson  birt  Hilar  cele- 
bration. ' ' 

It  remains  to  speak  with  some  particularity  con- 
cerning his  various  activities  in  his  home  com- 
munity. He  has  been  vice  president  since  its 
organization  of  the  Toisnot  Grocery  Company  and 
is  a  half  owner  of  the  Elm  City  Pharmacy,  one 
of  the  finest  drug  stores  in  the  state.  Whatever 
concerns  the  weltare  of  Elm  City  is  a  matter  of 
deep  concern  to  Doctor  Moore.  He  was  the  first  to 
take  definite  steps  to  give  that  town  its  water- 
works system.  The  first  water  was  supplied  the 
town  by  a  windmill,  but  from  that  as  a  nucleus 
has  been  developed  the  splendid  system  of  water- 
works. He  also  advocated  and  worked  until  he 
saw  achieved  a  good  sewer  system.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  electric  light  plant  was  also  aided  by 
his  influence  and  means.  He  has  proved  himself  a 
warm  friend  of  education  and  has  done  much  to 
build  up  the  good  system  of  graded  schools  in  Elm 
City.  Doctor  Moore  has  served  as  alderman  and 
county  health  officer,  and  was  formerly  director  of 
the  State  Hospital  at  Goldsboro  and  later  at 
Ealeigh. 

On  December  17,  1884,  Doctor  Moore  married 
Miss  Annie  M.  Thompson,  of  Goldsboro.  This 
has  been  a  most  congenial  union  of  interests  and 
tastes,  and  Doctor  Moore  liberally  credits  his  wife 
with  an  important  share  in  his  success.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  children.  John  Craven,  born 
April  5,  1887,  was  educated  in  Trinity  Park  High 
School  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
he  graduated  in  the  Pharmacy  School  in  1914. 
He  is  now  active  manager  for  his  father  of  the 
fine  500  acre  farm  in  Toisnot  Township  of  Wilson 
County.  The  daughter,  Lucile  Robey  Moore,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  Peace  Institute  at  Raleigh,  is  now 
assistant  teacher  of  science  in  that  institute. 
Doctor  Moore  is  an  active  member  of  the  Wilson 
Country  Club. 

William  Aloxzo  Lltas,  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Wilson  County  bar,  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  August,  1903,  and  has  continuously  been 
in  the  profession  in  the  City  of  Wilson.  He  han- 
dles a  general  practice,  and  with  increasing  ex- 
perience his  reputation  and  his  connections  have 
become  well  known  throughout  that  district.  Mr. 
Lucas  is  a  member  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  Bar 
Association,  belongs  to  the  Wilson  Country  Club, 
the  Commonwealth  Club,  is  a  Knights  Templar 
Mason  and  Shriner,  and  is  affiliated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Jun- 
ior Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

He  was  born  in  Wilson  County  February  11, 
1881,  a  son  of  Lafayette  Francis  and  Leola 
(Barnes)  Lucas.  His  father  for  many  years  has 
been  a  successful  farmer  and  for  some  time  served 
on  the  board  of  county  commissioners.  Mr.  Lu- 
cas was  educated  first  in  the  public  schools,  later 
attended  Trinity  College  at  Durham,  and  then 
took  both  the  academic  and  the  law  courses  of 
the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina. 

He  was  married  October  15,  1913,  to  Mamie 
Doss  Jennings,   of   Xashville.  Tennessee. 

Robert  Fishburxe  Campbell.  D.  D.  Few  men 
in  the  ministry  of  today  have  so  fully  realized 
the  opportunities  of  their  great  profession  and 
have  worked  with  more  enthusiasm  and  with 
greater  simplicity  of  soul  and  character  than  Rev. 
Dr.  Robert  Fishburne  Campbell,  for  more  than  a 
quarter   of   a    century   pastor   of  the   First   Pres- 

Tol.  Y— IT 


byterian  Church  of  Asheville.  In  the  strength  of 
its  institutional  and  benevolent  works,  the  spirit- 
uality of  its  members,  and  in  the  influence  of  its 
organization  over  the  state  at  large,  this  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  churches  of  the  state. 

Rev.  Dr.  Campbell  is  member  of  a  family  that 
has  stood  high  in  public  life  and  professional 
affairs  in  the  South  for  generations.  He  repre- 
sents the  eleventh  generation  of  the  Campbell 
family,  which  is  of  that  stock  and  ancestry  known 
as  ' '  the  everlasting  Scotch-Irish. ' '  The  most  re- 
mote ancestor  that  can  be  definitely  named  was 
Dougal  Campbell  of  Inveraray,  Scotland.  His  son 
Duncan  Campbell,  an  officer  in  the  British  Army 
in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  moved  to  Ulster, 
Ireland,  during  the  reign  of  James  I.  The  three 
following  generations  were  headed  respectively  by 
Patrick  Campbell,  Hugh  Campbell,  and  Andrew 
Campbell.  Duncan  Campbell,  son  of  .  Andrew, 
married  Mary  McCoy,  and  their  son  Dougal  Camp- 
bell, representing  the  seventh  generation,  immi- 
grated to  America  and  settled  in  Berkeley  County, 
Virginia,  and  came  to  Rockbridge  County  of  that 
state   in  1780. 

The  eighth  generation  was  represented  by  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  who  lived  from  1750  to  1808.  He 
served  as  a  trustee  of  Washington  College,  Vir- 
ginia, under  the  original  charter  from  1782  to 
1807.  He  was  also  county  surveyor,  "a  position 
at  that  time  of  great  importance. ' '  His  sou 
Robert  S.  Campbell,  who  was  born  in  1790  and 
died  in  1861,  married  Isabella  Paxton. 

John  Lyle  Campbell,  son  of  Robert  S.  and 
Isabella  Campbell,  enjoyed  a  place  of  high  dis- 
tinction among  the  educators  of  the  South.  He 
was  born  in  1818  and  died  in  1886.  His  birth 
occurred  in  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  and  he 
died  at  Lexington  in  that  state.  He  received  his 
Master  of  Arts  degree  from  Washington  College, 
now  Washington  and  Lee  University,  in  1843,  and 
on  leaving  college  became  assistant  in  an  Academy 
at  Staunton,  Virginia,  and  afterwards  had  charge 
of  a  similar  institution  at  Richmond,  Kentucky. 
In  1851  he  was  called  to  the  Chair  of  Chemistry 
and  Geology  in  Washington  College,  now  Washing- 
ton and  Lee  University,  and  that  office  he  con- 
tinued to  occupy  until  his  death  thirty-five  years 
later.  He  was  a  recognized  authority  on  the 
geology  of  Virginia  and  wrote  reports  that  fur- 
nished a  great  mass  of  valuable  data  and  was  also 
a  frequent  contributor  to  scientific  journals. 
Among  his  more  important  works  were:  "A 
Manuel  of  Scientific  and  Practical  Agriculture, ' ' 
published  at  Philadelphia  in  1859;  "Geology  and 
Mineral  Resources  of  the  James  River  Vallev, ' ' 
published  in  1882.  In  1881  Hampden  Sidney  Col- 
lege of  Virginia  conferred  upon  him  the  degree 
LL.  D. 

John  Lyle  Campbell  married  Harriet  Peters 
Bailey.  She  was  born  at  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts, 
April  18,  1824,  and  was  of  lineage  not  less  dis- 
tinguished than  was  the  family  of  her  husband. 
She  was  of  English  stock,  the  Baileys  dating  from 
the  time  of  the  Plymouth  Rock  Colony.  One  of 
her  distinguished  soldier  ancestors  was  Col.  John 
Bailev,  who  was  born  at  Hanover,  Massachusetts, 
October  30,  1730,  and  died  there  October  27,  1810. 
"He  was  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Plymouth  Regi- 
ment at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  succeeded  Colonel  John  Thomas  in  its  com- 
mand. When  the  Continental  Army  was  organized 
he  became  colonel  of  the  Second  Massachusetts, 
in  which  command  he  remained  during  the  war, 
earning    distinction    especially    in    the    campaign 


258 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


against  Burgoyne, "  [Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of 
American  Biography.]  Colonel  Bailey's  son  Leb- 
beus  married  Sarah  Sylvester,  and  one  of  their 
sons  was  Bufus  William  Bailey,  whose  daughter 
Harriet  became  the  wife  of  John  Lyle  Campbell 
on  July  8,  1846. 

Bev.  Bufus  William  Bailey  was  one  of  the  great 
men  of  his  day  in  religious  and  educational  affairs 
iji  the  South.  He  was  born  at  North  Yarmouth, 
Maine,  April  13,  1793,  was  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1816,  taught  in  academies  in 
New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  and  took  up  and  pros- 
ecuted the  study  of  law  under  the  renowned  Daniel 
Webster.  However,  at  the  end  of  a  year  he 
decided  to  go  into  the  ministry  and  entered  And- 
over  Theological  Seminary.  He  completed  his 
studies  there,  was  licensed  to  preach  and  during 
his  first  pastorate  at  Norwich  Blain  was  also 
teacher  in  a  local  military  school.  In  1823  he  was 
installed  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  church 
at  Pittsfield,  where  he  founded  the  Pittsfield 
Female  Seminary.  At  the  end  of  four  years  he 
went  South  for  the  sake  of  his  health  and  subse- 
quently continued  his  work  as  an  educator  for 
more  than  twenty  years  in  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina  and  Virginia.  In  the  latter  state  he 
traveled  at  one  time  extensively  as  agent  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society.  In  the  meantime, 
in  1829,  he  established  the  Richland  Normal 
School  in  South  Carolina,  and  in  1842  founded  the 
Augusta  Female  Seminary,  now  the  Mary  Bald- 
win Seminary  at  Staunton,  Virginia.  In  1854  he 
was  elected  Professor  of  Languages  at  Austin 
College,  then  situated  at  Huntsville,  Texas,  and 
in  1858  he  became  its  president.  He  filled  that 
office  until  1860  and  died  at  Huntsville,  Texas, 
April  26,  1863.  He  was  author  of  a  series 
of  newspaper  letters  on  slavery  which  were  pub- 
lished under  the  title  of  "The  Issue,"  also  of 
volumes  of  sermons  and  other  works,  including  a 
text  book  on  grammar  which  was  extensively  used 
in  Southern  schools,  and  ' '  The  Scholar 's  Com- 
panion, ' '  a  combination  of  speller  and  dictionary. 

To  measure  up  to  the  achievements  and  the 
character  of  such  ancestors  is  a  task  that  would 
test  the  best  resources  and  talents  of  any  man. 
Rev.  Dr.  B.  F.  Campbell  was  born  at  the  home 
of  his  parents  in  Lexington,  Virginia,  December 
12,  1858.  He  grew  up  in  a  home  of  high  ideals 
and  splendid  culture,  and  his  advantages  there 
were  supplemented  by  the  best  of  schooling.  He 
did  his  college  work  in  the  fine  old  institution  in 
which  his  father  was  a  professor,  Washington  and 
Lee  University,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1878  and  Master 
of  Arts  in  1879.  During  the  following  three  years 
he  was  a  teacher,  in  the  Kabie  Academy  at 
Charlestown,  West  Virginia,  during  1879-80,  in 
Tinkling  Spring  High  School  in  Virginia  in 
1880-81,  and  in  McGuire's  School  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  1881-82.  Having  in  the  meantime 
definitely  determined  upon  the  ministry  as  a 
career,  he  was  a  student  in  Union  Theological 
Seminary  at  Hampden  Sidney,  Virginia,  from 
1882  to  1885.  Mr.  Campbell  received  his  degree 
Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Davidson  College  in  North 
Carolina  in  1893. 

He  was  licensed  by  the  Lexington  Presbytery 
August  30,  1884,  and  ordained  May  18,  1885. 
Though  in  the  ministry  more  than  thirty  years,  he 
has  filled  only  four  distinct  pastorates — Millboro 
and  Windy  Cove  Churches  in  Bath  County,  Vir- 
ginia, 1885  to  1889;  Davidson  College  Church  in 
North  Carolina,  1889-90;  Buena  Vista  in  Virginia, 


1890-92;  and  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Asheville  since  1892. 

Without  intention  to  describe  in  detail  the  great 
work  that  Dr.  Campbell  has  performed  in  more 
than  thirty  years  of  ministry,  it  is  important  to 
emphasize  the  character  of  his  leadership.  He  is 
first  of  all  a  broad-minded  student  of  human  life 
in  both  its  material  and  spiritual  significance. 
But  he  has  never  been  content  merely  to  state  and 
compile  the  results  of  studies.  He  has  sought  to 
give  vitality  to  what  he  has  learned  and  discovered, 
either  in  leading  men  to  further  heights  of  aspira- 
tion or  achievement  or  in  fiercely  combating  those 
conspicuously  fortified  or  insidious  evils  and  ten- 
dencies which  still  flourish  among  mankind  and 
require  everlasting  determination  and  vigilance  to 
eradicate.  Considering  his  career  as  a  whole  it 
is  by  no  means  an  exaggeration  to  claim  that 
Dr.  Campbell  has  been  one  of  the  most  construc- 
tive leaders  in  public  thought  and  action  in  the 
South  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 

In  1896  Dr.  Campbell  led  the  movement  for 
the  erection  of  the  Presbytery  of  Asheville  by 
the  Synod  of  North  Carolina.  In  1914-15  he  was 
equally  prominent  in  the  movement  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Synod  of  Appalachia  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
United  States.  Both  of  these  movements  have  had 
an  important  bearing  on  the  work  of  home  mis- 
sions and  of  Christian  education  in  the  Appal- 
achian Mountains. 

Since  1897  Dr.  Campbell  has  been  a  trustee  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia,  and  in 
1917  became  a  trustee  of  Stonewall  Jackson 
College  at  Abingdon,  Virginia.  He  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Montreat 
Normal  School,  North  Carolina,  since  1916,  was 
founder  and  since  1911  president  of  the  Good 
Samaritan  Mission  at  Asheville,  is  vice  president 
for  North  Carolina  of  the  Lord's  Day  Alliance  of 
the  United  States;  is  chairman  of  the  Home 
Missions  Committees  of  the  Asheville  Presbytery 
and  of  the  Synod  of  Appalachia.  He  is  the  author 
of  a  plan  for  the  federation  of  the  Presbyterian 
and  Reformed  churches  of  the  United  States,  in- 
cluding about  twelve  ecclesiastical  bodies,  on  the 
basis  of  a  bicameral  congress  modeled  after  that 
of  the  Federal  Union  of  the  States  in  this  Re- 
public. This  plan  has  commended  itself  to  many 
of  the  liberal  men  in  the  church  and  is  now 
under  serious  consideration. 

The  World  war  has  naturally  demanded  of  Dr. 
Campbell  services  commensurate  and  proportion- 
ate to  his  great  ability  and  influence.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee  and  chairman 
of  the  Civilian  Belief  Department  of  the  Ashe- 
ville Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross.  For  a 
year  or  more  he  has  been  active  in  patriotic  work 
in  connection  with  the  great  war,  making  public 
addresses  on  Liberty  Loans,  War  Savings  Stamps, 
Red  Cross  and  other  worthy  causes. 

In  1912  Dr.  Campbell  started  an  agitation 
through  the  public  press  pointing  out  the  injustice 
of  foisting  the  ' '  red  light  district ' '  on  the 
negroes.  In  Asheville  as  in  other  cities  'the 
attempt  to  deal  vigorously  with  the  social  evil  had 
merely  shifted  it  from  the  better  sections  of  the 
city  to  the  negro  quarter,  where  it  had  up  to  that 
time  flourished  without  special  protest  except  from 
the  better  class  of  negroes  who  were,  however, 
comparatively  uninfluential.  Dr.  Campbell  was 
unable  to  satisfy  his  conscience  with  this  condi- 
tion, and  he  presented  the  matter  so  vigorously 
and   so   persistently   that,   with   the   fortunate   co- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


259 


operation  of  a  police  judge  who  was  in  sympathy 
with  him,  these  houses  were  completely  driven 
out  from  the  residential  section  occupied  by  the 
negroes  in  Asheville,  and  finally  the  red  light  dis- 
trict was  suppressed  altogether.  Because  of  the 
widespread  existence  of  the  evil  any  fight  of  this 
kind  is  really  a  matter  of  national  news  and 
interest,  and  what  Asheville  accomplished  had  so 
many  unusual  phases  that  the  matter  drew  forth 
a  lengthy  editorial  from  that  old  and  dignified 
American    magazine,    ' '  The    Harper 's    Weekly. ' ' 

Dr.  Campbell  when  a  boy  organized  and  taught 
a  night  school  for  colored  men,  later  was  a 
teacher  and  superintendent  of  Sunday  school  for 
negroes,  and  thus  has  had  almost  a  lifelong 
interest  in  the  advancement  of  the  negro  race 
and  has  thoroughly  studied  the  problems  of  the 
race  and  their  environment  in  the  South.  A  nota- 
ble result  of  this  was  a  sermon  which  he  preached 
in  1898,  and  which  was  subsequently,  owing  to 
requests  from  all  over  the  country,  published  in 
pamphlet  form  under  the  title  ' '  Some  Aspects  of 
the  Race  Problem  in  the  South."  This  was  first 
put  out  in  an  edition  of  three  thousand  copies  and 
a  few  months  later  a  second  edition  was  issued  of 
ten   thousand   copies. 

Other  notable  pamphlets  and  sermons  which 
have  appeared  with  Dr.  Campbell  as  author  are 
as  follows :  ' '  Mission  Work  among  the  Mountain 
Whites, "  "  Classification  of  the  Mountain 
Whites,"  "The  Church  Fair,"  "The  Use  and 
Abuse  of  Animals, "  "  The  Dog  in  Literature  and 
in  Life, "  "  Inter-relation  of  the  Individual  and 
the  Institutions  of  Society, "  "  A  First-Day  Duty 
for  Everyone,"  "Union  Seminary  in  the  Pastorate 
— an  address  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the 
Seminary  (1912),"  "Centennial  Address,  Synod 
of  North  Carolina  in  the  Last  Fifty  Years,  or  the 
Presbvterian  Church  an  Evangelistic  Agency, ' ' 
(1913),  "Harmful  Child  Labor  in  the  United 
States,  "  "  Sunday  Laws  and  Liberty. ' ' 

Dr.  Campbell  has  been  much  interested  in  legis- 
lation for  the  protection  of  the  weekly  rest  day. 
He  holds  that  as  ' '  the  sabbath  was  made  for 
man"  (for  the  genus  homo)  it  should  be  pro- 
tected by  law,  just  as  the  sanctity  of  the  family 
and  the  rights  of  property  are  protected  and  that 
no  individual  or  corporation  should  be  permitted 
to  break  down  the  beneficent  institution  or  to  rob 
men  of  its  blessings.  Where  Sunday  work  is 
necessary,  as  it  sometimes  is,  provision  should  be 
made  for  legislative  enactment  as  in  France, 
Canada  and  other  countries,  to  insure  to  the  three 
million  workers  in  the  United  States  who  now 
labor  seven  days  in  the  week,  one  day 's  rest  in 
seven.  Legislation  should,  not  bear  in  any  way 
on  the  religious  observance  of  Sunday  further 
than  to  proteet  the  rights  of  those  who  wish  to 
worship,  and  to  encourage  incidentally  the  reverent 
use  of  the  day. 

Dr.  Campbell  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Pen 
and  Plate  Club  of  Asheville.  He  is  a  foundation 
member  of  Gamma  Chapter  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society,  Washington  and  Lee  University,  in  1911. 
Politically   he    is   a    democrat. 

On  October  8,  1885,  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  Dr. 
Campbell  married  Sarah  Montgomery  Euffner, 
daughter  of  William  Henry  and  Harriet  Ann 
(Gray)  Ruffner.  Dr.  William  Henry  Ruffner  was 
organizer  and  first  superintendent  of  the '  public 
school  system  of  Virginia,  and  became  known  as 
"the  Horace  Mann   of  the  South." 

Mrs.  Campbell,  who  died  at  Asheville,  North 
Carolina,   August   20,   1917,   was  not  only   a   wife 


and  mother  but  a  woman  of  distinction  in  the 
life  and  affairs  of  Asheville.  She  was  a  graduate 
of  the  New  Jersey  State  Normal  School  at  Tren- 
ton, was  a  student  of  piano  in  the  Boston  Con- 
servatory of  Music.  At  Asheville  she  was  founder 
and  president  of  the  Saturday  Music  Club,  a 
charter  member  of  the  Friendly  Dozen  Book  Club, 
the  first  woman  's  club  organized  in  that  city,  and 
was  a  charter  member  of  the  Paidology  Club  of 
Asheville,  one  of  the  first  clubs  in  this  country 
for  child  study. 

Dr.  Campbell  has  one  son,  Ruffner  Campbell, 
who  was  born  at  Davidson  College,  North  Caro- 
lina, December  17,  1889.  He  graduated  from  that 
institution,  which  for  that  reason  might  doubly 
claim  his  affection  as  his  alma  mater.  He  received 
the  degree  Bachelor  of  Science  from  Davidson  in 
1910  and  in  1913  was  graduated  LL.  B.  from 
Washington  and  Lee  University,  and  practised  his 
profession  as  an  attorney  at  law  at  Asheville, 
until  in  1918  when  he  responded  to  the  call  of  his 
country  and  enlisted  in  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States. 

Howard  White  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
timber  operators  and  lumber  manufacturers  in 
North  Carolina.  He  has  a  wide  experience  both  in 
railroading  and  in  manufacturing  lines. 

In  1909  he  came  to  Raleigh  and  established  the 
Howard  White  Lumber  Company,  and  he  now  con- 
trols the  output  of  about  fifty  mills  in  North  Car- 
olina, South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

He  was  born  in  Matthews  County,  Virginia,  April 
6,  1880,  a  son  of  James  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth 
W.  (Gayle)  White.  His  father  was  a  successful 
Virginia  merchant.  Gaining  his  education  in  the 
public  schools,  finishing  with  the  Portsmouth,  Vir- 
ginia, Public  School,  Howard  White  took  up  work 
with  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway  Company,  be- 
ing connected  with  the  accounting  department  for 
nine  years.  For  a  time  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
agency  accounts.  He  then  became  tie  and  timber 
agent  for  the  Norfolk  &  Southern  Railway,  and 
bought  all  the  materials  throughout  the  period  of 
construction  of  that  road.  On  the  completion  of 
this  road  he  moved  to  Raleigh  and  established  his 
present  business. 

Mr.  White  is  a  member  of  the  Country,  Capital 
and  Rotary  clubs  and  also  of  the  Elks  Order.  On 
September  10,  1906,  at  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  he 
married  Miss  Annie  Wilson.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren, Anne,  Sarah  and  Howard  Jr. 

Jeter  Conley  Pritchard  was  born  at  Jones- 
boro,  Tennessee,  July  12,  1857.  His  parents  were 
William  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Brown)  Pritchard,  the 
ancestry  on  the  paternal  side  being  Welsh  and 
Irish,  and  Irish  on  the  maternal.  William  H. 
Pritchard  was  a  carpenter  and  builder,  a  hard- 
working man  but  never  accumulated  wealth.  When 
the  war  between  the  states  was  precipitated,  he 
was  seven  years  above  the  age  of  enlistment  but 
entered  as  a  substitute  for  Moses  Cone,  father  of 
the  Cone  brothers  of  this  state.  He  was  in  the 
Sixtieth  Tennessee  Volunteer  Infantry  under  Col. 
John  H.  Crawford,  and  took  part  in  the  many 
notable  battles  in  which  this  regiment  participated, 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  in  particular.  It  was  after 
the  surrender  of  that  city  Mr.  Pritchard  was 
stricken  with  disease,  which  in  modern  warfare 
might  have  been  prevented,  and  died  at  Mobile, 
Alabama. 

The  Pritchard  family  in  the  meanwhile  suffered 
in  the  home,  as  so  often  has  been  the  case  when 


260 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  head  and  wage  earner  has  been  called  away. 
The  close  of  hostilities  found  Jeter  a  lad  of  eight 
years,  dependent  upon  his  devoted  mother's  scant 
resources.  At  that  time  and  place  there  were  but 
few  opportunities  for  a  boy  to  provide  for  his  own 
self  support,  especially  for  a  boy  anxious  to  secure 
an  education.  His  mother  deemed  it  wise,  therefore, 
when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  to  apprentice  him 
to  a  trade,  selecting  that  of  a  printer,  with  the 
thought  that  he  could  thus  secure  a  practical  educa- 
tion. When  he  went  into  the  printing  office  he 
knew  little  of  the  elements  of  learning  and  could 
not  yet  write  his  own  name.  He  was  guided  in 
the  main  by  his  mother  's  influence  and  determined 
to  fulfill  her  expectations,  and  this  he  did  by  closely 
applying  himself  to  his  duties  and  taking  every 
possible  opportunity  to  improve  himself.  He  made 
such  rapid  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  his  trade 
that  at  the  end  of  his  apprenticeship  he  easily 
secured  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  Union  Flag 
newspaper  office  at  Jonesboro,  which  position  he 
filled  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Asiatic  cholera 
in  Tennessee  in  the  summer  of  1873.  He  then  left 
Jonesboro  and  entered  school  at  Martins  Creek 
Academy,  where  he  attended  two  terms.  After 
attending  school  he  accepted  a  position  as  foreman 
of  the  Bakersville  Independent,  a  weekly  newspaper 
published  at  Bakersville,  North  Carolina.  The  dis- 
tance from  Erwin  to  Bakersville  is  thirty-five  miles 
and  as  the  young  printer  had  no  reserved  capital 
there  was  no  other  way  to  cover  it  except  on  foot, 
and  when  the  future  statesman  and  judge  entered 
that  town  he  carried  his  one  silver  coin,  of  the 
value  of  10  cents,  in  a  ragged  pocket.  In  this 
brave  acceptance  of  circumstances  and  resolute 
manner  of  overcoming  them,  the  boy,  for  he  was 
then  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  foreshadowed 
the  man,  in  whom  stern  resolution,  when  known  to 
be  right,  has  always  been  a  prominent  character- 
istic. Mr.  Pritchard  profited  by  his  new  position, 
through  it  greater  opportunities  coming  to  him 
than  he  had  ever  before  enjoyed,  included  in  these 
being  educational  training  and  subsequently  a  part- 
nership in  the  Independent,  of  which  he  became 
associate  editor. 

At  a  later  date  he  removed  to  Madison  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  entered  into  politics.  In  1885 
he  represented  that  county  in  the  General  Assembly 
and  was  re-elected  in  1887,  and  in  this  legislative 
body  attained  prominence  by  reason  of  the  clarity 
of  his  judgment,  his  honesty  and  public  spirit. 
About  this  time  he  began  to  Tealize  what  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  would  mean  to  him,  and  with 
characteristic  energy  set  about  its  study,  hampered, 
however,  by  necessary  farm  duties  and  lack  of  a 
competent  preceptor.  All  his  life,  however,  he  had 
faced  and  overcome  difficulties  and,  great  as  they 
were  in  this  case,  he  proved  them  not  insurmount- 
able, and  in  1887  secured  his  license  and  entered 
at  once  upon  the  practice  of  law. 

While  serving  in  the  General  Assembly,  Mr. 
Pritchard  had  proved  his  quality  of  leadership  and 
in  1888  the  republican  party  nominated  him  for 
lieutenant-governor.  In  1891  he  again  represented 
Madison  County  in  the  General  Assembly,  being 
now  considered  one  of  the  strong  republican 
leaders  in  the  state,  and  he  received  the  honor  of 
being  the  caucus  nominee  of  his  party  for  the 
United  States  Senate.  At  the  next  election  he 
was  put  forward  for  Congress  from  the  Ninth 
District,  where  the  republican  strength  had  been 
weakened  by  the  transfer  of  Mitchell  County  to 
another  district,  and,  although  Mr.  Pritchard  made 
gains  in  several  counties,  he  went  down  to  defeat 


in  the  year  that  was  generally  disastrous  to  the 
republican  party  all  over  the  country.  In  follow- 
ing the  careers  of  public  men  many  elements  must 
come  under  consideration.  The  political  situation 
at  this  time  had  been  greatly  changed  by  the 
growth  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  which  was  mainly 
the  foundation  from  which  was  developed  the 
populist  party,  in  rebellion  against  many  of  the 
usages  of  the  old  political  parties.  In  North  Caro- 
lina at  that  time  there  was  much  dissatisfaction 
and  this  particularly  was  the  case  in  regard  to 
the  democratic  party  under  President  Cleveland's 
administration.  Mr.  Pritchard  was  one  of  the 
clear-eyed  politicians  of  the  day  who  saw,  before 
it  was  accomplished,  that  a  co-operative  campaign 
between  the  republicans  and  populists  would  re- 
sult in  an  anti-democratic  legislature. 

Because  of  the  death  of  Senator  Vance  at  this 
time,  and  also  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Senator 
Matt  Ransom,  two  senators  were  to  be  chosen 
by  the  General  Assembly.  Mr.  Pritchard  was 
elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Senator 
Vance.  In  January,  1897,  Senator  Pritchard  was 
re-elected  United  States  senator  for  a  term  of  six 
years.  He  was  the  only  representative  his  party 
had  from  the  southern  states  and  soon  found  him- 
self called  into  consultation  by  the  President  and 
his  republican  colleagues  in  the  Senate  concerning 
all  matters  relating  to  southern  affairs.  In  this 
position  Senator  Pritchard  sustained  himself  well 
and  his  careful  recommendation  tended  to 
strengthen  his  influence  and  bring  him  into  still 
greater  prominence  in  public  matters.  In  addition 
to  performing  his  duties  at  Washington  so  well 
Senator  Pritchard  also  served  as  chairman  of  his 
party  in  the  state  and  as  national  committeeman, 
and  he  entered  enthusiastically  into  the  successive 
campaigns  in  North  Carolina.  Through  his  gifts 
of  oratory  and  his  thorough  understanding  of 
public  affairs  he  was  one  of  the  state 's  notable 
speakers  and  came  to  be  considered  the  strongest 
republican  leader  that  North  Carolina  had  ever 
produced. 

When  the  democrats  were  restored  to  power  in 
1900  political  changes  inevitably  came  and  in 
1903  Senator  Overman  succeeded  Senator  Prit- 
chard, whose  term  expired  in  March  of  that  year. 
On  leaving  public  life,  as  he  supposed,  Mr.  Prit- 
chard accepted  the  position  of  assistant  division 
counsel  of  the  Southern  Railroad,  with  head- 
quarters at  Asheville,  but  on  April  1,  1903,  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  appointed  him  associate  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  he  entered  on  a  judicial  career  that  speedily 
won  for  him  a  great  reputation  and  gave  the 
highest  satisfaction  to  his  friends.  President 
Roosevelt  still  further  demonstrated  his!  confi- 
dence in  Judge  Pritchard  by  appointing  him 
April  28,  1904,  to  succeed  the  late  Judge  Simon- 
ton  as  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  for 
the  Fourth   Circuit. 

One  of  the  celebrated  eases  in  modern  criminal 
annals  was  the  case  of  United  States  against 
Machem  and  others,  which  came  before  Judge 
Pritchard  while  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  trial  of  this 
case  covered  seven  weeks  and  involved  many  new 
points  of  law  and  was  fought  on  each  side  with 
great  ability.  During  its  progress  a  multitude 
of  exceptions  were  taken  to  the  rulings  of  the 
court,  but,  notwithstanding  the  judge  was  sitting 
in  a  strange  jurisdiction  and  many  unusual  prob- 
lems were  brought  forward  for  the  first  time  in 
that  jurisdiction,  on  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Appeals 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


261 


and  to  the  Supreme  Court  all  of  his  rulings  were 
affirmed. 

Au  interesting  ease  to  mention  is  that  in  which 
Judge  Pritehard  immediately  after  his  appoint- 
ment as  United  States  Circuit  judge,  granted  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  at  the  instance  of  Hon- 
orable Josephus  Daniels,  who  had  been  adjudged 
guilty  of  contempt  of  court  by  the  district  judge 
at  Raleigh,  and  on  the  return  of  the  writ  two  days 
later  he  discharged  Mr.  Daniels.  The  judge  wrote 
a  lengthy  and  exhaustive  opinion  in  this  ease,  stat- 
ing the  reasons  for  his  action  in  the  premises,  as 
well  as  the  general  law  of  contempt  applicable  to 
the  courts  of  the  United  States.  This  opinion  has 
been  quoted  generally  by  the  American  press  as 
well  as  by  all  the  leading  journals  in  foreign 
countries,  and  a  most  favorable  estimate  of  this 
decision  has  prevailed. 

Another  case  which  has  attracted  much  interest 
was  the  celebrated  one  of  Folsom  versus  Ninety- 
Six  Township,  South  Carolina.  The  Legislature 
of  that  state,  by  an  amendment  to  the  state  con- 
stitution, abolished  the  corporate  entity  of  certain 
townships  which  had  issued  bonds  in  aid  of  the 
construction  of  a  railroad;  and  also  by  legislative 
enactment  the  territory  originally  embraced  in  such 
townships  was  transferred  to  a  new  county  known 
as  Greenwood,  for  the  purpose  of  invalidating  the 
securities  issued.  Judge  Pritehard  sustained  the 
validity  of  the  securities.  Still  another  important 
and  far-reaching  decision  was  in  the  case  of  Fol- 
som et  al.  vs.  Greenwood  County  from  South 
Carolina.  Novel  principles  of  law  as  well  as  im- 
portant interests  were  involved  in  these  decisions, 
which  were  made  by  the  judge  without  any  direct 
precedent  to  guide  him,  but  here  as  in  other  cases 
liis  decisions  have  been  sustained,  his  adjudications 
being  esteemed  by  the  profession  as  sound  and 
based  on  the  foundation  principles  of  the  law. 
His  courtesy,  his  fairness  and  impartiality  on  the 
bench  have  won  for  him  the  highest  personal 
regard  from  the  bar,  irrespective  of  the  admira- 
tion aroused  by  Ids  unusual  judicial  qualifications. 

When  Senator  Pritehard  laid  aside  his  senatorial 
toga,  his  friends,  irrespective  of  party  affiliations 
felt  that  they  would  like  to  present  him  with 
some  substantial  token  of  their  high  regard  and 
settled  upon  a  magnificent  gift,  a  beautiful  silver 
service  and  a  chest  of  silver,  the  presentation 
speech  being  made  by  Hon.  Richmond  Pearson. 
When  Judge  Pritehard  resigned  the  position  of 
associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  the  members  of  the  bar  of 
Washington  held  a  meeting  at  which  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted  expressing  appreciation 
of  his  course  as  a  jurist,  and  through  its  chair- 
man, Hon.  Henry  Davis,  he  was  presented  with 
a   finely  engraved  punch  bowl. 

In  literature  Judge  Pritehard  has  a  catholic 
taste,  as  may  be  learned  by  observing  the  books 
he  reads.  His  library  is  probably  one  of  the 
most  complete  law  libraries  in  the  country,  but 
when  judicial  cares  are  set  aside  he  finds  enjoy- 
ment in  Shakespeare,  Scott  and  Dickens,  while  at 
all  times  the  Bible  affords  him  pleasure  and 
instruction.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  for  the  past  ten  years.  During  his  term  as 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  Judge  Pritehard 
served  as  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  Georgetown 
University  as  lecturer  on  law. 

Judge  Pritehard  was  married  September  18, 
1877,  to  Miss  Augusta  L.  Ray,  who  was  related 
to  Thomas  B.  Carter  and  Judge  Frank  Carter,  of 


Asheville.  She  was  survived  by  three  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  oldest  son,  William  D.,  was  a  first 
lieutenant  in  the  Thirteenth  Cavalry  and  was  killed 
at  Camp  Stotzenburg,  Philippine  Islands,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1904.  The  daughter,  Ida,  is  the  wife  of 
Thomas  S.  Rollins,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Ashe- 
ville. The  son  George  M.  was  educated  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  is  now  a  practic- 
ing lawyer  at  Marshall,  North  Carolina.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  1917,  being 
elected  by  the  largest  majority  that  any  republican 
ever  received  in  Madison  County.  He  married 
Miss  Robeua  Redmond,  daughter  of  J.  J.  Red- 
mond a  prominent  banker  and  business  man.  The 
son  Dr.  Thomas  Arthur  is  personally  and  pro- 
fessionally well  known  at  Asheville.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  Judge  Pritehard  married 
Miss  Melissa  Bowman,  daughter  of  Judge  J.  W. 
Bowman,  who  was  the  mother  of  Judge  Prit- 
ehard's  youngest  son,  Lieutenant  J.  MeKinley 
Pritehard,  at  present  (1918)  with  the  United 
States  Army  in  France.  Lieutenant  Pritehard  was 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  Linn  on  June  18,  1917. 
Mrs.  MeKinley  Pritehard  is  the  daughter  of  the 
late  Doctor  Linn.  Judge  Pitchard's  present  wife 
is  Miss  Lillian  E.  Saum,  of  Washington  City. 

After  the  war  was  declared  against  Germany, 
Judge  Pritehard  tendered  his  services  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  has  spent  every  spare  moment  in 
delivering  speeches  in  the  various  Liberty  Loan 
movements,  as  well  as  in  Red  Cross  and  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  campaigns.  During 
the  last  Liberty  Loan  drive,  at  the  instance  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  was  the  chief 
speaker  in  the  Dallas,  Texas,  district  speaking  in 
every  city  of  importance  in  that  state  and  also 
delivering  addresses  in  Louisiana,  Arkansas  and 
Oklahoma.  Texas  in  the  first  Liberty  Loan  move- 
ment failed  to  furnish  her  full  allotment.  This 
time,  however,  the  district  furnished  44  per 
cent  more  than  her  allotment  called  for,  and 
Judge  Pritehard  is  credited  with  being  instrumental 
in   bringing   about   this  result. 

Dr.  Thomas  Arthur  Pritehard  was  born  at 
Marshall  in  Madison  County,  North  Carolina, 
in  1882.  From  the  famous  Horner  Military 
School  he  entered  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, where  lie  was  a  brilliant,  student,  and  equally 
so  in  Jefferson  Medical  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  with  honors  in  1904.  He  opened  an 
office  at  Asheville  and  began  as  a  general  practi- 
tioner but  gradually  restricted  himself  to  surgery 
and  before  the  call  to  the  National  Army  came  had 
already  gained  prominence  for  his  scientific  work 
as  a  surgeon.  He  is  now  (1918)  in  the  United 
States  service  as  a  brain  specialist,  with  the  rank 
of  captain,  and  is  awaiting  further  orders  in  the 
training  cam])  at  Oglethorpe,  Georgia.  He  is  a 
member  of  many  scientific  bodies  in  Buncombe 
County  and  elsewhere,  and  belongs  to  the  medical 
staff  of  the  Biltmore  and  the  Mission  Hospitals. 
Doctor  Pritehard  was  married  to  Miss  Robin 
Kennet,  of  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  whose 
parents  were  natives  of  Indiana. 

Heriot  Clarkson  for  over  thirty  years  has 
been  a  lawyer,  business  man  and  a  leader  in  the 
civic  and  moral  life  of  his  home  City  of  Charlotte 
and  the  state  at  large.  Aside  from  the  many 
interesting  things  associated  with  his  name,  the 
most  distinctive  of  all  is  his  character  as  an  un- 
compromising and  outspoken  citizen.  Everyone 
knows  exactly  where  he  stands  and  when  his  sup- 


262 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


port  has  been  enlisted  in  any  cause  his  interest- 
lias  seldom  allowed  him  to  be  a  passive  specta- 
tor. 

Undoubtedly  some  of  the  qualities  which  have 
made  him  a  hard  righting  citizen  and  lawyer  have 
been  inherited  from  the  distinguished  Revolu- 
tionary ancestry.  Mr.  Clarkson  was  born  at  Kings- 
ville,  Richland  County,  South  Carolina,  August 
21,  1863,  a  son  of  Maj.  William  and  Margaret 
(Simons)  Clarkson.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati.  Margaret  Simons  was  a  great- 
great-niece  of  Gen.  Francis  Marion,  the  "swamp 
fox ' '  of  the  Revolution.  Her  ancestry  included 
other  personages  of  distinction  in  the  history  not 
only  of  the  South  but  of  New  England  as  well. 

Hardly  less  notable  has  been  the  record  of  the 
Clarkson  male  line.  It  is  of  English  ancestry, 
but  the  family  located  in  South  Carolina  before 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Mr.  Clarkson 's  grand- 
father was  Thomas  Boston  Clarkson,  a  descend- 
ant of  Thomas  Boston,  the  famous  Presbyterian 
divine.  Thomas  Boston  Clarkson  married  Miss 
Heriot,  of  the  family  of  George  Heriot,  a  Scotch- 
man who  lived  in  Edinburgh  something  more  than 
300  years  ago.  The  name  Heriot  is  one  of  the 
most  familiar  encountered  in  that  Scotch  city. 
Upon  his  death  George  Heriot  left  his  property  to 
the  Town  of  Edinburgh  to  establish  a  fund  for 
the  practical  education  of  boys.  This  fund  today 
amounts  to  several  millions  of  pounds,  and  the 
schools  which  have  grown  up  under  it  constitute 
practically  the  free  school  system  of  Edinburgh. 
The  Heriot  Foundation  probably  provided  for  the 
first  free  school  system  in  the  world.  The  branch 
of  the  family  in  America  first  settled  in  George- 
town, South  Carolina,  many  years  before  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Col.  Robert  Heriot,  a  great- 
great-grandfather  of  Heriot  Clarkson,  was  a 
colonel  in  the  continental  line  of  the  American 
Revolutionary  troops. 

Maj.  William  Clarkson  was  a  successful  planter, 
and  throughout  the  war  served  in  the  Confederate 
army  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major. 
In  1863  he  was  in  command  of  the  Sharpshooters 
at  Fort  Sumter,  Charleston  Harbor,  when  it  was 
being  bombarded  by  Federal  monitors.  Some  of 
the  Clarkson  family  are  still  living  on  the  plan- 
tation land  that  was  granted  to  their  ancestors 
by   King   George. 

Mr.  Heriot  Clarkson  attended  the  Carolina  Mil- 
itary Institute  at  Charlotte.  While  a  youth  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  Jones  &  Johnston  of 
Charlotte,  a  firm  comprising  Col.  Hamilton  C. 
Jones  and  Gen.  Robert  D.  Johnston.  These  men 
were  distinguished  lawyers  and  their  firm  was 
one  of  the  strongest  in  the  annals  of  the  Char- 
lotte bar.  Through  the  inspiration  and  influ- 
ence of  these  gentlemen  Mr.  Clarkson  was  led  to 
the  serious  study  of  law.  He  took  the  full  law 
course  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
he  was  graduated  with  the  first  honors  of  his  class 
in  1884.  In  the  same  years  he  returned  to  Char- 
lotte and  began  practice,  and  has  been  entrusted 
with  the  handling  and  supervision  of  many  of 
the  most  important  cases  in  the  local  or  higher 
state   courts  within   the  last  thirty  years. 

Besides  his  enviable  position  in  the  law  his 
energies  and  talents  have  brought  him  various 
engagements  in  business  affairs.  He  is  a  pro- 
gressive of  the  most  pronounced  type  and  al- 
ways a  leader  in  ethical,  educational  and  moral 
reform  movements.  In  the  present  generation 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  recall  that  he  was  presi- 
dent  of   the   Anti-Saloon    League    of    North    Caro- 


lina when  North  Carolina  went  dry  in  1908.  But 
that  was  only  the  culmination  of  a  long  and  per- 
sistently fought  campaign  in  which  Heriot  Clark- 
son was  always  one  of  the  chief  personal  figures 
and  leaders.  He  was  a  pioneer  prohibitionist,  and 
openly  advocated  the  principles  of  that  cause  in 
a  day  when  it  required  moral  courage  to  express 
such  views.  Along  in  the  '80s,  when  he  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  the  question 
was  presented  for  vote  of  making  Charlotte  dry 
territory.  Mr.  Clarkson  was  one  of  the  two  mem- 
bers of  the  body  who  had  the  convictions  or  the 
courage  to  support  that  measure.  Later  he  was 
chairman  of  the  local  Anti-Saloon  League  when 
the  liquor  traffic  was  voted  out  of  Charlotte  in 
1904. 

Mr.  Clarkson  represented  Mecklenberg  County 
in  the  Legislature  in  the  ' '  White  Supremacy ' ' 
Legislature  of  1899.  He  was  elected  and  served 
as  solicitor  of  the  Twelfth  Judicial  District  for 
seven  years  beginning  in  1904.  He  has  been  an 
alderman  or  city  attorney  at  different  times. 
Other  interests  that  are  associated  with  his  name 
and  career  was  as  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Piedmont  Fire  Insurance  Company,  as  organizer 
and  owner  of  a  majority  of  the  stock  of  the 
famous  summer  resort  ' '  Little  Switzerland ' '  iii 
the  North  Carolina  mountains,  as  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  the  company  which  built  and  owns 
the  Law  Building  at  Charlotte,  as  a  member  of 
the  Park  and  Tree  Commission  for  several  years, 
and  a  leader  in  the  movement  to  get  the  dona- 
tion to  the  city  of  fifty-two  acres  for  Independ- 
ence Park.  He  was  one  of  the  builders  of  the 
Colonial  Apartments.  Mr.  Clarkson  is  author  of 
two  codes  of  the  City  of  Charlotte.  He  is  senior 
warden  of  St.  Peter 's  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of 
St.  Peter 's  Hospital,  and  built  as  a  memorial  to 
his    father    St.    Andrew 's    Chapel    in    Seversville. 

Mr.  Clarkson  married  Miss  Mary  Osborne,  of 
Charlotte,  daughter  of  Col.  E.  A.  Osborne  of  that 
city.  They  have  five  children,  four  sons  and  a 
daughter.  One  son,  F.  O.  Clarkson,  now  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  graduated  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  the  academic  department,  and 
is  also  a  law  graduate  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  He  had  just  entered  upon  his  profes- 
sional career  in  partnership  with  his  father  when 
the  war  with  Germany  broke  out.  He  promptly 
joined  the  Naval  Aviation  service  and  went  to 
Cambridge  Technical  School  at  Boston  and  is  now 
lieutenant  in  the  Aviation  Marine  Corps. 

Thomas  Scott  Rollins,  of  Asheville,  has  done 
much  to  dignify  the  profession  of  which  he  is 
one  of  the  most  learned  and  successful  members, 
and  in  the  twenty-three  years  of  his  practice  has 
had  many  interesting  as  well  as  valuable  con- 
nections. Mr.  Rollins  is  a  former  president  of 
the   North   Carolina   State   Bar   Association. 

He  was  born  at  Marshall,  North  Carolina,  June 
24,  1872,  a  son  of  Maj.  William  Wallace  and 
Eliza  (Gudger)  Rollins.  His  father  was  a  man 
of  prominence,  especially  as  a  tobacco  grower, 
and  was  regarded  as  the  most  extensive  tobacco 
raiser  in  the  state  during  the  decade  from  1880  to 
1890.  For  seventeen  years  Major  Rollins  tilled 
the  office  of  postmaster  at  Asheville,  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Thomas  S.  Rollins  grew  UTJ  on  his  father's  plan- 
tation, was  educated  in  public  schools  and  later 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he 
graduated    in   1894   and   from   the  law   department 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


263 


in  1895.  In  1893  he  was  honored  with  the  social 
distinction  in  the  University  of  Chief  Marshal. 
After  leaving  law  scdiool  he  practiced  at  Marshall 
with  Judge  J.  C.  Pritchard,  who  at  that  time  was 
a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  from  North 
Carolina.  In  1903  Mr.  Rollins  came  to  Asheville 
and  was  associated  in  the  practice  of  the  law 
with  Judge  Charles  A.  Moore  under  the  title  of 
Moore  &  Rollins.  This  firm  was  dissolved  in  1912 
when  Judge  Moore,  on  account  of  ill  health  re- 
tired from  practice.  Mr.  Rollins  is  now  member 
of  the  firm  of  Martin,  Rollins  &  Wright.  This  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  firms  of 
corporation  attorneys  in  the  state. 

In  1902  Mr.  Rollins  was  appointed  assistant 
division  counsel  for  the  Southern  Railway  with 
jurisdiction  over  fourteen  western  counties  in  the 
state.  His  firm  are  now  attorneys  for  the  Southern 
Railway,  the  Southern  Express  Company,  the 
Champion  Fibre  Company,  the  Street  Railway 
interests  of  Asheville,  and  for  various  other  large 
interests. 

Mr.  Rollins  was  president  of  the  Asheville  Bar 
Association  from  1910  to  1913,  and  enjoyed  the 
signal  honor  of  being  unanimously  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association  for 
the  year  1913-14.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
American  Bar  Association,  is  a  past  chancellor 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  and  his 
family  worship  in  the  Trinity  Episcopal  church 
at  Asheville. 

In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  republican  and  has 
always  taken  a  great  interest  in  his  party.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  Ninth  Congressional  Dis- 
trict in  1900,  and  succeeded  that  year  in 
thoroughly  organizing  the  district  and  electing 
Hon.  James  M.  Moody  to  Congress  by  over  two 
thousand  majority. 

In  1903  Mr.  Rollins  was  elected  chairman  of 
the   State    Republican    Executive   Committee,    and 

(for  four  years  held  this  important  position.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  active  and  energetic  chair- 
men his  party  has  ever  had  and  as  an  organizer 
has  few  equals  of  the  state. 
September  10,  1900,  Mr.  Rollins  married  Ida 
Evelyn  Pritchard,  daughter  of  Judge  J.  C.  and 
Augusta  Pritchard.  The  four  children  born  to 
their  marriage  are  Elizabeth  Jane,  Lillian. 
Catherine  C.  and  Thomas  Scott,  Jr. 

Norman  Underwood  is  one  of  the  prominent 
building  contractors  of  the  state,  with  home  at 
Durham  for  the  past  twenty  years,  though  his 
operations  have  not  been  confined  to  any  one  city 
or  locality. 

Mr.  Underwood  was  born  at  Youngstown,  Ohio, 
September  2,  1862,  a  son  of  George  Wright  and 
Mary  (Jones)  Underwood.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  on  the  old  homestead  in  Ohio  Norman 
spent  his  early  youth.  He  had  a  public  school 
education,  and  from  the  farm  he  went  to  Knox- 
ville,  Tennessee,  in  1884  to  learn  the  carpenter's 
trade.  He  has  been  a  contractor  and  builder  ever 
since  and  in  1898  came  to  North  Carolina,  spend- 
ing a  few  months  at  Raleigh,  but  since  November, 
1899,  his  home  has  been  at  Durham.  Only  a  few 
examples  of  his  work  can  be  noted.  He  erected 
the  postoffice  and  the  Trust  Building  at  Durham, 
two  of  the  dormitories  on  the  campus  of  Trinity 
College,  also  the  college  library,  the  residences  of 
Duke  and  Stagg  at  Durham,  the  Memorial  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  and  a  number  of  large  build- 


ings at  Chapel  Hill,  the  seat  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity. 

Mr.  Underwood  is  a  member  aud  for  two  terms 
was  president  of  the  Builders '  Exchange  of  North 
Carolina.  He  has  been  quite  active  in  public 
affairs  of  Durham,  served  as  an  alderman  and  is 
a  member  of  the  police  and  fire  commission.  He  is 
affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

March  6,  1883,  Mr.  Underwood  married  Elsie  E. 
Ward  of  Bowling  Green,  Ohio.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  five  children :  Mary  Almira,  the  oldest,  is 
the  wife  of  C.  D.  Rigsbee  of  Durham ;  Bruce  Nor- 
man, who  is  sales  manager  with  the  U.  S.  Rubber 
Company,  married  Nellie  Gager  of  Fostoria,  Ohio; 
Harrison  Aubrey,  who  is  in  the  engineering  serv- 
ice of  the  United  States  Government,  married  Rose 
Turner;  Daniel  Morse,  associated  with  his  father 
in  business  at  Durham,  married  Lessie  King  of 
Durham ;  Robert  Ward  is  still  a  student,  being  in 
the  Bingham  Military  School,  where  he  has  the  rank 
of  first  lieutenant. 

George  Alexander  Norwood.  The  commercial 
prosperity  of  city,  state  and  nation  rests  on  sound 
banking  as  its  foundation.  Money  is  as  necessary 
to  further  the  pursuits  of  peace  as  it  is  indis- 
pensable in  the  carrying  on  of  war,  and  it  is  to 
bankers,  whose  foresight  and  business  experience 
have  prepared  them  to  handle  and  conserve  finan- 
cial resources,  that  the  people  must  turn  in  any 
crisis.  Their  responsibilities  are  great  and  for 
that  reason  they  must  be  men  of  affairs  in  order 
to  secure  and  maintain  the  confidence  on  which 
their  own  success  and  continuance  depends.  In 
this  connection,  because  of  his  unusual  business 
prominence,  attention  may  be  called  to  George 
Alexander  Norwood,  whose  interests  are  numerous 
at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina. 

George  Alexander  Norwood  was  born  at  Harts- 
ville,  Darlington  County,  South  Carolina,  January 
7,  1863.  His  parents  were  George  Alexander  and 
Mary  Louisa  (Wilkins)  Norwood.  The  father  was 
prominent  for  many  years  at  Greensville,  South 
Carolina,  as  a  merchant  and  banker.  After  leav- 
ing the  local  schools  George  A.  Norwood  attended 
the  high  school  at  Charleston  and  from  there 
entered  Wake  Forest  College,  North  Carolina.  He 
then  embarked  in  business  at  Charleston  and  for 
thirteen  years  bought  and  sold  cotton  as  a  factor. 

In  1896  Mr.  Norwood  came  to  Goldsboro  and  in 
that  year  established  the  National  Bank  of  Golds- 
boro, North  Carolina,  of  which  he  has  been  presi- 
dent ever  since.  In  1906  he  still  further  expanded 
his  interests  in  the  financial  field  by  organizing 
the  Goldsboro  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  of 
which  he  has  been  the  only  president.  These  insti- 
tutions are  among  the  best  capitalized  in  the  state 
and  their  officials  and  directors  are  all  men  of  large 
means  and  of  trustworthy  character.  Mr.  Nor- 
wood 's  business  faculties  are  engaged  in  numer- 
ous other  prominent  and  important  concerns,  in 
all  of  which  his  name  is  one  of  the  greatest 
assets.  He  is  president  of  the  Wayne  Red  Brick 
Company,  an  exceedingly  important  enterprise;  is 
president  likewise  of  the  Carolina  Warehouse  Com- 
pany: is  vice  president  of  the  Goldsboro  Wholesale 
Grocery  Company;  is  president  and  treasurer  of 
the  Goldsboro  Construction  Company;  and  is  vice 
president  and  treasurer  of  the  Planters'  Ware- 
house Company.  In  attending  to  the  many  duties 
pertaining  to  each  and  every  one  of  these  enter- 
prises Mr.  Norwood  displays  remarkable  business 


264 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


acumen,  but  in  association  with  others  in  the 
business  world  he  has  always  shown  a  maintenance 
of  honorable  business  ethics,  and  his  keenest  com- 
petitors have  never  had  cause  to  question  his 
methods.  Few  men  in  this  city  have  had  at  one 
time  so  many  important  interests  to  guard,  and 
none  have  ever  shown  a  better  comprehension  of 
responsibility  or  had  a  firmer  grasp  on  business 
potentialities.  In  large  measure  his  attitude  in 
regard  to  public  affairs  has  been  the  same.  Civic 
pride  is  a  characteristic  and  Goldsboro  has  profited 
thereby  in  public  improvements.  He  has  been 
interested  with  others  in  developing  the  city  in 
many  directions,  in  furthering  installation  of 
superior  public  utilities  and  in  making  improve- 
ments which  will  be  lasting.  He  has  served  in 
uumerous  public  capacities  in  the  city  and  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  public  works  and  was 
the  first  chairman  of  the  public  library  board. 

Mr.  Norwood  was  married  June  10,  1887,  to  Miss  ' 
Louisa  Stevens  Hart,  of  Hartsville,  South  Caro- 
lina and  they  have  the  following  children:  Lou 
Wilkins,  Thomas  Hart,  Evan  Wilkins,  George 
Mcintosh,  Mary  Law,  John  Louie  Hart  and 
Charles  Stevens.  Mr.  Norwood  and  family  are 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  and  are  in- 
terested in  its  various  avenues  of  benevolence. 
They  are  pleasantly  known  in  the  city  's  social  life 
and  Mr.  Norwood  belongs  to  the  Goldsboro  Coun- 
try Club.  He  retains  membership  in  his  old  college 
society,  the  Kappa  Alpha,  and  he  belongs  also 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Frank  Wood.  Eastern  Carolina  owes  much  to 
such  sturdy  old  families  as  the  one  bearing  the 
name  of  Wood,  a  name  that  has  been  held  in 
honor  and  respect  in  Chowan  County  for  genera- 
tions. Attracted  to  this  region  because  of  its 
accessibility  and  its  evident  great  natural  re- 
sources, the  Wood  family  became  largely  inter- 
ested in  agriculture  and  fishing,  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  these  industries  laid  the  foundation 
of  both  family  and  community  wealth.  They  still 
form  a  firm  base  on  which  to  build,  and  the 
name  is  still  prominently  associated  with  these 
interests  in  Chowan  County. 

Frank  Wood,  one  of  Edenton  's  representative 
men,  was  born  at  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  June 
7,  1858.  His  parents  were  Edward  and  Caroline 
(Gilliam)  Wood,  the  former  of  whom  died  No- 
vember 28,  1872.  He  had  been  a  planter  and  oc- 
cupied a  prominent  place  in  the  affairs  of  this 
city  and  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  Episcopal 
Church. 

During  the  early  boyhood  Mr.  Wood  was  in- 
structed at  home,  but  after  the  cloud  of  war  had 
been  lifted,  entered  Edenton  Academy,  which  has 
always  been  admirably  conducted,  and  after  com- 
pleting a  course  there  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father 
he  succeeded  to  his  inteiests  and  continues  the 
same,  as  a  keen  business  man  carrying  on  his  in- 
dustries in  a  modern,  systematic  and  efficient 
manner.  When  the  project  was  first  considered 
of  founding  the  industry  now  represented  by  the 
Edenton  Cotton  Mill  Company,  Mr.  Wood  was 
one  of  the  far-sighted  business  men  first  inter- 
ested and  became  the  president  of  the  company 
and  has  directed  its  business  policy  ever  since. 
He  has  also  greatly  assisted  other  local  organi- 
zations, through  both  capital  and  encouragement, 
to  secure  a  sound  foundation,  this  being  particu- 
larly true  of  the  Edenton  Peanut  Company  and 
the  Chowan  Cotton  Oil  &  Fertilizer  Company.    He 


is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Eden- 
ton. 

Mr.  Wood  was  married  November  11,  1886,  to 
Miss  Bebecca  Anderson  Collins,  of  Hillsboro, 
North  Carolina,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Maj.  George 
Pompelli  and  Anne  Baffin  (Cameron)  Collins.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wood  have  two  children:  George  Col- 
lins, who  became  a  farmer,  volunteered  in  the 
aviation  service  in  1917  and  is  now  in  training 
at  Austin,  Texas,  and  Bebecca  Bennehan,  who 
resides  with  her  parents.  The  family  is  promi- 
nent socially.  They  belong  to  the  Episcopal 
Church,  in  which  Mr.  Wood  fills  the  office  of  sen- 
ior warden. 

In  public  affairs  as  well  as  in  business  Mr. 
Wood  has  taken  an  active  and  honorable  part, 
serving  for  many  years  as  a  county  commissioner 
and  as  chairman  of  the  board  since  1892.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  and  demonstrates  his  interest  in  many 
ways.  For  six  years  Mr.  Wood  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  A.  &  M.  College,  and 
for  the  past  fifteen  years  has  been  a  trustee  of 
St.   Mary 's  School,   Baleigh,   North   Carolina. 

Julian  Wood.  Banking,  farming  and  fishing 
largely  engage  the  attention  of  one  of  Edenton 's 
best  known  and  most  substantial  citizens,  Julian 
Wood,  who  is  president  of  the  Bank  of  Edenton, 
and  whose  additional  interests  identify  him  with 
many  of  the  important  enterprises  of  Chowan 
County. 

Julian  Wood  was  born  at  Edenton,  North  Caro- 
lina, June  27,  1863.  His  parents  were  Edward 
and  Caroline  Moore  (Gilliam)  Wood.  His  father, 
who  died  in  November,  1872,  had  owned  much 
■  productive  land  in  this  section  and  valuable  fish- 
ing rights. 

From  the  local  schools  Mr.  Wood  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  in  1884,  afterward  at- 
tending Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore.  He 
completed  his  law  course  in  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1886.  He 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  two 
years  at  Edenton,  and  had  not  other  opportunities 
for  a  more  active  business  career  opened  his  thor- 
ough education  and  natural  gifts  would  undoubt- 
edly have  won  him  substantial  professional  honors. 

Mr.  Wood,  however,  turned  his  talents  in  an- 
other direction,  taking  over  fishing  interests  that 
had  become  of  great  value,  and  farms  that  needed 
intelligent,  scientific  management  to  bring  them 
to  their  extreme  of  production.  In  some  sections 
of  the  United  States  an  owner  will  be  proud  of 
a  ' '  farm ' '  that  he  can  traverse  on  foot  in  a 
comparatively  short  time.  On  the  other  hand, 
Mr.  Wood  merely  considers  his  cultivated  estate 
of  700  acres  as  but  one  of  his  numerous  inter- 
ests. 

In  1894  Mr.  Wood  organized  the  Bank  of  Eden- 
ton and  has  been  its  president  ever  since,  a  care- 
ful, conservative  banker  who  has  the  confidence 
of  city  and  county.  The  prosperity  of  this  bank 
attests  this  feeling  of  security. 

Mr.  Wood  was  married  December  17,  1890,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Benbury  Badham.  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  C.  and  Sarah  (Paxtonl  Badham,  of  Eden- 
ton, where  Mr.  Badham  is  a  merchant.  Mr.  and 
Mrs,  Wood  have  seven  children,  namely:  Julian, 
Thomas  Badham,  Sarah  Louise,  James  Edward, 
Frank,  Elizabeth  Benbury  and  Mary  Badham.  The 
oldest  son,  Lieut.  Julian  Wood,  is  a  member 
of  Company  L,  One   Hundred   Nineteenth  United 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


263 


States  Infantry,  one  of  the  brave  American 
youths  upon  whom  rests  the  winning  of  the  World 
war. 

As  a  prominent  man  Mr.  Wood  has  100  calls 
made  continually  on  his  time  and  thus  finds  com- 
paratively little  leisure  for  either  recreation  or 
social  life,  but  he  has  never  failed  to  recog- 
nize his  responsibilities  in  the  line  of  philan- 
thropy and  not  only  as  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  but  otherwise  has  been  con- 
sistently and  continuously  helpful  ever  since  he 
reached  manhood. 

George  Herbert  Wright.  Though  the  men 
who  were  admitted  to  practice  law  in  1905  are 
still  considered  on  the  junior  side  of  the  profession 
in  point  of  years  of  service,  George  Herbert 
Wright  has  achieved  those  dignities  and  successes 
in  the  profession  which  constitute  all  the  success 
usually   associated    with   long  years   and   seniority. 

Mr.  Wright  is  one  of  the  prominent  members  of 
the  Asheville  Bar.  From  1908  to  1912  he  was 
associated  in  practice  with  J.  C.  Martin,  and  since 
then  with  the  firm  Martin,  Rollins  &  Wright.  The 
firm  handle  the  legal  business  for  the  Bankers 
Trust  &  Title  Insurance  Company,  and  Mr.  Wright 
has  the  additional  distinction  of  having  been  the 
first  person  appointed  under  the  auspices  of  the 
United  States  government  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  examining  titles  preparatory  to  the  pur- 
chase of  land  for  forestry  and  forest  reserve.  Mr. 
Wrieht  is  a  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Pack  Memorial  Association  of  Asheville,  is 
a  member  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  Bar  Association 
and  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Sigma  fraternity.  He  is 
an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Mr.  Wright  comes  of  an  old  Xorth  Carolina 
family  and  was  born  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  April 
14,  1884,  son  of  .Tames  Oliver  and  Katherine 
(Espy)  Wright.  His  father  was  born  in  Xorth 
Carolina  and  being  a  civil  engineer  by  profession 
had  work  which  required  his  presence  and  the 
residence  of  his  family  in  various  cities  and 
states.  As  a  result  George  Herbert  Wright 
acquired  his  public  school  education  in  Indiana 
and  in  Chicago,  also  at  Xew  Orleans,  and  grad- 
uated Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Tulane  University 
at  Xew  Orleans  in  1903.  In  his  early  years  he 
was  also  a  school  teacher,  and  studied  law  in  the 
intervals  of  this  work,  being  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1905. 

June  18,  1910.  Mr.  Wright  married  Irene  Gill- 
iam of  Asheville.  They  have  three  children : 
Katherine  Louise,  Ada  Virginia  and  Irene  Gilliam. 

Hon.  John  Gilbert  Shaw.  Thirty  years  of 
active  practice  as  a  member  of  the  Fayetteville  bar 
have  sufficed  to  give  John  Gilbert  Shaw  a  position 
of  front  rank  among  Xorth  Carolina  lawyers. 
Enviable  as  have  been  his  achievements  in  the  law, 
his  interests  and  activities  have  been  by  no  means 
confined  to  one  profession.  Mr.-  Shaw  has  taken 
a  dignified  and  useful  part  in  the  public  affiairs 
of  the  state,  and  at  one  time  represented  Xorth 
Carolina  in  Congress.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  a  constructive  factor  in  the  Cape  Fear  dis- 
trict of  the  state,  has  identified  himself  officially 
with  both  its  industrial  and  civic  life,  and  has 
also  done  his  share  toward  keeping  alive  the  tradi- 
tions and  the  spirit  of  the  fine  old  Scotch  settlers 
who  more  than  any  other  class  influenced  the 
development  of  Cumberland  County.  Mr.  Shaw 
has  marked  literary  talents,  and   for   one  who  has 


been  so  successful  his  range  of  interests  is  un- 
usual. 

Mr.  Shaw  was  born  near  Fayetteville  in  Cumber- 
land County  in  1859,  a  son  of  Duncan  and  Cather- 
ine (Gillis)  Shaw.  On  both  sides  he  represents 
the  sturdy  Scotch  element  that  gave  to  the  early 
settlements  along  Cape  Fear  their  most  distinctive 
characteristics.  The  different  branches  of  the  Shaw 
family  in  Xorth  Carolina  have  always  produced 
strong  men  and  high  thinking  and  noble  acting 
citizens.  Mr.  Shaw 's  paternal  grandfather,  Gil- 
bert Shaw,  was  born  on  the  Isle  of  Skye,  Scotland, 
and  came  to  Xorth  Carolina  in  1796.  He  landed 
at  Wilmington  and  came  up  the  Cape  Fear  River 
to  Cumberland  County,  where  the  Scotch  people 
had  been  prominent  for  many  years.  Through  his 
paternal  grandmother  Mr.  Shaw  is  a  great-grand- 
son of  Col.  John  Ray.  Colonel  Ray  was  a  notable 
Xorth  Carolina  Scotchman,  and  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war  period  he  was  on  the  Tory  side.  Mr. 
Shaw 's  ancestors  in  the  Revolution  were  divided 
among  the  Whigs  and  Tories.  Mr.  Shaw's 
father  was  born  in  Cumberland  County  and  spent 
all  his  life  there  as  a  prosperous  planter.  The 
maternal  grandfather,  Col.  David  Gillis,  commanded 
a  regiment  under  the  American  flag  at  the  battle 
of  Xew  Orleans  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812. 
The  Gillises  were  also  of  Scotch  origin  and  early 
settlers  in  Xorth  Carolina. 

John  Gilbert  Shaw  as  a  boy  had  only  the 
advantages  of  the  local  schools  of  Cumberland 
County.  He  is  largely  the  product  of  his  own 
exertions  and  ambitions  in  life,  and  he  studied 
law  at  home  and  in  1887  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Fayetteville.  He  has  been  in  practice  in  that 
city  ever  since,  and  many  years  ago  earned  a 
rightful  place  among  Xorth  Carolina 's  ablest 
lawyers.  Through  his  profession  and  other  enter- 
prise he  has  become  financially  independent.  He 
might  be  classed  as  a  farmer  as  well  as  a  lawyer. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  has  done  farming  on 
a  large  scale  in  Fayette  County.  His  plantation 
of  a  thousand  acres  is  situated  three  miles  west 
of  Fayetteville.  It  makes  a  splendid  country 
home,  and  it  is  also  the  center  of  a  varied  industry. 
The  farm  contains  saw  mill,  grist  mill,  cotton  gin 
and  all  equipment  and  facilities  for  the  systematic 
and  efficient  production  of  its  varied  resources. 
Mr.  Shaw  has  at  different  times  been  connected 
with  the  building  of  the  principal  cotton  mills  in 
Fayetteville  and  was  president  of  one  of  the  mills. 

The  public  spirit  he  has  displayed  in  his  home 
community  has  at  different  times  taken  on  a  larger 
range  and  has  brought  him  prominently  into  state 
politics.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture during  the  sessions  of  1887  and  1889,  and  for 
a  long  term  of  years  was  county  attorney  of 
Cumberland  County.  In  1892  he  was  democratic 
presidential  elector  from  Xorth  Carolina  and  helped 
make  Grover  Cleveland  the  President  for  his  second 
term.  The  culmination  of  his  political  career 
came  in  the  year  of .  confusion  and  political  ex- 
tremity in  Xorth  Carolina  in  1894.  He  was  given 
the  regular  democratic  nomination  for  Congress 
and  was  elected  after  a  contest  which  was  perhaps 
characteristic  of  the  violent  partisanship  exhibited 
in  Xorth  Carolina  during  that  year.  He  was  one 
of  the  two  democratic  congressmen  elected  by 
Xorth  Carolina  in  1894.  His  one  term  in  Con- 
gress he  made  a  source  of  distinctive  benefit  and 
influence  to  the  country  at  large  and  to  his  home 
state.  The  great  populist  upheaval  which  had 
been    progressing    in    national    affairs    for    some 


266 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


years  came  to  its  climax  in  North  Carolina  in 
1894,  and  the  populist-fusion  wave  almost  wrecked 
the  democratic  party.  All  those  familiar  with  the 
political  history  of  North  Carolina  recall  the  vio- 
lent antagonism  and  bitterness  of  that  campaign. 
Mr.  Shaw  while  campaigning  had  many  sensa- 
tional experiences,  and  on  two  occasions  the 
speaker's  stand  from  which  he  was  speaking  was 
torn  down. 

Mr.  Shaw  is  a  reader,  a  student,  a  writer  and 
a  man  of  broad  intellectual  tastes.  His  literary 
interests  have  been  largely  concentrated  in  Scotch 
history  and  literature  and  with  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  history  of  the  Scotch  settlements  in 
Cumberland  County  and  the  Cape  Fear  section. 
He  has  interpreted  some  articles  that  have  cleared 
up  historical  matters  on  that  subject,  and  is 
considered  one  of  the  best  informed  authorities  on 
the  subject.  Mr.  Shaw  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  and  belongs  to  a  number  of  civic 
and  social   organizations. 

His  family  consists  of  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren. Mrs.  Shaw  before  her  marriage  was  Miss 
Lizzie  A.  McPherson,  daughter  of  Capt.  John 
Alexander  McPherson  of  Cumberland  County. 
The  four  children,  Duncan,  John  Alexander,  Gilbert 
and  Sarah,  are  young  people  of  great  promise  and 
have  made  rather  interesting  records  as  students. 
Duncan  is  a  graduate  of  the  class  of  1917  at 
Davidson  College.  John  Alexander  graduated  from 
Davidson  College  with  the  class  of  1918  and  was 
one  of  the  stars  of  his  school 's  most  notable  foot 
ball  team.  Both  Duncan  and  John  Alexander  are 
now  in  the  United  States  Army.  Gilbert  is  attend- 
ing the  Fayetteville  High  school. 

Prof.  John  Henry  Allen.  A  man  of  scholarly 
attainments  and  much  force  of  character,  Prof. 
John  Henry  Allen  is  widely  and  favorably  known 
as  an  efficient  and  progressive  educator,  and  as 
superintendent  of  the  Surry  County  schools  is 
carrying  on  a  highly  appreciated  and  satisfactory 
work.  He  was  born  on  a  plantation  adjoining  East 
Bend,  in  Yadkin  County,  a  son  of  William  Allen. 
His  grandfather,  John  Henry  Allen,  was  born  and 
reared  in  Ireland,  and  was  the  only  member  of  the 
parental  household  to  immigrate  to  the  United 
States.  He  located  first  in  New  Hanover  County, 
North  Carolina,  but  late  in  life  moved  to  Yadkin 
County,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  years.  His 
wife  bore  him  seven  children,  as  follows :  John ; 
James;  Elisha;  William;  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Lemuel  Fleming:;  Nancy  became  the  wife  of  John 
Norman :  and  Mittie,  who  married  a  Mr.  Taylor. 

Born  in  New  Hanover  County,  North  Carolina, 
William  Allen  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  as  a  young  man  migrated  to  Yadkin 
County,  where  the  opportunities  for  making  a 
living  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil  were  supposed  to  be 
greater.  Buying  land  in  East  Bend  Township,  he 
improved  a  good  plantation,  and  was  there  pleas- 
antly engaged  in  general  farming  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  passing  away  in  1906.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  was  excused  from  military  duty  on  account 
of  phvsical  disability. 

William  Allen  married  Faith  Wooten,  who  was 
born  in  Forbush  Township,  Yadkin  County.  Her 
father  was  a  farmer  and  miller,  owning  and  op- 
erating a  mill  on  Forbush  Creek.  Mrs.  William 
Allen  preceded  her  husband  to  the  better  world, 
dying  in  1904.  She  was  the  mother  of  ei"ht  chil- 
dren, namely:  John  Henry;  Thomas  Monroe; 
James;  Augustus;  Solomon  Gray;  Elizabeth; 
Florence;  and  Rosa. 


As  a  boy  John  Henry  Allen  attended  the  schools 
of  his  native  district,  later  completing  his  studies 
at  the  Union  High  School,  in  East  Bend.  Fitted 
for  a  professional  career,  he  taught  one  term  in 
Fall  Creek  Township,  and  subsequently  had  charge 
of  schools  in  Rockford  Centre,  Siloam  and  Dobson, 
in  each  place  meeting  with  undisputed  success. 
Professor  Allen  was  elected  superintendent  of  the 
schools  in  Yadkin  County  and  served  faithfully  for 
four  years  in  that  capacity.  In  1901  he  accepted 
the  superintendency  of  the  Surry  County  schools, 
and  held  the  position  until  1910,  when  he  refused 
a  re-election,  preferring  rather  to  become  principal 
and  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Elkin. 
Two  years  later,  however,  the  Professor  was  again 
chosen  by  the  people  as  superintendent  of  the 
schools  in  Surry  County,  and  has  served  con- 
tinuously since.  In  the  responsible  position  he 
assumed,  Professor  Allen  has  proved  himself  com- 
petent both  as  to  scholarship  and  executive  ability, 
the  schools  of  the  county  having  been  greatly  im- 
proved, while  in  Westfield,  Bannertown  and  White 
Plains  new  schools  buildings  have  been  erected. 

On  October  23,  1883,  Professor  Allen  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  J.  Castevens,  who  was 
born  in  Liberty  Township,  Yadkin  County,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Hill)  Caste- 
vens. Five  children  have  blessed  their  union, 
namely:  Ernest,  Faith  Elizabeth,  William  Marion, 
Linden,  and  James  Henry. 

Professor  and  Mrs.  Allen  are  valued  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in  which 
he  is  chairman  of  its  board  of  stewards,  and  also 
a  member  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  annual 
conference.  Fraternally  the  professor  is  a  member 
of  Elkin  Lodge  No.  96.  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Order  of  Masons;  of  Elkin  Council,  Junior  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics;  of  Bryan  Lodge 
No.  157,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  and 
of  Elkin  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Marshall  Dilling.  From  a  boy  operative  in 
a  cotton  mill,  grown  to  the  full  stature  of  man- 
hood in  all  his  powers  and  capabilities,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-seven  Marshall  Dilling  is  carrying  some 
of  the  most  important  responsibilities  of  cotton 
manufacture  in  North  Carolina.  With  a  brief 
exception  he  has  spent  practically  all  his  career 
in  and  around  Gastonia,  and  the  people  of  that 
vicinity  take  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  recalling  his 
rise  from  a  humble  position  until  he  is  now  one 
of  the  men  who  dominate  the  industrial  life  of 
one  of  the  largest  cotton  mill  centers  in  the 
South. 

His  birth  occurred  in  1881,  in  what  is  now  the 
southwest  part  of  Chester  Place  in  Gastonia.  His 
parents  were  Alberry  and  Jane  (Hufstatler)  Dil- 
lincr.  His  father  was  also  born  near  Gastonia. 
and  his  bodv  now  rests  in  the  cemetery  east  of 
the  citv  within  100  yards  of  his  birthplace.  Al- 
berry Dillinff's  father  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
citizens  of  Gaston  Countv,  and  his  uncle,  Capt. 
F.  Dilling,  who  is  still  living  at  King's  Moun- 
tain, was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Town  of 
Gastonia,  Marshall  Dilling 's  mother  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  well  known  pioneer  family  of  Hufstet- 
lers  who  have  lived  in  Lincoln  and  Gaston  counties 
since  before  the  Revolution.  Many  people  in  this 
section  recall  the  late  Joseph  M.  Hufstetler,  a 
fine  old  gentleman  whose  home  was  near  Union 
Church  in  Gaston  County.  He  snent  his  four- 
score years  in  a  most  useful  and  ttorierht  life. 

Marshall  Dilling- 's  education  in  schools  was 
probably    less    important    as    a    real    training   for 


^^/'  ^a^d^x    )?[ .  /$ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


267 


life  than  the  industry  he  followed.  He  attended 
country  schools  near  Gastonia.  The  present 
graded  school  system  was  not  yet  in  existence. 
With  the  family  he  moved  to  the  Town  of  Gas- 
tonia when  he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  and  after 
that  gained  most  of  his  knowledge  by  study  at 
night  alone. 

Mr.  Dilling  is  just  old  enough  to  have  seen 
t lie  beginning  of  the  present  great  cotton  devel- 
opment at  Gastonia  and  vicinity.  As  a  boy  he 
worked  in  a  cotton  mill,  and  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  that  great  industry  ever  since.  He 
learned  cotton  milling  from  practically  every  view- 
point and  practically  every  position  in  the  serv- 
ice. Eagerness  to  learn,  to  work,  combined  with 
his  intelligence  and  ability,  have  been  responsi- 
ble for  his  many  promotions.  For  several  years 
he  was  superintendent  of  the  Avon  Mill  at  Gas- 
tonia. In  1911  he  went  to  Concord  and  became 
superintendent  of  the  Cabarrus  Cotton  Mill  there, 
one  of  a  number  of  mills  owned  and  operated 
by  that  prince  of  North  Carolina  cotton  manufac- 
turers, J.  W.  Cannon  of  Concord.  His  ability 
as  a  mill  superintendent  soon  brought  him  the 
absolute  confidence  and  esteem  of  Mr.  Cannon, 
and  after  about  three  months  he  was  entrusted 
by  him  with  charge  of  a  mill  at  Siluria,  Ala- 
bama. Mr.  Dilling  operated  the  Suliria  Mill  un- 
til October,  1917,  when  he  returned  to  his  old 
home,  Gastonia,  to  assume  still  more  important 
duties  here. 

In  the  summer  of  1917  the  A.  M.  Smyre  Manu- 
facturing Company  of  Gastonia  was  organized. 
This  company  soon  began  the  construction  of  a 
modern  cotton  mill  at  Ranlo,  four  miles  east  of 
Gastonia.  As  suprintendent  of  the  company 
Mr.  Dilling  took  active  charge  of  the  construction 
of  the  mill  and  the  installation  of  the  machinery, 
a  work  for  which  by  his  long  and  successful . ex- 
perience he  was  thoroughly  qualified.  The  mill 
construction  has  proceeded  rapidly,  and  opera- 
tions were  begun  about  the  first  of  the  year 
1918.  The  mill  has  an  exceptionally  fine  location, 
with  track  facilities  and  transportation  service 
over  both  the  Piedmont  &  Northern  and  the 
Southern  railways.  The  mill  started  with  an 
equipment  of  10,000  spindles,  and  its  manufacture 
is   fine    combed   yarns. 

A  great  host  of  friends  and  acquaintances  wel- 
comed Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dilling  back  to  Gastonia 
from  Alabama.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dilling  enjoy 
a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  community  anil 
are  leaders  in  social  affairs.  They  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  he  is 
affiliated  with  the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Clara  Smith, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Gastonia  and  before 
her  marriage  was  an  efficient  stenographer  in  the 
Gastonia  law  offices.  They  have  a  small  son, 
Marshall  Dilling,  Jr. 

Charles  Duffy  Koonce.  An  important  ele- 
ment in  any  community  is  its  professional  class, 
for  it  is  largely  made  up  of  men  of  scholarly 
acquirements,  necessary  factors  for  civic  pro- 
gress. Upon  professional  men  rest  many  responsi- 
bilities entirely  removed  from  their  private  affairs. 
They  are  looked  up  to  as  men  of  wider  vision  than 
the  ordinary,  every  day  citizen,  and  thus  they 
influence  affairs  of  public  importance  and  often 
the  lives  of  people  with  whom  they  never  had  ac- 
quaintance. The  pleasant  and  growing  city  of 
Cliadbourn,  North  Carolina,  has  reason  to  feel  some 
pride   in   the   representative   professional  men   who 


have  found  homes  and  honorable  careers  here,  and 
among  these  no  one  stands  higher  in  public  esteem 
than  Charles  Duffy  Koonce,  a  leader  of  the  bar 
and  formerly  county  Judge  in  Columbus  County. 

Charles  Duffy  Koonce  is  a  native  of  North 
Carolina  and  comes  of  old  and  substantial  families 
of  this  state.  He  was  born  in  Onslow  County, 
March  18,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Harriet  (Davis)  Koonce.  His  father  for  many 
years  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and 
became  a  man  of  such  ample  means  that  no 
restrictions  were  placed  on  the  son  in  his  ambi- 
tion to  thoroughly  equip  himself  for  the  career  in 
which  he  early  felt  his  interest  centering.  Under 
private  instruction  he  prepared  for  a  high  school 
course  at  Richlands  in  his  native  county,  from 
there  entering  the  Newbern  Collegiate  Institute. 
He  then  became  a  student  in  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  completed  his  professional 
course  in  the  law  department  of  Wake.  Forest 
College.  Following  his  admission  to  the  bar  on 
August  25,  1902,  Mr.  Koonce  came  to  Columbus 
County  and  entered  into  practice  at  Whiteville, 
bringing  to  the  tasks  of  his  profession  both  a 
natural  fitness  and  an  acquired  capacity.  Two 
years  later  Mr.  Koonce  came  to  Ghadbourne,  and 
here  has  maintained  his  residence  ever  since.  Prior 
to  entering  into  practice  and  before  taking  his 
final  course  in  law  Mr.  Koonce  had  taught  in  high 
sehools  in  Scotland  County,  being  located  for 
twelve  years  at  Gibson,  there  as  elsewhere  build- 
ing up  a  professional  reputation  together  with  a 
personal  one  that  is  evidenced  by  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  and  the  many  warm  friends 
he  has  in  an  unusually  wide  acquaintance. 

Not  only  has  he  been  recognized  as  an  able 
attorney,  but  he  has  been  honored  by  election  to 
the  bench  and  as  county  judge  served  Columbus 
County  faithfully  for  two  years,  his  record  show- 
ing great  judicial  capacity. 

Judge  Koonce  was  married  September  6,  1906, 
to  Mrs.  Etta  Hand,  who  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina, a  member  of  one  of  the  prominent  families 
of  the  Old  North  state.  They  have  two  children, 
Thelma  and  Euclid.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Koonce  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  they 
are  active  in  forwarding  many  of  its  benevolent 
movements.  Thev  occupv  a  place  also  in  the  city's 
social  life,  and  their  pleasant,  hospitable  fireside 
is  known  to  many  appreciative  friends. 

While  Judge  Koonce  has  necessarily,  because 
of  his  prominence,  interested  himself  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  in  politics,  he  has  never  been 
bigoted,  good  judgment,  wisdom  and  knowledge 
coming  from  experience,  directing  his  course  on 
all  occasions.  He  has,  at  times,  accepted  the 
responsibilities  of  office  otherwise  than  mentioned, 
and  for  eight  years  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Columbus  County  Board  of  Election,  served  for 
three  years  as  a  Member  of  Board  of  Education 
and  for  two  years  served  as  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court.  Highly  educated  himself  and  for  years 
identified  with  educational  activities,  he  is  deeply 
interested  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  public 
schools. 

William  Williams  Faison",  M.  D.  In  the  course 
of  n  long  professional  career  Doctor  Faison  of 
Goldsboro  lias  devoted  his  time  and  energies  with 
singular  fidelity  and  success  to  the  care  of  those 
dependent  upon  the  state  and  patients  at  the 
State  Hosnital  at  Goldsboro.  Doctor  Faison  be- 
came assistant  physician  at  the  State  Hospital  in 
Februarv,  188.i,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present 


268 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


has  been  identified  with  its  management  and  ad- 
ministration. In  1906  he  was  elected  superintend- 
ent. Much  of  the  good  done  by  this  institution 
and  much  of  the  credit  for  its  splendid  efficiency 
is  due  to  the  painstaking  zeal  and  professional 
ability   of  Doctor   Faison. 

He  was  born  in  Sampson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, at  Pleasant  Retreat,  August  16,  1854,  a  son 
of  William  Alexander  and  Hattie  Caroline  (Wil- 
liams) Faison.  His  father  was  a  successful 
planter.  Doctor  Faison  began  his  career  with  a 
liberal  and  broad  education,  acquired  in  the  Clinton 
Male  Academy,  the  Carolina  Military  Institute  and 
the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  M.  D.  in  March, 
1878.  Thus  his  professional  career  covers  almost 
forty  years.  He  practiced  privately  at  Goldsboro 
for  two  years,  then  for  two  years  was  located  in 
Cabarrus  County,  and  was  called  from  private 
practice  to  his  duties  in  the  State  Hospital  at 
Goldsboro. 

Doctor  Faison  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Psychological  Society,  and  his  work  and  experience 
have  enabled  him  to  contribute  much  to  the  per- 
manent knowledge  of  the  best  methods  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  insane.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Wayne 
County,  the  Southern  Medical  and  the  North  Caro- 
lina State  Medical  Societies  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  He  is  a  past  noble  grand 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is 
an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Goldsboro. 

Doctor  Faison  was  married  June  16,  1886,  to 
Miss  Susan  Virginia  Faison,  daughter  of  Col. 
Thomas  I.  Faison,  of  Sampson  County,  North 
Carolina.  They  have  three  sons,  all  now  established 
in  business  for  themselves.  Ralph  Ringold  is  con- 
nected with  a  large  manufacturing  industry  at 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut;  William  Alexander  is 
manager  of  the  Atlantic  Steel  Castings  Company 
at  Chester,  Pennsylvania.  Preston  King  is  in  the 
insurance  business  at  Goldsboro. 

William  Jasper  Christian,  as  a  soldier,  busi- 
ness man,  public  spirited  citizen  and  banker,  is  one 
of  the  oldest  and  best  known  of  Durham  's  citizens. 
The  Christian  family  were  pioneers  in  Durham 
County,  his  grandfather  having  located  on  lands  in 
this  vicinity  in  1790.  The  Christians  came  to 
North  Carolina  from  Virginia.  William  Jasper 
Christian  was  born  December  13,  1839,  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Trinity  College,  when  there  was 
practically  no  Durham,  no  business  houses,  and 
nothing  to  dignify  it  as  a  town  and  center  of  trade 
and  population.  Mr.  Christian  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
and  Martha  (Lynn)  Christian.  His  father  was  a 
substantial  farmer  for  many  years. 

William  J.  Christian  attended  some  of  the  early 
subscription  schools.  He  was  a  young  man  when 
the  war  came  on,  and  enlisting  in  Company  C  from 
Durham  was  assigned  to  service  in  the  Sixth  North 
Carolina  Infantry.  He  was  with  his  command  in 
its  various  marches  and  engagements  up  to  the 
battle  of  Rappahannock  River  on  December  17, 
1863,  where  he  was  captured.  From  that  time  un- 
til the  end  of  the  war  he  was  kept  a  prisoner,  being 
confined  principally  on  Johnson's  Island  in  Lake 
Erie.  He  was  released  and  arrived  home  on  June 
29,  1865.  Mr.  Christian  served  with  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant. 

Following  the  war  he  clerked  in  a  general  mer- 
chandise store  four  years  and  for  five  years  was 
with  the  firm  of  Rigsbee  &  Company.  He  early 
became  identified  with  local  polities  and  was  elected 
and   served   4V>   years   as   clerk   of   the   courts   of 


Durham  County,  in  1894  was  again  elected  and 
filled  the  office  until  1898.  For  two  years  he  op- 
erated a  grist  mill  five  miles  from  Durham,  but 
since  then  his  interests  have  been  chiefly  as  a 
banker.  He  became  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Durham,  which  he  is  now  serving  as  vice 
president.  In  1913  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Merchants'  Bank  and  immediately  increased  its 
capital  from  $25,000  to  $50,000,  and  in  January, 
1915,  the  capital  stock  was  made  $100,000.  It  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  managed  financial  insti- 
tutions of  Durham  County.  Mr.  Christian  erected 
for  the  exclusive  home  of  the  bank  a  splendid  stone 
structure  which  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  build- 
ings in  the  business  center.  Mr.  Christian  also 
owns  some  extensive  farm  lands  in  Durham  County. 
He  has  served  two  terms  as  mayor  of  the  city  and 
for  several  terms  was  elected  to  the  council.  His 
church  home  is  the  Missionary  Baptist. 

October  22,  1866,  more  than  half  a  century  ago, 
and  soon  after  he  left  the  army,  he  married  Louisa 
Gunter  of  Durham  County.  Six  children  were  born 
to  their  marriage :  Charles  B.  of  Durham ;  John 
A.,  a  railroad  engineer  of  Mobile,  Alabama; 
Thomas  B.,  who  conducts  a  laundry  at  Jackson- 
ville, Florida ;  William  J.,  Jr.,  of  Durham ;  Eunice 
M.,  wife  of  J.  C.  Wynn,  a  Durham  merchant;  and 
Emma  Lois. 

Donald  MacRackan,  of  Whiteville,  North  Caro- 
lina, has  been  an  active  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  bar  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  has 
made  his  efforts  count  for  most  in  service,  to 
himself  and  to  the  world  since  taking  up  the  law. 

Nearly  his  entire  career  has  been  passed  within 
his  native  County  of  Columbus,  where  he  was  born 
June  5,  1866,  a  son  of  Robert  M.  and  Mary  (Mac- 
Millan)  MacRackan.  He  is  of  Scotch  descent  on 
both  sides.  His  father,  who  was  born  at  Fayctte- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  followed  farming  as  his 
basic  pursuit  and  at  one  time  represented  Bruns- 
wick County  in  the   State  Legislature. 

Donald  MacRackan  attended  the  public  schools 
and  Wake  Forest  College,  and  completed  his  legal 
education  in  the  law  school  conducted  by  Dick  & 
Dillard  at  Greensboro,  being  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1897.  Since  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  has 
been   engaged    in   practice    at    Whiteville. 

Mr.  MacRackan  has  represented  his  home  con- 
stituency, being  a  member  of  the  State  Senate 
in  1915,  and  of  the  Lower  House  in  1907  and 
again  in  1917,  and  in  that  body  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  corporation  committee,  public  service  cor- 
poration committee,  committee  on  salaries  and 
fees,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  and  a  member 
of  many  other  important  committees  in  1907,  and 
in  1917  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, of  the  Masonic  Order,  and  is  identified 
with  the  Baptist  Church,  and  has  served  as  trustee 
of  its  missionary  organization. 

On  December  12,  1890,  Mr.  MacRackan  married 
Ada  Keithan,  a  native  of  Bladen  County,  North 
Carolina.     They  have  one  daughter,  Ada  Amanda. 

John  Thomas  Alderman,  who  filled  the  in- 
terim office  of  superintendent  of  the  State  School 
for  the  Blind  and  Deaf  at  Raleigh  during  1918, 
has  given  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  the  cause 
of  North  Carolina  education.  He  is  a  member  of 
a  family  of  scholars  and  men  of  distinction  in 
varidkis   fields. 

John  Thomas  Alderman,  whose  home  for  many 
years  has  been  at  Henderson,  Nor'h  Carolina,  was 


k. 


vibzccajiif  ^2cmJCa.(sJcA^. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


269 


born  at  Saleniburg  in  Sampson  County  June  26, 
1853,  son  of  Rev.  A.  B.  and  Pennie  E.  (Howard) 
Alderman. 

A  brief  record  of  Mr.  Alderman 's  ancestry  in- 
dicates that  he  comes  naturally  by  his  profession 
and  the  talents  which  have  brought  him  high 
and  honorable  station  in  life.  John  Alderman,  of 
Ipswich,  England,  landed  in  Massachusetts  in 
1635  and  settled  at  Dorchester.  Various  branches 
of  the  Alderman  family  in  America  trace  their 
descent  from  these  early  settlers  in  New  Eng- 
land. In  England  they  were  of  the  landed  gen- 
try. William  Alderman  moved  from  Massachu- 
setts to  Connecticut  in  1670.  In  1679  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Case,  daughter  of  John  Case,  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  Connecticut.  Their  son,  Thomas  Alder- 
man, of  the  third  generation,  was  born  January 
11,  1683.  In  1702  Thomas  married  Mary  Sea- 
grove  in  East  Hampton,  Long  Island.  From  there 
they  removed  to  Cohansey  Precinct  in  Salem 
County,  New  Jersey.  In  1708  he  and  his  wife 
signed  the  constitution  at  the  organization  of  a 
Presbyterian  Church  in  that  vicinity.  Thomas 
Alderman  died  August  15,  1715,  leaving  several 
children:  Thomas,  Mary,  William  and  Daniel. 
Daniel,  the  youngest  of  these,  was  the  great-great- 
grandfather of  John  Thomas  Alderman  of  Hen- 
derson. 

About  1740  Daniel  Alderman  married  Abigail 
Harris.  They  had  three  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. The  sons  were  John,  Daniel  and  David,  all 
of  whom  have  descendants  in  North  Carolina  and 
states  farther  south.  Daniel,  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier, was  born  in  1748.  He  was  the  direct  an- 
cestor of  Dr.  E.  A.  Alderman,  now  president  of 
the  University  of  Virginia.  David  was  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Aldermans  who  now  live  in  Greens- 
boro, North  Carolina,  and  in  many  parts  of 
Georgia  and  Florida.  John  Alderman,  great- 
grandfather of  John  Thomas,  was  born  in  1742 
and  married  Mary  Cashwell.  These  sous,  with  their 
father,  Daniel  Alderman,  left  Cohansey,  New 
Jersey,  in  1755  and  removed  to  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina,  thence  going  to  what  is  now  Duplin 
County,  where  they  permanently  loeated  and  where 
succeeding  generations  of  the  Aldermans  have 
lived. 

The  grandfather  of  John  T.  Alderman  was 
John  Alderman,  born  in  1780,  whose  son,  Rev. 
A.  B.  Alderman,  was  born  and  reared  in  Duplin 
County.  A.  B.  Alderman  was  a  student  in  Wake- 
Forest  College,  and  spent  his  active  life  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Sampson  and 
adjoining  counties. 

Reverend  Mr.  Alderman  married  Pennie  E.  How- 
ard in  1851,  who  was  born  in  Sampson  County 
in  1835,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Pennie  (Cooper) 
Howard.  Pennie  Cooper  was  a  daughter  of  Rev. 
Fleet  Cooper,  whose  signature  to  the  ' '  resolves ' ' 
gives  him  a  special  interest  in  Revolutionary  his- 
tory. The  mother  of  Thomas  Howard  was  a 
daughter  of  Capt.  John  Williams,  who  was  a 
captain  in  the  State  Militia  in  the  Revolutionary 
war. 

Thus  John  Thomas  Alderman  did  not  have  to 
go  outside  his  own  family  record  to  find  men  and 
women  of  distinction  and  high  character  as  his 
early  ideals.  Most  of  his  preparatory  education 
was  obtained  at  home  under  the  direction  of  his 
father  and  mother.  He  began  teaching  as  early 
as  1873  in  a  local  school.  He  received  his  degree 
and  was  graduated  from  Wake  Forest  College  in 
1880.     After  that  he  taught  at  Salemburg  in  his 


native  town,  and  then  for  ten  years  conducted 
i'orK  Academy  in  Davie  County.  For  eight  years 
of  tnat  period  lie  was  county  superintendent  of 
public  instruction.  In  1891  he  removed  to  Reids- 
vilie  and  had  charge  of  the  city  schools  as  su- 
perintendent until  1894. 

Mr.  Alderman  married  in  1894  Miss  Lillian 
Frances  Watson,  daughter  of  William  and  Lou 
Virginia  Watson,  of  Warren  County.  Mrs.  Alder- 
man has  for  years  been  prominent  in  the  literary 
and  civic  interests  of  the  state.  She  was  for  two 
years,  1905-1907,  president  of  the  State  Federa- 
tion of  Woman  's  Literary  Club  of  North  Carolina. 
She  is  descended  from  the  Wrights,  Gays,  and 
Nosworthys,  of  Eastern  Virginia,  and  she  is  also 
connected  with  the'  prominent  Bowling  family  of 
Virginia.  After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Alderman  moved  to  Columbus,  Georgia,  where 
Protessor  Alderman  was  principal  of  the  City 
High  School  until  1899.  He  was  then  called  to 
Henderson,  North  Carolina,  to  organize  the  graded 
schools  and  was  superintendent  of  the  city  schools 
there  until  1917.  This  rounded  out  a  period  of 
more  than  forty  years  of  educational  work.  Feel- 
ing the  strain  of  this  long  service  and  the  re- 
sults of  close  application,  he  retired  temporarily 
to  gain  a  much  needed  rest.  He  was  not  permit- 
ted to  enjoy  his  vacation  long.  Upon  the  death 
of  Dr.  J.  E.  Ray,  the  beloved  superintendent  of 
the  State  School  for  the  Blind  at  Raleigh,  Pro- 
fessor Alderman,  who  had  for  many  years  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  this  school, 
was  prevailed  upon  to  take  charge  of  the  insti- 
tution, a  responsibility  he  assumed  in  January, 
1918,  with  the  understanding  that  a  permanent 
superintendent  would  be  chosen  in  the  summer 
of  the  same  year.  Professor  Alderman  still  re- 
tains his  home  at  Henderson. 

For  years  lie  has  been  one  of  the  leading  Ma- 
sons of  North  Carolina,  and  may  well  be  proud 
of  the  unstinted  honors  that  have  been  bestowed 
upon  him  in  that  order.  He  took  his  first  degrees 
in  Mingo  Lodge  in  Sampson  County  in  1874.  In 
1900  he  transferred  his  lodge  membership  to  Hen- 
derson Lodge,  where  he  served  as  worshipful  mas- 
ter for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  and 
by  successive  elevations  was  promoted  until  in 
1914  he  was  elected  grand  master  of  the  state. 
In  1911  he  was  grand  master  of  the  Grand  Coun- 
cil of  North  Carolina,  and  in  1913  was  chosen 
grand  high  priest  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masons  of 
the  state.  During  1912  he  served  as  president 
of  the  Order  of  High  Priesthood  of  North  Caro- 
lina. A  Shriner,  member  of  Soudan  Temple  at 
Newberu,  he  was  sent  as  a  representative  to  the 
Imperial  Shrine  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  1908. 
In  1914  he  attended  a  meeting  composed  of  all 
the  grand  masters  of  Masons  in  North  America, 
the  meeting  having  been  held  in  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Alderman  has  been  senior  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Henderson  since  1900.  In  the 
summer  of  1916  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
the  State  School  for  the  Blind  he  attended  an 
inspiring  gathering  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  com- 
prising representatives  of  institutions  for  the 
blind  from  all  the  states  and  provinces  in  North 
America. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alderman  have  two  children, 
Virginia  Gay,  wife  of  Mr.  J.  M.  Peace,  of  Hen- 
derson;   and  John  Thomas,   Jr. 

Edwin  A.  Alderman,  former  president  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  native  of  the 


270 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


state,  has  for  many  years  been  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  and  resourceful  educators  of 
the  South.  His  high  position  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  has  brought  to  his  work  not  merely  the 
formal  fruits  of  scholarship  but  a  breadth  of 
understanding,  a  sympathy,  and  an  administrative 
faculty  that  well  qualify  him  for  intellectual  lead- 
ership. 

He  was  born  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
May  15,  1861,  son  of  James  and  Susan  (Corbitt) 
Alderman.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  1882.  Honorary  degrees  have 
been  bestowed  upon  him  by  Tulane,  Johns  Hop- 
kins, Columbia,  Yale,  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Williams  College,  Harvard  University,  Dart- 
mouth and  Harvard. 

After  leaving  the  State  University  he  was  su- 
perintendent of  schools  at  Goldsboro  four  years, 
and  then  was  a  state  lecturer  on  education  four 
years.  He  was  also  professor  of  pedagogy  in  the 
State  Normal  at  Greenville  and  from  1892  to 
1896  was  professor  of  education  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  being  then  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  that  institution,  where  he  remained  un- 
til 1900.  He  was  president  of  Tulane  University 
at  New  Orleans  from  1900  to  1904,  and  since 
June  14,  1904,  has  been  president  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Virginia.  He  has  served  on  a  number 
of  educational  boards  and  his  career  has  been  of 
special  value  because  of  his  keen  and  interesting 
participation  in  a  broad  scope  of  affairs  outside 
his  immediate  duties  and  responsibilities.  Doc- 
tor Alderman  is  author  of  a  brief  history  of  North 
Carolina,  of  Southern  Idealism,  The  Spirit  of  the 
South,  Sectionalism  and  Nationality,  The  Grow- 
ing South,  and  a  number  of  other  books  and  con- 
tributions to  periodical  literature. 

In  1886  he  married  Emma  Graves,  of  Hillsboro, 
North  Carolina,  who  died  in  1896.  February  11, 
1904,  he  married  Bessie  Green  Hearn,  of  New 
Orleans. 

Bynum  Hilliard  Sumner  is  head  of  the  well 
known  real  estate  and  brokerage  house  of  Ashe- 
ville,  B.  H.  Sumner  &  Son.  He  is  a  North  Caro- 
lina man  by  birth,  and  his  abilities  and  judgment 
have  been  fortified  by  extensive  experience  and 
travel  all  over  the  South.  Mr.  Sumner  was  born 
in  Rutherford  County,  North  Carolina,  July  23, 
1872,  son  of  Frank  Alexander  and  Mary  (Clarke) 
Sumner.  His  father  for*  many  years  was  in  the 
general  merchandise  business  at  Asheville.  The 
son  was  educated  in  the  private  school  of  Mary 
and  Ellen  Sawyer  at  Old  Fort,  North  Carolina, 
under  Professor  Morris  at  Spartansburg,  South 
Carolina,  and  in  Rutherford  College  and  Judson 
College  at  Hendersonville,  North  Carolina.  With 
this  thorough  and  liberal  education  Mr.  Sumner 
went  to  work,  and  for  several  years  was  a.  hotel 
clerk.  Afterwards,  until  1903,  he  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  dry  goods  business  at  Ashe- 
ville, and  from  1903  to  1915  was  traveling  sales- 
man, traveling  all  over  the  Southern  states,  doing 
an  excellent  business  for  his  firm  and  acquiring  an 
extensive  knowledge  of  the  people  and  conditions 
in  different  localities.  And  this  knowledge  and 
experience  he  has  utilized  in  many  ways,  since  in 
1915  he  established  himself  in  the  real  estate 
brokerage  business  at  Asheville. 

Mr.  Sumner  formerly  lived  at  Woolsey,  North 
Carolina,  and  was  mayor  of  that  town.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Asheville  Board  of  Trade,  of  the 


Central    Methodist    Episcopal    Church,    South,   and 
of   the   Travelers  Protective   Association. 

On  June  12,  1895,  Mr.  Sumner  married  Miss 
Annie  May  Reynolds,  daughter  of  Capt.  F.  S.  H. 
and  Katherine  (Baird)  Reynolds.  Mrs.  Sumner's 
father  Captain  Reynolds  lacked  only  a  year  of 
finishing  his  course  at  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College  at  Philadelphia  when  the  war  between  the 
states  broke  out.  He  immediately  left  school  and 
entered  the  army  and  served  all  through  that 
struggle  in  the  capacity  of  physician  and  surgeon. 
Later  he  engaged  in  farming  and  the  land  trading 
business  and  was  one  of  the  most  substantial 
operators  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sumner  have  four  children,  Theodore  Bynum, 
Mary  Katherine,  Ann  Louise  and  Alice  Reynolds. 
The  son  Theodore,  a  partner  in  his  father's  busi- 
ness, is  now  enrolled  as  a  soldier  in  the  National 
Army  with  the  Three  Hundred  and  Twenty-first 
Regiment. 

John  Richard  Barr  Adams,  M.  D.  Represent- 
ing a  family  that  has  been  known  by  its  services 
and  activities  in  Iredell  County  for  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half,  the  late  Dr.  John  Richard  Barr 
Adams  was  a  noted  country  practitioner  in  that 
section,  and  measured  by  all  human  standards 
was  one  of  the  great  and  good  men  of  his  gen- 
eration. 

The  Adams  family  was  established  in  what  is 
now  Iredell  County  in  1764.  What  has  usually 
been  called  in  American  school  books  the  French 
and  Indian  war  had  been  concluded  only  a  year 
before  the  Adams  family  came  to  North  Carolina. 
The  founder  of  the  name  was  James  Adams,  a 
native  of  the  north  of  Ireland.  Leaving  that 
country  in  1760,  after  a  voyage  of  seven  weeks  and 
three  days,  he  landed  at  Philadelphia  and  subse- 
quently moved  to  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  from 
there  to  Augusta  County,  Virginia.  Then  in  1764 
he  eame  to  old  Rowan,  now  Iredell  County,  North 
Carolina.  His  early  work  there  was  as  a  teacher. 
This  pioneer  had  a  son  also  named  James  Adams, 
who  was  the  father  of  Dr.  Richard  Barr  Adams. 
James  Adams,  second,  married  Amelia  Barr. 

John  Richard  Barr  Adams  was  born  April  7, 
1820,  in  what  was  then  known  as  Liberty  Neigh- 
borhood in  Sharpesburg  Township,  Iredell  County. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in 
Davidson  College,  entering  the  latter  institution 
in  1837,  the  second  year  after  it  was  founded. 
After  four  years  of  Davidson  he  went  to  Alabama, 
taught  school  near  Selma  and  also  began  reading 
medicine.  His  medical  education  was  finished  in 
the  University  of  New  York,  where  he  graduated  in 
1844. 

Returning  to  his  native  state  he  began  practice 
at  what  was  called  County  Line  at  the  eastern 
edge  of  Iredell  County,  and  in  1849  moved  to 
another  locality  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county, 
Cool  Spring.  Here  he  continued  his  work  as  a 
country  physician,  taking  long  rides  and  endur- 
ing all  the  hardships  and  trials  of  practice  until 
October,  1890.  Giving  up  his  profession,  he  re- 
moved to  Statesville,  where  he  died  June  9,  1901. 
He  had  practiced  medicine  forty-five  or  six  years, 
and  no  amount  of  statistics  could  properly  estimate 
the  value  of  his  services. 

He  was  also  active  in  civic  and  religious  mat- 
ters. In  1851-52  he  represented  Iredell  County  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  Early  in  life  he  united 
with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  1854  was 
elected  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Fifth  Creek  Presby- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


271 


terian  Church.  He  was  one  of  its  most  liberal 
contributors  and  stanch  supporters.  Outside  of  his 
profession  one  of  his  strongest  interests  was  the 
matter  of  local  history.  He  knew  personally  or  by 
his  researches  all  the  more  prominent  characters  of 
his  section  of  the  state  and  came  to  be  regarded  as 
a  storehouse  of  historical  wisdom. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Graeey,  who  died  in  1913,  was 
his  wife.  She  was  educated  at  the  famous  Salem 
Academy,  and  her  children,  of  whom  there  were 
nine,  seven  still  living,  knew  and  loved  her  as  one 
of  the  finest  types  of  womanhood  and  motherhood. 

The  Graeey  family  has  been  identified  with  this 
part  of  North  Carolina  even  longer  than  the 
Adamses,  since  the  year  1752.  It  was  founded  by 
Patrick  Graeey,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
who  brought  his  family  to  Xorth  Carolina  in 
1752,  locating  in  what  is  now  Iredell  County.  His 
son,  Capt.  Robert  Graeey,  grandfather  of  Mary 
Elizabeth,  was  a  gallant  officer  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  serving  with  the  rank  of  captain  in  the 
Xorth  Carolina  troops.  His  body  is  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  Old  Bethany  Church  north  of  States- 
ville.  Capt.  Robert  Graeey  was  born  and  reared 
at  Cool  Springs,  about  eleven  miles  east  of  States- 
ville. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Graeey  was  the  daughter  of 
James  Barnet  and  Clementine  (Hall)  Graeey.  Her 
mother  was  a  niece  of  the  famous  Dr.  James  Hall, 
reference  to  whom  is  made  in  a  sketch  of  the  Hall 
family  of   Iredell   County   found   on   other  pages. 

Minor  Revere  Adams,  M.  D.,  son  of  the  late 
Dr.  John  Richard  Barr  Adams  elsewhere  referred 
to,  was  born  at  Cool  Springs  in  Iredell  County  Oc- 
tober 14,  1854.  After  a  good  preliminary  educa- 
tion he  studied  medicine  in  the  University  of  Mary- 
land, graduating  in  1878.  His  post-graduate  work 
was  done  in  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College 
and  in  the  Xew  York  Polyclinic.  After  gradua- 
tion he  practiced  one  year  at  Cool  Springs,  for  two 
years  was  physician  for  the  Ore  Knob  Copper  Com- 
pany in  Ashe  County,  and  in  188-1  located  per- 
manently at  Statesville.  For  many  years  he  served 
as  superintendent  of  public  health  and  is  now  city 
physician.  He  has  been  vice  president  of  the 
Xorth  Carolina  State  Medical  Society,  is  now 
counselor  for  that  society  for  the  Tenth  District, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  County  Medical  Society 
and  the  American  Medical  Association.  In  busi- 
ness affairs  Doctor  Adams  is  a  director  of  the  First 
Xational  Bank  and  of  the  Statesville  Cotton  Mills. 
Like  his  father  and  other  ancestors  he  is  a  Presby- 
terian and  an  elder  in  his  home  church. 

Doctor  Adams  married  Miss  Lulu  M.  Rhyne. 
Her  father  was  the  late  Hugh  T.  Rhyne  of  Rhyne 
Station,  Mecklenburg  County.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Adams  have  two  children :  Sarah  Graeey  and  Minor 
Revere. 

George  D.  Elliot.  There  are,  doubtless,  among 
the  older  residents  of  Harnett  County  those  who 
remember  well  the  magnificent  estate,  the  home 
of  the  Elliots,  long  known  as  Ellerslie  Plantation 
and  can  recall  its  former  greatness  and  gracious 
hospitality.  There  many  of  the  Elliots  were  born, 
including  the  present  head  of  the  family,  George 
D.  Elliot,  an  extensive  and  successful  cotton 
planter  near  Linden,  and  the  destruction  of  this 
fine  property  during  the  dire  years  of  war  is  one 
of  the  unforgotten  calamities  of  the  time.  The 
Elliot  family  has  long  been  a  foremost  one  in 
Harnett  County  and  was  founded  here  by  George 


Elliot,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  George  D. 
Elliot. 

George  D.  Elliot  was  born  at  Ellerslie,  on  the 
Little  River,  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of 
Harnett  County,  Xorth  Carolina,  in  1851.  His 
parents  were  Col.  Alexander  and  Jane  (Evans) 
Elliot.  His  grandfather,  George  Elliot,  was  born 
in  Scotland,  in  1755,  and  came  to  the  American 
colonies  when  a  young  man,  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  settled  in  Harnett  County  at  the 
place  that  subsequently  was  known  so  long  and 
well  as  Ellerslie  Plantation.  He  was  a  son  of 
Henry  Elliot,  of  Peel,  an  estate  in  the  shire  of 
Dumfries.  The  Scotch  Elliots  trace  their  ancestry 
in  direct  line  to  an  Elliot  of  Xormandy,  who  was 
an  officer  of  distinguished  rank  under  William 
the  Conqueror,  who,  because  of  an  act  of  chivalry 
and  devotion  to  William,  on  the  occasion  of  that 
monarch 's  landing  on  English  soil  had  added  to  his 
coat  of  arms  ' '  Fortiter  et  reste. ' '  Another  mem- 
ber of  this  family  was  General  Elliot,  who  was 
the  defender  of  Gibraltar  during  the  four  years  of 
siege,  beginning  in  1782,  and  for  this  feat  of 
arms  was  created  Lord  Heatherfield.  Military 
prowess  marked  the  family  in  later  years  in 
America.  Henry  Elliot,  the  eldest  son  of  George 
Elliot,  mentioned  above,  served  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  his  son,  Alexander  Elliot,  held  a  com- 
mission in  the  Confederate  Army  during  the  war 
between  the  states  and  was  mortally  wounded 
while  leading  a  charge  in  battle. 

George  Elliot,  the  grandfather  of  George  D. 
Elliot,  after  settling  at  Ellerslie,  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  and  later  became  a  very  exten- 
sive planter  and  large  slave  owner.  His  enter- 
prise and  activities  yielded  him  fortune  and,  im- 
mersed as  he  was  in  large  affairs,  he  ever  demon- 
strated a  broad,  generous  and  liberal  spirit.  He 
spent  large  sums  in  educating  his  children.  In 
1790  he  married  Mary  Turner  and  they  had  eight 
children,  and  four  of  his  sons,  including  the  late 
Col.  Alexander  Elliot,  father  of  George  D.,  were 
educated  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
The  latter,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  lived 
with  his  widowed  mother  and  inherited  the  ances- 
tral home.  Colonel  Elliot  was  a  student,  a  scholar, 
a  man  of  genuine  culture,  and  his  home,  Ellerslie, 
reflected  in  its  atmosphere  the  refinements  that 
such  a  character  gives  to  surroundings.  For  many 
years  before  the  war  between  the  states  he  had 
been  a  colonel  in  the  Xorth  Carolina  state  militia. 
In  January,  18-47,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane 
Evans. 

Although  too  young  for  military  service  during 
the  war,  Mr.  Elliot,  because  of  his  robust  figure 
and  manly  appearance,  frequently  found  himself 
uncomfortably  conspicuous  when  the  Federal 
troops  were  on  their  war  march  through  Harnett 
County.  He  grew  up  under  hard  conditions  be- 
cause of  the  state  of  the  country  at  that  time, 
when  both  educational  and  industrial  opportunities 
were  largely  lacking.  More  credit,  therefore,  be- 
longs to  Mr.  Elliot  because  of  his  courage  and 
enterprise  in  accepting  circumstances  at  first  as 
they  were  and  changing  them  through  his  own 
efforts  as  rapidly  as  possible,  calling  to  his  assist- 
ance the  old  indomitable  spirit  of  his  ancestors. 
About  the  time  he  came  of  age,  he  took  eharge  of 
the  family  home,  which  he  had  assisted  to  re- 
habilitate, and  continued  to  live  there  until  1893. 

Mr.  Elliot  then  bought  land  about  ten  miles 
below  Ellerslie,  at  Little  River,  a  mile  and  a  half 
east    of    the    present    town    of    Linden,    Harnett 


272 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


County,  and  continued  to  buy  adjacent  tracts  and 
thus  built  up  a  line  plantation  that  now  contains 
about  650  acres.  He  named  the  new  home  Linden, 
and  from  his  place  the  town  lying  on  the  Raleigh 
&  Southport  Railroad  took  its  name.  In  addition 
to  Linden,  Mr.  Elliot  owns  other  farms  and  lands 
in  this  section.  He  has  become  one  of  the  most 
successful  cotton  planters  in  North  Carolina,  hav- 
ing had  cotton  experience  since  early  youth,  and 
thoroughly  understands  this  business  from  the 
planting  of  the  seed  to  the  marketing.  His  ex- 
perience covers  the  interval  between  the  time  when 
only  the  primitive  plow  was  thought  to  be  the  only 
necessary  tool  in  the  cotton  field,  on  down  to  the 
present  when  entirely  new  methods  are  in  vogue 
and  modern  tools  and  machinery  are  used  in 
cotton  cultivation.  Mr,  Elliot  is  a  practical  busi- 
ness man  and  has  systematized  his  industries 
according  to  rules  he  has  made  for  his  own  direc- 
tion and  has  found  them  highly  advantageous.  He 
never  sells  his  entire  yield  of  cotton  and  thus 
always  has  on  hand  a  considerable  stock  with 
which  to  take  advantage  of  a  favorable  market 
change. 

Mr.  Elliot  was  married  to  Miss  Cornelia  Mc- 
Neill, and  they  have  the  following  children:  Nellie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  E.  S.  Yarborough;  Alexander; 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  M.  London;  and 
George  Douglas,  Eunice,  Henry  and  Emily. 

Mrs.  Elliot  was  born  on  her  father's  planta- 
tion, Mill  Grove,  in  Harnett  County,  situated  about 
five  miles  above  Linden.  Her  parents  were  John 
and  Roxaua  (Worth)  McNeill,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  the  eldest  daughter  of  former  Governor  Jona- 
than Worth,  and  through,  this  connection  has 
kindred  in  many  of  the  historic  families  of  the 
state.  The  McNeills,  like  the  Elliots,  are  of  true 
Scotch  ancestry.  Her  grandfather,  known  as 
' '  Bed ' '  John  McNeill  as  a  distinguishing  name, 
was  an  extensive  land  owner  and  had  many  slaves. 
Her  father,  also  named  John,  was  designated 
"Pious"  John  McNeill,  because  of  his  religious 
principles  and  his  strict  adherence  to  them. 

Mr.  Elliot  erected  a  stately  mansion  at  Linden 
and  in  this  beautiful  home  old-time  hospitality 
prevails  and  kindred  and  friends  gladly  gather 
here. 

Charles  Oakley  Robinson.  Prominent  in  the 
younger  generation  of  successful  business  men  at 
Elizabeth  City,  North  Carolina,  is  Charles  Oakley 
Robinson,  known  all  through  Eastern  North  Car- 
olina in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  and  notion  trade. 
In  his  firm  grasp  of  business  problems  Mr.  Rob- 
inson has  proved  the  value  of  the  educated  young 
man  in  trade. 

Charles  0.  Robinson  was  born  at  Elizabeth  City, 
January  26,  1888,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  H.  and 
Mary  (Leigh)  Robinson.  His  father  has  been 
one  of  the  city  's  upbuilding  men  for  many  years, 
and  his  mother  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  and  ex- 
clusive families  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  afforded  both  social  and  edu- 
cational advantages  as  he  grew  to  manhood.  He 
was  a  student  in  a  military  school  for  some  years 
and  then  entered  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1910,  and 
shortly  afterward  entered  his  father 's  wholesale 
house,  which  has  long  been  operated  here  under 
the  style  of  The  C.  H.  Robinson  Company,  it  be- 
ing one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  wholesale  trade. 
Mr.  Robinson  has  thoroughly  identified  himself 
with  the  business  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  se- 
cure  the   confidence   of    his   fellow   merchants    and 


the  business  world  generally.  Additionally  he  is 
vice  president  of  the  Elizabeth  City  Cotton  Mills, 
is  a  director  of  the  Elizabeth  City  Knitting  Mills, 
the  First  National  Bank,  and  also  is  a  director  of 
the  Savings  Bank  &  Trust  Company,  of  Elizabeth 
City. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  married  November  11,  1913, 
to  Miss  Ivy  Blades,  of  Newbern,  North  Carolina. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  William  B.  Blades,  promi- 
nent in  the  lumber  industry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rob- 
inson have  two  children:  Charles  Oakley  and  Wil- 
liam Blades.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  attend  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  which  Mr.  Robinson  is  a  ves- 
tryman. He  is  prominent  in  Masonry,  a  Knight 
Templar,  and  belongs  also  to  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
Mr.  Robinson  is  also  an  Elk,  and  in  both  orders  is 
highly  regarded  because  of  his  honorable  princi- 
ples and  his   genial   and   agreeable   personality. 

Charles  Taylor  Rawls.  One  of  the  men  who 
have  contributed  largely  to  making  Asheville  a 
modern  city  is  Hon.  Charles  Taylor  Rawls,  who 
has  been  identified  with  many  important  interests 
here  for  the  last  thirty-five  years,  has  been  mayor 
of  the  city,  and  deserves  the  title  of  ' '  father  of 
the  water-works, ' '  bestowed  by  his  greatf ul  fellow 
citizens. 

Charles  Taylor  Rawls  was  born  at  Union  in 
Union  County,  South  Carolina,  August  23,  1854. 
His  parents  were  Dr.  Benjamin  F.  and  Mary 
(Rice)  Rawls,  the  former  of  whom  for  many 
years  was  a  prominent  physician  at  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  and  the  name  is  well  known  all 
over  the  state. 

After  careful  preparation  in  private  schools 
and  by  tutors  Charles  T.  Rawls  entered  Wofford 
College  and  continued  there  as  a  student  until  he 
was  graduated  in  1875,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  Application  to  the  study  of  law  followed 
and  in  1881  he  was  graduated  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  Vanderbilt  University,  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see, with  his  degree.  He  returned  then  to  Union, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
for  two  years  and  then,  in  1883,  came  to  Ashe- 
ville, and  this  was  an  equally  important  event  in 
his  life  and  that  of  the  city.  He  embarked  in  the 
real  estate  and  insurance  business  here  and  con- 
tinued it  as  an  individual  business  for  the  succeed- 
ing ten  years.  In  1893  he  associated  himself  with 
Judge  E.  J.  Ashton,  who  was  the  oldest  business 
man  in  this  line  in  the  city,  having  established  him- 
self here  in  real  estate  and  insurance  right  after 
the  close  of  the  war  between  the  states  in  1865. 
The  new  firm  soon  so  expanded  its  activities, 
largely  through  Mr.  Rawls '  progressive  methods, 
that  for  a  time  his  every  effort  was  required  in  its 
direction  and  adjustment  and  he  even  found  it 
necessary  to  resign  from  other  business  connec- 
tions, including  the  directorate  of  two  banks,  the 
American  National  and  the  Battery  Park  Banks, 
for  some  time  afterward  giving  his  entire  atten- 
tion  to   insurance. 

In  the  meanwhile,  because  of  his  demonstration 
of  public  spirit  and  proof  of  business  capacity, 
Mr.  Rawls  became  a  very  popular  citizen  and  he 
was  elected  mayor,  serving  in  that  office  from 
May,  1903,  until  May,  1905.  When  he  took  over 
the  office  it  was  with  the  intention  of  bringing 
municipal  affairs  to  a  thoroughly  well  organized 
business  basis,  and  as  a  beginning  he  determined 
to  settle  the  matter  during  his  administration  of 
public  utilities.  Delegating  the  work  to  no  one, 
Mayor  Rawls  went  himself  to  Raleigh  and  secured 
from  the   Legislature   the   passage   of  the   bill   to 


cp    Jtr^w^fcc*^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


273 


permit  the  installation  of  water-works  and  the 
present  admirable  system,  known  as  the  Gravity 
Water  Works,  was  duly  installed  and  now  pays 
to  the  city  the  handsome  sum  of  $60,000  annually. 
Other  public  improvements  of  great  importance 
to  the  health,  comfort  and  safety  of  the  city  came 
to  completion  during  his  administration.  Since 
retiring  from  public  office  to  find  time  to  devote 
to  his  large  business  interests,  Mr.  Rawls  has  neg- 
lected no  opportunity  to  advance  the  city 's 
interests  still  further,  lending  his  influence  to  all 
worthy  enterprises  and  affording  advice  founded 
on  experience.  He  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
Asheville    Board    of    Trade. 

Mr.  Rawls  was  married  October  3,  1909,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Spence  Rorison,  who  belongs  to  a 
prominent  old  family  of  Xorth  Carolina.  They 
have  one  son,  born  October  13,  1913,  who  has 
been  given  his  father 's  honored  name. 

As  a  prominent  and  representative  citizen, 
Mr.  Rawls  has  served  in  many  public  capacities,  on 
boards  and  commissions,  at  meetings  and  in  con- 
ventions, being  one  of  the  first  at  all  times  to 
head  relief  movements  in  times  of  public  calamity 
but,  at  the  same  time,  never  being  forgetful  of  the 
needs  of  the  benevolent  agencies  in  his  own  com- 
munity. Personally  Mr.  Rawls  is  very  companion- 
able and  is  valued  in  numerous  fraternal  bodies 
to  which  he  belongs  and  the  stranger  finds  that 
his  pride  in  Asheville  and  what  she  is  accomplish- 
ing, through  the  united  efforts  of  her  able  citi- 
zens, is  entirely  justifiable. 

Franklin"  McXeill.  By  a  large  and  varied 
practice  in  all  the  courts  of  Xorth  Carolina  during 
a  period  of  more  than  forty  years,  by  his  service 
in  various  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility, 
and  by  his  many  business  interests,  Franklin  Mc- 
Xeill would  readily  be  accepted  on  any  basis  of 
judgment  as  one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Xorth 
Carolina. 

He  was  born  in  Scotland  County,  Xorth  Carolina, 
January  4,  1850,  a  son  of  Maj.  John  and  Eliza- 
beth ( Buchanan  i  McXeill.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  planter.  The  son  was  reared  during 
the  troublous  times  of  the  Civil  war  decade,  but 
none  the  less  was  given  good  advantages  both  at 
home  and  in  school.  He  attended  Davidson  Col- 
lege two  years  and  then  studied  law  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia  and  under  Chief  Justice  R.  M. 
Pearson.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  and  since  then  has  seldom  allowed  any 
interests  to  interfere  with  his  private  practice,  ex- 
cept during  the  time  he  was  chairman  of  the  cor- 
poration commission.  He  practiced  for  some  years 
at  Lumberton,  later  at  Rockingham  in  Richmond 
Countv.  then  at  Wilmington,  and  since  January, 
1913,  'at  Raleigh. 

Mr.  McXeill  was  elected  in  1899  and  served  as 
chairman  of  the  corporation  commission  until  1913, 
and  for  two  terms,  eight  years,  he  held  the  office 
of  solicitor  of  the  Seventh  Judicial  District,  com- 
prising eisrht  counties.  He  was  elected  to  that 
office  in  1886.  He  has  long  been  one  of  the  lead- 
ing democrats  of  the  state.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Raleigh  and  is 
a  trustee  of  the  Peace  Institute. 

Aside  from  his  professional  interests  Mr.  Mc- 
Xeill has  kept  himself  in  close  touch  with  the  agri- 
cultural situation  in  his  native  state,  and  he  is 
the  owner  of  some  progressive  farms  in  Scotland, 
Wake  and  Cumberland  counties.  On  August  2, 
1882.  Mr.  McXeill  married  Miss  Jennie  Elliott,  of 
Cumberland  County. 
Vol.  v— 18 


Hon.  John  Edgar  Fowler.  A  lawyer  of  many 
prominent  connections  at  Clinton,  and  well  known 
over  the  state,  John  Edgar  Fowler  has  figured 
prominently  in  public  affairs,  is  a  former  Con- 
gressman, and  in  many  ways  has  used  his  influence 
for  the  good  of  the  community  of  Xorth  Carolina 
in  general. 

His  parents  were  farmers  in  Sampson  County 
ami  he  was  born  on  their  place  September  8, 
1866,  son  of  Miles  Batey  and  Mary  (Herring) 
Fowler.  Mr.  Fowler  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  the  Salem  High  School,  and  from  there 
entered  Wake  Forest  College.  After  his  literary 
course  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Xorth  Carolina,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1894.  In  twenty-three  years  he  has  built 
up  an  extensive  practice  at  Clinton,  and  his  suc- 
cessful work  in  connection  with  important  litiga- 
tion has  made  his  name  increasingly  known  over 
the  state. 

Mr.  Fowler  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State 
Senate  in  1895  and  served  one  term.  He  was 
elected  as  a  member  of  the  Fifty-fifth  Congress 
and  served  with  credit  in  that  body.  During  1905- 
06  he  was  a  member  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  House 
of  Representatives,-  and  outside  of  his  work  as  a 
legislator  he  has  done  much  for  the  benefit  of  other 
institutions.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  State  Xormal 
School  by  appointment  from  Governor  Carr  and 
is  a  former  president  of  the  Sampson  County  Fair 
Association.  In  1916  he  was  presidential  elector 
at  large  from  Xorth  Carolina.  He  is  member  of 
the  Xorth  Carolina  Bar  Association  and  the 
Masonic   Order. 

The  First  Xational  Bank  of  Gastonia  is  a 
financial  institution  that  has  been  maintained  and 
has  wrought  its  service  and  influence  into  the 
inner  fabric  of  the  life  and  industries  of  its  home 
city.  It  was  established  when  Gastonia  was  a 
humble  and  unpretentious  village,  and  it  has 
grown  with  the  expansion  of  its  environment  un- 
til the  bank  is  now  chief  among  the  institutions 
of  one  of  the  leading  cotton  manufacturing  cities 
of  Xorth  Carolina.  The  bank  has  proved  the  finan- 
cial bulwark  of  the  large  industries  that  surround 
it  and  at  the  same  time  has  given  its  service  and 
accommodation  without  discrimination  to  all  the 
people. 

It  is  one  of  the  strongest  banks  in  the  South, 
w-ith  a  capital  stock  of  $150,000,  surplus  of  $150,- 
000  and  deposits  aggregating  above  $1,500,000. 
Its  officers  and  directors  are  men  not  only  of 
financial  weight  and  importance  but  are  active, 
energetic  business  men  of  Gastonia,  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  commercial  and  industrial  affairs 
of  the  city  and  county.  There  is  no  dead  timber 
in  the  bank  and  its  personnel  and  resources  are 
as  substantial  as  the  structure  in  which  it  is 
housed.  The  president  of  the  bank  is  Mr.  L.  L. 
Jenkins,  the  vice  president  is  J.  Lee  Robinson, 
and  the  cashier  Mr.  Samuel  X.  Boyce.  Mr.  Boyce 
and  Mr.  J.  Lee  Robinson  are  the  active  managers 
of  the  institution  and  two  of  the  most  widely 
known   bankers  of  the  state. 

In  August,  1917,  the  First  Xational  Bank  moved 
into  its  new  home,  a  magnificent  seven  story 
office  building  on  Main  Avenue  adjoining  the  Fed- 
eral Building.  This  structure  is  a  splendid  ex- 
ample of  modern  commercial  architecture  and  mod- 
ern construction.  It  is  not  only  a  very  beautiful 
building  but  of  the  most  durable  and  substantial 
material.  As  the  most  imposing  piece  of  archi- 
tecture  in   Gastonia   and   one   of   the   finest    in   the 


274 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


state,  it  is  appropriate  to  tell  something  of  this 
building,  and  for  that  purpose  the  architects,  the 
firm  of  Wilson  &  Sompayrac  of  Columbia,  South 
Carolina,  have  furnished  data  from  which  the 
following  descriptive   paragraphs  are  taken. 

The  building,  occupying  a  lot  30  by  100  feet 
depth,  is  seven  stories  in  height,  of  very  simple 
lines,  with  chaste,  well  placed  detail,  and  while 
by  no  means  ornate  or  striking  fits  in  with  its 
environment  in  a  most  natural  and  pleasing  man- 
ner. The  base  is  of  white  granite,  the  first  story 
limestone,  and  the  upper  stories  of  fire  flashed 
buff  brick  with  terra  cotta  trimmings.  The  gen- 
eral color  scheme  is  one  of  quiet  harmony  within 
itself  and  with  its  surroundings  rather  than  of 
striking  contrast,  so  that  the  building  seems  to 
have  grown  on  this  spot  and  to  belong  there. 

There  is  a  full  basement  under  the  entire  build- 
ing. The  ground  floor  and  rear  mezzanine  are 
occupied  entirely  by  the  bank.  The  top  floor  is 
occupied  by  the  Gastonia  Commercial  Club,  while 
the  intermediate  floors  above  the  banking  room 
are  divided  into  handsome  offices. 

The  building  is  of  a  high  type  of  fireproof  con- 
struction, with  a  steel  skeleton  frame  thoroughly 
protected  with  masonry.  The  floor  and  roof  slabs 
are  of  reinforced  concrete  and  the  partitions  of 
gypsum  block  and  hollow  tile.  The  building  is 
also  protected  by  a  standpipe  connected  with  the 
city  mains  and  also  with  a  connection  for  steam 
fire  engine  in  the  street.  In  recognition  of  the 
high  class  construction  and  equipment,  a  lower 
insurance  rate  has  been  obtained  than  upon  any 
other  building  in  the  Carolinas.  The  plumbing 
and  sanitary  arrangements  are  of  the  highest 
class,  the  heating  is  by  steam  with  automatic  con- 
trol of  temperature,  and  the  illumination  is  by 
electricity,  chiefly  from   semi-indirect   fixtures. 

The  private  offices  of  the  bank  are  elaborately 
finished  in  beautifully  figured  mahogany  and  with 
polished  parquetry  floors.  The  directors '  room  on 
the  mezzanine  floor  has  the  walls  paneled  to  the 
full  height  in  mahogany,  a  deeply  paneled  plaster 
ceiling  and  polished  parquetry  floor.  This  room 
also  contains  a  large  open  fireplace,  with  dull  blue 
tile  facing  and  mahogany  mantel,  and  the  center 
of  this  room  is  occupied  by  a  massive  directors ' 
table  of  carved  mahogany. 

The  banking  room  is  of  the  full  width  of  the 
building  and  extends  from  the  entrance  vestibule 
and  elevators  to  a  depth  of  about  fifty  feet  and 
is  two  stories  in  height.  It  is  beautiful  and 
artistic  in  the  extreme.  The  floor  is  of  Tennessee 
marble  with  a  gray  field  and  deep  brown  border. 
The  walls  are  lined  to  a  height  of  sixteen  feet 
with  highly  polished  Famosa  marble,  finishing 
with  an  imposing  cornice.  The  bank  counter, 
check  desks  and  settees  are  of  the  same  material. 
Famosa  marble  is  of  a  soft  light  golden  brown 
tone,  very  richly  figured  and  takes  a  beautiful 
polish.  This  marble  comes  from  Germany  and 
has  been  used  in  this  country  only  in  the  most 
expensive  buildings.  The  bank  was  fortunate  in 
finding  in  New  York  just  enough  for  this  build- 
ing, and  no  more  will  be.  available  until  after  the 
war.  The  slabs  at  the  cashiers'  and  tellers'  win- 
dows are  made  of  a  rare  Belgium  marble  of  al- 
most black  tint,  there  being  plainly  visible  on 
the  surface  of  the  slabs  various  small  and  quaint 
outlines  of  stars,  quarter  moons  and  other  stel- 
lar objects.  How  Nature  provided  these  myster- 
ious designs  in  this  enduring  marble  cannot  be 
conjectured.  The  ceiling  is  of  vaulted  arches, 
beautifully  executed  in  Caen  stone.     In  one  of  the 


Caen  stone  wall  panels  opposite  the  entrance  and 
twenty  feet  above  the  floor  is  a  handsome  clock 
with  a  three-foot  dial  of  Greek  Skyros  marble 
and  hands  and  numerals  of  bronze.  The  bank 
screen  is  an  airy,  but  rich,  design  executed  in 
east  bronze  with  bevelled  plate  glass  panels.  The 
principal  lighting  of  this  room  is  indirect  from 
bulbs  and  reflectors  concealed  behind  the  cornice, 
but  there  are  six  elaborate  semi-direct  chandeliers, 
well  disposed  both  for  illumination  and  architec- 
tural effects. 

Immediately  back  of  the  banking  room  are  three 
vaults,  two  of  which  are  burglar  proof,  with  one 
and  a  half  inch  linings  of  five  ply  chrome  steel 
and  doors  twelve  inches  thick  with  combination 
and  time  locks.  The  money  vault  is  equipped 
with  heavy  steel  locks,  one  of  which  is  burglar 
proof,  and  the  safe  deposit  vault  with  500  steel 
lock  boxes  of  various  sizes.  The  approach  to 
the  bank  and  elevators  from  Main  Avenue  is 
through  a  handsome  revolving  door  of  bronze  and 
plate  glass  and  a  vestibule  elaborately  finished  in 
the  same  -rich  marble  as  that  in  the  banking 
room. 

Samuel  N.  Boyce,  cashier  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Gastonia,  and  active  manager  of 
the  institution  which  is  one  of  the  most  substan- 
tial of  its  kind  in  that  part  of  the  state,  has  for 
many  years  been  identified  with  business  affairs. 

He  was  born  in  Gaston  County  in  1865,  a  son 
of  Rev.  E.  E.  and  Rachel  (MeElwee)  Boyce.  His 
father,  who  died  in  1902,  was  a  lifelong  minister 
of  the  Associated  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church. 
Forty-three  years  of  his  ministry  were  given  to 
one  charge,  Pisgah  Church  in  Gaston  County. 
This  is  an  historic  church  and  the  oldest  in  Gas- 
ton County.  Reverend  Mr.  Boyce  was  a  member 
of  one  of  the  old  Scotch-Irish  families  of  Mecklen- 
burg County  and  was  born  in  that  county  near 
Charlotte,  but  from  early  youth  his  home  was  in 
Gaston  County.  He  was  educated  in  Washing- 
ton and  in  Jefferson  College  in  Virginia  and  en- 
tered the  ministry  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian Church  when  a  young  man.  Boyce 
Memorial  Church  at  King's  Mountain  was  named 
in  his  honor.  His  life  was  one  of  singular  purity 
of  character  and  of  utmost  devotion  to  his  fellow 
men  and  the  cause  of  religion.  He  ministered 
unto  others  with  a  consistency  of  purpose  and 
a  loftiness  of  ideal  that  made  him  one  of  the 
most  beloved  of  men.  And  while  his  life  belonged 
to  the  church  and  his  fellow  men,  it  is  remark- 
able, notwithstanding  the  meager  salaries  paid 
old  time  ministers,  that  he  reared  a  fine  family 
of  six  children  and  sent  four  of  them  through 
college. 

Samuel  N.  Boyce  acquired  most  of  his  educa- 
tion in  Captain  Bell 's  famous  military  school  at 
King's  Mountain.  On  le:  ving  school- he  took  up 
a  business  career  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Mauney 
Brothers  store  at  King's  Mountain,  and  later 
worked  in  a  similar  capacity  for  Brown  &  Wed- 
dington  Hardware  Company  at  Charlotte.  For 
two  years  he  was  connected  with  a  cotton  firm 
at  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  and  following  that 
he  took  charge  of  the  offices  of  the  McAden  Mills 
at  McAdenville  in  Gaston  County,  and  had  a 
responsible  part  in  that  industrial  institution  until 
after  eleven  years  he  was  called  into  the  service 
of  the  First  National  Bank  at  Gastonia.  He  en- 
tered this  bank  in  1900,  and  by  promotion  rose 
to  his  present  position  as  cashier  and  active  man- 
ager. 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


'ito 


Mr.  Boyce  is  married  and  he  and  his  wife  have 
a  family  of  children  in  wnom  they  can  properly 
take  much  pride.  Kathleen,  the  oldest,  is  the  wife 
of  P.  W.  Garland.  James  S.  Boyce,  the  oldest 
son,  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Na- 
tional Realty  Company.  Ruth  is  the  wife  of 
R.  G.  Rankin  and  Lucy  the  wife  of  C.  D.  Welch. 
The  youngest  son,  Capt.  E.  E.  Boyce,  twenty-one 
years  old,  is  with  the  National  Army  as  captain 
of  Field  Artillery  and  saw  active  service  on  the 
Mexican  border  before  entering  training  for  the 
present  World  war. 

Robert  Edgar  Currence.  Entirely  apart  from 
any  personal  interest  he  may  have  in  such  enter- 
prises except  that  general  prosperity  means  indi- 
vidual opportunity,  every  intelligent^  thinking, 
sensible  man  knows  well  that  closely  related  to  the 
financial  institutions  in  a  community  is  the  latter 's 
growth  and  development.  In  fact,  largely  on  the 
banking  facilities  rests  the  entire  fabric  of  com- 
mercial prosperity.  From  the  beginning  of  its 
history  Asheville  has  had  its  financial  institutions 
and  many  honorable  names  have  been  identified 
with  them  through  all  the  passing  years  and  age, 
and  solidity  still  claim  confidence.  But,  in  a 
rapidly  expanding  section  such  as  Asheville  has 
become  more  banks  are  needed  so  that  the  increas- 
ing volume  of  business  may  be  expedited,  and 
recognition  of  this  condition  led  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Southern  State  Bank,  of  which  Robert 
Edgar  Currence,  of  wide  banking  experience,  is 
president.     * 

Robert  Edgar  Currence  was  born  on  his  father 's 
estate  in  York  County,  South  Carolina,  January 
2,  1885.  His  parents  are  James  Franklin  and 
Lorenna  Bars  (Adams)  Currence.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  in  York  County  and  his  entrance 
into  business  was  as  a  clerk  in  a  railroad  office 
at  Gastonia,  North  Carolina.  Later  he  became 
identified  with  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company 
in  a  clerical  capacity  and  continued  with  that 
import-ant  business  organization  for  three  years. 
He  then  entered  the  First  National  Bank  of  Gas- 
tonia as  bookkeeper,  and  for  three  years  remained 
with  that  institution. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Currence  came  to  Asheville 
and  shortly  afterward  entered  the  American  Na- 
tional Bank  as  assistant  cashier,  in  which  capacity 
he  proved  an  efficient  ollicial  and  made  many 
friends  among  the  bank 's  patrons.  Having  a 
laudable  ambition,  however,  to  get  into  business 
for  himself,  and  recognizing  the  favorable  op- 
portunity then  offered  at  Asheville,  Mr.  Currence 
became  the  prime  mover  in  the  organization  of 
the  Southern  State  Bank  in  1014.  Of  this  insti- 
tution he  served  as  cashier  until  1916,  when  he 
was  elected  president.  Well  organized,  with  a 
large  amount  of  available  capital  interested  and 
most  efficiently  officered,  this  institution  already 
has  become  a  prominent  business  factor  and  is 
ranked  with  the  most  stable  financial  institutions 
in  the  state. 

Mr.  Currence  was  married  June  1,  1911,  to  Miss 
Civile  Smith,  who  was  born  at  Marion  in  Marion 
County,  South  Carolina,  belonging  to  an  old  and 
prominent  family  of  that  section.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Currence  have  four  children,  namely:  Robert 
Franklin,  Eugene  Edgar,  Harvey  Nathaniel  and 
Martha  Lorenna. 

While  markedly  diligent  in  business,  Mr.  Cur- 
rence finds  time  to  give  attention  also  to  civic 
affairs    and    social    interests,    fulfiling    every    obli- 


gation with  the  care  and  sincerity  that  character- 
izes his  business  life.  He  has  long  been  identified 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has 
reached  the  Thirty-Second  degree,  and  is  past 
master  of  Mt.  Hermon  Lodge  No.  118,  Ancient 
Free  &  Accepted  Masons,  at  Asheville. 

Felix  M.  McKay.  Harnett  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, suffers  from  no  lack  of  substantial  and  able 
men  and  one  who  takes  a  prominent  place  among 
these  is  Hon.  Felix  M.  McKay,  formerly  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature,  manager  of  the 
famous  Erwin  farm,  and  a  member  of  the  Harnett 
County   Exemption   Board. 

Felix  M.  McKay  was  born  at  Old  Summerville 
in  Harnett  County,  North  Carolina,  June  4,  1865. 
His  parents  were  Neill  and  Josephine  (Cranor) 
McKay.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  Archibald 
McKay,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  noted  Presby- 
terian minister,  Rev.  Dr.  Neill  McKay,  famous 
for  his  scholarship  and  for  his  interest  and  en- 
dowment of  Davidson  College,  which  continues  a 
noted  seat  of  learning.  The  McKays  are  of  High- 
land Scotch  stock  who  were  pioneers  in  the  Cape 
Fear  country  in  North  Carolina. 

Neill  McKay,  father  of  Felix  M.  McKay,  was  an 
eminent  lawyer  in  Harnett  County  and  he  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  all  his  life  although  he  lived 
on  his  plantation  and  overlooked  his  farm  indus- 
tries. For  several  years  he  was  solicitor  for  the 
Superior  Court  in  the  judicial  district  that  em- 
braced Harnett  County.  His  death  occurred  before 
his  son  Felix  M.  reached  manhood. 

Felix  M.  McKay  was  thirteen  years  old  when 
his  father  bought  and  developed,  a  plantation, 
Raven  Rock,  situated  nine  miles  above  Lillington, 
and  here  he  remained  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
giving  his  mother  assistance  in  caring  for  several 
younger  children.  His  education  was  obtained  in 
the  Jonesboro  High  School  and  Old  Summerville 
Academy,  the  latter  being  then  under  the  presi- 
dency of  Col.  J.  A.  Cameron,  one  of  the  finest  edu- 
cators of  his  day.  In  his  early  twenties  Mr. 
McKay  ventured  into  the  mercantile  business  at 
Angier,  and  the  enterprise  proved  successful  under 
his  management. 

Intelligently  interested  in  polities  from  early 
manhood,  Mr.  McKay  in  1894  was  elected  on  the 
republican  ticket  to  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court  of  Harnett  County  and  served  four 
years.  In  1901  W.  A.  Erwin  of  Durham,  North 
Carolina,  completed  his  plans  for  establishing  a 
large,  modern  cotton  mill  and  the  building  of  a 
mill  village  in  the  southeast  part  of  Harnett 
County,  the  new  town  to  be  called  Duke.  Upon  Mr. 
Erwin 's  advice,  Mr.  McKay  came  to  the  site  of 
the  new  town  and  established  the  first  postoffice 
on  October  21,  1901,  and  has  lived  here  ever  since, 
purchasing  land  near  Duke  and  engaging  in  farm- 
ing. He  served  as  postmaster  of  the  village  from 
190.1  until  1914.  In  the  republican  landslide  of  the 
latter  year  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature, 
with  a  majority  of  373  votes  over  his  democratic 
opponent,  the  highest  majority  ever  recorded  by  a 
candidate  of  his  party  in  the  county.  His  public 
services  at  Raleigh  were  creditable  in  every  way. 
In  December,  1917,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  exemption  board  of  the  county,  and  its  chair- 
man, and  in  this  as  in  every  other  public  office 
with  which  he  has  been  entrusted  his  duties  are 
well  understood   and   faithfully  performed. 

In  November,  1900,  Mr.  McKay  was  married  to 
Miss   Mary   Green,   of   Lillington,   and   they  have 


276 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


three  children :  Stewart  Green,  who  is  a  student  in 
Fishburn  Military  Academy,  at  Waynesboro;  and 
Mary  and  Neill. 

During  the  years  that  Mr.  McKay  has  lived  at 
Duke  he  has  acted  as  agent  for  Mr.  Erwin  in  the 
purchase  of  lands  and  has  attended  to  the  clearing 
of  the  same.  One  of  these  properties  is  the  famous 
Erwin  farm  at  Duke,  containing  about  1,200  acres, 
which  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
productive  in  the  South.  His  agricultural  enter- 
prises include  two  experimental  farms  which  are 
large  producers  of  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  fine 
stock,  fruit  and  poultry.  On  December  1,  1916, 
Mr.  Erwin  appointed  Mr.  McKay  superintendent 
of  his  farming  interests,  a  position  that  he  is  filling 
with  his  usual  ability  and  success  while  addition- 
ally carrying  on  his  own  farm  activities. 

Rutus  Young  McPherson  chose  his  vocation  in 
life  at  an  early  age.  He  entered  the  life  insur- 
ance field  in  December,  "1892,  and  for  years  has 
stood  among  the  foremost  representatives  of  that 
business  in  the  entire  state  of  North  Carolina. 
His  position  among  his  associates  is  well  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  he  has  served  as  president  of  the 
North   Carolina  Underwriters  Association. 

Mr.  McPherson' was  born  in  Mooresville,  North 
Carolina,  December  25,  1867,  a  son  of  Robert  and 
Jane  E.  (Templeton)  McPherson.  His  father  spent 
many  years  in  the  flour  milling  business.  Mr. 
McPherson  attended  private  schools  in  his  early 
youth,  and  in  1890  was  graduated  from  Davidson 
College.  His  first  occupation  on  leaving  school 
was  teaching,  but  after  three  years  he  took  up 
the  work  for  which  his  talents  and  inclinations 
best  fitted  him,  and  he  has  given  every  one  of  the 
subsequent  twenty-three  years  in  the  vigorous  and 
successful  prosecution  of  his  work.  Hi  January, 
1909,  Mr.  McPherson  established  or  became  the 
general  agent  in  North  Carolina  for  the  Penn 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  his  firm  of 
McPherson  &  Barnes  now  constitutes  one  of  the 
leading  agencies  in  the  state.  His  business  as- 
sociate is  Rowlet  E.  Barnes. 

Mr.  McPherson  is  a  member  of  the  Capital  and 
Country  clubs  of  Raleigh,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
he  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  deacon  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  April,  1904,  he  married  Miss  Helen  C.  Prim- 
rose, of  Raleigh.  They  became  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Rufus  Alexander,  William  Primrose, 
Primrose,  and  a  daughter,  Helen,  now  deceased. 

Aldrich  Henry  Vann  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  with  the  class 
of  1902,  and  since  then  has  been  a  man  of  rising- 
prominence  in  the  milling  industries  of  Franklin 
County.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Sterling  Cotton  Mills  Company,  president  of  the 
Sterling  Stores  Company,  and  vie-  president  of 
the  Franklin  Lumber  &  Power  Company.  These 
various  industries  require  the  services  of  300, 
and  their  welfare  and  happiness  have  been  care- 
fully   safeguarded    by    Mr.    Vann. 

He  was  born  at  Franklinton,  North  Carolina, 
the  town  which  is  still  his  home.  May  10.  1880, 
a  son  of  Samuel  Cannaday  and  Bettie  Blanch 
(Henley)  Vann.  He  grew  up  there  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  before  entering  the 
State  University.  Mr.  Vann  is  a  Knight  Tem- 
plar Mason  and  Shriner,  member  of  the  Delta 
Kappa   Epsilon   college   fraternity,   and   trustee   of 


the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  Frank- 
linton. 

November  14,  1912,  he  married  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Donald Dixon,  of  Edenton,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  two  children :  Sarah  Dixon  and  Elizabeth 
Fiances. 

Frederick  Delmar  Hamrick.  In  the  fifteen 
years  since  he  began  practice  at  Rutherfordton, 
Frederick  Delmar  Hamrick  has  justified  the  ex- 
pectations of  all  his  friends  and  well  wishers  in  the 
]  rof  ession  and  has  attained  rank  and  dignity 
among  the  able  lawyers  of  the  North  Carolina 
bar. 

He  was  born  on  his  father  's  farm  in  Cleveland 
County,  North  Carolina,  April  12,  1880,  a  son  of 
James  Youngi  and  Kaaisas  (Byers)  Hamrick. 
His  father  in  addition  to  his  vocation  as  a  farmer 
has  been  a  figure  in  state  affairs  and  for  four 
years  was  commissioner  of  labor  and  mining  for 
North  Carolina.  The  son  had  a  public  school 
education  and  finished  with  the  literary  and  law 
course  of  Wake  Forest  College  in  1902.  Admitted 
to  the  bar,  he  began  practice  in  Cleveland  County 
and  remained  there  from  January,  1903  to  1907. 
Since  the  latter  date  his  home  has  been  at  Ruther- 
fordton. Besides  a  splendid  general  practice  he 
is  attorney  for  the  C.  C.  &  O.  Railway  and  for 
the  Seaboard  Air  Line.  Mr.  Hamrick  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Bar  Association,  belongs  to  the 
Baptist.  Church  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

December  12,  1906,  he  married  Natalie  Rose 
Harris,  member  of  a  prominent  family  of  Vir- 
ginia. Her  old  home  was  Fredericks  Hall.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Claybrook  and  Rose 
Virginia  (Pettit)  Harris.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father, N.  W.  Harris,  was  a  tobacco  manufacturer. 
Her  maternal  grandfather,  Col.  W.  B.  Pettit,  was 
an  attorney  by  profession  and  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Virginia  Constitutional  Convention  in  1904. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamrick  have  two  children :  Fred- 
erick Delmar,  Jr.,  and  James  Nathaniel. 

William  Preston  Holt,  M.,  D.  The  work  with 
which  Dr.  Holt  has  been  most  prominently  iden- 
tified in  a  public  way  in  North  Carolina  is  as 
physician  and  sanitarian  at  Duke,  the  model  man- 
ufacturing town  of  Harnett  County.  Doctor  Holt 
located  there  in  1904  at  the  request  of  Mr.  W.  A. 
Erwin  of  Durham,  who  desired  that  Dr.  Holt  take 
charge  of  the  medical  and  sanitary  work  at  Erwin 
Mill  No.  2,  then  in  course  of  construction.  Mr. 
Erwin  built  this  mill  and  practically  built  the 
entire  town  of  Duke.  Duke  is  justly  famed  as  one 
of  tlie  model  mill  towns  of  the  South.  From  the 
health  standpoint  too  much  praise  cannot  be  given 
to  Dr.  Holt 's  services.  Now  as  never  before  in 
the  history  of'  the  world  it  is  recognized  that  the 
efficiency  of  the  workers  is  as  much  dependent 
upon  sanitary  and  wholesome  housing  conditions 
as  upon  the  environment,  in  which  the  working 
hours  are  spent.  From  the  first  Dr.  Holt  recog- 
nized this  relationship  and  exerted  his  influence 
wisely  and  tactfully  to  obtain  appropriate  material 
conditions  and  educate  the  people  to  a  proper  use 
of  them. 

Dr.  Holt  conducts  a  large  general  practice  not 
only  among  the  mill  people  but  over  a  large 
radius  of  surrounding  country.  The  Duke  Hos- 
pital, which  was  built  and  is  maintained  under  his 
supervision,  though  a  small  institution,  is  one  of 
the    model    hospitals    of    the    South    and    is    fully 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


it  i 


equipped  for  all  medical  and  surgical  eases.  While 
it  is  very  high  praise,  it  is  only  the  expression  of 
the  conviction  of  some  of  Dr.  Holt 's  contempo- 
raries that  he  is  one  of  the  most  skillful,  talented 
and  successful  physicians  in  the  state. 

His  family  position  and  the  environment  of  his 
entire  life  serves  to  account  in  part  at  least  for 
his  successful  attainments.  Dr.  Holt  was  born  in 
Durham,  then  a  part  of  Orange  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1869,  a  son  of  Dr.  Edwin  Michael  and 
Nannie  (Parker)  Holt.  His  grandfather,  Isaac 
Holt,  was  a  cousin  to  the  noted  Edwin  Michael 
Holt  whose  name  figures  so  pre-eminently  in  the 
industrial  history  of  North  Carolina.  The  Holt 
family  comes  from  Alamance  County,  and  the 
senior  Edwin  Michael  Holt  was  the  founder  of  the 
cotton  mill  industry  of  North  Carolina,  building 
the  old  Alamance  Mill  at  Burlington,  in  which 
the  colored  cotton  fabrics  in  the  South  were 
woven. 

Dr.  Edwin  Michael  Holt,  a  native  of  Alamanee 
County,  moved  from  there  to  what  is  now  Dur- 
ham County/  when  it  was  a  part  of  Orange 
County.  He  went  there  when  a  young  man  to 
take  up  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  for 
more  than  half  a  eentury  was  busily  engaged 
with  a  practice  that  came  from  a  large  scope  of 
country.  He  was  born  in  1831  and  died  in  1913, 
at, the  age  of  eighty-two.  His  wife,  Nannie  (Par- 
ker) Holt,  also  deceased,  was  closely  related  to 
Judge  William  P.  Mangum,  North  Carolina  's  dis- 
tinguished United  States  Senator  of  ante-bellum 
days. 

It  was  in  honor  of  this  maternal  ancestor 's  son, 
William  Preston  Mangum,  that  Dr.  William 
Preston  Holt  was  named.  His  father 's  home  in 
Durham  County  was  the  Plat  River  section,  and 
was  one  of  the  notable  country  homes  of  that 
region,  his  father  being  a  planter  as  well  as  a 
physician.  It  was  on  that  farm  that  Dr.  Holt 
was  born  and  there  he  grew  to  manhood.  Most 
of  his  education  was  acquired  in  Oak  Ridge  In- 
stitution, a.  school  that  was  founded  by  another 
branch  of  the  Holt  family.  His  medical  prepara- 
tion was  made  in  Jefferson  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1895. 
Returning  home,  he  practiced  with  his  father  until 
1904,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  home  at 
Duke  in  Harnett  County.  Dr.  Holt  is  a  member 
in  good  standing  of  the  County,  State  and  South- 
ern Medical  Societies,  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church  and  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Harnett 
at  Duke.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Holman, 
daughter  of  S.  W.  Holman,  of  Durham  County. 
Their  two  children  are  William  Preston,  Jr.,  and 
Elizabeth  Whitney  Holt. 

Victor  Silas  Bryant.  One  of  the  best  known 
attorneys  of  the  Durham  County  bar  bears  the 
name  Victor  Silas  Bryant,  who  has  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  for  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Not  only  does  he  possess  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  bench  and  bar  of  Durham  County, 
but  the  unqualified  regard  of  a  numerous  clientage, 
whose  interests  he  has  faithfully  struggled  to 
protect  and  whose  rights  no  other  honorable  advo- 
cate could  have  better  preserved. 

Mr.  Bryant  is  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  was  born  December  10, 
1867,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Julia  S.  (Parks)  Bryant. 
His  father  was  a  merchant  and  planter.  The  son 
was  educated  in  the  Carolina  Academy  in  Meck- 
lenberg  County,  finished  his  literary  education  in 
the  Universitv  of  North  Carolina  in  1890  and  his 


law  course  in  the  same  school  in  1891.  In  October 
of  the  latter  year  he  began  practice  at  Roxboro, 
but  since  July,  1895,  his  home  has  been  in  Dur- 
ham. He  has  been  an  active  member  of  several 
of  the  best  known  law  partnerships  in  the  city 
during  the  last  twenty  years.  He  was  first  a 
partner  with  R.  B.  Boone  under  the  name  Boone  & 
Bryant  until  1900.  It  then  became  Boone,  Bryant 
&  Biggs.  The  partnership  was  dissolved  in  1902, 
at  which  time  Mr.  Bryant  formed  a  partnership 
with  R.  W.  Winston.  In  1909  he  established  the 
present  firm  of  Bryant  &  Brogden,  his  associate 
being  W.  J.  Brogden. 

Mr.  Bryant  has  long  been  prominently  identified 
with  public  education.  He  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Durham  City  School  Board,  and  since  1901 
has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  for  seven  years  member  of  its 
executive  committee.  In  1912  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  State  Senate  from  Durham  County. 
Mr.  Bryant  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bar  Association,  has  been  identified  with  the  Com- 
monwealth Club  since  its  organization,  is  a  director 
of  the  Fidelity  Bank  of  Durham,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

December  S,  1897,  he  married  Matilda  Dewey 
Harrt,  daughter  of  Ma.-j.  Leo  D.  Harrt.  They  have 
four  children:  Victor  Silas,  Jr.,  a  student  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina;  Leo  Harrt,  who  is 
also  in  the  university;  Matilda  Parks,  in  the  Dur- 
ham High  School;   and  Julia  Dewey. 

Raymond  Abner  Smith,  A.  M.,  B.  D.,  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  ministry  of  the 
Christian  Church  since  1900,  was  pastor  of  several 
large  churches  in  Philadelphia  and  Indianapolis 
and  since  1916  has  been  president  and  professor 
of  education  in  the  Atlantic  Christian  College 
at  Wilson. 

The  City  of  Wilson  is  ideally  situated  as  a 
center  of  institutions  of  higher  education.  As 
a  city  it  is  not  too  large  to  distract  the  attention 
of  the  students  from  their  proper  work  and  at 
the  same  time  it  is  large  enough  to  afford  the 
advantages  that  go  with  the  larger  centers.  Thus 
it  was  with  appropriate  wisdom  that  the  North 
Carolina  Christian  Missionary  Convention  chose 
this  city  as  the  seat  of  the  Atlantic  Christian 
College.  The  convention  endorsed  the  action  of 
its  committee  on  education  for  the  purchase  of 
the  old  Kinsey  Seminary  at  Wilson  in  the  meet- 
ing at  Kinston,  North  Carolina,  in  October  and 
November,  1901.  The  board  of  managers  of  the 
convention  were  appointed  agents  to  acquire  the 
college  property  and  the  Atlantic  Christian  Col- 
lege was  incorporated  May  1,  1902,  with  Mr. 
George  Hackney  of  Wilson  as  treasurer  of  the 
college.  The  building  was  taxed  to  its  full  capac- 
ity with  students  at  the  opening  of  the  school 
in  September,  1902.  By  1911  the  bonded  in- 
debtedness on  the  college  property  was  paid  off, 
and  in  the  same  year  a  modern  brick  dormitory 
was  erected  on  the  campus  at  a  cost  of  about 
$15,000.  The  payment  of  the  bonded  debt  made 
accessible  the  "W.  N.  and  Orpah  Hackney 
Memorial  Fund,"  which  had  been  bequeathed 
"for  the  education  of  worthy  young  men  and 
women.''  In  1914  the  college  acquired  a  large 
farm  of  672  acres  in  Onslow  County.  The  campus 
in  the  northern  part  of  Wilson  contains  about 
six  acres  and  at  the  present  time  is  adorned  with 
two  substantial  brick  structures.  On  January  2, 
1918,  the  college  purchased  a  new  site  on  the  prin- 


27S 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


eipal  thoroughfare  of  Wilson,  comprising  252  acres 
of  campus.  A  garden  and  dairy  farm  is  main- 
tained on  this  tract  at  the  present  time.  The  col- 
lege has  had  a  steady  development  both  in  material 
circumstances  and  improvement  and  its  influence 
and  prestige  as  a  center  of  higher  learning.  The 
presidents  of  the  school  from  tne  beginning  have 
been:  J.  C.  Coggins,  1902-04;  J.  J.  Harper,  1904- 
07;  J.  C.  Caldwell,  1907-16;  and  E.  A.  Smith, 
1916— 

Raymond  Abner  Smith  was  born  in  Gibson 
County,  Indiana,  January  14,  1875,  a  son  cf  Dr. 
William  Franklin  and  Rosa  Frances  (Williams; 
Smith.  He  acquired  a  liberal  education.  From 
the  country  schools  he  entered  Vincennes  Uni- 
versity at  historic  old  Vincennes,  Indiana,  where 
he  was  graduated  from  the  junior  college  in  1894. 
He  subsequently  attended  Butler  College  at  In- 
dianapolis, where  he  was  graduated  A.  B.  in  1900 
and  in  the  same  year  was  ordained  a  minister 
of  the  Christian  Church.  In  the  intervals  of  his 
work  as  a  teacher  and  minister  Mr.  Smith  pur- 
sued graduate  courses  in  philosophy  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  during  1902-03,  rec  ived 
his  Master  of  Arts  degree  from  Butler  College 
in  1904,  in  1905  was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Di- 
vinity by  Yale  University ;  and  in  1914  was  a 
graduate  student  in  education  in  the  West  Vir- 
ginia University  summer  school. 

Mr.  Smith  was  first  connected  with  the  Atlantic 
Christian  College  as  one  of  its  instructors  during 
1905-06.  His  first  post  as  a  minister  was  as 
pastor  of  the  Kensington  Christian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  1900  to  1903.  He  served  as  min- 
ister of  the  Hillside  Christian  Church  at  Indian- 
apolis in  1903  and  again  in  1907,  and  from  1909 
to  1913  was  pastor  of  the  Centenary  Christian 
Church  at  Indianapolis.  Prior  to  assuming  his 
present  duties  Mr.  Smith  was  principal  of  Beck- 
ley  Institute,  and  professor  of  history  and  educa- 
tion in  the  Beckley  Institute  at  Beckley,  West 
Virginia,  from  1913  to  1916. 

He  is  a  former  president  of  the  Association  of 
Christian  Ministers  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Teach- 
ers' Association  and  of  the  Wilson  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  During  his  earlier  residence  in  Indian- 
apolis he  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  the 
veneer  manufacturing  business,  and  in  that  city 
was  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  December  27,  19  5,  to 
Miss  Grace  Clifford,  of  Indianapolis,  daughter 
of  Amos  and  Rebecca  Clifford.  Her  father  is 
a  retired  merchant  in  that  city.  Three  children 
have  been  born  to  their  marriage:  Raymond  Clif- 
ford, Marian  Frances  and  Ralph  Emerson. 

William  Smith  Stevens.  It  was  forty  years 
ago  that  William  Smith  Stevens  was  admitted 
to  the  North  Carolina  bar.  The  formal  practice 
of  the  law  has  engaged  less  of  his  time  than  the 
duties  of  official  position.  For  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Johnston  County,  and  his  is  not  only  one 
the  the  longest  consecutive  records  of  official 
performance  in  the  state,  but  has  distinctions 
and  values  of  service  apart  from  length  of  years. 
It  is  doubtful  if  Johnston  County  has  a  more 
honored  and  more  useful  citizen  than  this  old 
time  lawyer  and  public  official. 

Mr.  Stevens  was  born  in  Wayne  County,  North 
Carolina,  where  his  people  have  been  prominent 
for  many  generations.  His  birth  occurred  May 
20,  1852.     His  parents  were  Noedham  Bryant  and 


Mary  (Smith)  Stevens.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  William  Smith  of  Wayne.  Mr. 
Stevens  was  educated  in  his  native  county,  and 
the  institution  from  which  he  derived  most  of 
his  knowledge  and  inspiration  as  a  youth  was 
Prof.  Samuel  W.  Hughes '  Institute  near  Hillsboro. 
For  two  years  he  was  a  teacher  and  in  the  mean- 
time took  up  and  vigorously  prosecuted  the  study 
of  law  with  H.  F.  Granger  at  Goldsboro,  and  also 
with  Chief  Justice  Richmond  M.  Pearson.  Mr. 
Stevens  was  admitted  to  the  North  Carolina  bar 
in  1877,  and  in  March  of  that  year  came  to 
Smithfield  in  Johnston  County  and  proffered  his 
services  as  a  budding  lawyer  to  the  community. 
He  soon  had  a  living  practice  and  whether  a 
practicing  lawyer  or  a  public  official  has  always 
used  his  knowledge  of  law  to  promote  the  best 
interests  of  the  community.  From  1882  to  1885 
he  was  practically  retired  from  practice  and  en- 
gaged in  conducting  a  farm.  He  then  went  to  the 
office  of  deputy  collector  at  Raleigh,  and  in  1890 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Johns- 
ton County,  and  from  that  time  to  this  has  been 
kept  in  that  office  and  has  given  it  his  entire 
time  and  the  best  of  his  abilities.  Besides  hand- 
ling the  official  routine  with  the  precision  and 
efficiency  that  have  brought  him  many  commenda- 
tions, he  has  been  extremely  zealous  to  promote 
the  welfare  and  safeguard  the  interests  of  children 
and  widows  whose  cares  are  committed  to  the 
courts.  Mr.  Stevens  is  an  honored  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  is  steward  of  Sanders 
Chapel,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 
teacher  of  its  Bible  class. 

On  December  20,  1877,  soon  after  establishing 
himself  in  practice  at  Smithfield,  he  married  Mary 
B.  Sanders,  daughter  of  a  well  known  attorney 
of  that  town.  Seven  children  have  been  born  to 
their  marriage.  Ada  is  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Austin, 
of  Smithfield.  Zilla  married  J.  E.  Stevens,  of 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Bertha  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
T.  L.  Giun,  of  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina.  Dr. 
Ralph  S.  Stevens,  who  married  Eva  Hood,  daughter 
of  T.  R.  Hood,  a  Smithfield  druggist,  is  now 
serving  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  Army  in  France.  Leon  Gladstone,  an  at- 
torney at  law  by  profession,  married  Ethel  Sefton, 
of  Cornwall,  Canada.  Erma  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Greensboro  Female  College  and  is  now  a  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  of  Smithfield.  Everett  Smith, 
the  youngest  of  the  family,  is  attending  Horner's 
Military  Institute  at  Charlotte. 

William  I.  Wright.  It  is  probable  that  with 
the  shift  of  emphasis  made  in  recent  years  and 
the  increased  importance  of  the  farm  and  its 
products  as  vital  and  indispensable  factors  in 
the  world 's  life,  some  of  the  true  romance  of 
agriculture  will  be  developed  and  exploited,  as 
has  been  true  of  other  newer  industries  and  arts. 
The  story  of  invention  and  discovery  in  farming 
is  a  matter  of  long,  laborious,  patient  investiga- 
tion, experiment  and  trial.  Patience  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  factor  of  all,  since  the  processes  of 
nature  cannot  be  hurried.  In  a  mechanical  or 
physical  laboratory  the  elements  may  be  com- 
bined and  the  results  noted  and  verified  in  a  few 
hours  or  a  few  days.  In  every  test  and  experiment 
made  by  the  agricultural  discoverer  some  of  the 
chief  factors  are  the  months  of  the  year,  the 
seasons'  change,  and  all  the  variety  of  conditions 
imposed  by  the  annual  cycle  of  climate  and 
weather.  And  the  results  of  one  year  must  be 
added   to   those  of  many  succeeding  years  before 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


279 


the  process  is  perfected  and  the  result  verified  for 
practical  uses. 

Such  at  least  has  been  the  experience  of  one 
of  North  Carolina 's  most  noted  farmers,  William 
I.  Wright,  whose  chief  fame  in  agricultural  circles 
is  due  to  his  perfection,  and  introduction  of 
"Wright's  Prolific"  corn  and  cotton  seed. 

The  scene  of  Mr.  Wright's  career  as  a  farmer 
has  been  at  Ingold  in  Sampson  County,  only  a 
short  distance  from  where  he  was  born  in  1868. 
He  is  the  oldest  of  the  children  of  John  C.  and 
Bettie  V.  (Herring)  Wright,  a  family  of  notable 
distinction  as  teachers,  lawyers,  farmers  and  in 
other  pursuits  and  avocations.  The  family  have 
lived  for  a  number  of  generations  in  the  southern 
half  of  Sampson  County.  Going  back  several 
generations,  Isaac  Wright  was  born  in  Bladen 
County.  John  Wright,  great-grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam I.,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  afterwards  spent  his  life  at  the  old  Wright 
homestead  five  miles  east  of  Parkersburg  in  Samp- 
son County.  The  grandfather  of  William  I. 
Wright  was  also  named  Isaac.  John  C.  Wright, 
the  father,  was  born  in  1832  and  died  in  1898. 
He  served  as  lieutenant  in  a  company  of  the  Second 
North  Carolina  Regiment  in  the  Confederate 
army.  He  married  Bettie  V.  Herring,  who  is 
still  living.  She  has  been  a  distinguished  educator, 
training  her  own  children  and  other  young  people 
as  well,  and  for  a  number  of  years  conducting  a 
private  school  at  her  home.  Her  father,  Bryan 
Whitfield  Herring,  at  one  time  represented  Duplin 
County  in  the  General  Assembly  and  was  related 
to  the  well  known  Whitfields  of  Eastern  North 
Carolina.' 

William  I.  Wright,  who  owns  the  old  Wright 
homestead,  was  educated  by  his  mother  and  in 
the  local  schools  and  spent  one  term  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  His  interests  have 
always  been  in  practical  and  experimental  farm- 
ing, his  large  estate  of  1,950  acres  of  land  is  in 
Sampson  County,  and  of  this  land  he  has  a  large 
portion  cleared  and  in  cultivation,  divided  into 
several  farms. 

In  producing,  ' '  Wright 's  Prolific  ' '  seed  corn, 
Mr.  Wright  took  a  type  of  corn  that  had  been 
developed  and  used  for  many  years  by  his  father, 
and  crossed  it  with  the  "big  seven  year"  variety, 
producing  a  type  that  has  taken  the  first  prize  at 
the  State  Fair  at  Raleigh  and  is  everywhere  hailed 
as  one  of  the  big  successes  in  modern  agricultural 
science.  To  the  production  of  a  reliable  disease- 
resisting  cotton  seed  he  has  given  equal  attention, 
and  the  cotton  seed  bearing  the  name  Wright 's 
Prolific  has  achieved  a  fame  equal  to  that  of  his 
seed  corn. 

His  tests,  experiments  and  scientific  work  in 
corn  and  cotton  seed  production,  extending  over  a 
long  number  of  years  and  requiring  studious  and 
patient  repetitions  of  selections  and  cross  breed- 
ings, have  undoubtedly  contributed  as  much  as 
some  of  the  more  widely  heralded  inventions  to 
the  sum  total  of  modern  agricultural  knowledge 
and  of  benefit  to  the  world  at  large.  Mr.  Wright 
spent  many  years  in  producing  seed  that  would 
run  true  to  type,  and  even  yet  he  is  not  satisfied 
that  he  has  obtained  the  best  results  possible,  and 
realizes  that  perfection  in  farm  seed  is  a  matter 
of  constant  diligence  and  vigilance  and  that  the 
standard  must  be  held  up  from  year  to  year  to 
prevent  recurrence  and  regeneration.  Mr.  Wright 
is  both  a  student  as  well  as  a  practical*  farmer 
and  exemplifies  the  success  that  comes  from  the 
combination   of  these  two   qualifications. 

While  best  known  as  a  breeder  of  corn  and  cot- 


ton seed,  he  produces  a  wide  variety  of  general 
crops  on  his  farm  and  has  also  gone  into  horti- 
culture quite  extensively.  He  is  a  hard  worker, 
always  busy  attending  to  the  details  aafl  the 
planning  and  carrying  out  his  farm  work,  and 
loses  no  opportunity  to  improve  his  methods  of 
practice. 

Mr.  Wright  married  Miss  Julia  Herring,  who 
was  born  in  Sampson  County.  They  have  seven 
living  children,  Clyde  E.,  Bettie  H.,  William  I., 
Julia  H.,  John  F.,  Rachel  and  Henry.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wright  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

Claiborn  McDowell  Carr  is  a  business  leader 
at  Durham,  where  for  a  number  of  years  his  in- 
terests have  been  chiefly  identified  with  hosiery 
manufacturing,  though  they  have  extended  to 
various  other  lines  of  business  and  to  the  leading 
organizations  in  a  business  and  social  way,  in  all 
of  which  he  has  held  some  executive  responsibili- 
ties. 

Mr.  Carr  was  born  at  Durham  September  26, 
1884,  a  son  of  Gen.  Junius  S.  and  Nannie  Gra- 
ham (Parrish)  Carr.  From  high  school  at  an 
early  age  he  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  where  he  completed  his  work  in  1905. 
He  returned  home  to  take  up  a  business  career 
and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  connected 
with  the  Durham  Hosiery  Mills,  of  which  he  is 
treasurer.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Durham,  of  the  Durham  and  South- 
ern Railroad,  and  has  always  been  found  responsive 
to  those  organizations  and  movements  which  are 
part  of  the  civic  and  business  life  of  his  com- 
munity. 

Mr.  Carr  served  on  the  first  board  of  police 
and  fire  commissioners  of  Durham,  holding  that 
office  four  years.  He  was  the  first  president  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  has  been  president  of 
the  local  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  is  now  president  of  the 
Rotary  Club. 

November  15,  1911,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Jordan  Boylan,  daughter  of  James  A.  and  Maggie 
(Tucker;  Boylan.  They  have  three  sons:  Claiborn 
McDowell,  Jr.,  Montfort  Boylan  and  John  Wesley, 

A.  G.  Myers.  There  are  few  more  rapidly  de- 
veloping cities  in  Gaston  County  than  Gastonia, 
partly  because  of  its  fine  location,  but  mainly 
on  account  of  the  able  business  men  and  public 
spirited  citizens  who  take  an  interest  in  pro- 
moting her  welfare.  One  of  these  is  found  in 
A.  G.  Myers,  who  is  active  vice  president  of  The 
Citizens  National  Bank. 

A.  G.  Myers  was  born  at  Chesterfield,  South 
Carolina.  His  parents  were  Stephen  Huntley  and 
Winifred  (Crump)  Myers,  the  latter  of  whom  sur- 
vives. The  late  Stephen  Huntley  Myers,  whose 
death  occurred  June  21,  1917,  was  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  and  a  Con- 
federate veteran.  He  was  born  in  Anson  County, 
North  Carolina,  July  29,  1844,  and  was  a  son  of 
Ransom  J.  and  Matilda  (Huntley)  Myers.  Tin 
family  came  at  an  early  day  from  Pennsylvania 
to  North  Carolina,  and  at  one  time  the  grand- 
father lived  near  Roanoke  Island,  but  subse- 
quently settled  in   Anson   County. 

Stephen  H.  Myers  grew  to  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  on  the  old  Myers  homestead  on  Dead  Fall 
Creek,  twelve  miles  west  of  Wadesboro.  In  the 
old  cemetery  in  that  neighborhood  several  gener- 
ations of  that  family  lie  buried.  When  war  be- 
tween the  states  broke  out  young  Myers  was  one 
of  the  first  to  offer  his  services  to  the  Confeder- 


280 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


ate  commander,  and  as  the  latter  did  not  know 
he  "was  under  the  prescribed  age,  he  was  permitt-1 
to  enlist  in  the  Twenty-third  North  Carolina  In- 
fantry,  and  as  a  member  of  this  organization 
he  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  but 
shortly  afterward  was  discharged  because  of  his 
youth.  He  had  determined,  however,  to  be  a 
soldier,  and  as  lurther  preparation  returned  to 
his  home  in  Anson  County,  secured  a  horse  and 
returned  to  Wadesboro  and  there  enlisted  in  an- 
other branch  of  the  service,  the  Fourth  North  Car- 
olina Cavalry.  He  participated  in  many  of  the 
most  serious  battles  of  the  war,  including  the 
first  battle  of  Manassas  and  Gettysburg,  h\  L  was 
never  injured  until  near  its  close,  when  he  was 
wounded  in  the  arm.  Afterward  he  returned  to 
Anson  County  for  a  time,  then  went  to  South 
Carolina  for  some  years,  and  in  1889  located  at 
Charlotte,  Nor'-h  Carolina,  and  there,  at  his  home 
on  North  Long  Street,  after  a  very  brief  illness, 
he  passed  away.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  char- 
acter in  every  relation  of  life,  a  brave  defender 
at  all  times  of  the  principles  he  believed  to  be 
right.  In  the  city  where  he  had  lived  for  so  many 
years  he  was  known  to  every  one  and  was  uni- 
versally  respected   and   esteemed. 

In  1870  Stephen  H.  My  -s  was  married  to  Miss 
Winifred  Crump,  and  the  following  children  sur- 
vive him :  Mrs.  W.  P.  Covington,  of  Ellerbee ; 
A.  G.  Myers,  vice  president  of  The  Citizens 
National  Bank,  Gastonia;  W.  R.  Myers,  of 
St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Mrs.  M.  F.  Kirby,  Jr.,  of 
Gastonia;  B.  C.  Myers,  of  Portsmouth,  Virginia, 
and  C.  C.  Myers,  of  Durham,  North  Carolina. 
Mr.  Myers  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  on  Tryon  Street,  Charlotte.  He 
belonged  also  to  Charlotte  Camp,  United  Confed- 
erate Veterans,  who  attended  his  funeral  in  a 
body,  leaving  him  in  the  peaceful  quiet  of  Elm- 
wood. 

A.  G.  Myers  was  quite  young  when  the  family 
settled  at  Charlotte  and  there  he  was  reared  and 
educated.  Almost  the  entire  period  of  his  busi- 
ness life  has  been  identified  with  banking,  and 
for  several  years  he  was  with  the  Merchants  and 
Farmers  National  Bank  of  Charlotte.  Thus  he 
came  experienced  to  The  Citizens  National  Bank 
at  Gastonia,  of  which  he  is  the  active  vice  presi- 
dent. This  institution  is  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition,  and  Mr.  Myers'  connection  with  it 
is  one  of  its  soundest  assets.  Since  locating 
here  he  has  taken  a  hearty  and  intelligent  in- 
terest in  general  affairs  and  has  shown  a  com- 
mendable spirit  of  co-operation  in  matters  of 
public  importance.  He  is  president  of  the  Groves 
Mills,  Incorporated,  of  Gastonia,  president  and 
treasurer  of  the  Dillings  Cotton  Mills  of  Kings 
Mountain,  and  also  identified  in  various  capacities 
with   the   Armstrong   group   of  mills. 

William  Dougald  MacMillan.  During  his 
active  connection  with  business  affairs  at  Wil- 
mington, Mr.  MacMillan  has  built  up  an  extensive 
business  in  the  handling  of  automobiles,  and  at 
the  same  time  has  become  a  factor  in  local  affairs 
and  is  now  serving  as  one  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners of  New  Hanover  County. 

Born  at  Wilmington,  January  24,  1872,  he 
represents  some  sterling  Scotch  lineage,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  D.  and  Maggie  Wright  (Ander- 
son) MacMillan.  His  father  was  an  old  and 
prominent  physician,  and  now  has  residence  at 
Sloop    Point  in    Pender   County. 

Mr.    MacMillan    finished    his    education    in    the 


public  schools  of  Magnolia,  and  at  once  took  up 
commercial  pursuits.  He  spent  six  years  in  the 
auditing  department  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
Railway,  and  for  two  and  a  half  years  was  agent 
of  that  railroad  at  Washington,  North  Carolina. 
He  then  returned  to  Wilmington,  and  established 
sales  stables  for  the  handling  of  horses,  and  of' 
buggies  and  wagons.  After  the  automobiles  came 
into  popular  favor  he  established  in  1910  an  auto- 
mobile sales  agency,  and  is  one  of  the  leading 
automobile   dealers   of  the  city. 

Mr.  MacMillan  was  appointed  in  February,  1916, 
to  the  office  of  county  commissioners,  and  he  has 
proved  a  valuable  addition  to  the  board  of  admin- 
istration. He  is  a  member  of  the  Cape  Fear 
Club,  the  Cape  Fear  Country  Club,  the  Carolina 
Yacht  Club,  is  past  master  of  Lodge  No.  305, 
Ancient  Free  &  Accepted  Masons,  belongs  to 
Concord  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  to  the 
Knights  Templar  Commandery  and  Sudan  Temple. 

On  February  12,  1896,  he  married  Miss  Kathar- 
ine Gaston  de  Rosset,  of  Wilmington.  They  are 
parents  of  four  children:  William  D.,  Jr.,  Louis 
de  R.,  Jane  Dickinson  and  Margaret  Anderson. 
The  family  are  members  of  St.  James  Episcopal 
Church,  in  which  Mr.  MacMillan  is  vestryman. 

J.  Vance  McGodgan,  M.  D.  Not  alone  for 
professional  success,  although  it  has  been  unusual, 
is  Dr.  J.  Vance  McGougan  well  known  in  Cum- 
berland County,  where  he  is  one  of  the  large  land- 
owners and  most  progressive  and  scientific  agri- 
culturists, but  additionally  because  of  his  in- 
telligent activity  in  civic  affairs  at  Fayetteville 
and  the  hearty  support  he  is  always  ready  to  give 
to  worthy  enterprises.  Of  Scotch  ancestry  on 
both  sides,  Dr.  McGougan  has  not  far  to  seek  to 
discover  whence  came  his  heritage  of  admirable 
traits  with  which  he  has  been  richly  endowed. 

J.  Vance  McGougan  was  born  at  Lumber  Bridge, 
Robeson  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1870.  His 
parents  were  Duncan  Blue  and  Catherine  (MeGou- 
gan)  McGougan.  All  the  McGougans  are  High- 
land Scotch.  Duncan  Blue  McGougan  was  born  in 
Robeson  County,  near  Lumber  Bridge.  His  father 
came  to  North  Carolina  from  Scotland,  landing  at 
Wilmington  and  later  coming  up  the  Cape  Fear 
River,  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  settled  permanently  near  Lumber  Bridge  in 
Robeson  County,  and  there  the  father  of  Dr. 
McGougan  was  reared  and  passed  his  life. 

Following  his  elemental  educational  training, 
Dr.  McGougan  spent  two  years  as  a  student  at 
Wake  Forest  College,  and  two  years  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  state  university  at  Chapel 
Hill,  but  completed  his  medical  education  in  the 
University  of  Maryland  at  Baltimore,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1893. 
After  spending  one  year  as  an  interne  in  hospital 
work  in  Baltimore,  Dr.  McGougan  came  to  Fayette- 
ville and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  his  medical  knowledge  and  surgical 
skill,  supplemented  by  a  genial,  wholesouled  man- 
ner that  serves  to  partly  banish  apprehension, 
have  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  a  profes- 
sional reputation  that  extends  all  over  and  beyond 
Cumberland  County.  While  this  pleasant,  agree- 
able manner  is  undoubtedly  an  asset  in  the  sick 
room,  the  cheerful  attitude  is  borne  by  the  Doctor 
into  other  circles  wherever  his  interests  reach, 
and  perhaps  no  citizen  of  Fayetteville  is  more 
generally  popular. 

Dr.  McGougan  is  a  member  of  the  county,  state 
and  the  American  Medical  associations  and  is  ex- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


281 


vice  president  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Med- 
ical Society.  He  is  local  surgeon  for  the  Atlantic- 
Coast  Line  Railway,  the  X.  «Sc  S.  Railroad  and  also 
of  the  Aberdeen  &  Rockfish  Railway.  For  some 
years  he  served  as  surgeon  for  the  Second  Regi- 
ment, North  Carolina  National  Guard,  and  re- 
tired   with  the  rank  of  major. 

Many  men  with  heavy  professional  cares  would 
do  well  to  follow  the  example  set  by  Dr.  McGou- 
gan  in  finding  recreation  through  agricultural  in- 
terests. He  has  acquired  a  large  acreage  of  rich, 
agricultural  land,  his  principal  estate  being  his 
plantation  of  950  acres  located  four  miles  west 
of  Fayetteville.  He  owns  other  fine  farms  in  the 
county  and  near  his  old  home  in  Robeson  County, 
but  the  most  famous  of  all  is  the  plantation 
above  referred  to  because  of  its  great  productive- 
ness. Of  this  large  estate  he  now  has  700  acres 
under  cultivation  and  practically  produces  a  bale 
of  cotton  and  40  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  In 
bringing  this  yield  about  Dr.  McGougan  has  ex- 
pended considerable  capital  in  improvements,  in- 
cluding fertilizing  agents  and  modern  machinery, 
in  the  meanwhile  finding  a  vast  field  of  enjoyment 
opened  up  in  scientific  experimentation,  which  be- 
longs so  essentially  to  the  life  and  habit  of  the 
enlightened  physician.  Dr.  McGougan  is  un- 
married. 

William  Chester  Gibsox  is  a  prominent  build- 
ing contractor  and  now  has  the  largest  organization 
and  the  most  complete  facilities  for  the  handling 
of  all  classes  of  contracts  in  that  line  in  the  City 
of  Durham. 

Mr.  Gibson  was  born  November  16,  1886,  In 
Graham  Township  of  Alamance  County,  North 
Carolina,  son  of  substantial  farming  people  in 
that  locality,  Moses  M.  and  Docie  (Fogleman) 
Gibson.  As  a  boy  he  attended  public  schools,  the 
high  school  at  Hawfield,  and  in  early  life  skilled 
himself  in  the  carpenter 's  trade.  In  1909  he  came 
to  Durham  and  since  1914  operated  independently 
as  a  building  contractor.  The  services  of  his  organ- 
ization have  been  called  to  the  construction  of 
many  of  the  stores,  banks  and  public  buildings 
and  residences  throughout  Durham  and  surround- 
ing territory.  In  the  fall  of  1917  Mr.  Gibson 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  C.  H.  Shipp,  the 
firm  now  being  Gibson  and  Shipp.  The  offices  are 
in  the  First  National  Bank  Building. 

Mr.  Gibson  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  is  a  democrat  and 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  September 
20,  1911,  he  married '  Bettie  Cole  of  Alamance 
County,  North  Carolina.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Bettie  Mae. 

Delos  Wexford  Sorrell.  A  member  of  the 
Durham  bar  for  the  past  twelve  years  Delos 
W.  Sorrell  has  prosecuted  his  professional  labors 
with  snch  energy  and  ability  as  to  achieve  both 
reputation  and  the  earnings  which  go  with  success 
at  the  bar.  It  has  been  his  fortune  and  privilege 
to  have  been  connected  with  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant cases  tried  in  the  local  courts.  At  the 
same  time  he  had  shown  much  public  spirit  in  for- 
warding every  movement  for  the  welfare  of  the 
community. 

Mr.  Sorrell  was  born  in  Durham  County,  North 
Carolina,  April  8,  1882,  a  son  of  Milton  Lynn 
and  Ruanna  R.  (Bagwell)  Sorrell.  His  father  was 
a  fanner.  He  attended  the  local  district  schools 
and  the  high  school  at  Cary,  and  in  1S98  entered 
Wake  Forest  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
A.  B.  in  1902.     Following  his  collegiate  career  he 


taught  school  at  the  Fruitland  Institute  in  Hender- 
son County  and  also  in  the  Nelson  public  schools, 
and  in  1904  Wake  Forest  College  conferred  upon 
him  the  Master  of  Arts  degree.  The  following 
year  he  speut  with  a  warehouse  company,  but  in 
1905  entered  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  took  the  Supreme  Court 
examination  in  February,  1906.  The  next  month 
he  located  at  Durham  and  began  general  practice. 
From  1907  to  1909  Mr.  Sorrell  was  county  attor- 
ney and  also  served  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
education  and  as  secretary  of  the  democratic 
committee  of  the  county.  On  March  14,  1917,  he 
was  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years  as  chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  of  the  City 
of  Durham.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  fra- 
ternal matters,  especially  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics.  He  is  grand  vice  chancellor  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  for  the  state  and  has  been  rep- 
resentative to  the  national  convention  of  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics.  Mr.  Sor- 
rell is  a  deacon  in  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Durham. 

November  28,  1906,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Dean  Hollo wav  of  Durham,  daughter  of  James 
L.  and  Lucy   (Blackwell)   Holloway. 

Edwix  Hutchixsox  M^loxe  is  a  lawyer  of 
reputation  and  successful  practice  at  Louisburg, 
and  is  a  former  law  partner  of  the  present  gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina,  T.  W.  Bickett. 

Mr.  Malone  was  born  in  Louisburg  November 
26,  1882,  a  son  of  Dr.  James  Ellis  and  Anna  Rich- 
mond (Fuller)  Malone.  His  father  was  a  widely 
known  physician  in  that  section  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Edwin  H.  Malone  secured  most  of  his 
early  training  in  the  Louisburg  Male  Academy 
and  from  there  entered  the  L'niversity  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  studied  law'and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  August,  1911.  Since  then  he  has 
been  in  general  practice  at  Louisburg  formerly 
as  member  of  the  firm  Bickett  White  &  Malone. 
After  Governor  Bickett  was  inaugurated  as  chief 
executive  of  the  state  he  withdrew  from  the  firm, 
leaving  the  partnership  as  at  present  White  & 
Malone. 

Mr.  Malone  is  also  counsel  for  the  local  board 
of  education  and  is  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
County  Executive  Committee.  Fraternally  he  is 
affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks  and  is  a  steward  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South.  November  1,  191",  he 
married  Miss  Eleanor  Bryant  Cooke,  of  Louis- 
burg. Her  parents  are  Charles  K.  and  Rosa 
Kearney    Cooke. 

Arthur  Bertram  Skeldixg.  A  civil  and  elec- 
trical engineer  whose  wide  experience  has  con- 
nected him  with  many  important  undertakings 
both  North  and  South,  Arthur  Bertram  Skeldiug 
has  been  a  resident  of  the  City  of  Wilmington 
since  1897  and  has  been  during  that  time  general 
manager  of  the  Tide  Water  Power  Company,  one 
of  the  largest  corporations  for  the  development 
of  electrical  power  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

He  is  a  Northern  man  by  birth,  and  was  born 
at  Riverside,  Connecticut,  July  6,  1868,  a  son  of 
Arthur  Eugene  and  Esther  Ann  (Loekwood) 
Skelding.  His  father  was  a  Connecticut  attorney. 
He  was  liberally  educated,  attending  the  Kings 
School  at  Stamford,  Connecticut,  and  in  18S9 
graduating  from  the  Yale  l'niversity.  He  pursued 
the   scientific   and    technical    course,    and   for    the 


282 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


past  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  his  profession.  From  1889 
to  1S91  he  was  employed  in  the  testing  department 
of  the  General  Electrical  Company,  and  from 
1891  to  1893  was  in  the  employ  of  Thomas  A. 
Edison  at  Orange,  New  Jersey.  During  1893-95 
Mr.  Skelding  was  connected  with  the  Hall  Signal 
Company,  and  the  following  two  years  was  with 
W.  A.  McAdoo  as  manager  of  a  street  railroad 
in  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  The  Tide  Water  Power 
Company  and  its  predecessors  had  their  chief  de- 
velopment and  extension  of  service  during  the 
twenty-one  years  that  Mr.  Skelding  has  been  in 
active  charge.  He  resigned  from  the  Tide  Water 
Power  Company  January  1,   1918. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Cape  Fear  Club,  the  Cape 
Fear  Country  Club,  the  Carolina  Yacht  Club  and 
of  the  Masonic  Order. 

On  February  8,  1898,  he  married  Miss  Dorothy 
Ames,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  She  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  Columbus  De  Lano,  who  served  as 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President  Grant. 
Mrs.  Skelding  died  December  4,  1904,  leaving 
one  daughter,  Elizabeth  Ames.  On  April  3,  1907, 
Mr.  Skelding  married  Mary  Alan  Short,  daughter 
of  H.  B.  Short,  of  Lake  Waccamam,  North  Caro- 
lina. There  are  three  children  by  the  second  mar- 
riage, Mary  Alan,  Esther  Ann  and  Bertram. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Grady,  who  was  one  of 
North  Carolina's  most  distinguished  sons,  did 
his  greatest  work  as  an  educator.  Unless  the  con- 
dition of  his  life  and  times  are  considered,  that 
seems  faint  praise.  He  taught  and  led  men  to 
better  things,  not  in  the  "piping  times  of  peace," 
when  thought  and  effort  are  liberally  bestowed  on 
matters  that  have  a  cultural  advantage,  but  in 
those  years  when  war  had  devastated  the  South, 
when  men  and  women  and  children  had  to  struggle 
to  the  limit  of  their  energies  for  the  bare  ne- 
cessities of  existence — then  it  was  that  he  proved 
a  light  shining  in  the  dark,  a  steady  flame  that 
never  was  dimmed  except  when  his  own  spirit 
went  out  to  the  God  that  gave  it.  He  was  a 
natural  teacher,  a  force  for  purity  and  culture 
in  the  finest  sense  of  the  phrase,  and  as  one  who 
turned  many  to  righteousness  his  name  deserves 
to  shine  as  the  stars  in  the  firmament. 

While  first  and  repeated  emphasis  must  be 
placed  upon  his  achievements  as  an  educator,  his 
life  was  not  without  other  considerable  distinc- 
tions. He  was  one  of  the  bravest  soldiers  who 
fought  for  the  Southern  cause  and  aided  it  not 
only  with  his  presence  in  the  ranks  of  the  fighting 
armies  but  with  the  advocacy  of  an  enlightened 
mind  and  an  effective  pen.  He  also  served  two 
terms  in  Congress,  and  that  also  should  be  men- 
tioned because  he  was  truly  a  representative  of  the 
people. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Grady  was  born  in  Albert- 
son  Township,  Duplin  County,  October  10,  18.31, 
and  died  at  Clinton,  North  Carolina,  March  6, 
1914,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age.  In 
his  own  career  were  combined  the  talents  and 
characteristics  of  a  notable  group  of  antecedents. 
His  name  indicates  Irish  origin.  No  family  in 
America  has  preserved  in  larger  measure  certain 
racial  characteristics  than  these  North  Carolina 
Gradys.  From  this  family  was  descended  the 
noted  Henry  Woodfin  Grady  of  Georgia,  certainly 
the  most  eloquent  orator  the  South  has  produced, 
who  had  back  of  his  oratory  a  great  and  far- 
seeing    mind,    whose    orations    were    not    merely 


beautiful  thoughts  finely  expressed,  but  were  the 
outeroppiugs  both  of  a  great  intellect,  which 
could  grasp  the  most  profound  problems  of  civic 
life,  and  of  a  heart  full  of  love  for  his  fellow 
men.  Henry  W.  Grady,  though  he  died  at  thirty- 
nine,  left  an  imprint  upon  the  American  public 
mind  which   will  never  fade. 

According  to  standard  authorities  the  Gradys 
and  0  'Gradys  go  back  in  Ireland  to  the  fourth 
century.  Very  much,  however,  of  this  early 
family  lore  is  mythical,  not  only  in  relation  to 
this  family,  but  with  all  the  families  dealt  with 
wdiich  go  back  of  the  year  1000.  A  prominent 
early  character  was  John  O  'Grady,  Archdeacon 
of  Caswell  in  1365.  In  1405  another  John  O  'Grady 
was  Bishop  of  Elfin,  a  cathedral  founded  by  St. 
Patrick  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.  The 
Grady  coat  of  arms  is  thus  described :  ' '  Per  pale 
gules  and  sable,  three  lions  passant  per  pale  argent 
and  or.  Crest :  A  horse 's  head  erased  argent. 
Motto :      Vulneratus  non  vietus. ' ' 

The  ancestry  of  the  North  Carolina  branch  of 
the  family  goes  back  to  William  Grady  or  Graddy, 
who  was  in  North  Carolina  prior  to  1718,  since 
on  June  30th  of  that  year  James  Rutland  con- 
veyed fifty  acres  of  land  on  Deep  Creek  in  Bertie 
County  to  William  Grady.  It  is  said  that  the 
name  has  always  been  pronounced  Graddy  in 
Duplin   County. 

William  Grady  had  a  son  John  who  moved  to 
Duplin  County  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  in 
the  fork  of  Burncoat  Creek  and  Northeast  Eiver. 
That  land  is  still  owned  by  the  Grady  family. 
This  John  moved  to  Duplin  County  in  1739.  He 
married  Mary  Whitfield,  daughter  of  William 
Whitfield.  Of  the  children  of  John,  the  son  John 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge 
in  1776,  and  a  monument  to  his  memory  stands 
on  the  old  battlefield.  Another  son,  Alexander, 
who  participated  in  the  same  battle,  afterwards 
married  Nancy  Thomas,  and  lived  the  remainder 
of  his  life  on  the  old  Grady  plantation.  His  son, 
Henry,  commonly  called  by  the  family  "Lord 
Harry, ' '  married  Elizabeth  Outlaw,  daughter  of 
James  Outlaw,  January  6,  1799.  On  February  17, 
1800,  there  was  born  of  this  marriage  Alexander 
Outlaw  Grady,  father  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
Grady. 

In  1830  Alexander  Outlaw  Grady  married  Anne 
Sloan,  daughter  of  Gibson  and  Bachel  (Bryan) 
Sloan.  Through  his  grandmother,  Bachel  Bryan, 
Benjamin  Franklin  Grady  was  directly  connected 
with  the  Bryan  family  of  North  Carolina  as  well 
as  with  William  Jennings  Bryan  of  Nebraska. 
All  of  this  family  is  directly  descended  from 
Lord  Needha.m  of  Ireland,  whose  daughter  mar- 
ried a  Bryan  and  immigrated  to  America.  One 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  this  branch  was 
Colonel  Needham  Bryan,  who  was  colonel  of 
Johnston  County  while  Tryon  and  Martin  were  the 
governors  of  the  province  and  the  representative 
of  his  county  in  the  Provincial  Congresses  of  1774 
and  1775.  Thus  B.  F.  Grady  had  in  his  veins 
the  blood  of  the  Whitfields,  the  Outlaws,  the 
Bryans,  the  Sloans,  the  Needhams,  the  Kornegays 
and  many  other  prominent  families  of  North 
Carolina. 

The  Gradys,  while  favorable  to  the  adoption  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  in  1788,  subsequently 
adopted  Mr.  Jefferson 's  political  views.  In  1832 
Alexander  Outlaw  Grady,  after  hearing  Mr.  Cal- 
houn 's  address  before  the  Legislature  of  North 
Carolina,  of  which  he  was  then  a  member,  became 
an    adherent    of    Calhoun 's    doctrines    and    svm- 


<3.#-^w^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


283 


pathized  with  South  Carolina 's  action  at  that 
time.  By  1860  he  was  a  pronounced  secessionist. 
Alexander  O.  Grady  was  a  farmer,  but  a  student 
of  politics.  His  library,  though  small,  was  well 
selected,  consisting  chiefly  of  histories  and  biog- 
raphies and  political  works,  witli  only  a  few  books 
of  lighter  literature. 

B.  F.  Grady  therefore  had  the  inestimable  bless- 
ing of  good  birth  and  family  tradition.  His  boy- 
hood was  spent  in  the  country.  He  attended  the 
old  Field  schools  in  the  winter  and  in  the  summer 
worked  on  a  farm.  He  was  blessed  with  good 
health,  and  was  vigorous  in  body  and  mind.  He 
enjoyed  hunting  and  fishing,  and  thus  early  be- 
came a  student  of  nature.  From  his  father  he 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  politics  and  of  public 
problems.  Under  the  guidance  of  his  mother  he 
read  and  studied  ' '  The  Science  of  Common 
Things. ' '  When  he  was  about  seventeen  years 
of  age  his  father  and  some  neighbors  engaged  a 
classical  teacher,  and  afterwards  lie  was  prepared 
for  college  at  the  Old  Grove  Academy,  then  taught 
by  Bev.  James  M.  Sprunt,  a  Scotch  Fresbyterian. 
In  1853  he  entered  the  university  and  graduated 
with  the  highest  honors  in  1857,  receiving  the 
degree  A.  M.  Among  his  classmates  were  Col. 
Thomas  S.  Kenan,  Judge  A.  C.  Avery,  Maj. 
Robert  Bingham,  Dr.  D.  McL.  Graham,  Capt. 
John  Dugger,  Hon.  John  Graham,  and  many 
others  who  became  prominent  subsequently. 

Even  before  his  university  career  B.  F.  Grady 
determined  that  his  mission  in  life  was  to  dispel 
ignorance  and  uplift  the  people.  It  was  much 
against  the  wishes  of  his  father  that  he  chose  to 
follow  the  vocation  of  teaching.  After  leaving 
the  university  he  became)  associated  with  Mr. 
Sprunt  at  Old  Grove  Academy  and  two  years 
later,  on  the  recommendation  of  Governor  Swain, 
then  president  of  the  university,  and  Dr.  Philips, 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  he  was  elected  Professor 
of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Sciences  in  Austin 
College,  then  located  at  Huntsville,  Texas.  He 
entered  upon  his  new  duties  in  Texas  in  Septem- 
ber, 1859,  and  continued  this  employment  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  at  which  time  the  college 
suspended. 

Prior  to  the  war  Mr.  Grady  had  not  become  a 
pronounced  secessionist.  It  was  only  after  the 
election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  when  it  was  plain  that 
force  would  be  employed  to  destroy  the  rights  of 
the  Southern  states  that  he  identified  himself  with 
the  Southern  cause.  Just  as  he  was  on  the  point 
of  enlisting  a  fever  disabled  him  from  active 
work,  and  prevented  him  from  entering  the  army 
until  the  early  spring  of  1862.  He  then  became 
a  member  of  the  25th  Texas  Cavalry,  which  in  a 
few  months  was  dismounted  and  became  an  in- 
fantry organization.  He  served  throughout  with 
the  rank  of  an  orderly  sergeant,  though  he  twice 
refused  the  offer  of  a  captaincy.  At  Arkansas 
Post  January  11,  1863,  the  entire  command  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  For  about  three 
months  Mr.  Grady  was  confined  at  Camp  Butler 
near  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  suffered  greatly 
from  the  rigors  of  winter  and  the  many  brutalities 
imposed  upon  the  prisoners,  and  at  one  time  was 
shot  at  by  a  guard  because  he  refused  to  take  off 
his   cap   to  a   Union   officer. 

He  was  exchanged  in  April,  1863,  and  the  regi- 
ment then  became  a  part  of  Grandbury's  Brigade 
of  Hardee's  Corps.  He  was  in  the  famous  divi- 
sion commanded  by  Gen.  Pat  Cleburne.  He 
participated  in  many  battles,  notably  at  Lookout 
Mountain,  Chickamauga,  with  General  Johnston 
in  all  the   desperate  fighting  up  to  Atlanta,  and 


then  with  Hood  in  the  disastrous  campaign  of 
Tennessee,  culminating  in  the  battle  of  Franklin, 
where  every  Confederate  officer  in  Cleburne 's 
division  above  the  rank  of  lieutenant  was  killed. 
Mr.  Grady  had  developed  into  an  expert  rifleman 
and  was  often  detailed  to  do  duty  as  a  sharp- 
shooter. After  Franklin  and  Nashville  the  regi- 
ment made  its  way  to  North  Carolina  to  assist  in 
repelling  General  Sherman.  Just  before  the 
battle  of  Bentonville  Mr.  Grady  was  again  taken 
ill  with  fever,  was  sent  to  Raleigh,  and  was  de- 
tained at  the  Peace  Institute  Hospital  until  May 
2d.  The  war  closed  while  he  was  delirious  with 
fever,  and  when  he  regained  consciousness  both 
Lee  and  Johnston  had  laid  down  their  arms. 

Without  money,  ragged  and  still  suffering  from 
the  effects  of  fever,  he  wandered  back  to  the 
home  of  his  father  in  Duplin  County.  Two  years 
later,  in  1867,  he  saw  his  father  die  of  a  broken 
heart  at  the  woeful  result  of  the  struggle  in  which 
two  of  his  sons  had  been  killed,  the  other  two 
wounded,  and  he  himself  had  suffered  grievously. 

Mr.  Grady  realized  that  it  was  necessary  to 
build  up  a  new  South  upon  the  ruins  of  the  past. 
Teaching  was  his  chosen  profession  and  he  be- 
lieved that  in  the  education  of  the  people  lay 
the  salvation  of  the  country.  Soon  after  his  re- 
turn from  the  army  he  was  employed  by  a  gentle- 
man who  had  for  years  maintained  a  good  private 
school  on  his  farm.  Then  in  1867  he  was  en- 
gaged to  teach  the  Neuse  River  Academy  near 
Seven  Springs,  but  in  January,  1868,  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Murdock  McLeod  and  taught 
the  Clinton  Male  Academy  seven  years.  As  a 
result  of  ill  health  due  to  the  confining  work  of 
the  schoolroom  lie  took  up  farming.  He  was  in 
no  sense  a  farmer  and  he  soon  had  some  young 
men  around  him  and  was  conducting  a  private 
school. 

In  January,  1879,  he  returned  to  his  old  home 
in  Duplin  County  and  in  1881  was  elected  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction,  a  position  he  held 
until  1888.  He  was  pre-eminently  fitted  for  the 
duties  of  this  office.  During  his  administration 
the  teachers  were  required  to  attain  to  a  higher 
standard  than  ever  before.  He  visited  the  schools 
often,  and  in  the  summer  months  conducted  an 
institute   at   Keenansville. 

Through  all  these  years  his  reputation  had  been 
steadily  growing  and  he  had  many  fast  and  loyal 
friends,  especially  among  the  agricultural  pop- 
ulation. In  1890  he  was  elected  to  Congress  to 
represent  the  Third  North  Carolina  District  and 
was  re-elected  in  1892.  He  represented  Jiis  district 
with  ability  and  unswerving  fidelity.  His  desk  at 
Washington  was  often  surrounded  by  members  of 
Congress  seeking  information  from  the  ' '  encyclo- 
pedia," as  he  was  familiarly  called.  He  formed 
pleasing  relations  and  friendship  with  some  of 
the  most  inotable  of  his  colleagues,  including 
Speaker  Crisp  of  Georgia,  James  C.  Richardson 
of  Tennessee,  William  J.  Bryan  of  Nebraska, 
and  Roger  Q.  Mills  of  Texas.  While  in  Congress 
he  made  it  a  rule  that  he  would  never  vote  on  a 
proposition  until  he  had  thoroughly  examined  it. 
Unless  his  judgment  approved  the  measure  he  in- 
variably voted  against  it.  He  was  at  the  same 
time  a  zealous  and  influential  worker  for  all 
measures  that  promised  any  benefit  to  the  South 
and  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  country. 

On  retiring  from  Congress  in  1895  Mr.  Grady 
removed  to  Turkey  in  Sampson  County,  where  with 
his  son,  Henry  A.  Grady,  he  established  a  school 
known  as  Turkey  Academy.  In  1901  he  removed 
to  Clinton,  in  which  city  he  spent  his  last  years. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Through  all  the  later  years  of  his  life  his  house 
was  open  to  all  who  wished  to  study,  mauy  avail- 
ing tnemselves  of  the  privilege  and  paying  for 
their  board  and  tuition  in  whole  or  in  part  by  farm 
work.  Thus  he  continued  his  chosen  work  almost 
to  tne  end  of  his  life.  He  otten  expressed  the 
contents  of  his  keen  and  vigorous  intellect  in 
writing  tor  the  press  on  industrial,  social  and 
political  subjects,  in  1867  he  published  an  Agri- 
cultural Catechism  as  a  text  book  ior  tne  common 
schools.  It  was  especially  valuable  because  it 
took  up  the  subject  ot  chemistry  in  farming.  How- 
ever, its  usefulness  was  limited  because  in  the  few 
years  following  the  publication  of  the  book  the 
public  schools  were  interrupted  or  hardly  taught 
at  all.  His  later  productions  were  of  an  historical 
nature.  In  1898  he  issued  the  ' '  Case  of  the  Soutn 
against  the  North,"  a  compendium  of  the  his- 
torical evidence  justifying  the  Southern  states  in 
their  controversy  with  the  Northern  states.  It  was 
a  masterly  presentation  of  the  subject,  and  many 
critics  have  accorded  it  a  place  equal  to  it  not 
superior  to  any  of  the  authoritative  volumes  on 
the  subject.  Another  work  of  his  was  ' '  South  's 
Burden, ' '  which  deals  with  Reconstruction. 

He  possessed  a  philosophic  as  well  as  deeply 
religious  mind,  and  at  this  time  it  is  worth  wnile 
to  recall  some  of  the  views  he  expressed  on  the 
ideals  of  American  life  as  quoted  by  a  former 
writer :  "I  can  add  nothing  to  the  rules  of  life 
laid  down  in  the  New  Testament.  Our  phenomenal 
material  advancement  and  the  commercial  spirit 
of  the  age  have  somewhat  blinded  us  to  the  in- 
flexibility of  these  rules  as  our  only  guide  to 
the  highest  and  best  life  possible  here  on  earth. 
We  are  justifying  all  sorts  of  violations  of  them 
in  every  phase  of  our  life,  if  committed  by  our 
family  or  our  party  or  our  country ;  and  all  history 
teaches  that  slow  death  inevitably  comes  to  a 
people  who  do  not  return  to  the  paths  of  recti- 
tude marked  out  by  these  rules.  Of  course,  a 
knowledge  of  these  duties  and  a  recognition  of 
their  unmercifulness  can  be  founded  on  nothing 
less  than  a  degree  of  mental  illumination  which 
few  of  our  race  have  attained. ' ' 

A  few  years  ago  a  beautiful  memoir  to  this 
great  son  of  North  Carolina  was  published  in 
' '  Carolina  and  the  Southern  Cross, ' '  and  a  few 
paragraphs  from  this  appreciation  deserve  quota- 
tion here : 

"Mr.  Grady  was  by  nature  a  teacher  of  men. 
His  method  of  instruction  was  largely  Socratic — 
he  propounded  questions  and  required  his  pupils 
to  answer  them.  He  sought  to  arouse  in  the  pupil 
a  spirit  of  inquiry,  believing  that  all  culture  came 
primarily  from  individual  effort,  stimulated  and 
directed  by  proper  suggestion.  Wherever  he  went 
and  with  whomsoever  he  associated  his  giant  in- 
tellect left  an  indelible  impression..  His  mind  was 
omnivorous,  his  memory  almost  infallible,  his' rea- 
soning powers  unlimited.  There  were  few  fields 
of  thought  that  he  had  not  traversed.  He  would 
have  been  equally  at  home  with  Spencer,  the 
scientist,  or  Goethe,  the  philosopher  and  poet.  In 
the  realm  of  mathematics  he  had  no  superior,  in 
historical  research  few  equals.  His  leanings  were 
towards  the  natural  sciences,  rather  than  mere 
Belle  Letire,  but  his  earlier  writings  evidenced  the 
fact  that  he  was  also  at  home  with  the  poets  and 
in  perfect  attune  with  the  beauties  of  nature. 
Accuracy  and  exactness  he  demanded  in  all  things; 
wherefore,  in  the  mathematics,  natural  philosophy 
and  kindred  sciences,  he  found  that  perfection  of 
reason,  that  infallible  logic,  which  alone  could 
satisfy  the  cravings  of  his  mind. 


' '  To  those  who  knew  him  well  his  memory  of 
things  was  proverbial.  He  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten how  to  forget.  His  mind  was  a  store- 
house of  knowledge,  a  Thesaurus  of  facts;  so  di- 
gested and  arranged  as  to  take  on  the  aspects 
of  an  encyclopedia.  Such  was  the  impression  that 
usually  prevailed  among  those  who  knew  him. 

"Mr.  Grady  was  a  man  of  deep  religious  feel- 
ing, but  his  views  were  largely  influenced  by  reason. 
For  the  mere  dogmas  of  religion  he  had  little 
patience;  but  for  the  cardinal  principles  of  the 
church  lie  had  the  greatest  respect;  still,  he  was 
not  orthodox,  as  the  word  is  generally  understood. 
He  was  sometimes  accused  of  having  entertained 
heretical  views ;  but  his  unfeigned  piety  to  God,  his 
deep  reverence  and  respect  for  the  religious  views 
of  others,  his  unbounded  charity  and  simplicity 
of  life  left  little  argument  in  support  of  the 
charge.  He  had  absolute  faith  in  the  Divine  Plan 
and  in  the  final  triumph  of  Truth.  .  .  .  He 
recognized  no  kinship  between  truth  and  error,  no 
compromise  with  falsehood,  no  borderland  in 
morals.  He  loved  the  truth  for  its  own'  sake, 
and  no  consideration  could  have  induced  him  to 
swerve  therefrom. 

"He  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  and, 
as  is  usually  the  case  with  men  of  that  kind, 
was  lenient  to  the  absurdities  and  inconsistencies 
of  others.  He  was  prodigal  in  his  habits.  The 
material  things  of  life  had  little  attraction  for 
him.  Without  love  of  money  or  property,  the  sim- 
plicity of  his  life  and  conduct  was  a  source  of 
wonderment  to  his  friends.  He  was  affectionate 
to  his  family  and  loyal  to  his  friends.  He  delighted 
in  the  companionship  of  children,  between  whom 
and  himself  there  was  a  perfect  bond  of  sym- 
pathy, in  the  utter  carelessness  with  which  he 
viewed  the  material  things  of  life. ' ' 

He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Olivia 
Hamilton,  a  grand-niece  of  Alexander  Hamilton 
and  a  resident  before  her  marriage  of  Huntsville, 
Texas.  To  this  marriage  there  was  born  one  son, 
Franklin  Grady,  now  a  prominent  lawyer  of  New 
York  City.  Mr.  Grady 's  first  wife  died  while 
he  was  in  Camp  Butler  prison.  In  1870  he  married 
Mary  Charlotte  Bizzell,  eldest  daughter  of  Dr. 
Henry  A.  and  Celestial  (Eobinson)  Bizzell.  She 
was  related  to  the  Robinsons  and  Matthews  fami- 
lies of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  By  this 
marriage  the  children  were :  Henry  A.  Grady,  else- 
where referred  to;  Cleburne  Grady,  James  B. 
Grady,  Stephen  S.  Grady,  Benjamin  Grady,  Louis 
D.  Grady,  Lessie  R.  Grady,  Mary  Eva  Grady  and 
Mrs.  Anna  B.  Cowan. 

Henry  Alexander  Grady,  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent lawyers  of  the  state,  and  a  resident  of  Clin- 
ton, is  a  son  of  the  late  Benjamin  Franklin  Grady, 
the  distinguished  North  Carolina  soldier,  educator 
and  citizen  whose  career  is  sketched  on  previous 
pages.  The  life  of  Henry  Alexander  Grady  has 
not  been  unworthy  of  so  great  a  sire.  He  has  in 
fact  added  something  to  the  lustre  of  the  family 
name.  A  year  or  so  ago  a  biographer  who  had 
taken  pains  to  study  the  work  and  character  of 
Mr.  Grady  wrote  an  interesting  sketch  of  him,  and 
that  article  itself  is  so  well  phrased  and  so  inti- 
mate a  view  of  his  personality  that  with  a  few 
adaptations  and  omissions  it  is  published  in  the 
present  North  Carolina  History. 

There  are  two  classes  of  country  builders  the 
world  over,  and  in  our-  own  country  these  two 
classes  are  perhaps  more  clearly  defined  than  in 
any  other.  The  first  class  is  that  minority,  which 
frequently   holds  office,   gets  newspaper  notoriety, 


C^LulJ^\J. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


285 


and  takes  pains  to  see  that  the  public  is  kept 
thoroughly  informed  of  its  heroic  efforts  to  save 
the  country  from  destruction  and  to  bring  it  to 
prosperity.  Men  of  this  class,  never  averse  to  their 
oames  being  recorded  in  history,  if  only  for  bare 
mention,  understand  well  the  art  of  advertising. 
It  would  not  be  fair  or  truthful  to  say  that  such 
men  do  not  render  valuable  service,  but  it  may  be 
justly  observed  that  professional  advertisers  are 
apt  to  overestimate  the  value  of  their  wares. 

The  other  class  is  composed  of  the  men  who 
do  the  day's  work.  They  are  not  as  a  rule  good 
advertisers.  They  are  not  seekers  after  notoriety. 
Their  ambitions  are  not  unreasonable;  they  have 
convictions;  they  have  courage.  The  great  mass 
of  them  after  lives  of  labor  go  to  their  graves 
unknown  outside  of  the  communities  in  which  they 
have  lived  and  labored.  But  it  is  these  men  who 
save  the  nation  in  every  emergency;  it  is  these 
men  who  preserve  its  laws,  take  care  of  its 
moral  interests,  build  up  its  industries,  and  are 
satisfied  if,  after  long  and  strenuous  labor,  they 
can  pass  on  to  their  children  the  old  institutions 
preserved,  with  some  little  new  features  of  merit 
added.  These  men  do  not  get  proper  recognition 
always,  even  from  their  own  generation.  It  is  im- 
portant, if  future  historians  are  to  have  accurate 
knowledge  of  our  people  and  our  conditions,  that 
men  of  this  class  shall  be  fairly  represented  and 
their  merits  pointed  out  in  works  of  permanent 
character. 

To  this  second  class  belongs  Henry  Alexander 
Grady  of  Clinton.  He  was  born  September  19, 
1871,  in  his  grandfather's  house  in  Clinton,  "North 
Carolina.  At  the  age  of  seven  his  father's  health 
became  impaired  and  he  moved  out  to  his  farm 
in  Duplin  County,  where  he,  his  father,  his  grand- 
father and  great-grandfather  were  all  born  and 
buried.  Henry  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  nine 
children,  six  boys  and  three  girls.  He  tells  the 
story  of  that  early  period  in  a  much  more  in- 
teresting fashion  than  a  grave  biographer  can  do 
it.  He  frankly  admits  that  he  did  not  par- 
ticularly distinguish  himself  on  the  farm.  His 
father  was  county  superintendent  of  education, 
and  his  great-uncle,  Steuben  Miller  Grady,  was 
chairman  of  the  County  Board  of  Education.  For 
several  years  these  two  public  spirited  men  went 
about  the  county  trying  to  serve  their  country  by 
advancing  the  cause  of  education,  while  the  two 
crowds  of  young  people  were  supposed  to  be  run- 
ning the  farm.  In  1889  his  father  was  elected  to 
the  Federal  Congress,  serving  two  terms  or  four 
years.  Young  Henry  was  in  charge  of  the  farm 
during  his  absence. 

In  189:'.  he  went  to  Chapel  Hill  and  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  After  two  years 
there  he  was  called  to  Washington  to  act  as  secre- 
tary to  his  father.  While  there  he  completed  his 
law  education  at  Georgetown  University.  His  real 
qualifications  were  beginning  to  appear,  as  is  shown 
by  his  election  to  the  presidency  of  his  class  of 
360  young  men.  In  1895  Mr.  Grady  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  minor  position  in  the  United  States 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  In  this  capacity  he 
went  to  Alaska,  assisted  in  surveying  the  boundary 
line  between  that  country  ami  British  Columbia, 
and  also  assisted  in  deep-sea  soundings  and  as- 
tronomical work.  Returning  to  North  Carolina  for 
a  short  rest  in  January,  1896.  he  located  in  New 
York  f'itv  as  law  clerk  in  the  office  of  his  half 
brother.  Franklin  Grady.  Later  on  he  accepted 
a  position  with  a  reform  club,  and  held  that  posi- 
tion during  the  exciting  free  silver  campaign  of 
1896.     His   next   work   was   as   principal   clerk  in 


the  law  office  of  John  Sprunt  Hill,  a  distinguished 
North  Carolinian  who  was  then  practicing  law  at 
52  William  Street.  This  firm  was  later  known  as 
Hill,  Thompson  and  Stiirke.  Mr.  Hill  was  a  mem- 
ber of  a  military  organization  which  on  the  out- 
break of  the  Spanish-American  war  was  called  to 
service,  and  this  resulted  in  Mr.  Grady's  return 
to  North  Carolina,  where  he  organized  a  company, 
but  about  the  time  he  had  the  company  thoroughly 
organized  he  was  notified  that  no  more  soldiers 
were  needed. 

In  1899  Mr.  Grady  was  again  in  North  Carolina 
and  with  his  father  taught  school  at  Turkey  in 
Sampson  County.  They  taught  two  sessions  and 
he  says  without  profit,  but  with  some  degTee  of 
satisfaction.  In  the  summer  of  1900  he  took  a 
short  law  course  at  the  State  University,  got  his 
certificate  from  Judge  MaeRae,  and  was  granted 
his  license  to  practice  by  the  Supreme  Court  in 
September,  1900.  He  says  for  three  years  that 
he  practiced  "at  the  law,"  the  firm  being  Faison 
&  Grady. 

In  1901  he  married  Annie  Elizabeth  Graham, 
only  daughter  of  Dr.  Daniel  McLean  and  Elizabeth 
(  Murphy )  Graham.  Mrs.  Grady 's  great-grand- 
father, Col.  Colin  McLean,  who  commanded  a  part 
of  the  Tory  forces  at  Moore  's  Creek  battle  in  the 
Revolution  was  opposed  to  Mr.  Grady  's  own  great- 
great-grandfather,  Alexander  Grady,  who  was  in 
the  whig  forces.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grady  have  three 
sons:  Henry  A.  Grady,  Jr.,  Franklin  McLean 
Grady  and  Graham  Montrose  Grady.  The  naming 
of  the  youngest  boy  shows  the  admiration  of  the 
parents  for  James  Graham,  Marquis  of  Montrose, 
the  greatest  man  of  the  Graham  elan. 

[n  1904  Mr.  Grady  formed  a  new  law  partner- 
ship with  Archie  McLean  Graham,  his  brother-in- 
law,  which  firm  has  been  in  continuous  practice 
up  to  date  under  the  name  Grady  &  Graham.  In 
190?,  Mr.  Grady  was  nominated  by  the  democratic 
minority  in  Sampson  County  as  its  candidate  to 
the  General  Assembly.  He  made  the  race  against 
great  odds  and  was  defeated  by  the  normal  repub- 
lican majority,  as  expected.  In  1905  he  was  nomi- 
nated and  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  where  he 
served  one  term  with  marked  ability.  From  1902 
to  1910  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Democratic 
Executive  Committee.  He  served  four  years  on 
the  staff  of  Governor  Kitchin  with  the  rank  of 
colonel. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grady  are  Presbyterians  in  church 
relations.  In  fraternal  circles  he  is  at  this  date 
master  of  Hiram  Lodge  No.  98,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  North  Carolina,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted  Masons,  High  Priest  of  Clinton  Chapter 
No.  40,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  a  member  of  Oasis 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  a  member  of 
Plantagenet  Commandery  No.  1,  Knight  Templars, 
at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  and  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason.  He  also  holds 
membership  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

In  the  sixteen  years  since  he  began  practice 
Mr.  Grady  has  climbed  solely  by  his  own  efforts 
to  the  point  where  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
foremost  lawyers  of  his  section  of  the  state.  He 
disclaims  being  an  orator,  and  yet  his  direct  and 
pithy  speeches  always  show  the  highest  and  best 
form  of  oratory.  He  meekly  admits  that  his 
longest  speech  to  a  jury  was  only  forty-five  minutes. 
One  of  the  greatest  lawyers  the  nation  has  ever 
known  was  William  H.  Crawford,  who  would  have 
been  president  of  the  United  States  but  for  the 
breakdown    of    his    health.      Mr.    Crawford    rarelv 


286 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


ever  lost  a  case  in  court  and  it  did  not.  matter 
how  great  the  case  was  he  was  rarely  known  to 
go  over  his  limit  of  thirty  minutes  in  addressing 
a  jury.  Mr.  Grady  therefore  has  worked  out  for 
himself  a  system  practiced  by  the  greatest  jurist 
who  knew  how  to  win  law  suits. 

Henry  A.  Grady  has  the  Irish  wit  accompanied 
with  a  biting  tongue,  and  this,  though  it  may 
happen  often  that  the  pungent  speech  was  not 
intended  in  malice,  has  made  him  enemies.  A 
glance  at  the  man  reveals  his  character.  It  is  a 
face  full  of  courage,  keen,  intelligent,  but  the  face 
also  of  a  man  who  does  not  bear  malice  and  is 
willing  to  meet  the  other  fellow  half  way  in  bury- 
ing the  hatchet.  If  he  was  more  careful  of  speech 
it  might  be  that  political  preferment  would  come 
his  way,  but  would  that  be  an  improvement?  As 
it  is,  he  is  setting  an  example,  fearless,  truthful, 
honorable,  kindly,  loyal,  a  man  who  can  be  trusted, 
a  man  whose  community  will  in  some,  let  us  hope, 
not  far  distant  day  appreciate  the  value  of  one 
who  for  many  years  went  in  and  out  among  them, 
doing  his  duty  in  every  emergency  honestly  as  God 
gave  him  to  see  it. 

In  1912  Mr.  Grady  visited  Europe  with  his 
friend  Lauehlin  A.  Bethune.  They  traveled  over 
Ireland,  Scotland,  England,  Franee,  Spain,  Italy, 
Austria,  Switzerland  and  Belgium.  They  visited 
the  old  home  of  Mr.  Grady 's  ancestors  in  Ireland, 
where  he  learned  that  the  name  was  pronounced 
Graddy,  or  as  the  "  a "  in  father  is  pronounced. 
Speaking  of  this  trip  Mr.  Grady  says  it  was  both 
an  education  and  also  a  disillusionment. 

Literature  is  one  of  Mr.  Grady's  great  loves. 
His  father,  as  scholarly  a  man  as  ever  lived,  first 
class  man  in  Greek,  Latin,  French  and  Mathe- 
matics at  the  University,  a  born  teacher,  conveyed 
to  the  son  his  knowledge  in  such  a  way  that  the 
son's  education  is  equal  to  that  of  any  college 
graduate.  Naturally  he  has  taken  to  the  pen  and 
has  written  a  good  deal,  both  in  prose  and  poetry. 
Some  of  his  poems  have  attracted  wide  attention, 
though  the  greater  part  of  them  have  never  been 
published.  It  is  his  purpose,  some  day,  to  publish 
them  for  private  distribution.  If  he  had  not 
elected  to  be  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Grady  undoubtedly 
could  have  rivaled  Henry  Woodfin  Grady  in  a 
literary  way. 

M.  C.  Braswell.  One  of  the  commercial  lead- 
ers in  Eastern  Carolina  is  named  when  attention 
is  called  to  M.  C.  Braswell,  who  is  proprietor  of 
the  largest  supply  business  in  the  state,  is  an 
extensive  grower  of  cotton,  tobacco  and  peanuts, 
is  interested  in  many  of  the  flourishing  enter- 
prises that  bring  prosperity  to  tins  section  and 
is  one  of  the  largest  landowners  in  Nash  and 
Edgecombe  counties.  In  the  generous  distribu- 
tion of  his  ample  means  he  has  done  much  to 
adorn   and   beautify  his  home  town,   Battleboro. 

M.  C.  Braswell  was  born  in  North  Carolina 
and  is  a  son  of  the  late  T.  P.  Braswell.  He  has 
two  surviving  brothers,  J.  C.  Braswell,  who  is  pres- 
ident of  the  Planters  Bank  at  Rocky  Mount,  and 
Dr.  M.  R.  Braswell,  of  the  same  city,  all  three 
brothers  being  men  of  large  means  and  unselfish 
public  spirit.  This  whole  section  is  indebted  to 
them   for  a  large  measure  of  its  prosperity. 

After  completing  his  school  course  M.  C.  Bras- 
well was  admitted  to  a  business  partnership  with 
his  father,  under  the  firm  style  of  T.  P.  Braswell 
&  Son,  which  continued  until  the  death  of  the 
senior  member.  Prior  to  this  event  for  some  time 
M.   C.   Braswell   had  been   the   active  maiuger   of 


the  business,  and  afterward  he  continued  along 
the  same  trade  lines  as  before,  further  expanding 
as  conditions  demanded.  As  a  supply  house  this 
ranks  second  to  none  in  Eastern  North  Carolina, 
and  is  one  of  the  largest,  in  a  business  sense,  re- 
tail dealers  in  fertilizers,  selling  probably  5,000 
tons  annually.  This  is  but  an  adjunct  to  his 
numerous  other  important  enterprises,  his  agri- 
cultural interests  alone  making .  him  one  of  the 
capitalists  of  North  Carolina.  He  owns  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  realty  at  Rocky  Mount  but 
maintains  his  home  at  Battleboro,  eight  miles 
distant,  where  he  owns  a  handsome  modern  resi- 
dence set  in  beautiful  grounds. 

Mr.  Braswell  was  married  in  1894,  to  Miss  Alice 
Bryan,  who  belongs  to  one  of  the  aristocratic 
old  families  of  this  section,  and  they  have  four 
children. 

Mr.  Braswell  is  a  man  of  liberality  of  view 
on  many  subjects  and  is  of  complete  personal  in- 
dependence when  questions  of  local  importance 
come  up  for  adjustment,  He  is  a  man  who  could 
never  be  coereed  but  is  one  who,  in  spite  of  any 
opposition,  would  do  his  full  duty  as  he  saw  it, 
in  business,  in  politics  or  in  society.  His  views 
on  all  questions  are  so  sound  and  practical  that 
his  fellow  citizens  value  them  and  few  movements 
of  any  importance  are  carried  through  without 
his  investigation  and  interest,  if  they  concern  the 
welfare  of  this  part  of  his  native  state.  Firm 
but  genial,  liberal  but  judicious,  and  benevolent 
far  beyond  the  usual  individual,  Mr.  Braswell  is 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  the  people  with 
whom  his  entire  life  of  usefulness  has  been  spent. 

Winfield  Augustus  Worth.  In  naming  the 
representative  men  of  Elizabeth  City,  respectful 
attention  is  called  to  Winfield  Augustus  Worth,  a 
leading  member  of  the  Pasquotank  bar  and  for 
the  past  thirteen  .years  serving  in  the  office  of 
referee  in  bankruptcy. 

Winfield  A.  Worth  was  born  at  Fayetteville, 
North  Carolina,  October  9,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of 
Albert  Hugh  and  Almeda  (Hurt)  Worth.  His 
father  is  well  known  as  a  master  of  steam  vessels 
all  along  the  eastern  coast  and  is  master  of  steam 
vessels  in  the  river  trade,  operating  on  the  Cape 
Fear  and  Savannah  rivers. 

In  private  schools  and  later  in  the  public  school 
Mr.  Worth  was  given  educational  training.  Am- 
bitious to  enter  the  law,  he  began  its  study  by 
himself  and  also  perfected  his  knowledge  of 
stenography  until  he  secured  the  exacting  position 
of  court  stenographer  and  officiated  satisfactorily 
as  such  in  Eastern  North  Carolina  and  also  in 
Virginia  for  four  years,  not,  however,  in  the 
meantime  neglecting  his  law  studies.  His  per- 
severance and  diligence  were  rewarded  by  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  in  February,  1902.  He  located  for 
the  practice  of  law  in  Elizabeth  City,  and  while 
competent  in  every  branch,  has  made  a  specialty 
of  corporation,  titles  and  realty  law.  In  1904 
Mr.  Worth  was  appointed  referee  in  bankruptcy 
and  has  served  in  this  office  ever  since.  His 
knowledge  along  his  special  lines  is  so  complete 
and  his  accuracy  so  well  established  that  he  has 
built  up  a  large  and  valuable  practice. 

Mr.  Worth  was  married  October  26,  1910.  to 
Miss  Ethel  Virginia  Etheridge.  who  is  a  daughter 
of  Edward  Everett  and  Virginia  (Sessoms) 
Etheridee,  natives  of  Bertie  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. The  father  of  Mrs.  Worth  was  an  extensive 
planter. 

In    addition    to   attending  to   his   official   duties 


IVk.L-v-iMC 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


287 


and  to  his  constantly  increasing  law  practice,  Mr. 
Worth  is  interested  in  some  of  the  city  's  success- 
ful business  concerns  and  is  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Elizabeth  City  Fuel  &  Supply  Company. 
Politically  he  is  a  democrat  and  has  always  been 
loyal  to  party  and  friends.  For  some  years  he 
was  identified  with  military  affairs  at  Elizabeth 
City  and  in  1906  was  commander  of  the  Second 
Battalion,  Xaval  Reserves,  but  resigned  from  the 
organization  in  1914.  Ever  since  coming  to  Eliza- 
beth City  to  make  the  place  his  home,  he  has  taken 
a  sincere  interest  in  the  city's  welfare  and  has 
never  stood  aloof  when  his  voice  or  influence  were 
asked  to  aid  in  furthering  worthy  enterprises. 

Hox.  Henry  Lilly  Cook.  The  part  taken  by 
Henry  Lilly  Cook  in  the  affairs  of  his  native  City 
of  Fayetteville  and  Cumberland  County  has  been 
that  of  an  able  and  conscientious  lawyer  whose 
affiliations  have  always  been  straightforward  and 
honorable,  and  also  as  a  public  leader  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  term,  one  whose  counsel  and  in- 
fluence have  been  aligned  with  the  spirit  of  prog- 
ress in  those  matters  most  vitally  affecting  the 
welfare  of  his  home  community. 

Mr.  Cook  was  born  in  Fayetteville  in  1864. 
Apart  from  his  own  achievements  his  record  is 
interesting  because  of  his  influential  family  connec- 
tions. His  parents,  now  deceased,  were  Col.  John 
H.  and  Mary  F.  (Starr)  Cook,  both  natives  of 
Cumberland  County.  The  Cook  family  is  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry.  Mr.  Cook  's  paternal  grandmother 
was  the  daughter  of  James  Gee  of  Cumberland 
County.  James  Gee  was  a  Revolutionary  patriot 
of  Xorth  Carolina.  He  was  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  resolution  declaring  independence  of  the  British 
crown  at  a  meeting  held  at  Liberty  Point.  Fayette- 
ville, in  June,  1775.  When  the  armed  conflict 
broke  out  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother 
country  he  entered  the  army  and  was  with  the 
Xorth  Carolina   troops  throughout   the   war. 

One  of  Cumberland  County's  most  prominent 
men  before  and  during  the  war  times  was  Col. 
John  H.  Cook.  Prior  to  the  war  he  was  one  of 
Fayetteville 's  most  prominent  merchants.  He  was 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Cook  &  Johnson  and 
later  of  Cook  &  Lilly,  and  those  firms  established 
wide  spread  connections  throughout  Cumberland 
County.  Colonel  Cook  was  a  very  successful  planter 
and  business  man.  He  had  been  educated  at  West 
Point  Military  Academy,  though  he  never  was 
actually  enrolled  for  service  in  the  United  States 
army.  When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  he  was  about 
sixty  years  of  age  and  was  not  called  into  active 
service  at  the  front.  Nevertheless  he  discharged 
important  duties  both  civil  and  military  for  the 
Confederate  Government  at  Fayetteville  and  vicin- 
ity. It  was  Colonel  Cook  and  Gen.  Walter 
Prauehon  who  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  or- 
ganized a  force  and  took  possession  of  and  occu- 
pied the  United  States  Favetteville  arsenal. 

Marv  F.  Starr,  mother  of  Henry  L.  Cook,  was  of 
English  ancestry  and  belonged  to  the  noted  Starr 
family  of  Xew  England.  Her  father.  John  D. 
Starr,  prior  to  the  war  between  the  states  was 
president  of  the  Bank  of  Favetteville.  This  bank 
had  a  capital  of  $1,000,000  and  was  one  of  the 
staunchest  financial  houses  in  the  entire  state. 
One  of  the  sons  of  Col.  John  H.  Cook  was  Ed  S. 
Cook,  now  deceased,  who  served  in  the  Confederate 
Army  and  after  the  war  went  to  Texas,  locating  at 
Tvler,  and  for  several  years  was  clerk  of  the  court 
of  Smith  Countv. 

With  much  inherited  ability  and  with  a  liberal 
education   Henry  Lilly   Cook  has  justified  all. the 


expectations  entertained  of  him  as  a  useful  and 
diligent  citizen  and  professional  man.  He  was 
educated  at  Donaldson  Academy  at  Fayetteville, 
and  studied  law  under  Judge  George  V.  Strong, 
at  his  law  school  in  Raleigh,  Xorth  Carolina.  Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  October,  1885,  he  at  once 
returned  to  Fayetteville  and  began  the  practice 
which  in  thirty  odd  years  has  made  him  one  of 
the  strongest  and  most  resourceful  lawyers  of  the 
Cape  Fear  district.  The  work  he  has  performed 
as  a  lawyer  has  been  matched  by  a  record  of  many 
capable  services  performed  to  the  public.  In  his 
home  city  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  constant 
factors  in  building  up  an  adequate  school  system. 
He  did  much  to  perfect  the  Fayetteville  graded 
schools,  and  for  many  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  being  now  vice  chairman. 
He  is  also  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  State  Colored  Xormal  School  at  Fayetteville, 
which  is  governed  by  a  board  of  the  leading  white 
citizens  of  the  state.  In  December,  1916,  he  retired 
from  one  term  of  service  as  judge  of  the  County 
Recorder's  Court,  the  law  permitting  but  one  term. 
Mr.  Cook  is  a  director  and  member  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Xational  Bank  of  Fayette- 
ville. 

In  general  politics  he  has  long  been  known  as 
one  of  the  most  influential  democrats  in  his  part 
of  Xorth  Carolina.  He  is  a  democrat  of  the  old 
school.  While  his  party  has  given  him  many 
honors,  all  of  them  have  been  merited  by  the 
splendid  service  he  has  given  both  his  party  and 
the  state.  He  served  several  times  as  chairman 
of  the  County  Democratic  Executive  Committee 
and  as  a  member  of  the  State  Democratic  Execu- 
tive Committee.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  a  campaign  orator  whose  services  were  con- 
sidered invaluable  to  his  party.  He  has  twice  been 
a  presidential  elector.  He  was  president  of  the 
Xorth  Carolina  Electoral  College  in  1908,  when 
Bryan  ran  the  last  time,  and  as  such  cast  the  vote 
for  the  state.  During  the  session  of  189.°.  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature 
from  Cumberland  County. 

Mr.  Cook  has  been  very  active  in  war  work  since 
the  United  States  entered  into  it.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Liberty  Loan  Com- 
mittees for  Cumberland  County  in  1918  and  suc- 
ceeded in  selling  over  $907,000  in  bonds  for  the 
government. 

The  position  of  Mr.  Cook  and  family  at  Fayette- 
ville has  been  one  of  unequivocal  social  esteem. 
He  married  Miss  Minnie  Watson,  who  was  born  and 
reared  at  Fayetteville.  Their  six  children  are 
named  Walter  W..  John  H..  Henry  L..  Jr..  Mary 
Starr,  Alexander  E.  and  Edward  S.  Walter  and 
John  have  already  gained  admission  to  the  bar 
and  their  first  honors  in  practice,  and  became 
associated  with  their  father  at  Fayetteville.  The 
son  Alexander  was  recently  appointed  to  a  cadet- 
ship  in  the  United  States  Xaval  Academy  at  An- 
napolis, entering  that  institution  in  1916.  Walter 
and  Henrv  L.  Cook,  Jr.,  are  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  the  former  now  with  the  army  in 
France,  and  the  latter  in  the  Medical  Officers' 
Reserve  Corps,  and  is  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
graduated  in  June,  1918,  at  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  waiting  to  go  into  active  service,  and  both 
volunteered.  Walter  served  with  his  company  on 
the  Mexican  border  in  1916  and  1917. 

Sumter  Coe  Brawley  has  been  a  practicing 
lawyer  at  Durham  for  the  past  twelve  years,  and 
is  widely  known  as  a  leader  in  the  democratic 
party  in  his  section  of  the  state,  and  represented 


288 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


his  home  county  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1913. 

Mr.  Brawley  was  born  at  Mooresville,  North 
Carolina,  in  April,  1878,  a  son  of  Hiram  A.  and  . 
Susan  A.  (Mayhew)  Brawley.  As  a  boy  he  at- 
tended the  Mooresville  High  School,  in  1900  was 
a  student  in  the  Business  College  at  Charlotte,  and 
subsequently  studied  law  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  completed  his  work  in 
1905.  Since  then  he  has  been  in  active  practice 
and  has  acquired  a  good  business  and  high  reputa- 
tion as  one  of  the  members  of  the  Durham  County 
bar. 

His  interests  led  him  into  politics  at  an  early 
age,  and  he  was  chairman  of  the  Durham  County 
Executive  Committee,  1908-10,  and  was  elected  and 
has  been  a  member  of  the  State  Democratic  Execu- 
tive Committee  since  1912. 

Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of, 
Elks  and  has  held  high  and  important  offices  in 
the  former  order.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  In  October,  1907,  Mr.  Brawley 
married  Miss  Margaret  Burkett.  They  have  three 
young  sons. 

J.  White  Ware.  A  resident  of  many  years 
of  Gastonia,  J.  White  Ware  has  had  :  n  intimate 
relation  with  business  affairs  there,  and  has  been 
a  factor  in  and  a  witness  of  the  remarkable  growtli 
of  that  city  from  a  small  and  unimportant  town 
until  it  is  now  the  most  extensive  center  of  the 
cotton  industry  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Ware  was  born  near  the  historic  King 's 
Mountain  in  Cleveland  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  A.  and  Martha  (Tor- 
rence)  Ware.  His  father  is  now  deceased.  His 
mother,  who  now  lives  at  King's  Mountain,  was 
of  the  Torrences  of  Gaston  County,  a  family  prom- 
inent in  that  section  since  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  James  A.  Ware  was  a  native  of 
Cleveland  County,  where  he  spent  his  active  life 
as  a  farmer.  Though  sixteen  years  of  age  he 
volunteered  his  services  in  the  war  between  the 
states  and  served  creditably  and  gallantly  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Forty-ninth  North  Carolina  Infantry, 
commanded  by  the  famous  Colonel  McAfee. 

It  was  on  his  father's  farm  in  Cleveland  Coun- 
ty that  J.  White  Ware  grew  to  manhood.  Ac- 
quiring a  good  education  he  also  learned  teleg- 
raphy and  was  employed  as  a  railway  teleg- 
rapher for  the  Southern  Railway  at  Gastonia, 
King's  Mountain  and  finally  was  promoted  to 
a  position  in  the  office  of  the  train  dispatcher, 
and  as  such  located  at  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

In  1893  Mr.  Ware  returned  to  Gastonia,  and 
that  has  been  his  family  home  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  On  leaving  the  railroad  service  lie 
entered  the  cotton  mill  business  as  a  bookkeeper 
and  accountant.  His  first  employment  was  with 
the  Avon  Mill,  later  with  the  Gastonia  Mill,  the 
Spencer  Mountain  Mill  and  finally  the  Loray  Mill. 
He  left  the  Loray  Mill  to  establish  himself  in 
an  independent  business  as  a  general  insurance 
and  real  estate  man  at  Gastonia.  His  work  in 
this  line  has  prospered  and  he  has  gained  an 
authoritative  position  as  the  best  informed  fire 
insurance  man  in  North  Carolina. 

Everthing  that  concerns  the  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  Gastonia  is  of  vital  concern  to  Mr. 
Ware.  He  is  public  spirited  and  progressive  and 
has  always  been  quick  to  appreciate  the  business 
and  civic  needs  of  his  community.  Early  in  1917, 
although  there  were  three  other  banks  in  Gas- 
tonin,  lie  realized  the  opportunity  for  additional 
banking    facilities    in    the    rapidly    growing    city, 


with  its  extensive  industrial  interests.  He  be- 
came associated  as  an  organizer  and  director 
with  M.  A.  Turner,  of  Grover,  North  Carolina, 
and  established  a  new  bank.  This  is  organized 
under  a  state  charter  and  is  known  as  the  Bank 
of  Gastonia,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000.  The 
bank  opened  for  business  July  1,  1917.  Mr.  Ware 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Gastonia  Chamber  of 
Commerce  and  belongs  to  various  social  organ- 
izations. 

He  married  Miss  Carrie  Belle  Wilson,  daughter 
of  William  Wilson  a  well  known  citizen  of  Gas- 
ton County.  They  have  a  daughter,  Miss  Mar- 
garet Ware. 

John  Bushrod  Leigh.  No  body  of  professional 
men  in  Pasquotank  County  stands  higher  as  to 
ability  and  honesty  than  the  bar  of  Elizabeth 
City  made  up,  as  it  mainly  is,  of  men  of  sturdy 
old  state  ancestry,  of  high  connections,  and  of 
collegiate  advantages.  One  of  the  old  county 
names  herein  worthily  represented  is  borne  by 
John  Bushrod  Leigh,  who  is  one  of  the  able  law- 
yers of  this  city  and  a  man  prominent  in  its  po- 
litical life. 

John  Bushrod  Leigh  was  born  in  Tyrrell  County, 
North  Carolina,  December  19,  1862,  and  is  a  son 
of  Ephraim  and  Ann  Elizabeth  (Midgett)  Leigh. 
The  father  followed  farming  and  also  engaged  in 
merchandising  and  was  an  honorable,  upright  man 
and  good  citizen  all  his  life. 

Educated  in  private  schools  usually  taught  by 
men  of  high  scholarship,  and  Randolph  Macon  Col- 
lege, John  Bushrod  Leigh  pursued  his  studies  at 
Columbia,  and  later  prepared  for  college  under 
a  local  instructor  and  then  entered  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
where  he  completed  the  course  and  in  February, 
1889,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  located  at 
Newbern,  North  Carolina,  where  he  practiced  for 
two  years.  In  1897  he  came  to  Elizabeth  City 
and  has  built  up  a  fine  general  practice  here  and 
is  rated  among  the  most  able  lawyers  in  this  part 
of  the  state. 

Not  only  has  Mr.  Leigh  been  active  and  success- 
ful in  his  profession,  but  he  has  achieved  con- 
siderable distinction  in  the  field  of  politics.  In 
1899  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature and  was  the  first  democrat  in  the  county 
to  win  at  that  election.  He  served  as  mayor  of 
Elizabeth  City  in  1901  and  then  followed  two  years 
as  justice  of  the  police  court. 

Mr.  Leigh  was  married  on  February  14,  1894, 
to  Miss  Maude  Harris,  of  Brunswick  County, 
Virginia,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Maude 
Bushrod  Leigh.  Mr.  Leigh  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  he  is 
chairman  of  its  board  of  stewards.  Other  honors 
have  been  conferred  on  him  and  he  is  a  very  use- 
ful member  of  the  city  school  board,  and  has  been 
a  trustee  of  the  Eastern  North  Carolina  Training 
School  since  its  organization. 

Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Wesley  Byrd,  for  thirty-five 
years  an  honored  and  distinguished  member  of  the 
North  Carolina.  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  died  suddenly  at  Asheville,  where  he 
was  pastor  of  the  Central  Methodist  Church,  on 
January  3,  1918. 

He  came  of  a  prominent  old  family  of  Harnett 
County  and  was  born  in  1860  and  reared  at  the 
old  Byrd  homestead  near  Buie  's  Creek.  He  was 
a  son  of  A.  J.  and  Caroline  (Shaw)  Byrd.  He 
was  survived  by  four  brothers,  J.  L.  Byrd,  of 
Georgia,  W.  P.  Bvrd,  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


289 


publication,   Frank   and   Urquhart   Byrd,  of   Har- 
nett County,  and  Mrs.  Florence  Shaw. 

The  late  Doctor  Byrd  was  prepared  for  col- 
lege at  Lillington  by  Rev.  William  Brunt,  an  ed- 
ucated Baptist  minister  and  teacher.'  Later  he 
was  a  student  under  Rev.  J.  D.  Arnold,  a  Metho- 
dist minister  and  teacher  at  Jonesboro.  For  two 
years  he  was  assistant  teacher  in  Mr.  Arnold 's 
school.  From  there  he  entered  Vanderbilt  Uni- 
versity at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  put  in  a 
full  year  at  hard  work  as  a  student.  On  return- 
ing to  North  Carolina  he  taught  school  at  Tarboro. 
There  among  other  pupils  he  had  the  now  famous 
Claude  Kitchin,  the  democratic  leader  in  Congress 
and  in  many  ways  next  to  President  Wilson,  the- 
most  powerful  man  in  the  United  States.  Doctor 
Byrd  entered  the  active  ministry  of  the  gospel 
in  1882  as  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
ference, and  enjoyed  every  honor  his  denomina- 
tion could  give  him  excepting  that  of  bishop. 
He  held  pastorates  in  the  largest  and  most  influ- 
ential churches  in  the  four  states  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  Georgia,  was  pas- 
tor at  Greensboro  and  Asheville  two  different 
times,  Owensboro,  Kentucky;  Atlanta,  Georgia; 
Augusta,  Georgia;  and  Nashville,  Tennessee.  He 
was  presiding  elder  of  the  Asheville  and  Shelby 
districts.  A  short  time  before  his  death  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Vander- 
bilt University. 

Doctor  Byrd  for  all  his  services,  which  made 
him  so  widely  known  and  honored,  is  recalled 
by  many  of  his  intimates  for  his  striking  attain- 
ments as  a  scholar.  He  was  a  man  of  the  broad- 
est culture  and  intellectual  attainments.  There 
is  seldom  met  outside  the  profession  of  teaching 
so  thorough  and  perfect  a  classical  scholar  as  was 
Doctor  Byrd.  He  was  deeply  grounded  in  Latin 
and  Greek,  was  also  well  versed  in  French  lan- 
guage and  literature,  and  it  is  said  that  he  could 
talk  and  make  extemporaneous  addresses  in  either 
of  the  ancient  classical   tongues. 

Doctor  Byrd  married  Miss  Hattie  Bobbitt.  Her 
father.  Dr.  W.  H.  Bobbitt,  was  a  prominent 
Methodist  clergyman  and  at  one  time  presiding 
elder  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference.  Mrs. 
Byrd  survives  her  honored  husband.  They  had 
one  son,  W.  B.  Byrd,  who  was  well  educated  and 
was  making  a  name  for  himself  as  an  attorney 
at  Greensboro  until  he  volunteered  his  services  in 
the  Aviation  Corps  of  the  National  Army. 

The  many  friends  of  Doctor  Byrd  will  appreci- 
ate some  of  the  things  said  of  him  in  the  editorial 
in  the  Greensboro  News,  one  of  the  largest  and 
must  influential  papers  of  North  Carolina.  This 
editorial  is  given  herewith   entire. 

' '  Many  things  might  be  said  with  entire  truth 
of  the  high  character,  exemplary  citizenship  and 
zealous  spirit  of  nearly  every  man  in  the  clergy 
of  the  Methodist  Church.  A  smaller  number  of 
those  in  the  Western  North  Carolina  Conference, 
but  not  an  inconsiderable  group,  might  each  day 
be  further  described  in  much  broader  and  more 
specific  terms  with  reference  to  their  eloquence, 
scholarship,  deep  thought  and  leadership.  And 
in  respect  of  many  delightful  qualities  and  cer- 
tain fine  talents  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Byrd  stood 
out  conspicuously  among  these.  Now  that  he 
has  gone  from  us,  men  and  women  will  but 
repeat  the  things  they  were  accustomed  to  say  of 
him  while  yet  he  lived. 

''Doctor  Byrd  possessed  a  surpassing  native  elo- 
quence.    He   was    a    scholar   of   high   attainments 
and  constant  industry.     Mental  activity  was  that 
Vol.  v— 19 


form  of  activity  in  which  he  delighted.  His  men- 
tality was  overbalancing.  Here  was  a  rare  com- 
bination of  ordered,  scholarly  thought  with  the 
ability  to  express  it  with  both  exactness  and 
force.  But  his  was  no  mere  coldly  brilliant  in- 
tellectuality. He  was  a  man,  a  priest  of  both 
spiritual  conviction  and  spiritual  habit.  Had  he 
been  a  physician  or  a  lawyer,  business  man,  an 
actor  or  a  scamp,  any  sort  of  villian,  he  would 
still  have  been  popular,  for  he  was  endowed  with 
the  gift  of  magnetic  personality  and  with  the 
gift  of  humor,  and  was  a  delightful  story  teller. 

' '  He  was  a  man  of  compassionate  heart,  but 
sentimentality  was  not  allowed  to  overbalance 
sense.  His  benefactions  were  constant,  and  doubt- 
less often  to  unworthy  objects,  but  they  were 
systematic  and  sensible.  He  was  deeply  and  most 
intelligently  interested  in  citizenship,  in  man  as  a 
political  as  well  as  a  religous  being;  his  admira- 
tion for  justice  and  his  resentment  of  brutality 
and  wrong  amounted  to  a  passion;  he  esteemed 
wholly  that  which  was  constructive,  positive,  vig- 
orous, direct,  frank,  in  public  and  private  busi- 
ness. ' ' 

Walter  Pierce  Byrd  has  been  a  citizen  of 
Harnett  County  since  his  birth,  June  26,  1867, 
and  there  are  numerous  services  by  which  his 
name  has  come  to  be  esteemed  and  respected  in 
that  community.  He  has  been  a  teacher,  farmer, 
surveyor,  well  qualified  lawyer  and  now  clerk  of 
the  Superior  Court,  with  home  at  Lillington. 

The  Byrds  are  old  timers  of  North  Carolina. 
They  are  of  English  ancestry,  first  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia and  from  there  moved  to  Wake  County, 
North  Carolina.  The  grandfather  of  Walter  P. 
Byrd  was  Jesse  Byrd.  The  father,  the  late  A.  J. 
Byrd,  who  died  in  1901,  was  born  near  Green 
Level  in  Wake  County,  North  Carolina,  April  1. 
1815.  In  1853  he  moved  his  family  to  Harnett 
County,  having  bought  land  at  Buie  's  Creek. 
While  there  he  cleared  a  farm  out  of  the  wilder- 
ness which  then  covered  this  section  of  the  state. 
He  was  thus  identified  with  the  pioneer  things  of 
Harnett  County,  then  a  part  of  Cumberland 
County,  and  was  a  man  of  highly  respected  char- 
acter and  activities  throughout  his  long  life.  He 
married  Caroline  Shaw,  who  died  in  1910.  She 
was  a  sister  of  the  late  Maj.  B.  F.  Shaw,  one 
of  the  old  and  prominent  families  of  Harnett 
County.  Further  particular 's  regarding  this 
branch  of  the  Shaw  family,  which  is  of  Scotch 
ancestry,  will  be  found  under  the  name  Allen  M. 
Shaw  elsewhere  in  this  publication.  The  Shaws 
were  some  of  the  original  Scotch  settlers  in  the 
Cape  Fear  District. 

Walter  Pierce  Byrd  was  born  at  Buie's  Creek 
in  Harnett  County,  North  Carolina.  Altogether 
his  early  environment  was  best  fitted  to  bring  out 
and  develop  his  latest  talents  and  possibilities. 
He  grew  up  neither  in  wealth  nor  extreme  pov- 
erty and  his  parents  were  good  and  substantial 
people  who  believed  and  practiced  the  gospel  of 
honest  industry  and  instilled  sound  habits  in  their 
children.  In  the  intervals  of  work  with  his  hands 
Walter  Pierce  Byrd  attended  the  old  district  school, 
but  received  his  most  important  education  in  the 
Buie  's  Creek  Academy  under  Prof.  J.  A.  Campbell, 
its  founder.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  class 
of  this  now  famous  institution.  He  also  spent  a 
few  months  in  the  Davis  Military  Academy.  Be- 
fore taking  up  the  law  Mr.  Byrd  was  a  farmer, 
school  teacher  and  surveyor  and  altogether  devoted 
about  ten  years  to  work  in  the  public  and  other 
schools    of    Harnett   and   adjoining    counties. 


290 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


In  1907  he  resigned  in  Buie's  Creek  Academy 
to  begin  the  study  of  law  at  the  State  University 
at  Chapel  Hill,  where  he  finished  the  course  and 
was  licensed  to  practice  in  February,  1909.  He 
at  once  opened  his  office  at  Lillington,  the  county 
seat,  and  enjoyed  a  good  and  growing  business  as 
a  lawyer  until  in  1914  he  was  elected  to  his  pres- 
ent office  as  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  for 
Harnett  County.  Since  then  he  has  retired  from 
practice  and  gives  all  his  attention  to  this  office, 
which  he  holds  for  a  term  of  four  years.  He 
built  and  he  and  his  family  occupy  one  of  the 
beautiful  homes   of  the  county  seat. 

Mr.  Byrd  has  for  some  years  been  a  man  of 
growing  prominence  and  influence  in  the  repub- 
lican party  of  this  section  of  North  Carolina. 
For  six  years  he  was  county  chairman  of  the 
Republican  Executive  Committee  of  Harnett  Coun- 
ty. He  did  much  to  revitalize  the  organization 
during  that  time  in  the  county.  For  some  years 
a  republican  candidacy  for  office  was  a  forlorn 
hope.  However,  Mr.  Byrd  accepted  some  nomina- 
tions as  a  sacrifice  due  the  cause.  In  1910  he  was 
candidate  for  state  senator  from  the  Fifteenth 
District,  being  defeated  by  seventy-three  votes 
and  in  1912  was  candidate  for  the  Legislature  and 
again  reduced  the  democratic  majority  to  a  narrow 
margin.  In  1914  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
Superior .  Court  by  278  votes. 

When  the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out  in 
1898  Mr.  Bryd  went  to  Fayetteville  and  enlisted 
in  the  Fayetteville  Independent  Light  infantry, 
which  became  Company  A  of  the  Second  North 
Carolina  Regiment  of  Volunteers.  He  is  an  active 
member  and  has  served  as  an  officer  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

In  November,  1909,  Mr.  Byrd  married  Miss 
Zula  Tomlinson,  whose  people  were  one  of  the 
prominent  and  substantial  old  families  of  Clay- 
ton, Johnston  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Byrd  have 
had  four  children:  Annie  Ruth,  Evelyn,  Lois  and 
Emma  Poteet.  The  first  named  died  at  the  age 
of  nine  months,  while  the  last  named  died  in  No- 
vember, 1917,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  months. 

Joseph  Ezekiel  Pogtje.  North  Carolina  re- 
ceived a  very  valuable  accession  to  its  citizenship 
when  Joseph  Ezekiel  Pogue  came  across  the  moun- 
tains from  his  native  section  of  Jefferson  County 
in  Eastern  Tennessee  and  began  clerking  in  a  gen- 
eral store  at  Hillsboro.  Mr.  Pogue  brought  with 
him  at  that  time  all  the  virile  qualities  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  hill  district  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  though 
he  had  no  money  and  only  a  common  school  train- 
ing as  a  preparation  for  the  serious  business  of 
life.  His  parents  were  Rev.  John  and  Priscilla 
( Carter)   Pogue. 

After  his  early  experience  as  a  clerk  in  a 
store  he  went  on  the  road  as  a  traveling  tobacco 
salesman.  After  four  years  in  that  he  began  the 
manufacture  of  tobacco  at  Henderson,  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1875,  and  nine  years  later  moved  his  plant 
and  factory  to  Raleigh  in  1884.  He  continued  the 
business  actively  until  he  sold  out  about  1904.  The 
service  by  which  Mr.  Pogue  has  chiefly  endeared 
himself  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina  is  his  long 
continued  work  as  secretary  of  the  North  Carolina 
State  Fair  Association.  He  has  been  continuously 
in  that  office  since  1899,  and  if  any  one  man  de- 
serves credit  for  making  the  association  a  great 
success  it  is  Mr.  Pogue.  The  annual  state  fair  is 
now  an  institution  that  attracts  thousands  and 
thousands  of  visitors  and  stimulates  state  pride, 
the  development  of  the  state 's  industries  and  re- 
sources, and  is  one  of  the  most  complete  educa- 


tional agencies  in  the  state.  Since  Mr.  Pogue 
became  secretary  he  has  brought  about  the  im- 
provement of  the  association  property  by  the  in- 
vestment of  $40,000  in  new  buildings,  has  increased 
the  attendance  and  has  also  given  the  fair  a  pre- 
mium list  sufficient  to  attract  a  wide  and  char- 
acteristic list  of  exhibits. 

This  has  been  by  no  means  his  only  public  serv- 
ice. Mr.  Pogue  is  chairman  of  the  board  of 
directors  for  the  State  School  for  the  Blind,  in- 
cluding both  white  and  colored.  He  has  held  this 
office  since  the  organization,  having  been  its  only 
incumbent.  For  two  years  he  served  as  city  alder- 
man of  Raleigh,  and  declined  re-election.  Much  of 
■  his  civic  work  in  Raleigh  has  been  done  through 
the  medium  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  he 
was  three  times  elected  its  president.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  that  body  which 
framed  the  commission  form  of  government,  and 
was  also  chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Committee  which  established  the  White  Way  in 
Raleigh.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which 
introduced  and  put  into  effect  the  Australian  bal- 
lot system  in  Raleigh,  and  was  also  commissioner 
general  from  North  Carolina  in  installing  the  state 
exhibit  in  the  Jamestown  Exposition  of  1907.  Mr. 
Pogue  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  and 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics, 
and  belongs  to  the  Country,  the  Capital  and  Rotary 
clubs. 

In  February,  1884,  he  married  Henrietta  Kramer 
of  Raleigh.  Her  father,  Nathan  Kramer,  was  a 
native  of  Germany.  The  attainments  of  their  only 
son,  Joseph  E.  Pogue,  Jr.,  are  a  matter  of  special 
pride  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pogue.  This  son  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in 
1906,  took  his  Doctor  of  Philosophy  degree  in 
Yale  University,  and  held  a  chair  in  the  faculty 
of  Northwestern  University  of  Evanston,  Illinois, 
for  a  term  of  three  years.  Besides  his  scholarship 
opportunities  in  this  country  he  spent  one  year 
in  the  University  of  Berlin,  Germany.  He  is  at 
this  time  engaged  in  special  work  for  the  United 
States. 


Frank  Nichols  Egerton,  for  a  period  of  forty 
years  has  been  merchant,  banker  and  school  and 
church  official  at  Louisburg.  Through  the  re- 
lationships described  by  these  words  he  has 
gained  a  high  degree  of  success  for  himself  and 
rendered  an  invaluable  service  to  this  community. 

His  mature  years  and  the  working  out  of  his 
larger  plans  have  occurred  in  the  same  region 
where  he  was  born  and  where  he  spent  his  youth. 
Mr.  Egerton  was  born  at  Louisburg  April  11, 
1853,  son  of  Charles  J.  and  Mary  T.  (Pitchford) 
Egerton.  His  father  was  a  plain  and  substantial 
farmer  of  Franklin  County.  Leaving  the  private 
school  where  his  education  had  been  supervised 
until  the  age  of  sixteen,  Frank  N.  Egerton  went 
to  work  as  clerk  in  a' general  store  and  in  1877 
established  a  general  merchandise  and  general  cot- 
ton business  of  his  own  at  Louisburg.  He  devel- 
oped it  to  large  and  successful  proportions  and 
finally  sold  out  in  1910.  He  was  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers, for  many  years  a  director  and  since 
1911  has  been  president  of  the  Farmers  and  Mer- 
chants Bank  of  Louisburg.  He  owns  a  large 
amount  of  real  estate  in  and  around  the  town. 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Egerton  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  graded 
schools  and  is  also  a  former  town  commissioner. 
He  is  a  trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and   for   fifteen   years   was   steward   and    superin- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


291 


tendent   of  its  Sunday   school.     Fraternally   he  is 
affiliated  with   the  Masonic  Order. 

November  31,  1877,  he  married  Pattie  B.  Davis, 
of  Warren  County,  North  Carolina.  Ten  children 
were  born  to  their  marriage,  and  they  lost  two 
of  them,  one  in  infancy  and  the  other  as  Mrs. 
B.  6.  Hicks.  The  eight  living  children  are 
Charles  Edward;  Frank  Nichols,  Jr.,  assistant 
professor  in  Butledge  College;  Florence  May,  who 
is  Mrs.  Wingate  Underbill;  Blanche,  who  is  Mrs. 
G.  Spencer  Baker,  of  Louisburg;  Weldon  Davis, 
in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business;  Elliott 
Leslie,  a  resident  of  Louisburg;  Graham  B.,  a 
soldier  in  the  United  States  Army ;  and  Kathleen, 
at  home.  At  the  present  time  Elliott,  Frank  Jr., 
Weldon  Davis  and  Graham  are  all  in  the  United 
States  service. 

James  Sprunt,  of  Alex  Sprunt  &  Son,  one  of 
North  Carolina's  greatest  cotton  export  houses, 
and  a  most  valuable  citizen  of  Wilmington  and 
the  state,  and  especially  in  his  later  years  of 
semi-retirement  from  business,  has  done  much  to 
enrich  the  historical  literature  of  his  home  state. 
While  his  material  achievements  would  go  far  to 
give  him  a  most  creditable  position  among  the 
masterful  men  of  affairs,  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
his  books  will  be  read  and  valued  when  no  trace 
of  business  action  remains. 

Born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  James  Sprunt  has 
been  a  loyal  adopted  son  of  North  Carolina  since 
he  was  five  years  old.  He  was  educated  partly  in 
Scotland  and  partly  in  North  Carolina — -in  the 
Grove  Academy  in  Kenansville,  in  Mr.  Jewett's 
school  and  under  Rev.  Mr.  Mengert.  His  father, 
who  was  educated  in  Edinburg,  was  unable  to 
send  him  to  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
for  which  he  was  prepared,  but  he  was  a  student 
by  nature  and  from  youth  has  carefully  developed 
his  faculty  for  consecutive  thinking,  which  with 
the  information  obtained  from  broad  and  often 
specialized  reading  has  given  him  that  power  for 
business  and  literary  execution  which  only  few 
men  of  university  training  ever  acquire. 

He  was  in  business  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  in 
1S61,  and  when  the  war  broke  out,  he  sought  an 
appointment  where  he  could  utilize  the  knowledge 
he  had  acquired  of  navigation.  Later  he  was 
purser  on  the  "North  Heath."  Following  that 
came  a  period  of  illness,  and  after  recovery  he 
was  again  purser  of  the  ' '  Lilian ' '  under  Capt. 
John  N.  Maffitt,  C.  S.  N.,  for  four  successful 
voyages.  In  August,  1864,  this  runner  was  sur- 
Tounded  by  four  Federal  cruisers'  and  wholly 
disabled  by  bombshells,  the  crew  becoming 
prisoners  of  war.  Eight  months  of  detention  at 
Fort  Macon  and  Fortress  Monroe  and  elsewhere 
followed,  and  Mr.  Sprunt  did  his  concluding  work 
for  the  Confederacy  as  purser  of  the  blockade- 
runner  "Susan  Beirne. " 

In  the  half  century  that  has  elapsed  since  the 
exploits  of  the  southern  blockade-runner,  Mr. 
Sprunt  has  devoted  his  energies  to  the  building  up 
of  a  great  cotton  business,  at  first  in  association 
with  his  father,  and  later  as  head  of  a  firm  com- 
posed of  himself  and  his  brother  William  H. 
Sprunt  that  maintained  fifty-three  agencies  in  for- 
eign countries.  It  was  the  immense  volume  of 
business  handled  by  this  firm  that  was  responsible 
for  Wilmington  becoming  the  fifth  cotton  port  in 
the  United  States. 

Through  it  all  much  of  his  time  and  energies 
have  been  engaged  by  community  and  public 
interests.  For  many  years  he  has  been  prominent 
in  all  the  activities  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
He   has   served    as    president   of   the   Wilmington 


Produce  Exchange,  president  of  the  Seamen's 
Friend  Society,  president  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  president  of  the  State 
Literary  and  Historical  Association  of  North  Caro- 
lina, chairman  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of 
Navigation  and  Pilotage,  secretary  of  the  Wil- 
mington Lyceum  and  member  of  the  city  schools 
committee,  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  which 
honored  him  with  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  He  is 
also  a  member  causa  honoris,  of  the  Alpha  Chapter 
of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary  in  Virginia.  In  1884  he  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  British  vice  consul  at  Wil- 
mington, and  served  in  that  capacity  for  thirty-one 
years.  When  the  Cuban  war  vessel  ' '  Cuba ' '  was 
seized  and  dismantled  at  Wilmington  by  the 
Federal  authorities,  Mr.  Sprunt  as  vice  consul  pre- 
pared for  the  British  government  a  full  report  of 
the  case,  which  was  highly  complimented  by  Lord 
Salisbury.  In  this  connection  it  should  be  said 
that  later,  when  Captain  Maffitt  took  command 
of  the  Cuba,  he  offered  Mr.  Sprunt  the  position  of 
executive  officer. 

The  best  review  so  far  of  Mr.  Sprunt 's  work 
and  character  as  a  literary  man  is  found  in  a 
sketch  of  Prof.  J.  G.  DeRoulhae  Hamilton,  who 
says: 

' '  What  he  has  produced  is  of  such  character  as 
to  make  those  familiar  with  it  wish  that  all  his 
time  might  be  given  to  writing.  He  writes  in  a 
style  distinctively  his  own  and  with  a  quaint  di- 
rectness that  charms  the  reader.  Combined  with 
this,  he  is  possessed  of  a  keen  historical  perception, 
has  the  power  of  analysis  coupled  with  a  sense  of 
proportion,  always  treats  a  subject  without  preju- 
dice, and  is  extremely  accurate  and  painstaking. 
The  Lower  Cape  Fear  has  naturally  attracted  most 
of  his  attention  and  has  furnished  the  subject  of 
most  of  his  historical  work. 

"His  first  work  of  the  kind  was  a, large  pamph- 
let which  he  published  in  1883  when  he  retired 
from  the  presidency  of  the  Wilmington  Produce 
Exchange.  Entitled  'Information  and  Statistics 
of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,'  it  collected  and 
gave  many  facts  of  historical  importance. 

"In  1896  he  published  a  work  which  was  more 
historical  in  character  and  more  literary  in  treat- 
ment, '  Tales  and  Traditions  of  the  Lower  Cape 
Fear. '  The  book,  as  its  name  implies,  was  not 
intended  to  be  a  critical  history;  its  object  was 
to  awaken  interest  in  the  subject  of  the  Cape 
Fear  region  and  preserve  those  traditions  which, 
handed  down  for  many  years  by  word  of  mouth, 
lend  a  charm  to  any  locality  to  which  they  relate, 
and  notably  so,  as  far  as  concerns  North  Carolina, 
in  the  case  of  the  Cape  Fear  country.  This 
object  has  been  attained,  for  the  book  has  been 
widely  read  and  has  lent  new  impetus  to  the  study 
of  the  proud  history  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear. 
Two  years  later  he  published  an  interesting  little 
pamphlet  entitled  'A  Colonial  Apparition.'  This 
is  historical  fiction  of  the  most  interesting  kind. 

"In  1901  he  wrote  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
North  Carolina  booklet,  'Tales  of  the  Blockade  of 
the  Cape  Fear. '  This  subject  he  is  particularly 
fitted  to  treat,  and  in  the  same  year  he  contributed 
to  the  North  Carolina  Regimental  History  an 
article  of  considerable  length  on  the  subject,  en- 
titled 'Blockade-running  of  the  Cape  Fear.' 
This  account  of  blockade  running  out  of  Wil- 
mington would  be  valuable  under  any  circum- 
stances, for  it  is  an  accurate  and  interesting 
contribution  to  that  important  part  of  the  history 
of  the  Civil  war.     But  as  it  is  the  onlv  account 


292 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


we  have  of  blockade-running  in  North  Carolina, 
and  one  which  includes  much  incidental  history 
of  the  conditions  existent  at  the  time  it  is  invalu- 
able. An  interesting  and  valuable  part  of  the 
article  is  a  long  list  of  blockade-runners  and  their 
pilots.  This  is  information  which  could  not  be 
obtained  even  now,  and  Mr.  Sprunt  has  performed 
a  valuable  service  in  preserving  it.  The  article 
also  includes  a  short  biography  of  Captain  Maf- 
fitt  and  of  several  other  men  prominent  in  the 
history  of  the  blockade.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret 
that  it  has  never  been  published  separately.  The 
importance  of  the  blockade-running-  has  never 
been  fully  appreciated,  and  a  full  history  of  the 
part  Wilmington  played  in  it  would  be  very  valu- 
able. No  man  could  write  it  as  well  as  Mr.  Sprunt, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  may  yet  undertake 
the  work. 

' '  The  same  year  two  addresses  which  Mr. 
Sprunt  had  delivered  before  the  North  Carolina 
Society  of  Colonial  Dames  at  Old  Brunswick  were 
published  by  the  society.  They  were  '  Old  Bruns- 
wick '  and  '  Spencer  Compton,  Earl  of  Wilming- 
ton. '  Both  are  accurate  and  scholarly  and  form 
another  valuable  contribution  to  our  history. 

' '  Mr.  Sprunt  has  written  several  memorial 
monographs  on  the  occasions  of  the  death  of 
three  of  Wilmington's  most  distinguished  and 
valued  citizens,  namely:  Hon.  George  Davis, 
formerly  attorney  general  of  the  Confederacy; 
David  G.  Worth,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  A.  J.  DeRossett." 
Professor  Hamilton  also  mentions  ' '  A  Blockade- 
runner  's  Yarn, "  "A  Colonial  Admiral  of  the 
Cape  Fear, ' '  and  some  verse  of  ' '  genuine  merit 
and  great  sweetness, ' '  among  which  he  ranks 
"The  Bell  Buoy  "as  probably  the. best  and  "The 
Wilderness ' '   for   its   remarkable  word  painting. 

Since  the  above  was  written  Mr.  Sprunt  has 
gratified  the  expectations  of  his  friends  by  bring- 
ing out  a  work  of  first  magnitude,  ' '  Chronicles  of 
Cape  Pear  River,  1660-1916. ' '  published  at  Raleigh 
in  1917.  A'  convincing  recommendation  of  its 
historical  and  literary  quality  to  a  host  of  Amer- 
ican readers  of  historical  literature  who  have  not 
hitherto  been  made  acquainted  with  the  writings 
of  Mr.  Sprunt  is  the  following  brief  review  which 
appeared  in  ' '  the  New  Republic. ' ' 

' '  Few  community  histories,  except  those  of  the 
upper  Atlantic  seaboard  cities,  are  richer  in  tra- 
ditions and  events  connected  with  the  vivid  points 
in  American  history  than  the  history  of  the  Cape 
Fear  River  Colony,  Wilmington  and  North  Caro- 
lina. This  is  an  amusing  and  veracious  chronicle 
of  this  particular  community,  documented  and 
detailed.  The  author  has  diligently  searched  the 
records,  including  articles  by  those  who  have 
written  special  monographs,  and  his  own  memory 
takes  him  back  beyond  the  Civil  war.  His  per- 
sonal experiences  in  blockade-running,  together 
with  the  experiences  of  his  friends,  furnish  rather 
illuminating  precedents  for  the  student  of  inter- 
national law  on  the  seas.  It  is  with  something  of  a 
start  of  discovery  at  the  immutable  qualities  of 
human  nature  that  one  reads  of  the  incident  of 
the  War  of  1812  when  '  A  diving  vessel  of  the 
Americans '  made  an  attempt  to  sink  a  British 
blockade  ship,  commanded  by  Sir  Thomas  Hardy. 
The  English  captain  promptly  called  this  'a  most 
atrocious  proceeding, ' '  threatening  to  bring  a 
hundred  American  prisoners  of  war  to  the  boat, 
who  would  certainly  perish,  if  the  second  attempt 
proved  successful.  Thereupon  relatives  of  the 
prisoners  urged  petitions  which  were  '  presented 
to  the  American  Government  to  induce  its  execu- 
tive to  prohibit  the  use  of  the  diving  vessel  and  its 


armament  in  future  naval  warfare. '  Of  course 
Mr.  Sprunt  does  not  pretend  to  give  any  economic 
interpretation  of  his  facts,  after  the  manner  of  the 
new  embarrassing  historians.  He  is  content  to  set 
down  what  he  knows,  flavoring  the  hard  records 
with  the  spice  of  stories  and  anecdotes.  But  the 
historian  who  wants  a  naive,  unconscious  account  of 
one  cross-section  of  American  history  could  hardly 
go  to  a  more  fruitful  place  than  to  this  characteris- 
tic community  chronicle. ' ' 

William  J.  McDiaemid.  The  plantation  near 
Raeford  in  Hoke  County  owned  by  William  J.  Me- 
Diarmid  is  doubly  interesting,  not  only  for  the 
high  standards  of  its  agricultural  efficiency  but 
also  for  the  many  family  associations  which  center 
around  it. 

The  McDiarmids  are  fine  examples  of  the  best 
type  of  sturdy,  thrifty,  God-fearing  Scotch  people 
who  made  this  section  of  North  Carolina  one  of 
the  wealthiest  and  in  some  respects  the  most 
desirable  part  of  the  state.  The  founder  of  the 
family  was  William  L.  McDiarmid,  grandfather  of 
the  present  proprietor  of  the  plantation.  He  was 
a  native  of  Scotland  and  in  the  early  days  came 
to  what  was  then  a  part  of  Cumberland  County, 
now  Hoke  County..  He  lived  here  the  life  of  a  prac- 
tical planter  the  rest  of  his  days. 

The  McDiarmid  plantation  where  three  genera- 
tions of  the  family  have  lived  is  on  Toney's  Creek 
in  Quewhiffle  Township  on  the  Pike  Road  three 
miles  west  of  Raeford.  The  original  home  of 
William  L.  McDiarmid  was  on  the  old  Lumberton 
and  Carthage  Road,  near  where  it  joins  the  Pike 
Road. 

This  farm  was  for  many  years  the  scene  of 
the  activities  of  David  A.  McDiarmid,  who  was 
born  in  1840,  at  the  same  place  now  occupied  by 
his  son  William  J.  He  was  a  soldier  all  through 
the  war  between  the  states,  and  his  four  brothers 
were  also  in  the  service,  all  of  whom  came  out 
unscathed  by  wounds  from  enemies.  David  A. 
McDiarmid,  who  died  several  years  ago,  was  at 
one  time  a  county  commissioner  of  Cumberland 
County  and  for  a  long  period  of  time  was  a  local 
magistrate.  His  home  and  residence  were  always 
in  Cumberland  County,  since  Hoke  County  was  not 
created  until  1911. 

David  A.  McDiarmid  married  Mary  E.  Bostic, 
who  is  still  living.  She  was  born  in  Upper  Rich- 
mond County,  daughter  of  the  late  James  Bostic, 
founder  of  Bostic 's  Mills  in  that  county  and  mem- 
ber of  a  numerous  and  prominent  family  of  that 
name. 

William  J.  McDiarmid  was  born  in  1872.  At 
the  time  of  his  birth  his  parents  were  living  tem- 
porarily on  a  farm  a  few  miles  below  Raeford. 
However,  he  grew  up  and  has  made  his  home  since 
childhood  on  the  old  McDiarmid  plantation  above 
described.  His  father  at  one  time  owned  about 
1,300  acres,  but  the  present  plantation  consists 
of  about  500  acres.  A  portion  of  William  J. 
McDiarmid 's  youth  was  within  the  period  known 
as  the  Reconstruction  era,  while  the  South  was 
struggling  to  rehabilitate  itself  after  the  ravages 
of  war.  For  that  reason  he  had  more  limited 
opportunities  than  the  position  of  his  family 
socially  would  have  otherwise  justified.  Then  when 
he  was  nineteen  years  of  age  his  father  died 
and  that  threw  upon  him  responsibilities  practic- 
ally equivalent  to  necessitating  a  complete  new 
start.  Allien  he  took  the  management  of  the 
plantation  he  found  many  of  its  resources  depleted 
and   the   wealth   of   the   land   ineffective   and   un- 


DAYID  A.  McDIABMID 


t 


A- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


293 


productive  because  of  long  years  of  neglect.  It 
has  been  his  task  to  revive  and  rebuild  the  old 
farm,  and  today  there  is  not  a  better  farm  in  all 
Hoke  County.  Mr.  McDiarmid  well  sustains  the 
reputation  throughout  this  section  as  a  modern  and 
up  to  date  agriculturist,  one  who  makes  a  busi- 
ness and  a  very  successful  one  out  of  crop  grow- 
ing.    His  staple  crop  is  cotton. 

Mr.  McDiarmid  is  an  elder  in  Bethel  Presby- 
terian Church.  This  church  is  only  a  short  dis- 
tance from  his  home.  Both  his  father  and  grand- 
father before  him  were  elders.  Much  valuable 
history  pertaining  to  this  part  of  North  Carolina 
centers  around  Bethel  Church.  It  was  founded 
by  the  Scotch  Presbyterians  during  their  early 
settlement  in  North  Carolina,  and  the  story  of 
the  church  goes  back  as  far  as  the  year  1797. 

William  J.  McDiarmid  married  Miss  Carrie 
Thomas,  a  granddaughter  of  James  and  Charlotte 
<  Roper)  Thomas,  and  a  daughter  of  William  Jack- 
son and  Mary  Jane  (Covington)  Thomas.  These 
family  names  have  long  been  prominent  in  North 
Carolina,  and  other  information  concerning  the 
Thomas  family  will  be  found  on  other  pages  of  this 
publication. 

Josephus  Daniels.  From  editor  of  a  country 
paper  in  North  Carolina  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
Josephus  Daniels  has  become  one  of  conspicuous 
figures  in  American  political  life,  though  he  is 
still  a  North  Carolina  publisher  and  one  of  the 
most  loyal  and  devoted  citizens  of  that  state. 

He  was  born  at  Washington,  North  Carolina,  May 
18,  1862,  a  son  of  Josephus  and  Mary  (Cleves) 
Daniels.  His  education  was  completed  in  the  Wil- 
son Collegiate  Institute  of  this  state,  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  was  publishing  at  Wilson  his 
first  paper,  The  Cornucopia.  Since  then  for  thirty- 
five  years  he  has  been  closely  identified  with 
journalism  in  his  native  state.  With  a  genius  for 
this  profession,  he  is  one  of  the  few  who  have 
kept  their  profession  standard  inviolate.  His  work 
as  a  journalist  and  editor  has  been  distinguished 
by  a  certain  fearlessness  and  a  depth  of  moral 
conviction  on  every  issue  which  he  has  espoused  or 
opposed.  In  1885  Mr.  Daniels  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  but  has  never  used  his  legal  knowledge 
to  practice.  In  the  same  year  he  became  editor 
of  the  Raleigh  State  Chronicle,  and  in  1894  con- 
solidated the  State  Chronicle  and  the  North  Caro- 
linian with  the  News  and  Observer,  and  has  since 
been  its  editor. 

From  1887  to  1893,  Mr.  Daniels  was  state  printer 
for  North  Carolina.  He  served  as  chief  clerk  in  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  at  Washington,  from 
1893  to  1895.  In  the  democratic  party  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Democratic  National  Com- 
mittee for  twenty  years,  longer  it  is  said,  thau 
any  other  national  committeeman  except  one.  In 
the  campaign  of  1908  he  was  chairman  of  the 
Literary  Bureau  and  in  the  campaign  of  1912,  was 
chairman  of  the  Press  Committee  at  Baltimore 
and  chairman  of  the  Publicity  Committee  in  the 
subsequent  campaign.  On  March  5,  1913,  he  be- 
came  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  President  Wilson's 
cabinet  and  since  then  has  been  a  constant  figure 
in  national  affairs. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  several  democratic 
national  conventions,  has  served  as  a  trustee  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  was  at  one  time 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  Editorial  Asso- 
ciation. 

On    May    2.    1888,    he    married    Addie    Bagley, 


daughter  of  Major  W.  H.  Bagley  and  a  sister  of 
Ensign  Walter  Bagley,  the  first  American  and  the 
only  officer  killed  in  the  Spanish- American  war. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniels  have  four  sons. 

Romulus  Armistead  Nunn.  During  nearly 
twenty  years  of  active  membership  in  the  New- 
born bar  Mr.  Nunn  has  gained  many  euviable 
distinctions  in  his  profession,  and  along  with  these 
have  gone  numerous  services  in  behalf  of  the  gen- 
eral welfare  of  his  state  and  community.  He  is  an 
able  lawyer  and  a  conscientious  and  _  duty-per- 
forming  citizen. 

He  was  born  in  Jones  Countv,  North  Carolina, 
June  22,  1876,  a  son  of  Henry  S.  and  Nancy  F. 
(Koonce)  Nunn.  From  1885  to  1891  Mr.  Nunn 
attended  the  public  sehools  of  Newbem,  was  a 
student  in  Davidson  College  during  1894-95,  and 
following  that  was  enrolled  in  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  until  1897.  He  studied  law  in 
private  offices  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1898. 

Mr.  Nunn  is  attorney  for  and  was  one  of  the 
first  stockholders  of  the  Newbem  Building  &  Loan 
Association.  For  nine  years  he  has  been  city 
attorney.  Educational  movements  have  always 
taken  a  strong  hold  upon  his  interests,  and  he 
has  done  much  for  the  benefit  of  the  local  schools. 
For  ten  years  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  Craven  County,  is  a  trustee  of 
the  graded  sehools,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
township  school  board.  Other  strong  interests 
are  in  behalf  of  good  roads,  the  State  Sanitarium 
for  Consumptives,  and  he  is  now  a  director  of  the 
Anti-Tuberculosis  Society.  Mr.  Nunn  was  elected 
and  served  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of 
1911.  He  is  active  in  the  chamber  of  commerce, 
and  is  chairman  of  the  relief  fund  for  volunteer 
firemen  at  Newbern. 

Mr.  Nunn  was  married  April  28,  1903,  to  Eliza- 
beth Guion  Nicholls,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
daughter  of  Gen.  Francis  T.  Nicholls,  twice  gov- 
ernor and  long  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Louisiana.  They  have  two  children:  Elizabeth 
Nicholls  and  Eleanor  Drake. 

Mr.  Nunn  is  a  member  of  the  college  fraternity 
Sigma  Alpha  Epsilon,  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  United  Sons  of 
Confederate  Veterans. 

Walter  Eugene  Daniel  has  had  a  brilliant 
career  as  a  lawyer  in  Halifax  County,  where  he 
began  practice  over  thirty-five  years  ago  and 
where  he  has  enjoyed  every  form  of  success  and 
honor  w-hich  the  true  and  able  lawyer  values  most 
highly. 

Mr.  Daniel  was  born  August  14,  1859,  at  Wel- 
don,  where  his  own  active  career  has  been  spent 
as  a  "  prophet  not  without  honor  in  his  own 
country.''  His  parents  were  Rufus  Whitfield 
and  Narcissa  ( Allen )  Daniel.  His  father  was 
a  merchant.  Walter  E.  Daniel  received  his  first 
advantages  in  private  schools.  In  1878,  before 
he  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  graduated  from 
Wake  Forest  College,  valedictorian  of  his  class, 
and  with  the  degree  Master  of  Arts.  He  studied 
law  with  Judge  Strong  at  Raleigh  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1880,  and  was  thus  prepared 
to  take  up  his  professional  career  at  the  time 
he  reached  his  legal  majority.  He  began  build- 
ing up  a  practice  at  Weldon  on  January  1,  1881, 
and  has  been  steadily  at  work  there  ever  since. 
For   four  vears   while   gaining  his   first   honors   as 


294 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


a  lawyer  he  served  as  solicitor  of  the  Inferior 
Court  and  for  twelve  years  occupied  the  more 
responsible  p>ositon  as  solicitor  for  the  Second 
Judicial  District.  Mr.  Daniel  served  as  a  member 
of  the  State  Senate  of  North  Carolina  in  1907 
and  again  in  1913,  he  is  a  trustee  of  the  State 
College  of  Agricultural  and  Engineering  Arts  of 
Raleigh,  a  trustee  of  Wake  Forest  College,  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Weldon,  director  of  the 
Weldon  Manufacturing  Company  and  of  the  Shaw 
Cotton  Mill,  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church  and 
member  in  high  standing  of  the  North  Carolina 
and  American  Bar  associations. 

June  6,  1888,  Mr.  Daniel  married  Jeannette  E. 
Snead,  of  Eluvanna  County,  Virginia.  They  have 
become  the  parents  of  a  family  of  eight  children: 
Jeannette  is  the  wife  of  Ashby  W.  Dunn,  an  at- 
torney at  Scotland  Neck,  North  Carolina;  Eugene 
Allen  is  in  the  banking  business  at  Weldon,  North 
Carolina;  Lieut.  Charles  Rufus  is  serving  his 
country  in  the  National  Army;  Donald  Snead  was 
a  student  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
until  he  enlisted  in  the  aviation  service;  Louis 
Broaddus  is  in  the  Agricutural  and  Engineer- 
ing College  at  Raleigh;  and  the  younger  children 
are  Nareissa  Bruce,  a  high  school  student,  and 
Walter  Eugene,  Jr.,  and  John  Wallace  in  gram- 
mar school. 

Joseph  Florence  Leitner.  Among  the  labors 
which  enlist  the  activities  of  mankind  there  are 
none  which  have  a  more  important  bearing  upon 
the  growth  and  development  of  a  community  than 
those  which  have  to  do  with  the  building  and 
architecture  and  their  allied  interests.  The  pro- 
fessions which  fashion  and  erect  the  homes  of 
citizens  and  the  buildings  which  house  large 
enterprises  are  among  the  oldest  and  most  honored, 
and  in  their  ranks  are  found  men  who  have  risen 
to  high  positions  in  the  world.  The  communities 
in  which  are  found  men  of  enterprise  and  energy 
in  these  fields  seldom  lack  civic  zeal  and  progress, 
and  in  this  direction  Wilmington  has  been  singu- 
larly fortunate.  In  the  ranks  of  the  leading 
architects  of  this  part  of  North  Carolina,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  is  Joseph  Florence  Leitner, 
whose  operations  have  covered  practically  all  of 
this  state,  and  have  extended  to  adjoining  com- 
monwealths of  the  South. 

Mr.  Leitner  was  born  in  Columbia  County, 
Georgia,  June  13,  1871,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 
Daniel  and  Annie  (Jackson)  Leitner.  His  father 
was  a  well  known  wholesale  druggist  of  Augusta, 
Georgia,  where  the  youth  secured  his  early  edu- 
cation, following  which  he  entered  Emory  College 
School  of  Technology,  now  the  Georgia  School 
of  Technology.  He  secured  his  initial  experience 
in  the  offices  of  various  architects  in  the 
East  and  West,  and  in  1890  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  in  partnership 
with  A.  W.  Todd,  under  the  firm  style  of  Todd  & 
Leitner.  This  association  continued  until  1893, 
when  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Leit- 
ner continued  alone,  at  Augusta  until  1905,  when 
he  came  to  Wilmington  and  opened  an  office  for 
business  as  J.  F.  Leitner.  In  January,  1917,  he 
opened  a  branch  office  at  Atlanta,  Georgia.  His 
operations  have  covered  the  states  of  North  and 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida  and  Alabama, 
and  have  included  the  designing  of  courthouses, 
libraries,  office  buildings,  bank  buildings,  schools 
and  private  residences.  Some  of  his  finest  and 
most   artistic   work   may   be   seen   at   Wilmington, 


where  he  designed  many  of  the  largest  buildings, 
notably  the  Union  Station  and  the  office  building 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line,  the  Wilmington  Sav- 
ings and  Trust  Company  and  the  American  Bank 
and  Trust  Company.  That  his  standing  is  high  in 
his  profession  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  he  has 
twice  been  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Archi- 
tectural Association,  and  that  he  belongs  to  the 
North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Architecture,  which 
has  charge  of  the  examinations  and  registrations 
of  all  architects  practicing  in  the  state. 
He  stands  high  in  Masonry,  having  reached  the 
thirty-second  degree  and  the  Shrine.  Since  com- 
ing to  Wilmington  he  has  been  deeply  interested 
in  the  city's  welfare,  and  no  citizen  has  been  more 
active  in  the  promotion  of  progress  and  advance- 
ment and  none  enjoys  a  higher  standing,  either 
in  business  or  social  circles. 

On  February  1,  1895,  Mr.  Leitner  was  married 
to  Miss  Mavie  Zachary,  of  Augusta,  Georgia, 
daughter  of  William  N.  and  Harriet  (Griffin) 
Zachary. 

William  J.  Olive.  North  Carolina  rivals  any 
state  in  the  Union  in  the  wealth  of  illustrative 
material  it  can  furnish  depicting  the  development 
of  factories,  the  building  up  of  communities  and 
the  fascinating  processes  involved  in  hundreds  of 
individual  fortunes.  The  important  fact  of  it  all 
is  how  in  so  many  cases  individual  men  or  women 
have  exercised  their  efforts  with  such  effective 
purpose  as  to  practically  create  these  factories, 
communities  and  personal  fortunes.  Such  men 
have  not  been  overwhelmed  by  the  destiny  of 
events,  but  have  ordered  that  destiny  according 
to  their  own  desires. 

All  of  this  is  a  preface  to  a  little  story  which 
centers  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  Harnett 
County,  in  Barbecue  Township,  on  the  Sanford 
branch  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railway.  In 
former  years  something  resembling  a  village  or- 
ganization existed  known  as  Bock  Branch.  About 
half  a  dozen  years  ago,  in  October,  1912,  William 
J.  Olive,  who  had  found  some  profit  and  had 
derived  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm  and  interest 
in  the  culture  of  tobacco  along  the  Dan  Biver 
in  Rockingham  County,  came  to  Rock  Branch, 
seeking  a  new  location.  Tobacco  had  been  grown 
at  Rock  Branch  but  never  on  a  commercial  or  con- 
centrated scale.  It  was  Mr.  Olive's  hope  and  in- 
tention to  make  this  country  an  important  source 
of  the  leaf  tobacco  of  North  Carolina. 

Many  men  have  splendid  visions,  but  cannot 
contrive  to  utilize  their  limited  means  in  realizing 
them.  Mr.  Olive  brought  with  him  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars  cash  capital.  He  applied  some 
of  it  on  the  purchase  price  of  $5,200  for  600  acres. 
As  soon  as  he  gained  possession  he  began  clearing 
and  preparing  the  land  for  tobacco  culture.  His 
own  labor  was  only  a  small  part  of  a  general 
plan,  which  involved  the  interesting  of  a  number 
of  tobacco  farmers  to  become  tenants  and  operators 
on  his  land. 

About  that  time  Mr.  Olive  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  J.  A.  Harps,  who  had  become  a  large 
landowner  in  this  vicinity  and  had  established 
a  profitable  specialty  in  the  growing  of  peaches. 
Mr.  Harps  was  a  capitalist  from  Greenville,  Ohio, 
one  of  the  important  centers  of  the  Ohio  tobacco 
production,  and  was  therefore  open .  to  the  argu- 
ments advanced  by  Mr.  Olive  that  he  use  some  of 
his  land  and  facilities  for  growing  tobacco.  To- 
day  the   Harps   tobacco  farm,    adjoining   that   of 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


295 


Mr.  Olive  on  the  south,  is  said  to  be  the  largest 
and  one  of  the  best  tobacco  plantations  in  the 
South. 

In  1918  Mr.  Olive  put  in  an  individual  crop  of 
fifty  acres  in  tobacco.  But  within  a  very  small 
radius  surrounding  his  own  property,  on  tracts 
that  have  been  sold  to  tobacco  farmers,  an  acre- 
age of  fully  a  thousand  has  been  planted  to  the 
weed.  During  the  last  two  months  of  1917  Mr. 
Olive  sold  over  $40,000  worth  of  small  farms 
within  two  miles  of  Olivia,  all  devoted  to  to- 
bacco planting.  He  has  thus  become  the  founder 
of  the  tobacco  industry  in  Harnett  County, 
and  the  citizens  of  the  old  community  of  Rock 
Branch,  recognizing  the  value  of  what  he 
has  done,  changed  the  name  of  the  village  to 
Olivia.  With  the  influx  of  numerous  families  many 
substantial  homes  have  been  built,  and  a  back- 
woods, unprogressive  district  has  been  transformed 
into  one  of  the  livest  and  most  forward-looking 
sections  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Olive  made  a  special  study  of  tobacco  grow- 
ing, and  has  achieved  success  in  a  profitable  and 
highly  specialized  branch  of  agriculture,  not  only 
for  himself,  but  in  providing  opportunities  for 
many  others.  Good  farmers,  without  capital,  have 
been  given  the  means  of  getting  a  new  start  at 
Olivia,  and  some  of  them  are  already  on  the  high- 
road to  prosperity.  From  the  modest  operations 
set  in  motion  by  Mr.  Olive  five  years  ago  a  new 
and  already  extensive  tobacco  district  has  been 
developed  bearing  the  reputation  of  producing  the 
finest  smoking  tobacco  in  the  world.  Perhaps  no 
one  would  have  to  be  told  that  discouragements  and 
setbacks  interrupted  the  course  of  success,  and  in 
spite  of  all  this  to  bring  the  enterprise  to  its  pres- 
ent status  is  a  monument  to  the  energy  and  per- 
severance of  Mr.  Olive. 

Olivia  village  and  immediate  vicinity  now  con- 
tain over  two  hundred  people,  all  active  workers, 
and  more  are  constantly  coming.  Mr.  Olive,  after 
seeing  these  colonists  located,  works  with  and 
alongside  them,  and  furnishes  them  every  encour- 
agement and  assistance  possible,  his  own  expe- 
rience enabling  him  to  render  a  service  correspond- 
ing to  that  of  the  most  expert  agricultural  agent 
and  specialist.  But  even  more,  he  has  practically 
financed  the  early  operations  of  many  of  his  neigh- 
bors, furnishing  horses,  houses,  implements,  seed, 
etc.  While  tobacco  growing  requires  more  labor 
and  expense  than  a  crop  of  corn,  the  revenues  are 
correspondingly  higher.  In  1917  one  traet  of  two 
and  a  half  acres  at  Olivia  produced  net  returns 
of  $508. 

Furnishing  productive  business  is  only  one  side 
of  building  up  a  real  community.  At  least  two 
other  vital  and  indispensable  considerations  are 
good  roads  and  good  schools.  Mr.  Olive  went  to 
work  as  a  leader  in  the  matter  of  schools,  and  the 
Legislature  incorporated  Olivia  as  a  special  tax 
district.  The  rough  two-room  frame  school  has 
recently  been  replaced  by  a  modern  four-room  brick 
house,  and  with  educational  service  as  advanced 
over  conditions  of  a  few  years  ago  as  the  material 
equipment  itself.  The  modesty  of  Mr.  Olive  would 
not  permit  him  to  say  so,  but  from  others  it  was 
learned  that  the  special  tax  required  for  this  elab- 
orate school  program  was  assumed  willingly  and 
entirely  by  Mr.  Olive.  He  and  Mr.  Harps  together 
were  the  means  of  constructing  a  stretch  of  good 
road,  sand-clay,  twelve  miles  north  and  south  of 
Olivia,  and  the  road-way,  thirty  feet  wide  from 
ditch  to  ditch,  was  finished  without  the  expenditure 
of  a  cent  of  puhlic  money. 


The  founder  of  Olivia  represents  one  of  the  old 
and  rock-bottom  families  of  North  Carolina.  He 
was  born  in  Chatham  County  in  1867,  a  son  of 
Monroe  C.  and  Orilla  (Siler)  Olive.  Both  parents 
are  now  deceased.  His  mother  was  of  the  Chatham 
County  family  for  whom  Siler  City  is  named.  His 
father,  who  was  a  farmer  and  saw  several  years  of 
service  in  the  ranks  of  the  Confederate  Army  dur- 
ing the  war,  was  a  native  of  Wake  County,  and 
son  of  Cador  Olive,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
figures  in  the  early  annals  of  that  locality.  He 
was  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  represented  the 
sturdiest  type  of  Scot.  When  the  eastern  part  of 
Chatham  County  had  only  a  sprinkling  of  pioneers 
he  cleared  up  a  space  which  up  to  that  time  had 
never  been  touched  by  the  civilizing  hand  of  man. 
He  lived  a  long  life  of  the  strictest  honor  and 
Tectitude,  dying  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
three.  An  exemplar  of  religious  faith,  he  was 
founder  of  Olive's  chapel  of  the  Missionary  Bap- 
tist denomination  at  his  home  place  in  Chatham 
County.  A  better  monument  no  man  could  desire 
than  this  church.  It  has  continued  a  flourishing 
institution  from  the  date  of  its  foundation.  Though 
situated  in  the  country  five  miles  from  the  nearest 
town,  it  today  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  a 
Sunday  school  with  an  average  attendance  of  303 
the  year  around.  Probably  no  other  country  church 
in  the  south  can  quite  match  this  record.  A  large 
and  commodious  building  furnishes  all  facilities, 
including  a  modern  Sunday  school  equipment  for 
the  membership  of  500  or  more.  This  church  is 
the  pride  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  North 
Carolina. 

Mr.  William  J.  Olive  and  family  have  always 
been  supporting  members  of  the  Missionary  Bap- 
tist Church  in  their  respective  communities.  Mr. 
Olive  married  in  Rockingham  County  Miss  Daisy 
Webster,  daughter  of  Benjamin  R.  Webster,  of 
that  county.  Their  seven  children  are :  Blanche, 
wife  of  J.  C.  Weber;  Grace,  wife  of  Dewitt  Mc- 
Neill; William  J.,  Obed,  Rucker,  Queen  and  De- 
Anna. 

William  J.  Olive,  Jr.,  is  one  of  the  young  Amer- 
icans of  these  days  who  are  increasing  objects  of 
attention  and  patriotic  admiration.  He  was  nine- 
teen years  old  in  1918.  At  seventeen  he  volun- 
teered in  the  United  States  Navy,  having  his 
father 's  sanction  to  that  step.  He  has  shown  tal- 
ent for  effective  performance,  and  young  as  he  is 
has  been  made  gunner  in  charge  of  a  deck  on  the 
battleship  Arizona. 

Arch  Jefferson  Wood,  whose  name  is  known  all 
over  Wake  County  as  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
office  of  register  of  deeds,  has  found  his  time  and 
talents  variously  engaged  since  he  reached  man- 
hood, but  has  spent  much  of  the  time  in  capable 
performance   of  puhlic   duty. 

He  was  born  in  Wake  County  June  8,  1872,  in 
the  town  of  Apex.  His  parents  were  James  Jef- 
ferson and  Nancy  Green  (Jones)  Wood.  His 
father,  who  was  born  in  Anson  county,  North 
Carolina,  was  a  shoemaker  and  farmer.  The 
mother,  a  native  of  Wake  county,  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  Green  H.  Alford  and  Austin  Jones, 
both  of  whom  were  very  prominent  in  the  early 
days  of  Wake  County. 

Arch  J.  Wood  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm 
at  Apex  and  had  the  advantages  of  private 
schools.  Starting  out  independently,  he  was  in 
the  general  merchandise  business  at  Apex  for 
seven  years,  for  two  of  those  years  being  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Wood   &  Sears.     He  has 


296 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


also  been  a  newspaper  man,  having  established  the 
first  weekly  paper  in  Wake  County  outside  of 
Raleigh.  This  was  the  Apex  News,  and  he  con- 
ducted it  successfully  for  six  years.  For  eight 
years  he  was  mail  carrier  at  Apex,  working  under 
the  Civil  Service  rules. 

In  1910  Mr.  Wood  was  called  to  Raleigh  as 
deputy  register  of  deeds,  and  after  serving  in 
that  capacity  four  years  his  complete  familiarity 
with  the  details  of  the  office  and  his  general  popu- 
larity over  the  county  resulted  in  his  election  as 
county  register  of  deeds  in  1914.  He  was  re-elect- 
ed in  1915,  and  there  is  no  office  in  the  courthouse 
at  Raleigh  conducted  on  a  basis  of  better  busi- 
ness efficiency  and  with  more  adequate  service  to 
the  public  than  his. 

He  has  also  aligned  himself  with  the  progressive 
citizens  of  Raleigh  and  is  a  member  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce.  He  has  always  been  an  active 
democrat.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Holly 
Springs  Lodge  No.  115,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons;  is  past  noble  grand  of  Seaton 
Gale  Lodge  of  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  a  past  councilor  of  Lodge  No.  238, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  at 
Apex.  He  has  served  as  secretary  of  the  Junior 
Order  and  also  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Raleigh,  but  for  thirteen  years  was 
clerk  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Apex. 

On  September  16,  1897,  at  Apex,  he  married 
Miss  Bessie  A.  Holleman,  daughter  of  Nathan 
Hollemau,  a  former  postmaster  at  Apex.  They 
are  the  parents  of  five  children:  Archibald  Dewey, 
born  in  September,  1898 ;  Wendell,  Juanita, 
Caesar  Grady  and  Irma  Eloise. 

John  E.  McAllister.  Through  his  own  busy 
and  successful  career  as  a  contractor,  especially 
in  the  building  of  cotton  mills,  John  E.  McAl- 
lister has  justified  his  possession  of  a  notable 
family  ancestry  and  the  prestige  associated  with 
an   honored   family   name. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  McAllister  family  so 
numerously  represented  in  Cumberland,  Gaston  and 
other  counties  of  the  state.  All  of  them  are  de- 
scendants of  the  famous  Col.  Alexander  McAllis- 
ter, a  military  and  civic  leader  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary period.  The  McAllisters  have  been  dis- 
tinguished alike  in  the  efficient  work  of  peace  and 
industry  and  in  war.  Col.  Alexander  McAllister 
was  born  in  Scotland  and  settled  in  the  Cape  Fear 
region  of  North  Carolina  in  1736.  During  the 
Revolutionary  war  he  was  colonel  of  a  North 
Carolina  regiment.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  held  at  Hillsboro  August  21, 
1 775,  and  did  much  to  influence  the  recent  colo- 
nists from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  to  join  the 
Americans  in  their  struggle  for  independence.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Revolutionary  Committee 
for  the  Wilmington  District,  and  after  the  war 
served  in  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate,  and 
continued  a  leading  spirit  until  his  death  in  1800. 

Mr.  John  E.  McAllister  was  born  in  Gaston 
County  in  August,  1865,  a  son  of  Lee  A.  and  Cath- 
erine (Rudisill)  McAllister.  He  is  a  grandson  of 
George  W.  McAllister,  who  was  born  in  Cumber- 
land County,  North  Carolina,  and,  moving  west- 
ward, located  in  Gaston  County  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  George  W.  McAllis- 
ter's mother  was  a  Plonk,  member  of  a  family  of 
German  origin  quite  numerous  and  prominent  in 
Gaston,   Lincoln    and    Catawba   counties. 

Lee   A.   McAllister,  now  deceased,  was  born   in 


Gaston  County  and  had  his  farm  in  Dallas  Town- 
ship about  seven  miles  northwest  of  the  City  of 
Gastonia.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob 
Rudisill,  who  was  one  of  that  family  referred  to 
by  the  historian,  Laban  Miles  Hoffman,  as  "the 
great  Rudisill  family  of  North  Carolina. ' '  The 
progenitors  of  this  family,  emigrating  from  Ger- 
many, first  lived  at  or  near  York,  Pennsylvania, 
later  went  southward  to  Virginia  and  North  Car- 
olina, locating  in  the  latter  state  about  1750. 
Philip  Rudisill,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  North  Car- 
olina, established  a  home  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Black  Place  between  Friday  Shoals  and 
High  Shoals,  in  what  was  then  Anson  now  Gas- 
ton County.  The  descendants  of  Philip  Rudisill 
and  his  brothers  have  lived  in  this  immediate  sec- 
tion of  the  state  ever  since  and  comprise  a  large 
and  influential  family. 

John  E.  McAllister  was  born  on  a  farm,  but 
when  about  nine  years  of  age  the  family  moved 
to  King's  Mountain,  where  his  father  engaged  in 
business.  The  son  attended  school  there  and  came 
under  the  instruction  of  the  noted  Captain  Bell. 
Quite  early  in  life  he  began  working  for  himself, 
learning  the  bricklayer 's  trade,  from  which  as  a 
foundation  he  built  up  his  business  as  a  con- 
tractor. He  was  quite  young  when  he  took  his 
first  building  contracts  and  some  years  later  he 
located  his  business  headquarters  at  Gastonia.  At 
that  time  Gastonia  was  a  rather  small  and  incon- 
spicuous village,  though  its  future  was  already 
one  of  much  promise  as  a  cotton  mill  center.  In 
the  rapid  development  of  Gastonia  as  one  of  the 
leading  cotton  mill  centers  of  the  South  Mr.  Mc- 
Allister has  found  ample  opportunity  for  his  work 
as  a  contractor  and  particularly  in  carrying  out 
extensive  contracts  for  the  construction  of  cotton 
mills.  Mills  have  been  built  by  him  in  various 
towns.  He  erected  the  first  cotton  mill  at  Lum- 
berton.  His  larger  and  more  important  contracts, 
however,  have  been  in  Gastonia  and  that  vicin- 
ity. He  built  the  Flint  Mill  in  Gastonia  and  a 
number  of  older  mills,  and  among  the  more  re- 
cent are  the  Clara,  Dunn,  Armstrong  and  Seminole 
mills.  All  these  are  large  modern  mills  of  the 
most  approved  style  of  construction  and  equip- 
ment. Mr.  McAllister  has  also  taken  many  con- 
tracts  for   other  heavy   building  construction. 

He  married  Miss  Annie  McClelland,  of  Monroe, 
Union  County. 

Rivers  Dunn  Johnson.  This  well  known  and 
successful  lawyer  and  leader  in  the  democratic 
party  resides  at  Warsaw  in  Duplin  County,  and  has 
been  in  active  practice  there  since  he  graduated 
from  Wake  Forest  College.  Mr.  Johnson  took 
to  his  profession  a  thorough  training  and  excep- 
tional talents,  and  has  made  his  influence  felt 
both  in  the  profession  and  in  the  field  of  public 
affairs. 

He  was  born  in  Wilson  County,  North  Carolina, 
December  29,  1885,  a.  son  of  Seymour  Anderson 
and  Elizabeth  (Clark)  Johnson.  His  father  for 
a  number  of  years  has  been  an  official  of  the 
Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railway  Company.  Mr.  John- 
son was  liberally  educated.  He  attended  the  James 
Sprunt  Institute  at  Kenansville,  the  Warsaw  High 
School,  and  then  entered  Wake  Forest  College, 
where  he  was  graduated  from  the  law  department 
in  February,  1909.  After  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  he  located  at  Warsaw  in  Duplin  County,  and 
has  steadily  practiced  with  offices  in  that  city. 

From  May,  1909  to  1910,  Mr.  Johnson  served 
as  mayor  ov  Warsaw.    That  local  position  was  soon 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


297 


followed  by  his  election  to  the  State  Senate  from 
the  Ninth  District,  and  he  was  one  of  the  able 
members  of  the  Upper  House  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature during  the  sessions  from  1911  until  1915. 
He  is  now  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Third  Congressional  District,  is 
secretary  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Sixth 
Judicial  District,  and  in  June,  1916,  was  a  dele- 
gate from  North  Carolina  to  the  National  Demo- 
cratic Convention  in  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Johnson  is  city  attorney  of  Warsaw  and  is 
vice  president  and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Carolina  Railway  Company.  He  is 
a  past  master  of  his  Masonic  Lodge,  belongs  to 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics 
and  to  the  Kappa  Alpha  college  fraternity. 

Joseph  W.  Halford,  M.  D.  While  every  citizen 
of  a  community  has  possibilities  of  useful  service 
and  influence  in  a  degree  beyond  estimation  and 
seldom  realized,  these  possibilities  doubtless  attain 
their  maximum  among  the  members  of  the  medical 
profession.  An  able,  high  minded  and  conscientious 
physician  is  a  power  for  community  good  not 
limited  alone  to  his  professional  work. 

The  wide  range  of  this  usefulness  has  seldom 
been  better  exemplified  than  in  the  career  of 
Dr.  Joseph  W.  Halford  of  Lillington,  Harnett 
County.  Doctor  Halford  began  practice  in  that 
county  at  Chalybeate  in  1905.  In  1912  he  moved 
to  the  county  seat  at  Lillington,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  His  abilities  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon  have  met  growing  appreciation  and  have 
brought  him  a  practice  that  all  but  absorbs  his 
entire  time  and  energies.  His  work  has  received 
the  approbation  not  only  of  his  patients  but  of  his 
fellow  physicians,  evidence  of  which  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  he  is  now  first  vice-president  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina ; 
president  of  the  Harnett  County  Medical  Society, 
and  president  of  the  Fifth  District  Medical  Society, 
covering  several  counties  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
He  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the  Tri-State, 
Southern  and  American  Medical  associations. 

Ill  all  public  matters  during  the  past  ten  years 
he  has  undoubtedly  exercised  an  influence  second 
to  none  among  the  citizens  of  the  county.  As 
chairman  and  examining  physician  for  the  Harnett 
County  Exemption  Board  he  has  fulfilled  a  pa- 
triotic and  highly  responsible  duty,  and  has  given 
ungrudgingly  of  his  time  to  that  office  for  several 
months.  He  is  also  health  officer  and  quarantine 
officer  for  Harnett  County  and  his  work  as  a  sani- 
tarian has  enabled  him  to  effect  many  measures 
for  improving  public  health  and  preventing  disease. 
While  a  man  of  much  tact,  he  has  not  feared  to 
incur  personal  opposition  nor  even  personal  hos- 
tility in  the  performance  of  his  duties  in  safe- 
guarding the  majority  of  the  people  from  the 
carelessness  of  the  few. 

While  seeking  to  give  some  brief  outline  of  his 
varied  interests  and  activities,  it  is  well  to  empha- 
size his  earnest  work  and  effort  in  behalf  of  local 
education,  and  in  realizing  some  of  the  ideals  of 
the  good  roads  movement  in  his  home  county. 
When  he  came  to  this  county  a  dozen  years  ago 
Doctor  Halford  was  impressed  more  than  anything 
else  by  the  lack  of  good  roads  and  of  adequate 
country  schools.  To  secure  improved  highways 
was  not  merely  a  means  of  arousing  local  interest 
and  co-operation.  The  Legislature  had  to  do  its 
part  and  Doctor  Halford  and  several  interested 
associates  went  before  that  body  and  had  a  bill 
drawn  and   passed   permitting  the  county   to   issue 


bonds  for  building  roads.  This  measure  proved 
inadequate  because  in  some  sections  it  was  unpopu- 
lar and  its  provisions  affected  too  large  an  area 
to  make  it  practicable.  Subsequent  legislation  im- 
proved the  bill  by  localizing  the  bond  issues  for 
road  improvement  among  the  individual  townships 
instead  of  the  county  as  a  whole.  With  the  town- 
ship as  a  unit  and  responsible  for  the  building 
of  its  own  roads,  the  good  roads  advocates. were  in 
a  much  better  position  to  carry  out  their  ideas. 
As  a  result  nine  of  the  thirteen  townships  in 
Harnett  County  have  voted  road  bonds  aggregating 
about  $115,000,  not  including  Duke  and  Averasboro 
townships,  which  had  already  taken  care  of  their 
roads  before  this  legislation  was  enacted.  At  the 
present  time  Harnett  County  has  good  roads  in 
every  direction,  the  various  township  roads  having 
been  connected  throughout.  Many  other  changes 
have  come  about  either  concomitantly  with  or  as  a 
result  of  better  roads.  The  day  of  *  the  steer  and 
one  horse  plow  has  almost  passed,  and  improved 
farm  machinery  can  be  found  on  nearly  every 
homestead.  The  county  is  not  without  its  example's 
of  traction  engines  doing  what  the  horse  and  mule 
formerly  did  in  the  fields.  Large  areas  have  been 
cleared  up  and  developed  and  fine  farms  and 
beautiful  homes  built,  and  Harnett  County  is  now 
in  the  full  tide  of  progress  as  an  agricultural  com- 
munity. 

The  development  of  the  agricultural  side  of 
Harnett  County  is  not  without  direct  personal  in- 
terest to  Doctor  Halford,  who  himself  owns  a  fine 
farm  four  miles  west  of  Lillington. 

Doctor  Halford  was  born  in  Walterboro  in  Colle- 
ton County,  South  Carolina,  in  1870,  a  son  of 
James  J.  and  Jane  (Redmond)  Halford,  both  na- 
tives of  South  Carolina.  Doctor  Halford  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  his  home  town,  also 
under  private  tutors  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  and 
studied  medicine  at  Washington,  D.  C,  at  first  in 
Georgetown  University  and  later  finished  his  under- 
graduate and  did  post-graduate  work  in  Columbian 
University,  where  he  graduated  in  1904:  Doctor 
Halford  is  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Lillington,  a 
democrat  in  politics  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  At  Washington,  D.  C,  he  married  Miss 
Ray  Ellinger.   Mrs.  Halford  was  born  in  California. 

Allen  John-son  Barwick.  While  he  has 
come  rapidly  into  favor  as  a  member  of  the  Ral- 
eigh bar  during  the  past  three  years,  Allen  J. 
Barwick  is  perhaps  most  widely  known  over  the 
state  as  a  successful  educator.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  teacher,  principal,  or  otherwise 
closely  connected  with  the  school  activities  of 
the  state,  finally  giving  up  educational  work  to 
enter  the  profession  of  law. 

He  was  born  in  Lenoir  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  21,  1877,  a  son  of  Craven  T.  and 
Nancy  (Brooke)  Barwick.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  it  was  on  a  farm  that  he  spent  his 
early  life.  He  was  liberally  educated,  attending 
the  country  schools,  the  Carolina  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute at  Mineola,  the  Grifton  Academy  at  Grifton, 
North  Carolina,  and  also  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in 
1900.  His  record  as  a  teacher  identified  him  with 
several  of  the  larger  communities  of  this  state  and 
elsewhere.  He  was  principal  of  the  Kinston 
schools,  spent  three  years  in  the  same  capacity 
at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  and  was  also  super- 
intendent of  the  schools  at  Thomasville  and  Al- 
bany, Georgia.  For  four  and  a  half  years  Mr. 
Barwick    was    secretary    to    the    State    Board    of 


298 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


School  Examiners  and  chief  clerk  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Instruction. 

In  the  meantime,  having  studied  law,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  February,  1911.  For  two 
years  he  practiced  at  Newton,  but  in  1913  removed 
to  Raleigh,  and  a  large  amount  of  legal  business 
is  now  entrusted  to  his  skill  and  counsel: 

Mr.  Barwiek  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Bar  Association  and  of  the  Commercial  Law 
League  of  America.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Ral- 
eigh  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  is  a  Knight 
of  Pythias,  and  in  1912  he  served  as  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Newton. 

At  Newton,  North  Carolina,  October  1,  1907,  he 
married  Miss  Anna  Killian.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  three  children:  Killian,  Eloise  and  Wil- 
liam Allen. 

William  Haywood  Ruffin,  representing  a 
name  honored  in  North  Carolina  annals  through 
200  years,  is  a  lawyer  of  distinction  and  of  rec- 
ognized prominence,  with  his  home  at  Louisburg. 

The  accident  of  birth  makes  Mr.  Ruffin  a  na- 
tive of  Missouri,  though  that  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  born  at  Lexington,  Missouri,  while 
his  parents,  Dr.  William  Haywood  and  Agnes 
(Chadwick)  Buffin,  were  temporarily  residents 
there.  His  father  crossed  the  plains  twice  to  Cal- 
ifornia, but  except  for  these  western  .-journeys 
and  experiences  spent  his  life  in  North  Carolina. 

William  H.  Ruffin  was  born  July  19,  1864,  and 
spent  most  of  his  boyhood  days  at  Louisburg, 
where  he  was  educated  in  the  Male  Academy.  He 
read  law  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  with  Hon. 
John  E.  Woodard,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  September,  1887.  The  next  ten  years  he  spent 
in  practice  at  Sheffield,  Alabama,  but  in  1896  re- 
turned to  Louisburg  and  from  that  town  his  fame 
has  gone  abroad  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of 
the  state.  He  has  been  in  general  practice,  but 
has  has  also  been  called  upon  to  hnndle  the  af- 
fairs of  many  corporations,  and  his  services  were 
valuable  in  organizing  these  local  businesses.  Since 
1909  he  has  been  county  attorney  of  Franklin 
County.  For  ten  years  he  has  been  a  director 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Louisburg  and  its 
president  since  1911.  In  1896,  when  he  returned 
to  Louisburg,  he  was  made  a  trustee  of  the  pub- 
lie  schools,  and  those  in  touch  with  the  situation 
say  that  no  one  has  done  more  to  raise  the  stand- 
ards of  local  education  and  to  bring  about  desired 
improvement  in  the  curriculum  and  in  facilities 
for  favorable  school  work  than  Mr.  Ruffin.  For 
years  he  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
graded  schools.  He  also  served  for  a  number  of 
years  as  trustee  of  the  old  Male  Academy  at 
Louisburg. 

Mr.  Ruffin  was  a  member  of  the  special  session 
of  the  State  Senate  in  1913.  He  was  a  member 
of  Committee  No.  2,  one  of  the  advisory  commit- 
tees of  lawyers  to  whom  all  measures  and  bills 
were  referred  for  examination.  For  eighteen  years 
Mr.  Ruffin  has  been  a  junior  warden  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  and  also  secretary  of  the  vestry. 
He  is  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Red  Cross  for  Franklin  County. 

June  26,  1893,  at  Louisburg  Mr.  Ruffin  mar- 
ried Miss  Sallie  White,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  E.  (Shaw)  White.  Her  father  was  a  mer- 
chant. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruffin  have  three  sons,  Thomas 
White,  William  Haywood,  Jr.,  and  Henry  Gray. 
The  second  son  is  a  student  in  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  and  Henry  G.  is  still  in  the  Louis- 


burg High  School.  Thomas,  the  oldest  son,  born 
September  6,  1895,  graduated  in  June,  1917,  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  with  the  degree 
A.  B.  and  LL.  B.  He  was  also  one  of  the  uni- 
versity debaters  in  the  collegiate  debate  between 
the  universities  of  North  Carolina  and  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
as  a  partner  and  associate  of  his  father. 

Thomas  Hates  Royster,  M.  D.,  was  graduated 
from  the  University  College  of  Medicine  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  in  1908,  and  since  then  has 
rapidly  acquired  position  and  success  in  his 
chosen  calling.  He  practiced  in  Gaston  County, 
North  Carolina,  until  1913,  and  has  since  been  a 
resident  of  Tarboro,  where  he  is  associated  with 
Dr.  S.  N.  Harrell,  under  the  firm  name  of  Harrell 
&  Royster,    physicians   and   surgeons. 

Dr.  Royster  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
Edgecombe  County,  the  Fourth  District  and  the 
North  Carolina  Medical  societies,  and  is  identified 
socially  with  the  Tar  Heel  Club. 

He  was  born  in  Granville  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, October  3,  1884,  a  son  of  Graham  B.  and 
Opie  Sue  (Hayes)  Royster.  His  father  was  a 
substantial  farmer  of  Granville  County.  Doctor 
Royster  attended  the  public  schools,  also  the  Hor- 
ner Military  School  at  Oxford,  and  took  his  pre- 
liminary course  in  medicine  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina. 

In  August,  1917,  Doctor  Royster  enlisted  in 
the  Medical  Officers  Reserve  Corps  of  the  United 
States  National  Army  and  is  now  in  France. 

Charles  Ross,  the  well  known  lawyer  and 
democrat  of  Lillington,  has  cause  to  take  pride  in 
the  quality  of  his  immediate  ancestry  and  his  con- 
nections by  marriage.  Blood  does  tell ;  there  is 
no  earthly  doubt  about  it. 

Mr.  Ross'  parents  are  Romulus  and  Ellen  (Mc- 
Culloch)  Ross,  and  they  are  living  at  Asheboro, 
Randolph  County,  this  state.  His  father  was  born 
in  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1851,  and 
in  early  life  moved  to  Randolph  County.  The 
family  ancestors  came  from  Maryland  and  before 
the  Revolutionary  war  settled  at  Guilford  Court 
House,  Guilford  Gounty.  They  were  of  substan- 
tial Scotch  stock,  and  their  descendants  have  in- 
herited the  racial  traits  in  a  marked  degree.  Romu- 
lus Ross  has  been  one  of  the  representative  men  of 
Randolph  County  for  many  years,  having  served 
his  county  and  district  in  the  State  Senate  and  as 
sheriff  of  the  county. 

Charles  Ross  is  a  thoroughly  educated  man  and 
well  prepared  to  complete  any  undertaking  which 
he  assumes.  His  earlier  education  was  pursued  in 
Asheboro  schools  and  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  He  studied  law  in  Columbian  University 
(now  George  Washington  University),  at  the  na- 
tional capital,  receiving  his  professional  degree 
and  license  to  practice  in  1912.  For  some  years 
previously  he  had  engaged  in  the  lumber  business, 
and  in  1906  established  his  residence  at  Lillington. 
Since  beginning  his  practice  there  in  1912  he  has 
become  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  that  section 
of  the  state. 

A  number  of  years  before  commencing  practic* 
Mr.  Ross  had  become  well  known  as  a  democratic 
leader.  In  the  session  of  1901  he  represented 
Randolph  County  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  in  1910  he  was  again  elected 
a  member  of  that  body  from  Harnett  County.  For 
the  campaign  in  the  general  election  of  1916  he 
was   chosen   chairman   of   the   Democratic   County 


ey/^^Cl  /^yVZ^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


299 


Executive  Committee,  and  in  that  capacity  brought 
his  county  over  from  the  republican  columns  to 
the  democracy.  Both  as  a  manager  and  a  legisla- 
tor he  has  deserved  and  received  high  credit  from 
leaders  and  people. 

Mr.  Ross  married  Miss  Frances  Reid  McKay, 
daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Neil]  McKay,  D.  D.,  and 
Margaret  (Murchison)  McKay,  the  latter  of  whom 
is  living  at  the  old  McKay  residence  in  Summer- 
ville. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ross  have  six  children — 
Charles  Reid,  Neill  McKay,  Frances  Ramsey,  Rom- 
ulus Rudolph,  Margaret  Murchison,  and  Robert 
Page  Ross. 

Doctor  McKay,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Ross,  was  one 
of  the  state 's  most  notable  characters  as  a  min- 
ister and  a  promoter  of  education.  There  are  few 
men  identified  with  the  progress  of  North  Caro- 
lina who  have  weilded  so  deep  and  widespread  an 
influence  as  the  deceased;  for  he  not  only  poured 
his  spirit  and  the  inspiration  of  his  fine  character 
into  the  church  of  his  choice,  thns  influencing  for 
good  those  of  all  ages  and  classes,  but  fathered 
with  his  wisdom  and  his  material  assistance  the 
famous  Summerville  Academy  for  Boys,  which,  in 
the  many  years  of  its  life,  sent  forth  some  of  the 
choicest  spirits  of  North  Carolina.  In  his  active 
years  Doctor  McKay  was  the  leading  character 
in  the  Fayetteville  Presbytery,  and  the  extension 
of  its  usefulness  is  largely  due  to  his  ceaseless 
efforts,  forethought  and  patient  leadership.  As 
his  home  was  at  old  Summerville,  it. is  natural  that 
he  should  become  interested  in  the  Academy,  or 
preparatory  school  for  boys;  and  to  become  inter- 
ested in  a  project,  or  an  institution,  invariably  re- 
sulted in  earnest  and  practical  work  for  its  ad- 
vancement. So  that,  as  the  years  passed,  the  good 
and  distinguished  doctor  became  first  respected, 
then  honored  and  finally  revered  for  his  faithful 
brooding  and  his  continuous  generosity  in  behalf 
of  the  institution  to  which  he  had  given  his  soul, 
and  through  which  he  had  started  so  many  of  the 
young  generation  along  the  paths  of  legitimate  and 
Christian  honor.  The  chief  patron  of  the  Summer- 
ville Academy  could  not  have  financially  supported 
it  as  he  did  had  he  not  been  a  successful  man  of 
business  affairs.  For  many  years  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  his  brother,  Dr.  John  W.  McKay,  a 
physician,  but  extensively  engaged  in  the  turpen- 
tine and  naval  stores  industries.  This  combination 
in  one  character  of  business  ability,  deep  scholar- 
ship, intellectual  keenness  and  sustained  morality 
and  spiritual  elevation,  constituted  almost  a 
unique  personality. 

Mrs.  McKay  was  born  at  Manchester,  Cumber- 
land County.  North  Carolina,  and  is  the  daughter 
of  the  late  Duncan  Murchison,  who,  with  his  sons, 
was  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  prominent  busi- 
ness men  of  North  Carolina.  The  headquarters  of 
their  interests  were  at  Wilmington.  The  Murchi- 
sons  have  always  occupied  a  very  prominent  place 
in  the  commercial  and  industrial  development  of 
the  Cape  Fear  section  of  North  Carolina. 

James  Otho  Lunsford,  postmaster  of  Dur- 
ham, had  as  precedent  and  qualifications  for  his 
present  office  a  long  and  active  experience  in 
business  affairs  at  Durham,  and  ha's  been  a  leader 
in  business  and  politics  in  that  city  and  county 
for  many  years. 

He  was  born  in  Person  County,  North  Carolina, 
May  12,  1874,  son  of  Paschailand  Laura  Eliza- 
beth (Daniel)  Lunsford.  His  father  carried  on 
farming  operations  until  1S84,  in  which  year  he 
was   elected    register   of    deeds    and   later   county 


treasurer,  and  filled  those  offices  steadily  until  his 
death  on  September  22,  1906. 

In  the  meantime  the  son  was  educated  in  the 
Durham  public  schools,  a  Baptist  seminary,  and 
for  three  years  attended  Trinity  College  at  Dur- 
ham. While  in  college  he  was  assistant  register 
of  deeds  under  his  father  and  for  two  years  was 
bookkeeper  for  M.  A.  Angler  Company  at  Dur- 
ham. For  three  years  he  was  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Golden  Belt  Hosiery  Mills,  and  for 
the  next  four  years  was  bookkeeper  and  salesman 
in  the  grocery  house  of  Thomas  Howard  Company. 
About  that-  time  he  established  the  Lunsford 
Horse  &  Mule  Company,  dealers  in  horses,  main- 
taining a  sales  stables,  and  dealing  in  wholesale 
feed  supplies.  He  discontinued  the  horse  busi- 
ness, but  continued  to  conduct  the  wholesale  feed 
business  until  April,  1911.  Following  that  for 
several  years  he  was  sales  manager  of  the  Austin- 
Heaton  Company,  and  retired  from  that  position 
to  accept  the  postmastership  of  Durham,  to  which 
he  was  appointed  during  President  Wilson's  first 
term  in  June,  1914.  Mr.  Lunsford  was  quite  ac- 
tive in  local  politics  until  accepting  his  present 
office.  He  at  one  time  served  as  secretary  of  the 
Democratic  Executive  Committee.  He  is  affiliated 
with  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Me- 
chanics, the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  United 
Commercial  Travellers. 

In  April,  1910,  he  married  Miss  Mayde  Mos- 
ley  of  Durham.  They  have  two  children,  Laura 
Eilen  and  Margaret  Mosley. 

George  Chancellor  Green.  The  work  and 
service  by  which  Mr.  Green  has  been  most  closely 
identified  and  has  become  best  known  in  his  part 
of  North  Carolina  has  been  performed  as  a  very 
able   attorney  at   Weldon,   his  native  city. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  years  when  he  was 
away  at  school  his  years  have  been  spent  in  the 
Town  of  Weldon,  where  he  was  born  November 
22,  1878,  a  son  of  Dr.  Isaac  E.  and  Helen  (Day) 
Green.  His  father  was  an  honored  physician  of 
Halifax  County  for  many  years.  The  son  was  ed- 
ucated in  private  schools  at  Warrenton,  and  in 
1901  graduated  from  the  University  of  George- 
town, D.  C.  The  next  year  he  taught  school  at 
Weldon,  and  then  entered  the  law  department  of 
the  Universtiy  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  until  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
February,  1904.  Since  then,  a  period  of  four- 
teen years,  has  been  devoted  to  the  building  up 
and  handling  of  a  large  and  prosperous  general 
practice  at  Weldon. 

For  the  past  ten  years  he  has  served  as  county 
attorney  and  he  also  filled  the  offices  of  mayor  of 
Weldon  for  two  terms.  He  is  now  a  trustee  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  is  vestryman 
and  lay  reader  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  While 
in  university  he  was  affiliated  with  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity  and  the  Ghimgoul  col- 
lege society. 

April  11,  1907,  Mr.  Green  married  Virginia 
Suiter,  of  Garysburg,  North  Carolina.  They  have 
five  children:  Elizabeth  Fuller,  Virginia  Suiter, 
George  Chancellor,  Jr.,  Mary  Cook  and  Tempe 
Joyner. 

Philip  Grady  Sawyer.  The  substantial  re- 
sults that  sometimes  attend  the  progress  of  an 
individual  very  seldom  comes  by  chance.  The 
gifts  of  nature  and  fortunate  environment  may 
be  accepted,  but  many  elements  and  attributes 
must  be  present  to  make  enduring  the  achievements 


300 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


that  built  up  solid  popularity  and  establish  a 
worthy  reputation.  In  considering  the  unusually 
successful  career  of  Elizabeth  City  's  young  mayor, 
Hon.  Philip  Grady  Sawyer,  it  will  be  found  that 
this  quiet,  unassuming,  self-contained,  capable 
young  man  has  strength,  force  and  character.  He 
is  a  man  with  honorable  business  ideals,  he  accepts 
no  responsibility  without  willingly  bearing  it, 
and  is  a  level-headed  man  with  a  clear  ami  proper 
perspective  on  life. 

Philip  Grady  Sawyer  bears  an  old  and  honorable 
name  of  Pasquotank  County,  as  well  as  of  Camden 
County,  and  he  was  born  in  the  latter  January  22, 
1889.  His  parents  are  Mack  N.  and  Nancy 
(Sawyer)  Sawyer,  and  probably  the  ancestral 
line  may  be  traced  to  Ireland.  The  father  has 
long  been  interested  in  the  real  estate  business. 

After  completing  the  high  school  course  at 
Elizabeth  City,  Philip  G.  Sawyer  entered  Wake 
Forest  College  and  pursued  his  studies  there  until 
1910,  when  he  was  graduated  with  his  A.  B.  de- 
gree, and  continued  in  the  University  law  depart- 
ment until  he  completed  the  LL.  B.  degree  course, 
in  1909,  being  admitted  to  the  North  Carolina  bar, 
one  of  its  youngest  members.  He  located  in  Eliza- 
beth City  for  the  practice  of  his  profession  and 
his  ability  in  every  department  of  the  law  has 
frequently  been  demonstrated  and  has  g-iven 
him  unusual  prestige.  For  one  year  he  served  as 
i-lerk  of  the  District  and  United  States  Circuit 
courts. 

Elizabeth  City  is  the  central  point  of  many  im- 
portant partly  undeveloped  business  interests, 
while  its  citizens  as  a  whole  are  progressive  and 
enterprising  and  with  modern  ideas  are  awake 
to  their  natural  advantages  and  ready  to  cooperate 
for  the  general  good.  When  they  came,  a  few 
years  ago,  to  realize  that  they  needed  a  mayor 
who  cherished  the  same  ambitions  and  had  the 
wisdom  to  carry  out  large,  undertakings,  they 
turned  to  their  brilliant  young  townsman,  believ- 
ing that  under  his  able  and  understanding  leader- 
ship civic  improvements  could  be  brought  about 
and  reforms  inaugurated  that  would  be  of  inestim- 
able benefit  to  every  one.  They  elected  Mr.  Saw- 
yer mayor  in  June,  1915*,  and  so  ably  and 
completely  did  he  take  matters  in  hand  that  com- 
mendation came  from  every  side,  and  with  in- 
creased majority  he  was  reelected  in  1917. 

Mayor  Sawyer  among  other  things  has  brought 
about  the  building  and  repairing  of  the  city 
utilities;  has  instituted  changes  in  the  various 
municipal  offices  for  the  city 's  benefit ;  has 
widened  the  field  of  honorable  business  competi- 
tion as  far  as  the  present  unsettled  conditions  of 
trade  has  permitted,  and  has  encouraged  public 
recreations  and  such  cultural  enterprises  as  the 
yearly  Chautauqua.  In  the  meanwhile  be  has  not- 
been  swayed  by  politicians  but  has  maintained 
the  dignity  of  his  office  and  on  every  public  oc- 
casion when  his  presence  has  been  necessary,  has 
worthily  represented  the  city  as  its  municipal 
head.  Additionally  Mayor  Sawyer  is  a  member 
of  the  county  board  of  health. 

Mayor  Sawyer  was  married  June  10,  1914,  to 
Miss  Evelyn  Aydlett,  who  was  born  in  Elizabeth 
City  and  belongs  to  a  family  prominent  both  in 
business  and  social  life.  They  are  members  of  the 
Blackwell  Memorial  Baptist  Church  and  Mr. 
Sawyer  heads  the  finance  committee  of  the  same. 
He  leads  a  busy,  useful  life  and  finds  contentment 
in  duties  well  done.  He  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason  and  is  past  exalted  ruler  of  lodge  No.  856, 
of   the   Benevolent  and   Protective   Order   of   Elks. 


John  R.  Baggett.  Not  infrequently  men  and 
women  achieve  success  (so  called)  by  ignoring 
family  duties  and  plain  moralities,  leaving  all  such 
considerations  heartlessly  behind  and  going  so  far 
into  the  world  that  the  burdens  of  parents,  or  other 
kindred,  shall  not  interfere  with  the  free  develop- 
ment of  their  ambitions.  We  all  know  of  such 
eases,  but  we1  do  not  know  of  the  instances,  not 
a  few,  in  which  the  lives  of  those  who  are  out- 
wardly successful  are  shot  through  and  through 
with  the  pangs  of  conscience  and  ceaseless  regrets 
that  they  commenced  to  mount  on  the  bent  and 
weakly  shoulders  of  those  whom  they  should  have 
protected  with  self-sacrificing  love. 

The  life  of  John  R.  Baggett,  who  was  born  in 
Sampson  County,  October  1,  1871,  prominent  lawyer 
and  mayor  of  Lillington,  illustrates  the  realization 
of  worldly  comfort  and  progress  at  a  comparatively 
late  period,  but  unaccompanied  by  a  retrospect  of 
pain  and  regret.  His  strong  Welsh  blood  doubtless 
has  much  to  do  with  the  faithfulness  with  which 
he  maintained  the  ties  and  duties  of  kinship,  at  the 
cost  of  its  own  early  advancement. 

The  parents  of  John  E.  Baggett.  were  Silas  E. 
and  Winnifred  (Wilson)  Baggett,  both  deceased. 
The  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Jesse  Wilson,  one 
of  the  most  substantial  citizens  of  Sampson  County. 
The  father  was  the  son  of  Joyner  Baggett,  also 
representing  an  old  and  respected  famOy  in  that 
county.  Its  progenitors  were  of  Welsh  nativity 
who  landed  at.  Jamestown  in  the  early  history  of 
America.  Their  descendants  afterward  crossed  the 
Alleghenies,  settled  in  the  upper  Ohio  Valley,  and, 
prior  to  the  Revolution,  returned  to  Virginia,  and 
thence  migrated  to  Sampson  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. John  Baggett,  great-great-grandfather  of 
John  R.,  of  this  notice,  was  the  founder  of '  the 
North  Carolina  branch. 

Mr.  Baggett 's  father  was  a  school  teacher  for 
many  years  before  the  Civil  war,  and  his  service  as 
a  Confederate  soldier  made  him  practically  an  in- 
valid; the  mother,  also,  suffered  from  illness  al- 
most continuously.  As  John  R.  was  the  oldest  in 
the  family  of  children,  he  shouldered  the  respon- 
sibilities of  their  support  when  a  mere  boy.  When 
very  young  he  had  received  some  instruction  from 
his  father,  but  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age  had  no  other  systematic  schooling  and  gave 
his  entire  time  and  all  his  energies  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  home  farm  in  Mingo  Township  and  the 
establishment  of  a  comfortable  household  for  his 
parents  and  his  brothers  and  sisters.  His  burdens 
were  eased  by  the  hearty  and  unselfish  cooperation 
of  every  member  of  the  household,  each  contrib- 
uting as  much  as  possible  to  its  maintenance.  At 
length  the  prime  end  was  reached — a  substantial, 
well  improved  farm  and  a  comfortable,  sheltering 
home  for  all.  • 

It  was  only  after  this  duty  had  been  courage- 
ously, faithfully  and  lovingly  fulfilled  that  the 
young  man  turned  to  the  task  of  self -improvement. 
He  had  practically  forgotten  all  that  he  had  ever 
learned,  and  in  September,  1892,  after  he  had  just 
passed  his  majority,  he  bravely  entered  the  primary 
department  of  the  Glencoe  school,  Sampson  County, 
his  fellow  pupils  ranging  from  seven  years  of  age 
upward.  That  was  a  step  which  took  pluck  and 
was  in  direct  line  with  his  determined  character. 
He  pursued  his  studies  with  such  avidity,  and  ab- 
sorbed the  knowledge  offered  to  him  with  such 
voracity,  that  on  April  1 2th  of  the  following  year 
(1893)  he  received  a  first-grade  certificate  for 
teaching.  The  West  School  in  Sampson  County, 
to  which  he  was  assigned,  was  at  a  very  low  stage 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


301 


of  efficiency  and  order,  and  the  new  teacher  soon 
found  that  he  had  a  man  's  work  before  him.  He 
entered  into  it  with  such  vim  and  confidence  that 
he  soon  had  completely  stamped  out  rowdyism  and 
obtained  the  warm  support  of  the  parents,  who 
had  previously  been  lukewarm  and  almost  discour- 
aged. Knowledge  of  this  achievement  in  country 
school  reform  spread  abroad,  and  Mr.  Baggett 's 
services  were  brought  into  demand  wherever  similar 
conditions  existed,  with  the  same  good  results 
which  he  had  brought  about  in  the  West  School. 
In  the.  meantime  he  continued  his  own  studies,  took 
preparatory  work  at  Salcmburg  Academy  and  in 
189(5  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  At 
that,  institution  he  pursued  the  four  year  course, 
receiving  his  degree  with  the  cdass  of  1900.  He 
then  became  principal  of  the  Salemburg  School,  to 
which  he  added  a  boarding  department,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  year  had  an  attendance  of  170.  In  1901 
he  joined  J.  A.  Campbell  as  co-principal  of  Buie's 
Creek  Academy  in  Harnett  County,  and  in  that 
institution  much  of  his  most  beneficent  and  useful 
work  as  an  educator  was  accomplished.  He  brought 
to  it  one  hundred  students  from  the  Salemburg 
School,  and  for  ten  years  cooperated  with  Mr. 
Campbell  in  the  development  of  what  became  a 
famous  institution  preparatory  for  college.  Both 
teachers  and  proprietors  were  in  hearty  accord  with 
the  modern  and  advanced  idea  that  such  an  aca- 
demy should  not  stop  at  the  border-line  of  scholastic 
education,  but  endeavor  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
a  solid  and  serious  character  and  the  groundwork 
of  a  laudable  ambition.  In  this  vital  part  of  the 
work  Mr.  Baggett  's  influence  and  exertions  were 
invaluable.  All  his  boyhood  and  youthful  expe- 
riences tended  to  give  him  a  deep  sympathy  for  the 
poor  youth  struggling  to  prepare  himself  worthily 
for  the  conflicts  of  independent  life;  and  he  not 
only  made  it  an  especial  duty  and  pleasure  to 
assist  such  cases  with  their  studies,  but  often  ex- 
tended them  credit  and  other  substantial  assistance. 
For  such  humane  and  warm-hearted  treatment  of 
the  deserving  he  receives  a  rich  reward  in  the 
whole-hearted  esteem  and  friendship  of  many  men 
scattered  throughout  the  country  who  stand  high  in 
the  business  and  professional  fields.  At  the  time 
he  completed  his  work  at  Buie  's  Creek  Academy 
there  were  thirty-two  of  its  former  pupils  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  and  128  at  Wake 
Forest  College.  He  had  taught  more  than 
5,000  boys  and  girls,  and  one  of  his  most  val- 
ued possessions  is  a  record  comprising  all  their 
names  and  a.  notation  of  their  careers  after  leav- 
ing his  school. 

Mr.  Baggett.  studied  in  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  received  his 
certificate  to  practice  in  1908.  He  did  not  com- 
mence active  practice,  however,  until  1910,  when 
he  opened  an  office  at  Lillington.  In  that  year 
he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  representing  the 
district  which  comprised  Harnett,  Johnson  and 
Sampson  counties.  Previous  to  that  time  the  dis- 
trict had  been  republican,  but  he  carried  it  for 
the  democrats  by  a  safe  majority.  As  a  state 
legislator  he  centered  his  activities  and  abilities 
on  measures  tending  toward  better  educational 
opportunities  for  the  masses,  for  improved  social 
and  industrial  conditions,  and  for  reform  along 
the  broad  ideas  of  modern  investigators  in 
the  management  of  state  hospitals,  asylums 
and  penal  institutions.  He  also  championed 
the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  the  Cas- 
well Training  School  for  the  feeble  minded,  and 
has  continuously  served  as  a  member  of  its  Board 


of  Trustees.  Mr.  Baggett  also  earnestly  supported 
the  measure  for  the  establishment  of  tarmlife 
schools  in  North  Carolina,  and  under  its  provisions 
was  established  the  Lillington  institution  of  that 
character  how  in  operation.  He  pushed  through 
the  bill  by  which  Lillington  was  authorized  to 
issue  bonds  to  build  its  present  excellent  system 
of  electric  lighting,  sewers  and  water  supply,  and 
has  served  as  the  public  spirited  mayor  of  the 
city  since  1911.  Besides  his  lucrative  law  prac- 
tice of  a  private  nature,  he  is  managing  various 
interests  of  the  Atlantic  &  Western  Railroad,  of 
which  he  is  the  counsel  and  a  director.  That  line 
now  runs  from  Lillington  to  Santord,  and  an  ex- 
tension is  projected  to  the  Atlantic  coast.  He  also 
was  instrumental  in  the  building  of  the  Lillington 
Oil  Mill,  of  which  he  is  an  official.  So  that,  al- 
though by  force  of  circumstances,  he  may  be  said 
to  have  matured  slowly,  he  has  certainly  ' '  made 
up  for  lost  time, ' '  and  his  tiual  progress  and  pres- 
ent standing  make  records  of  which  any  man 
might  be  proud  whose  earlier  years  were  smoothly 
paved. 

Mr.  Baggett  was  married  to  Miss  Aline  Keeter, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Halifax  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  the  six  children  born  to  them  have 
been  Veuable,  Miriam,  John  Robert,  Jr.,  Winni- 
fred,  Margaret  Wilson  and  Joseph  Woodrow 
Baggett.  Mr.  Baggett  has  long  been  a  leading 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  the  hand- 
some brick  structure  dedicated  to  the  local  organ- 
ization was  erected  largely  through  his  labors  as 
chairman  of  the  building  committee.  Outside  of 
his  home  and  his  church  duties  he  gives  much 
of  his  attention  to  Masonic  matters  and  the  work 
of  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Robert  Pekcival  Beade  has  shown  talent  both 
as  a  lawyer  and  business  man  and  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years  has  placed  himself  among  the 
leading  citizens  of  Durham. 

He  was  born  at  Boxboro,  North  Carolina,  Au- 
gust 5,  1877,  son  of  William  Franklin  and  Martha 
Emma  (Moore)  Beade.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 
and  it  was  on  a  farm  that  Robert  P.  Reade  spent 
his  early  years.  He  was  educated  in  private 
schools,  spent  two  years  in  the  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College  at  Raleigh,  was  in  Trinity 
College  with  the  class  of  1900,  and  took  his  law 
work  in  the  University  of  Michigan,  where  he 
graduated  LL.  B.  in  1903.  Since  then  he  has 
been  in  general  practice  at  Durham  and  is  now 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Fuller,  Reade  &  Fuller. 
Mr.  Reade  is  a  director  of  the  Citizens  National 
Bank  of  Durham,  has  served  six  years  as  county 
attorney,  is  ex-city  attorney,  and  has  employed  his 
wide  experience  and  training  as  a  lawyer  for  the 
benefit  of  his  alma  mater,  Trinity  College,  where 
for  ten  years  he  was  associate  professor  of  law. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation and  for  six  years  was  chairman  of  the 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  of  his  county. 

June  24,  1908,  he  married  Miss  Lela  Reade, 
daughter  of  James  Robert  and  Adelaide  (Lans- 
dell)  Reade,  her  father  being  a  farmer  at  Mount 
Tirzah,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reade 
have  three  children:  Lela  Lansdell,  Marian  Eliza- 
beth and  Edith  Victoria. 

Richard  K.  Davenport  is  a  veteran  merchant 
at  Mount  Holly  in  Gaston  County,  and  while  in 
business  there  almost  since  the  founding  of  the 
town  his  chief  work  has  been  as  a  farmer  and  de- 
veloper of   the   agricultural   interest's  in  that  sec- 


302 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


tioii  of  the  county.  He  has  carried  his  leadership 
in  such  matters  into  public  life,  has  served  in  the 
legislature  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  of  Gaston  County. 

The  home  he  now  occupies,  situated  1%  miles 
north  of  the  Town  of  Mount  Holly,  is  his  birth- 
place and  the  home  of  all  his  years.  He  was  born 
there  in  1859,  a  son  of  Wesley  and  Mary  (Cans- 
ler)  Davenport. 

Mr.  Davenport  is  one  of  the  very  few  surviving 
grandsons  of  an  active  participant  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary  war.  His  grandfather,  William  Daven- 
port, was  born  in  Scotland  and  when  a  young  man 
came  to  North  Carolina.  That  was  several  years 
before  the  Eevolution.  At  that  time  he  located 
on  the  land  where  his  grandson  now  lives.  This 
was  then  a  part  of  Lincoln  County.  The  grant  to 
this  land  was  given  him  by  the  King  of  England. 
William  Davenport  joined  the  colonists  in  their 
struggle  for  independence,  and  he  fought  in  one 
of  the  most  famous  battles  of  that  war,  at  King's 
Mountain,  where  he  was  wounded.  King's  Moun- 
tain is  only  about  twenty  miles  from  the  Daven- 
port home.  He  subsequently  developed  a,  large 
plantation  and  became  an  extensive  slave   owner. 

Wesley  Davenport  was  likewise  a  planter  and 
an  influential  citizen  of  the  state.  During  the 
war  between  the  states  he  was  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Legislature  when  the  state  was 
in  the  Confederacy.  He  lived  usefully  and  well 
and  reared  a  fine  family  of  children.  His  wife 
was  the  daughter  of  Peter  Cansler,  whose  name 
and  career  belong  among  those  of  the  prosperous 
and  prominent  citizens  of  River  Bend  Township 
in  Gaston  County.  Peter  Cansler  was  descended 
from  Philip  W.  Cansler,  the  founder  of  the  fam- 
ily, a  large  and  influential  one  in  Gaston,  Lincoln 
and.  other  counties  of  North  Carolina.  Philip  W. 
Cansler  was  of  German  origin,  and  came  from 
Pennsylvania  to  North  Carolina  about  1765.  He 
located  near  where  the  Town  of  Lincolnton  was 
subsequently  established. 

Richard  K.  Davenport  benefited  by  the  advan- 
tages of  the  local  schools.  At  an  early  age  he 
entered  business  and  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
A.  P.  Rhyne  was  the  first  merchant  at  Mount 
Holly.  His  mercantile  enterprise  started  in  a 
very  small  way  and  in  a  small  building  which  is 
still  standing  just  across  the  street  from  the  pres- 
ent Davenport  store.  This  store  is  now  eon- 
ducted  in  a  large  double  brick  building  and  its 
stock  comprises  an  assortment  of  general  mer- 
chandise sufficient  for  all  the  needs  of  the  ex- 
tensive trade  territory  served.  In  this  business 
Mr.  Davenport  is  associated  in  partnership  with 
his   brother-in-law,   Mr.   C.   E.   Hutchison. 

Prom  first  to  last,  however,  he  has  been  more 
of  a  farmer  than  a  merchant.  The  Davenport 
farm  consists  of  600  acres  just  north  of  the  Town 
of  Mount  Holly.  It  includes  the  original  grant 
made  to  his  grandfather  and  tnat  land  has  never 
been  out  of  the  Davenport  possession  since  the 
patent  was  signed  under  the  auspices  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  King  George  III. 

Successful  in  business  affairs,  Mr.  Davenport 
has  recognized  his  duty  to  the  public  welfare. 
Many  positions  of  responsibility  have  been  con- 
ferred upon  him.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  commission- 
ers of  Mount  Holly  and  takes  great  pride  in  the 
work  that  has  been  accomplished  in  the  building 
up  of  a  splendid  school  system.  In  matters  of 
education  he  is  truly  a  progressive.  Mr.  Daven- 
port has  been  a  member  of  the  board   of  county 


commissioners  of  Gaston  County  since  1902.  These 
fifteen  years  have  covered  a  progressive  era  in 
the  county.  His  long  and  continued  term  of  office 
has  been  made  notable  by  the  building  of  a  good 
roads  system  in  the  county  and  numerous  other 
public  improvements,  including  the  erection  of 
several  other  fine  bridges  over  the  Catawba  and 
other  streams.  Mr.  Davenport 's  service  in  the 
State  Legislature  was  during  the  session  of  1909. 
He  is  now  president  of  the  Mount  Holly  branch 
of  the  Gaston  County  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  enviable  degree  of  prosperity  he  has  at- 
tained in  business  affairs  is  shared  by  a  fine  fam- 
ily, consisting  of  his  wife  and  seven  children.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Miss  Mary  Fay. 
She  was  born  at  Brookfield,  Massachusetts.  Their 
children  are  Mary  Fay,  Ralph,  Richard,  Harvey, 
Esther,  George  and  Marshall.  Ralph  is  a  civil 
engineer  in  the  employe  of  the  United  States 
Government.  Richard  is  sergeant  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fifth  Engineer  Corps  and  now  in 
France. 

C.  Everett  Thompson.  The  law,  public  af- 
fairs and  finance  have  alike  claimed  the  attention 
of  C.  Everett  Thompson,  who  is  one  of  Elizabeth 
City's  foremost  citizens.  While  not  native  born, 
Mr.  Thompson  has  lived  here  since  childhood,  and 
the  city  has  no  more  prideful,  enterprising  or 
public  spirited  citizen.  His  honorable  reputation 
has  been  built  up  in  this  community,  his  interests 
are  centered  here,  and  to  promote  general  pros- 
perity and  encourage  local  enterprises  is  work  in 
which  he  takes  a  hearty  and  unselfish  interest. 

C.  Everett  Thompson  was  born  at  Bellwood,  in 
Blair  County,  Pennsylvania,  October  27,  1879. 
His  parents  were  Dr.  John  Cooper  and  Emma 
(Greene)  Thompson,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
well    known    physician. 

It  was  in  1884,  when  C.  Everett  Thompson  was 
five  years  old,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
that  his  mother  came  to  Elizabeth  City.  His 
early  educational  advantages  were  secured  in  the 
Elizabeth  City  Academy,  and  its  successor,  the 
Atlantic  Collegiate  Institute,  and  after  his  aca- 
demic course  was  concluded  there  he  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  in  1900,  and  in  September, 
1901,  he  received  his  license  to  practice  law  after 
concluding  the  law  course  at  the  university.  Con- 
tinuously since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in  a 
general  practice  in  this  city  and  is  considered 
one  of  the  able  lawyers  and  trustworthy  consel- 
lors  of  this  bar.  Like  other  young  men  of  pro- 
fessional training,  he  soon  found  himself  more 
or  less  interested  and  concerned  with  local  public 
affairs,  and  when  the  office  of  city  attorney  was 
tendered  him,  accepted  the  office  and  served  in 
that  capacity  for  one  term,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  Mr.  Thompson  was  elected  mayor  of  Eliza- 
beth City. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  married  November  6,  1906, 
to  Miss  Sarah  Morrisette  Bartlett,  who  was  born 
in  Camden  County,  North  Carolina.  They  have 
three  children,  two  daughters  and  one  son,  namely: 
Elizabeth  Meanor,  George  Ward  and  Clara  Mor- 
risette. The  family  belong  to  the  Cann  Memorial 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth  City,  of  which 
Mr.  Thompson  is  one  of  the  officers. 

Always  interested  in  educational  progress,  Mr. 
Thompson  accepted  an  appointment  to  serve  on 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
College.  He  is  well  known  in  the  financial  field 
and  is  on  the  directing  board  of  the  leading  bank 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


303 


in  this  section.  Other  enterprises  have  profited 
through  his  generous  encouragement.  He  is 
prominent  in  Masonry,  having  advanced  far  and 
received  the  York  rite.  He  is  a  member  of  Sudan 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  .Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Newbern,  North  Carolina. 
He  belongs  also  to  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Royal   Arcanum. 

Hon.  John  Worthy  Johnson.  So  few  men 
really  do  gain  truly  notable  success  solely  through 
the  medium  of  their  own  efforts  that  the  term 
• '  self-made  man ' '  has  come  to  be  a  trite  expression, 
and  when  an  individual  does  break  through  the 
stereotyped  bonds  of  mediocrity,  the  novelty  and 
surprise  in  the  situation  occasions  comment.  While 
'  opportunity  does  not  smile  upon  all  men  with 
equal  favor,  he  who  steps  forward  and  firmly 
clasps  her  hand,  who  has  grit  enough  to  hold  on 
while  she  swirls  him,  sometimes  clear  of  firm  foot- 
holds, through  the  scurrying  crowds  of  frenzied 
money-seekers,  will  in  all  probability  be  guided  to 
the  goal  of  his  ambition.  This  capacity  of  recog- 
nizing opportunity  in  whatever  disguise  she  may 
assume,  and  the  effective  willingness  to  fight  his 
way  over  any  kind  of  obstacles,  are  the  two  most 
salient  characteristics  of  the  man  worthy  of  bear- 
ing the  title  ' '  self-made. ' '  And  thus  it  is 
that  eminently  deserving  of  such  distinction  is 
Hon.  John  Worthy  Johnson,  farmer,  banker,  lum- 
berman and  ex-state  senator,  who  located  at  Bae- 
ford,  Hoke  County,  when  there  were  not  more 
than  fifty  people  in  the  hamlet,  and  he  himself 
practically  penniless,  and  who  is  now  one  of  the 
leading  and  wealthy  citizens  of  one  of  the  most 
progressive  and  thriving  little  cities  in  the  state 
and  a  model  in  the  high  character  of  its  citizen- 
ship. 

John  Worthy  Johnson  was  born  near  Carthage, 
Moore  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1864,  being  a  son 
of  Samuel  E.  and  Amanda  (Worthy)  Johnson, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  His  father,  who 
was  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  a  native  of  Moore 
County,  spent  all  his  life  there,  and  was  buried 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years,  at  the  place  where 
he  was  born.  Mrs.  Johnson  was  a  sister  of  the 
late  ex-sheriff  Kenneth  Worthy  of  Moore  Coun- 
ty, a  noted  man  in  his  day,  and  a  daughter  of 
James  Worthy,  a  native  of  England,  who  came  as 
a  young  man  to  Moore  County,  North  Carolina, 
where  he  became  a  large  planter  and  slave  owner. 
The  story  of  John  W.  Johnson 's  career  and 
success  in  life  is  quite  an  interesting  and  remark- 
able one.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and 
attended  a  school  near  Carthage  that  had  been 
established  by  J.  E.  Kelly,  but  the  principal  part 
of  his  education  was  obtained  in  the  Union  Home 
School.  His  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent 
as  a  workingman,  generally  in  sawmills,  and  he 
worked  in  a  sawmill  for  75  cents  per  day  even 
after  he  was  married.  His  real  start  in  life 
came  when  he  located  at  the  new  town  of  Eaeford, 
now  the  county  seat  of  the  County  of  Hoke,  and 
started  in  the  sawmill  business  for  himself  on 
borrowed  capital,  this  being  in  1900.  At  that  time 
he  had  not  a  cent  of  capital  of  his  own  but  was 
rich  in  character  and  this  latter  was  accepted  as 
gilt-edged  security  by  J.  W.  McLaughlin  of  Bae- 
ford,  who  advanced  him  $2,000  in  cash  without 
other  security  and  went  in  with  him  as  financial 
partner.  This,  with  $2,000  additional  that  he  had 
borrowed  from  his  brother,  of  Moore  County,  en- 
abled Mr.  Johnson  to  establish  a  sawmill  and 
planing  mill,  which  he  conducted  with  such  suc- 
cess that  within  two  years  he  was  enabled  to  pay 


off  every  cent  of  his  indebtedness,  and  from  that 
time  continuously  his  prosperity  in  business  has 
been  without  interruption.  The  business  for  a  few 
years  was  conducted  under  the  name  of  J.  W. 
Johnson  &  Company,  Mr.  McLaughlin  being  his 
partner,  but  later  he  bought  out  Mr.  McLaughlin 's 
interest  and  conducted  the  business  independently. 
It  may  be  said  that  Mr.  Johnson's  fortune  had  its 
foundation  in  the  lumber  business.  A  few  years 
back,  on  account  of  the  diminution  of  the  timber 
supply,  he  discontinued  his  milling  operations,  but 
more  recently,  beginning  in  the  fall  of  1916,  he 
again  resumed  operations  as  an  active  mill  operator. 
Mr.  Johnson 's  chief  interests  are  now  centered 
in  farming,  and  he  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
successful  agriculturists  of  North  Carolina.  Four 
of  his  best  properties  are  as  follows:  Oakdale 
Farm,  composed  of  600  acres,  with  400  acres  in 
cultivation,  lying  about  a  mile  southeast  of  Bae- 
ford;  Monticello  Farm,  1,300  acres,  with  about  500 
acres  in  cultivation,  eight  miles  east  of  Eaeford; 
Highland  Farm,  with  about  100  acres  in  cultiva- 
tion, four  miles  east  of  Eaeford;  and  Seventy-first 
Farm,  having  about  500  acres  in  cultivation,  lying 
east  of  Eaeford.  All  of  these  properties  are  in 
Hoke  County,  and  all  told  Mr.  Johnson  operates 
upward  of  seventy  plows,  while  all  the  farms  are 
well  improved  with  buildings  and  equipped  with 
machinery,  live  stock,  etc.  Mr.  Johnson  is  an  in- 
tensely practical  man,  capable  himself  of  doing 
anything  about  a  farm,  and  adds  to  this  practical 
knowledge  the  most  modern  and  approved  ideas 
in  regard  to  advanced  agriculture.  He  has  va- 
rious other  interests,  being  president  of  the  Hoke 
Oil  and  Fertilizer  Company,  an  important  local 
industry;  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  Bank  of  Hoke,  of  which  he  was  one  of 
the  organizers  and  for  some  time  president. 

Aside  from  his  prominent  participation  in  bus- 
iness and  agriculture  Mr.  Johnson  has  been  a  lead- 
ing figure  in  the  political  history  of  Hoke  County. 
He  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  County  of  Hoke,  formed  from  portions 
of  Cumberland  and  Bobeson  counties,  and  which 
was  consummated  in  1911.  He  was  elected  and 
served  as  chairman  of  the  first  board  of  county 
commissioners,  and  as  such  had  in  charge  the  con- 
struction of  the  new  courthouse,  which  is  widely 
known  as  a  model  of  architectural  beauty  and 
representative  of  everything  that  a  modern  court- 
house should  be.  This  courthouse  and  the  new 
county  jail  were  built  at  an  expenditure  of  $57,000, 
including  their  entire  equipment,  an  expenditure 
that  is  said  by  experts  to  be  a  marvel  of  economy 
and   efficiency   in    building   construction. 

Mr.  Johnson  and  Doctor  Graham,  of  Eaeford, 
formed  the  committee  of  two  which,  in  a  meeting 
at  the  state  capital,  accepted  the  name  of  Hoke 
as  the  appellation  for  the  new  county  in  1911. 
Mr.  Johnson  was  compelled  to  spend  a  great  deal 
of  time  from  his  own  business  in  the  work  of 
starting  off  the  new  county  in  proper  directions, 
in  organizing  the  new  townships,  the  school  dis- 
tricts, and  everything  required  in  the  starting  of 
a  new  enterprise,  not  the  least  important  of  these 
labors  being  the  building  of  a  system  of  good 
roads.  During  his  administration  in  the  capacity 
of  chairman  of  the  first  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners he  had  direct  management  of  the  expendi- 
tures for  the  courthouse  and  jail  mentioned  above, 
as  well  as  for  the  building  of  good  roads,  amount- 
ing in  total  to  $107,000,  and  it  is  to  Mr.  John- 
son's unusual  credit,  for  one  in  official  position  in 
this    character,    that   no    one   has   ever   made   the 


304 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


slightest  suggestion  that  one  cent  of  this 
money  was  misspent  or  used  injudiciously  or  im- 
properly. In  1914  Mr.  Johnson  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate  and 
served  in  that  capacity  with  his  customary  ability 
and  usefulness  in  the  session  of  1915,  the  senator- 
ial district  being  represented  by  the  counties  of 
Cumberland  and  Hoke.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  agriculture,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  committees  on  finance,  appropriations,  penal 
institutions,  insane  asylum  and  others.  Mr.  John- 
son is  a  member  of  and  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mattie  R.  Sea  well,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
five  children,  as  follows:  Fred  P.,  a  graduate  of 
Davidson  College  and  now  associated  with  his 
father  in  business;  Julian  S.,  also  a  graduate  of 
that  institution,  and  identified  with  his  father  and 
brother  in  business  ventures;  Miss  Alice  A.,  who 
has  been  a  student  in  both  Peace  Institute  and 
Elizabeth  College,  is  now  the  wife  of  C.  E.  Up- 
■ehureh  of  Raeford;  Paul,  who  graduated  at  the 
North  Carolina  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege, and  is  now  a  captain  in  the  United  States 
Army;  and  Miss  Thelma,  who  is  attending  Peace 
Institute  of  Raleigh. 

Walter  C.  Bradsher  is  one  of  the  prominent 
names  in  the  tobacco  industry  of  Durham,  he  is 
an  executive  officer  in  several  well  known  corpora- 
tions, and  his  career  is  an  illustration  of  the  suc- 
cess that  comes  to  a  man  who  begins  life  in  the 
very  humblest  rounds  and  parts  of  business  and 
climbs  steadily  to  the  top. 

Mr.  Bradsher  was  born  at  Roxboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, June  7,  1865,  a  son  of  Dr.  Charles  Harrison 
and  Martha  (Hopkins)  Bradsher.  His  father  was 
a  physician  with  a  good  practice,  and  the  son  was 
given  good  advantages  in  private  schools  and  also 
in  the  Durham  public  schools.  Walter  C.  Brad- 
sher has  lived  at  Durham  since  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age.  When  a  boy  he  entered  a  local 
tobacco  warehouse  as  a  tag  marker.  He  showed 
industry  and  capability  and  was  successively  pro- 
moted in  that,  factory  until  he  stood  as  assistant 
superintendent  of  the  tobacco  buyers  and  later 
engaged  in  tobacco  buying  himself.  In  1913  Mr. 
Bradsher  established  the  W.  C.  Bradsher  Tobacco 
Company,  one  of  the  important  houses  engaged 
in  the  buying  and  selling  of  tobacco.  He  owns 
half  the  stock  and  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  company.  He  is  also  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Mill  Devices  Company,  manufacturing 
special  machinery  for  use  in  the  tobacco  trade. 
He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Durham  Southern  Rail- 
road Company  and  Durham  House  Agency  Com- 
pany. 

Mr.  Bradsher  in  a  busy  career  has  taken  much 
part  in  local  affairs,  served  two  years  as  city  al- 
derman, is  a  member  of  the  Commonwealth  Club 
and  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Politically  he  is  a  democrat  and  is  a  member  of 
Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  October  17, 
1889,  he  married  Sallie  Royall  Reams  of  Durham. 

Benjamin  Walter  Ballard  since  1875  has 
been  a  merchant,  business  man,  public  spirited  cit- 
izen and  factor  in  everything  connected  with  the 
progress  and  welfare  of  Pranklinton.  He  was 
twenty-one  years  old  when  he  entered  the  general 
merchandise  and  cotton  business  in  that  town, 
and  has  continued  along  those  lines  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  handling  a  general  supply  business,  deal- 


ing in  cotton,  guano  and  fertilizers,  etc.  He  is 
also  a  director  of  the  Citizens  ■  Bank,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  organizers. 

Mr.  Ballard  was  born  at  Louisburg,  North  Car- 
olina, June  28,  1854,  son  of  Benjamin  Thorn  and 
Martha  Harriet  (Williams)  Ballard.  His  father 
was  a  merchant  and  planter.  The  son  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Louisburg  Male  Academy,  and  soon 
after   leaving   school   moved   to   Franklinton. 

During  1905-06  he  represented  Franklin  County 
in  the  State  Legislature,  and  while  there  was  es- 
pecially interested  and  active  as  a  member  of  the 
educational  committee  and  supporting  everything 
that  meant  the  raising  of  the  standards  and  the 
supplying  of  better  facilities  for  the  cause  of 
public  education  in  the  state.  For  twenty  years 
Mr.  Ballard  has  been  connected  with  the  educa-' 
tional  work  in  Franklin  County  giving  much  time 
and  labor  to  that  work.  He  has  served  thirty 
years  or  more  as  a  steward  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Ballard  is  a  member  of  the 
Blue  Lodge  of  Masons  at  Franklinton,  North 
Carolina;  of  the  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
and  Commandery  at  Henderson,  North  Carolina. 
He  is  a  Shriner  and  a  member  of  Sudan  Temple 
at  New  Bern,  North  Carolina,  and  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

On  March  29,  1876,  Mr.  Ballard  married  William 
Eleanor  Parker,  of  Warrenton,  North  Carolina. 
Seven  children  have  been  born  to  their  marriage,  two 
of  whom,  Jeauette  and  Jacob  Parker,  died  in  in- 
fancy, and  Nena  P.  (Ballard)  Cheatham,  died 
September  5,  1918. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ballard  are  Wil- 
liam Eleanor,  the  wife  of  William  F.  Joyner,  a 
prominent  banker  at  Franklinton;  Walter  Junius, 
in  the  plant  department  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company;  Martha  Harriet,  the  wife  of 
Dr.  R.  F.  Yarborough  of  Louisburg,  North  Caro- 
lina; Kate  Averitte,  and  Nena  Parker,  the  de- 
ceased wife  of  James  Bullock  Cheatham,  superin- 
tendent of  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

Andrew  H.  Harriss,  M.  D.  Those  things  which 
stand  to  the  credit  of  Doctor  Harriss  of  Wilming- 
ton cannot  be  interpreted  other  than  as  the  equiv- 
alent of  a  most  successful  and  useful  career.  He 
has  been  a  learned  and  accomplished  member  of 
the  medical  profession  at  Wilmington  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  professionally  and  otherwise  has 
kept  himself  in  close  touch  with  the  life  of  the 
community,  and  is  one  of  the  few  men  who  during 
the  last  thirty  years  has  kept  unabated  an  interest 
in  and  enthusiasm  for  military  affairs.  Doctor 
Harriss  is  now  a  captain  in  the  Army  Medical 
Reserve  Corps. 

He  was  born  at  Wilmington,  March  7,  1872. 
The  house  where  he  was  born  stood  in  the  same 
block  and  only  a  door  or  so  from  his  present  resi- 
dence. His  parents,  George  and  Julia  O.  (San- 
ders )  Harriss,  are  both  now  deceased.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Dr.  William  Harriss,  spent  his  life 
in  Wilmington  as  an  honored  physician.  The 
Harriss  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  at  Wilmington 
and  the  Lower  Cape  Fear  and  many  honored 
men  and  accomplished  women  have  borne  that 
name  in  this  historic  region.  Doctor  Harriss ' 
maternal  grandfather  was  John  O.  Sanders,  who 
lived  in  New  Hanover  County,  four  miles  from 
Wilmington.  George  Harriss,  who  was  born  in 
Wilmington  and  died  in  that  city  in  1900,  was  a 
ship  broker  and  commission  merchant.  During 
the  war  between  the  states  he  had  charge  in  Wil- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


305 


mington  of  the  cotton  shipping  business  for  the 
State  of  Georgia,  which  state  in  recognition  of 
his  services  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of 
colonel. 

Andrew  H.  Harriss  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Wilmington,  took  his  first  courses  in 
medicine  at  Davidson  College  but  two  years  later 
entered  the  Medico-Chirurgical  College  of  Phila- 
delphia, now  a  department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  .lass  of  1893.  Already  in  1892  he  had  suc- 
cessfully pa-ssed  the  examination  of  the  State 
Medical  Board  of  North  Carolina.  During  his 
last  year  at  Philadelphia  he  did  much  hospital 
work,  so  that  he  was  well  prepared  both  practically 
and  theoretically  for  the  work  of  his  profession 
when  he  established  himself  in  his  home  city .  in 
189M.  He  is  a  member  of  the  County  and  State 
Medical  societies  and  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, and  for  many  years  has  been  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  capable  physicians  and  surgeons 
of  Wilmington,  where  he  has  built  up  a  large 
practice. 

In  the  window  of  Doctor  Harriss 's  residence  at 
609  Dock  Street  hangs  a  service  flag  showing  two 
stars,  one  for  himself  and  one  for  his  son  Andrew- 
Harriss,  aged  nineteen, who  volunteered  in  the  Coast 
Artillery  at  Wilmington  and  has  since  been  trans- 
ferred as  sergeant  to  the  Trench  Mortar  Battery. 
This  patriotic  youth  was  a  student  in  Woodbury 
Forest  School  in  Virginia,  preparing  to  enter  the 
University  of  Virginia  in  the  fall  of  1918. 

Doctor  Harriss'  boyhood  enthusiasm  for  mili- 
tary affairs  led  him  when  a  youth  of  only  thirteen 
to  secure  appointment  as  flag  boy  or  "marker" 
with  the  Wilmington  Light  Infantry.  When  the 
Spanish-American  war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the 
navy  and  was  in  service  on  the  ship  Nantucket. 
For  sixteen  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Hospital 
Corps  of  the  National  Guard  of  North  Carolina 
and  when  he  retired  in  1910  it  was  with  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  colonel.  All  this  training  and  ex- 
perience are  likely  to  stand  him  in  good  stead 
in  the  present  war.  Doctor  Harriss  volunteered 
his  services  in  1917,  passed  the  necessary  examina- 
tion, and  was  given  a  commission  as  captain  in 
the  Medical  Beserve  Corps  February  6,  1918,  and 
was  assigned  to  duty  at  Fort  Caswell.  Prior  to 
this  assignment  he  was  acting  as  physician  for  the 
patrol   in  service   at   Wilmington. 

Dr.  Harriss  is  a  member  of  St.  James  Episcopal 
Church.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Bolles,  daughter 
of  the  late  Maj.  Charles  Pattison  Bolles,  of  Wil- 
mington, a  complete  sketch  of  whose  remarkable 
career  appears  on  other  pages.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Harriss  have  five  children:  Andrew,  Mary, 
Evelyn,  Julia  and  -David. 

George  A.  Graham,  M.  D.  Formerly  one  of  the 
well  known  and  skilled  medical  practitioners  of 
Raeford,  and  now  a  successful  dealer  in  real  estate 
and  insurance,  and  at  all  times  one  of  the  most 
highly  esteemed  and  respected  citizens  of  his  com- 
munity, Dr.  George  A.  Graham  has  been  a  prom- 
inent figure  in  Hoke  County  history  since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county  in  1911.  He  is  a  native 
of  the  Cape  Fear  Section  of  North  Carolina  and  a 
member  of  one  of  the  notable  families  of  the 
state.  He  was  born  in  1852,  at  old  Elizabeth- 
town,  the  county  seat  of  Bladen  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  is  a  son  of  Doctor  Neill  and  Eliza- 
beth (Cromartie)  Graham,  the  former  a  native  of 
Cumberland  County  and  the  latter  of  Bladen 
County. 

Vol.  v— 20 


The  ancestors  of  Doctor  Graham  on  both  sides 
were  of  pure  Scotch  origin,  were  people  of  promi- 
nence and  distinction  in  the  Cape  Fear  Section 
of  North  Carolina,  and  contributed  to  the  up- 
building and  progress  of  their  locality.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather,  Neal  Graham,  was  born  about 
seven  miles  from  the  present  town  of  Raeford,  in 
what  is  now  Hoke  County,  but  which  until  1911 
was  a  part  of  Cumberland  County.  Among  his 
children  was  Neill  Graham,  who,  although  he  pro- 
nounced his  given  name  the  same  as  that  of  his 
father,  spelled  it  differently.  Neill  Graham  showed 
an  inclination  for  a  professional  career  in  his 
youth,  secured  a  good  medical  education,  and  for 
a  long  period  of  years  was  engaged  in  practice  at 
the  old  community  of  Whitehall,  Bladen  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  eventually  passed  away. 
He  was  a  man  who  stood  high  in  the  respect  of 
his  fellow-citizens  and  one  whose  integrity  and 
honesty  were  unquestioned,  while  his  devotion  to 
his  profession  and  its  highest  ethics  gained  him  a 
reputation  and  standing  among  his  fellow-practi- 
tioners. Dr.  Neill  Graham  was  a  cousin  of  Archie 
and  Alex  Graham  of  Charlotte,  the  former  of  whom 
is  the  father  of  Edward  Kidder  Graham,  who  is 
now  the  president  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  educa- 
tors in  the  United  States.  He  is  also  the  father 
of  Mary  Graham,  also  a  distinguished  instructor, 
she  being  the  president  of  Peace  Institute  at 
Raleigh.  Professor  Alex  Graham  is  likewise  dis- 
tinguished in  the  field  of  educational  work  and  for 
a  long  number  of  years  has  been  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  city  schools  of  Charlotte,  while  several 
other  immediate  members  of  this  family  have  had 
notable    careers    as    students    and    educators. 

While  George  A.  Graham  was  still  a  child  his 
parents  moved  from  Elizabethtown  to  a  planta- 
tion near  Whitehall,  about  eleven  miles  below,  on 
the  Cape  Fear  River.  There  he  was  reared  amid 
picturesque  surroundings  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
community  rich  in  interesting  lore  and  local  his- 
tory. He  attended  the  local  schools  and  the  Clin- 
ton High  School,  and  took  his  first  year  in  medi- 
cine at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  having  first  had  some 
instruction  under  his  father.  He  completed  his 
medical  work  as  a  student  at  the  Medical  College 
of  the  University  of  New  York,  from  which  well 
known  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1875,  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  his  initial 
practice  was  carried  on  at  Cedar  Creek  in  Cum- 
berland County,  where  he  remained  for  about  three 
years.  In  1878  Doctor  Graham  returned  to  White- 
hall, Bladen  County,  and  there  took  charge  of  the 
practice  of  his  father,  who  had  carried  on  profes- 
sional labors  there  for  many  years.  This  prac- 
tice extended  to  various  points  in  Bladen  County 
and  was  large  and  important,  and  for  eighteen 
years  Doctor  Graham  ministered  to  the  needs  of 
his  large  clientele.  In  1896  he  located  at  Warsaw 
in  Duplin  County,  where  he  practiced  until  1900. 
and  in  the  latter  year  took  up  his  residence  and 
established  his  office  at  the  new  town  of  Raeford. 
This  community  was  at  that  time  situated  in  Cum- 
berland County,  but  since  1911  has  been  the  county 
seat  of  the  new  Hoke  County,  and  one  of  the 
most  progressive  and  enterprising  little  cities  in 
the  state.  For  eight  years  following  his  arrival 
Doctor  Graham  practiced  in  association  with  Doctor 
Dickson,  and  the  four  years  which  immediately 
came  after  were  devoted  to  individual  practice  in 
medicine  and  surgery.  In  1912,  on  account  of 
somewhat  impaired  health,  caused  by  his  long  and 
faithful   devotion   to    the   exacting   and   exhaustive 


306 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


duties  of  his  calling,  lie  retired  from  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery  and  embarked  in  the 
real  estate  and  insurance  business,  which  since 
that  time  has  had  his  entire  attention.  For  some 
years  previously  he  had  been  interested  in  realty 
in  this  section,  and  had  gained  a  working  knowl- 
edge of  values  even  before  taking  up  the  business. 
He  has  handled  some  transactions,  and  is  now 
representing  a  number  of  the  leading  insurance 
companies. 

Doctor  Graham  is  greatly  esteemed  by  all  as  a 
citizen,  by  reason  of  his  high  character  and  his 
splendid  qualities.  While  living  in  Bladen  County 
he  served  for  several  years  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  and  after  coming 
to  his  present  place  of  residence  became  an  active 
factor  in  the  movement  which  led  up  to  the  forma- 
tion of  Hoke  County,  formed  from  portions  of 
Cumberland  and  Eobeson  counties,  and  which  was 
consummated  in  1911.  It  was  Doctor  Graham,  in 
association  with  John  W.  Johnson,  of  Raeford, 
who  in  .1911,  at  a  conference  with  the  authorities 
at  the  state  capitol,  Raleigh,  accepted  on  the  part 
of  the  citizens  the  name  of  ' '  Hoke ' '  as  the  ap- 
pellation for  the  new  county.  Doctor  Graham  is  a 
pleasing  conversationalist,  with  a  wealth  of  interest- 
ing reminiscences  of  the  Cape  Fear  Section  of  the 
Old  North  State. 

On  January  4,  1877,  Doctor  Graham  married 
Cora  James  Cromartie  of  Bladen  County,  North 
Carolina,  daughter  of  P.  L.  and  E.  J.  (Faison) 
Cromartie.  One  son,  Neill  Lafayette,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  eight  months,  was  born   of  this  union. 

John  Whitman  Zimmerman,  D.  D.  S.  One  of 
the  leading  representatives  of  the  dental  profes- 
sion of  Salisbury,  John  W.  Zimmerman,  D.  D.  S., 
is  actively  identified  with  one  of  the  important 
branches  of  surgery,  its  application  being  acquired 
at  some  period  of  life  by  almost  every  member 
of  the  human  family.  A  son  of  Alexander  Zim- 
merman, he  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Arcadia  Town- 
ship, Davidson  County,  North  Carolina,  of  Ger- 
man ancestry.  His  great-grandfather,  Jacob  Zim- 
merman, came  with  his  brother  Jack  from  Ger- 
many to  America  at  an  early  day,  and  having 
been  a  Moravian,  joined  a  Moravian  colony  in 
Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  resided  until 
his  death. 

The  doctor's  paternal  grandfather,  George  Zim- 
merman, was  born  in  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  and 
there  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth. 
In  early  manhood,  he  came  to  North  Carolina, 
locating  in  that  part  of  Stokes  County  that  is 
now  included  within  the  limits  of  Forsyth  County, 
near  Bathabara,  now  Old  Town,  and  having  pur- 
chased a  large  tract  of  land  there  engaged  in 
farming  with  slave  help  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  dying  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  He 
married  Martha  Link,  the  member  of  an  old  Mora- 
vian family.  She  outlived  him  a  short  time,  dying 
when  sixty-nine  years  old.  Both  she  and  her  hus- 
band were  buried  in  the  Moravian  Churchyard  at 
Old  Town. 

Born  on  the  home  farm,  near  what  is  now  Old 
Town,  Forsyth  County,  Alexander  Zimmerman  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  naturally 
adopted  farming  as  his  occupation.  Coming  to 
Davidson  County  in  early  life,  he  bought  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  Arcadia  Township,  and  imme- 
diately began  its  improvement.  A  man  of  push 
and  energy,  diligent  in  his  labors,  he  has  met 
with  marked  success  in  his  undertakings,  his  home- 
stead property,  with  its  substantial  buildings  and 


improvements,  bearing  evidence  of  his  skill  and 
ability  as  a  farmer.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
wife  was  Amanda  Jane  Sink.  She  was  born  in 
Lexington  Township,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Susan  Sink,  and  died  on  the  home  farm,  in  Ar- 
cadia Township,  when  but  fifty-nine  years  old. 
She  was  the  mother  of  eight  children,  namely: — 
Robert,  Charles,  John  W.,  Alice  Virginia,  Earl, 
Arthur,  George,  and  Henry  Grady. 

John  W.  Zimmerman  was  brought  up  on  the 
home  farm,  and  as  a  boy  attended  the  rural 
schools.  After  his  graduation  from  the  Arcadia 
High  School,  he  taught  in  the  Thomason  District, 
Arcadia  Township,  two  years.  Entering  then  the 
Southern  Dental  College,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  he 
was  there  graduated  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  S. 
in  the  class  of  1908.  Dr.  Zimmerman,  wishing  to 
further  perfect  his  knowledge  of  dental  science, 
took  a  post  graduate  course  at  the  Virginia  Medi- 
cal College,  in  Richmond,  after  which  he  was 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  dentistry  at  Ironton, 
Alabama,  for  two  years.  Coming  from  there  to 
Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  the  doctor  opened 
an  office  in  Salisbury,  where,  by  means  of  his 
acknowledged  skill,  close  attention  to  his  profes- 
sional duties,  and  his  upright  business  dealings, 
he  has  built  up  a  large  and  constantly  increasing 
patronage. 

Doctor  Zimmerman  married,  in  1914,  Ollie  Mae 
Ripple.  She  was  born  in  Arcadia  Township,  Dav- 
idson County,  a  daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Martha 
(Perryman)  Ripple.  The  doctor  and  Mrs.  Zim- 
merman have  one  child,  John  W.  Zimmerman,  Jr. 
True  to  the  religious  faith  in  which  he  was  reared 
by  his  parents,  the  doctor  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Salisbury,  to  which 
his  wife  also  belongs.  The  doctor  is  a  member 
of  the  Rowan  County,  the  North  Carolina,  and 
the  National  Dental  societies.  Fraternally  he  be- 
longs to  Rowan  Lodge  No.  100,  Knights  of 
Pythias;  and  to  Salisbury  Council  No.  26,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Franklin  Swindell  Love,  president  of  Louis- 
burg  College,  was  prior  to  his  induction  in  that 
educational  post  a  prominent  minister,  holding 
several  pastorates  in  North  Carolina  and  also  for 
a  time  lived  in  South  America. 

Mr.  Love  was  born  in  Union  County,  North 
Carolina,  October  17,  1883,  a  son  of  Thomas  Lee 
and  Mary  (Williams)  Love.  His  father  for  many 
years  has  been  a  farmer  and  also  employed  in 
the  internal  revenue  government  service.  R^v. 
Mr.  Love  was  educated  in  Union  Institute  in 
his  native  county  and  graduated  from  Trinity 
College  at  Durham  in  1908.  He  did  post-gradu- 
ate work  in  Columbia  University,  and  in  1909 
entered  upon  his  first  pastorate  in  the  Morehead 
City  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  there 
a  year  and  then  for  three  years  was  pastor  of  the 
Queens  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
Kinston,  and  from  1913  to  1915  was  connected 
with  the  Grandery  College  in  Brazil.  On  return- 
ing to  the  United  States  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Page  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
Aberdeen,  North  Carolina,  where  he  remained  l'i 
years,  and  in  May,  1917,  was  chosen  president  of 
the  Louisburg  College  at  Louisburg.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Confer- 
ence Epworth  League  in  June,  1917. 

Mr.  Love  is  a  member  of  the  Religious  Educa- 
tional Association,  a  national  organization,  belongs 
to  the  National  Geographic  Society,  is  a  Knight 
Templar   Mason   and   is   grand  chaplain   of   Royal 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


307 


Arch  Masous  for  North  Carolina.  He  is  also  affili- 
ated with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and   the    Knights   of   Pythias. 

June  29,  1910,  he  married  Miss  Cornelia  By- 
num  Clegg,  who  died  September  3,  1916,  leaving 
two   children:    Cornelia   Clegg  and  Mary   Harvey. 

Isaac  C.  Wright,  one  of  many  members  of  this 
branch  of  the  Wright  family  distinguished  for 
high  intellectual  and  professional  attainments,  is  a 
successful  lawyer  at  Wilmington,  to  which  city 
he  removed  two  years  ago  after  making  his  mark 
in  one  of  the  smaller  communities  of  the  state. 
The  reputation  that  followed  him  to  Wilmington 
has  been  greatly  enhanced  by  his  substantial  work 
and  he  is  today  one  of  the  busiest  lawyers  in  the 
city. 

Mr.  Wright  was  born  in  Sampson  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1884,  a  son  of  John  C.  and  Bettie  V. 
i  Herring)  Wright.  His  father  is  now  deceased. 
The  family  has  lived  for  several  generations  in 
the  southern  half  of  Sampson  County.  His  great- 
grandfather, John  Wright,  lived,  died  and  was 
buried  at  the  old  Wright  home  place  where  Isaac 
C.  Wright  was  born.  The  plaee  is  five  miles  east 
of  Parkersburg  at  the  forks  of  the  Big  and  Little 
Coharie,  and  is  fourteen  miles  south  of  Clinton, 
the  county  seat.  A  postoftice  named  Coharie  was 
formerly  the  Wright  home,  but  this  has  been  dis- 
continued and  the  people  of  the  community  now 
get  their  mail  by  rural  free  delivery.  Great- 
grandfather, John  Wright,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  His  kinsman  was  named 
Isaac  Wright,  a  resident  of  Bladen  County.  Isaac 
Wright  had  a  brother  named  Thomas  Wright,  who 
lived  in  Duplin  County  and  from  whom  the  Slo- 
cums  of  Greensboro  are  descended.  Mr.  Clem 
Wright  of  Greensboro  is  a  descendant  of  Isaac 
Wright.  The  grandfather  of  Isaae  C.  Wright  was 
Isaac  C.  Wright.  His  father,  John  C.  Wright,  who 
was  born  in  1832  and  died  in  1898,  served  through- 
out the  war  in  the  Confederate  Army  and  was 
lieutenant  of  a  company  which  was  a  part  of  the 
Second  North  Carolina  Begiment,  Lane's  Brigade. 

Bettie  V.  (Herring)  Wright,  who  is  still  living, 
had  a  distinguished  record  as  an  educator,  not 
only  of  her  own  numerous  household  but  of  other 
young  people  as  well.  For  twenty  years  she  con- 
ducted at  her  home  a  private  school  for  boys  and 
girls  known  as  Mrs.  B.  V.  Wright's  School.  Her 
father,  Bryan  Whitfield  Herring,  was  born  and 
reared  near  Calypso  in  Duplin  County  and  rep- 
resented his  county  in  the  General  Assembly  of 
North  Carolina.  His  mother  was  a  member  of  the 
well  known  Whitfield,  family  of  Eastern  North 
Carolina.  Bryan  W.  Herring  married  Penelope 
Sims,  related  to  the  quite  numerous  family  of  that 
name  in   Wayne  and   Wilson  counties. 

Isaac  C.  Wright  is  the  youngest  of  nine  children. 
Brief  reference  to  each  of  his  brothers  and  sisters 
is  made  in  later  paragraphs.  Isaac  C.  Wright  at- 
tended school  at  Oak  Ridge  Institute  for  one  year, 
then  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at 
Chapel  Hill,  where  he  was  graduated  A.  B.  and 
A.  M.  in  1905.  While  in  university  he  distinguished 
himself  as  a  leader  in  debating.  He  represented 
that  school  in  two  intercollegiate  debates  with  the 
University  of  Georgia  in  1904  and  1905.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Phi  Society.  He  also  acquired 
his  legal  training  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  University  of  Chicago,  being 
licensed  to  practice  in  September,  1906.  Mr. 
Wright  earned  his  first  legal  fees  at  Greensboro, 
where  he  remained   for  a  little  more  than   a   vear. 


Then  for  about  eight  years  he  handled  an  increase- 
ing  general  practice  at  Clinton,  county  seat  of  his 
native  county.  In  1916,  selecting  the  wider  field 
afforded  by  the  City  of  Wilmington,  he  became 
associated  here  in  the  practice  of  law  with  Mr. 
Graham  Kenan  under  the  firm  name  of  Kenan  & 
Wright.  The  senior  member  of  that  firm  is  else- 
where referred  to.  They  have  a  voluminous  gen- 
eral practice  in  the  various  county,  state  and 
Federal  courts. 

Referring  again  to  his  university  career,  Mr. 
Wright  was  a  member  of  the  class,  that  of  1905, 
which  started  the  Alumni  Loyalty  Fund  for  the 
university.  Each  member  of  this  class  sigTied  a 
note  agreeing  to  give  a  certain  amount  each  year 
for  ten  years  as  a  contribution  to  the  fund,  and 
to  meet  at  a  reunion  at  the  university  at  the  end 
of  the  ten  years  and  present  the  contribution  to 
the  university.  The  agreement  was  faithfully 
carried  out.  The  reunion  was  held  in  1915,  and 
at  that  time  this  class  presented  the  university 
with  $1,000.  Each  class  since  1905  has  followed 
the  good  example  thus  set,  and  a  permanent 
Loyalty  Fund  is  being  built  up  of  much  use  now 
and  of  increasingly  greater  use  to  the  university 
in  years  to  come.  Mr.  Wright  has  always  taken 
a  keen  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  alma  mater. 
He  is  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  a  member  of  Cape  Fear 
Lodge  No.  2,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  of  Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Wil- 
mington. 

In  June,  1910,  he  married  Miss  Bertha  Dalfon, 
of  Winston-Salem,  daughter  of  D.  N.  Dalton,  of 
Dalton,  Stokes  County,  a  town  named  for  this 
family.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright  have  two  children, 
Rebecca  W.  and  Bertha  Dalton. 

Friends  and  others  familiar  with  their  history 
and  careers  have  often  remarked  the  Wright  fam- 
ily as  one  of  exceptional  intellectual  attainments, 
of  notable  high  character  and  ambition,  and  all  the 
numerous  members  have  worked  hard  in  their 
various  callings,  and  made  a  name  in  the  world. 
It  is  truly  a  remarkable  household  that  grew  up 
as  children  of  John  C.  and  Bettie  Wright,  nine 
in  number,  all  growing  to  useful  manhood  and 
womanhood  and  acquiring  good  educations. 
Brief  paragraphs  referring  to  the  children  other 
than  Isaac   C.   follow : 

W.  I.  Wright  of  Ingold,  Sampson  County, 
is  a  successful  farmer  and  merchant,  and  is  well 
known  among  agricultural  circles  of  the  state  for 
having  won  at  the  State  Fair  of  1916  the  first 
prize  for  the  Eastern  Division  of  North  Carolina 
on  his  cotton  and  corn,  and  also  the  blue  ribbon  on 
a  general  farm  exhibit.  He  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners  of 
Sampson  County.  He  married  Miss  Julia  Herring 
of  Clinton,  daughter  of  Mr.  Owen  F.  Herring, 
ex-Register  of  Deeds  of  Sampson  County,  and  they 
have  eight  children. 

Robert  H.  Wright  of  Greenville,  president  of  the 
Eastern  Carolina  Teachers  Training  School,  is 
as  that  position  indicates,  one  of  the  notable 
educators  of  the  state.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the 
State  University  with  the  class' of  1898.  He 
married  Miss  Pearl  Murphy,  daughter  of  the  late 
Dr.  W.  B.  Murphy  of  Tomahawk,  Sampson  County. 

Mrs.  Annie  F.  Kent,  of  Lenoir,  Caldwell  County, 
is  the  wife  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Kent,  a  prominent  banker 
and  capitalist  of  that  place  and  ex-president  of 
the   Medical   Society  of  North  Carolina. 

Dr.  John  B.  Wright  of  Raleigh  is  member  of 
the  firm  Lewis,  Battle  &  Wright,  physicians,  and 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Medical  College  of  Richmond. 


308 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


He  married  Miss  Violet  Rhodes  of  Lineohitou, 
North  Carolina,  and  has  four  children. 

B.  V.  Wright  of  Laurel,  Mississippi,  a  civil 
engineer,  is  a  graduate  in  engineering  of  the 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Raleigh 
in  1901,  and  is  now  superintendent  of  Maintenance 
of  Ways  for  one  of  Mississippi 's  railroads.  He 
married  Miss  Bessie  Herring  and  has  four  children. 

Mrs.  Penelope  Wilson,  wife  of  Dr.  L.  R.  Wilson 
of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, studied  music  in  Gunston  Institute  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  two 
children. 

Mrs.  Bettie  C.  Smith,  wife  of  Prof.  H.  B.  Smith, 
superintendent  of  schools  at  Newbern,  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  State  Normal  School  and  they  have 
two   children. 

Mrs.  Mary  Thomas  is  the  wife  of  George  B. 
Thomas,  .  a  native  of  Youngstown,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Thomas  is  professor  of  electrical  engineering  in 
Colorado  College  at  Colorado  Springs  but  at 
present  is  on  leave  of  absence  for  one  year  in  New 
York  City  on  electrical  engineering  for  a  New- 
York  firm. 

Edoar  Hall.  Experience  teaches  that  the  man 
who  has  followed'  an  agricultural  career  during 
the  formative  and  active  period  of  his  life  inva- 
riably makes  a  better  citizen  when  he  is  ready  to 
turn  his  attention  to  civic  duties  and  public  service. 
His  long  hours  alone,  following  the  plow  or  reap- 
ing the  harvest  his  hands  have  planted  and  devel- 
oped, teach  him  many  things  not  known  usually  to 
the  man  who  has  spent  his  life  in  the  busy  marts. 
Hours  of  contemplation  of  nature  and  study  of 
her  lessons  fit  the  farmer  for  conservative,  consec- 
utive action  when  he  is  called  upon  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  public  office,  or  to  assume  command 
of  industrial  or  commercial  affairs.  His  success  in 
the  agricultural  field  gives  him  standing  in  his 
community.  In  this  connection  the  career  of  Edgar 
Hall,  of  Raeford,  is  deserving  of  more  than  passing 
mention.  Not  only  were  his  younger  and  formative 
years  passed  in  the  fields  as  a  developer  of  the 
soil,  but  he  still  has  large  interests  in  agriculture. 
He  likewise  is  a  merchant  of  sound  ability  and 
standing  in  the  business  world,  and  has  been  sheriff 
of  the  county  of  Hoke  ever  since  the  county's  or- 
ganization, in  1911,  a  movement  in  which  he  took 
a  leading  part. 

Sheriff  Edgar  Hall  was  born  on  a  farm  near 
Hope  Mills,  Cumberland  County,  North  Carolina, 
in  1874,  being  a  son  of  Nathan  and  Josephine 
(Fort)  Hall,  both  of  whom  are  deceased.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  Bladen  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  moved  from  that  eounty  to  Robeson 
County  in  1874,  a  short  time  before  the  birth  of 
his  son.  He  became  well  known  in  this  section  of 
North  Carolina,  and  when  he  died,  in  1916,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years,  his  community  lost  a 
good  and  public-spirited  citizen  and  a  substantial 
and  industrious  agriculturist.  Mr.  Hall  had  served 
throughout  the  war  between  the  states  as  a  private 
in  the  Confederate  service,  and  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  was  stationed  at  the  Confederate 
arsenal  at  Fayetteville,  and  was  there  when  Fayette- 
ville  was  captured  and  the  arsenal  burned  by 
General  Sherman,  whose  forces  took  Mr.  Hall 
prisoner.  He  had  an  excellent  record  as  a  soldier 
and  this  was  continued  in  his  life  as  a  civilian. 

Edgar  Hall  was  brought  up  amid  agricultural 
surroundings,  being  reared  on  a  farm  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Lumber  Bridge,  where  his  education  came 
from  the  rural   schools.     He   was   brought  up  to 


the  pursuits  of  farming  and  remained  in  his  native 
vicinity  until  1896,  in  which  year  he  settled  at 
Dundarrach,  about  six  miles  southeast  of  Raeford, 
at  that  time  a  part  of  Robeson  County,  but  now 
a  portion  of  the  new  eounty  of  Hoke.  His  early 
efforts  were  confined  to  farming,  but  subsequently 
he  recognized  and  grasped  an  opportunity  to  enter 
mercantile  affairs,  and  became  the  founder  of  the 
Dundarrach  Trading  Company,  a  large  country 
store  enterprise,  of  which  he  is  still  president. 
Under  his  able  management  this  enterprise  has 
grown  and  developed  until  at  this  time  it  occupies 
an  important  place  in  commercial  affairs  and  car- 
ries on  a  prosperous  general  merchandising  busi- 
ness with  a  trade  that  extends  over  a  radius  of 
some  miles.  Mr.  Hall  has  also  been  interested  in 
other  business  undertakings,  having  been  for  five 
or  six  years  the  proprietor  of  a  lumber  yard  and 
mill  at  Dundarrach,  but  has  sold  his  interests  there- 
in. He  still  continues  as  a  farmer,  having  a  good 
property  of  250  acres  in  the  Dundarrach  com- 
munity, where  he  carries  on  general  operations, 
and  on  which  he  has  placed  substantial  buildings 
and  modern  improvements.  Among  his  associates 
in  business  and  in  agriculture  he  is  recognized  as 
a  shrewd,  capable  man  of  affairs,  who  is  faith- 
ful to  his  engagements  and  straightforward  in  his 
dealings. 

Mr.  Hall  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  inter- 
ested in  public  affairs,  and  when  the  movement 
was  promulgated  for  the  forming  of  a  new  coun- 
ty from  parts  of  Cumberland  and  Robeson  coun- 
ties, in  1911,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  come  for- 
ward with  his  support  and  co-operation.  This  work 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  County  of  Hoke, 
and  Governor  Kitchen,  after  careful  consideration, 
chose  Mr.  Hall  for  the  office  of  sheriff,  an  ap- 
pointment that  met  with  the  hearty  approval  by 
the  people  as  has  been  shown  by  his  retention  in 
office  by  successive  elections.  He  has  shown  him- 
self a  capable  official  and  the  law  and  order  pre- 
vailing in  the  county  speaks  well  for  his  capacity. 
Shortly  after  his  appointment  Mr.  Hall  established 
his  home  at  Raeford,  the  county  seat,  in  a  modern 
residence,  where  he  has  a  fine  library.  Fraternally 
Sheriff  Hall  is  a  Mason.  He  has  an  excellent 
military  record,  having  been  a  member  of  the 
National  Guard  of  North  Carolina  for  several 
years,  achieving  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  first 
lieutenant  of  Company  F,  Second  North  Carolina 
Infantry,  during  the  Spanish-American  war,  and 
in  later  years  was  elected  captain  of  a  company 
organized  at  Raeford,  attached  to  the  Second  Regi- 
ment, and  which  went  into  service  on  the  Mexican 
border  in  the  summer  of   1916. 

Mrs.  Hall  was  formerly  Miss  Katie  MacMillan, 
of  Saint  Pauls,  Robeson  County,  where  she  was 
born.  There  are  four  children :  Raymond,  Joseph- 
ine, Lulu  and  Thelma. 

Robert  Melvin  Gantt  is  a  member  of  the  bar 
of  Durham.  While  his  record  is  not  a  long  one, 
it  is  exceedingly  creditable  and  shows  that  he  has 
achieved  definite  success  and  distinction  in  his 
chosen  vocation. 

He  was  born  in  Cleveland  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, February  10,  1886,  a  son  of  Melvin  Puckett 
and  Georgiana  (Jones)  Gantt.  His  father  pros- 
pered as  a  manufacturer,  farmer  and  merchant. 
The  son  was  liberally  educated,  attended  Belwood 
Institute,  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1909  in 
the  literary  department  of  Trinity  College,  and 
in  1911  graduated  LL.  B.  from  the  law  school. 
The  next  four  years  he  spent  in  practice  at  Bry- 


&d^aA//<AhrL£C^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


309 


son  City,  North  Carolina,  but  since  1915  has  been 
winning  recognition  among  the  lawyers  of  the 
old  university  town  of  Durham.  He  is  a  member 
in  high  standing  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  the  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows. 

December  16,  1914,  Mr.  Gantt  married  Kath- 
erine  Claywell  of  Morganton,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  Robert  Turner  and  Katherine  (New- 
land)  Claywell.     Her  father  is  a  merchant. 

David  Allen  Garrison",  M.  D.  The  entire 
tendency  of  modern  reform  and  progress,  scien- 
tific, moral  and  religious,  is  based  on  that  threau- 
bare  pronouncement,  ' '  Prevention  is  better  than 
Cure. ' '  Vaccination  as  a  safeguard  against  small- 
pox, free  drainage,  a  pure  water  supply,  the  im- 
provement of  the  sanitary  conditions  of  industrial 
workers,  proper  ventilation  in  homes,  the  paying 
of  better  wages  to  encourage  personal  morality, 
the  classification  of  juvenile  offenders  in  refor- 
matory and  penal  institutions,  and  the  religious 
instruction  and  training  of  youth  in  countless 
ways,  are  all  evidence  of  the  value  which  the 
best  minds  and  souls  of  the  times  place  upon  pre- 
vention. 

Dr.  David  A.  Garrison,  the  physician  and  re- 
former of  Gastonia,  Gaston  County,  is  enrolled  in 
the  class  imperfectly  described  in  the  foregjing 
paragraph.  The  story  of  his  life  is  proof  of  the 
assertion.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in 
Millard  Creek  Township,  Mecklenburg  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1865,  son  of  Samuel  A.  and 
Jane  (Hunter)  Garrison,  deceased.  His  early 
ancestors  were  English  farmers  who,  after  they 
came  to  Mecklenburg  County,  became  planters 
and  owners  of  many  slaves.  The  first  American 
forefather  was  the  great-great-grandfather  of  the 
doctor,  James  Garrison,  who  was  born  in  Eng- 
land and  became  a  resident  of  Brooklyn.  After 
spending  a  year  in  that  city  he  located  in  Meek- 
lenburg  County  and  entered  800  acres  of  land 
near  the  junction  of  Mallard  Creek  and  Boeky 
River,  not  far  from  the  line  of  Cabarrus  County. 
He  married  into  the  Alexander  family,  who 
were  among  the  founders  of  Mecklenburg  County 
and  numerous  members  of  which  still  reside  within 
it.  Doctor  Garrison's  father  was  born  near  New- 
ell, Crab  Orchard  Township,  Mecklenburg  County, 
in  1819,  and  spent  2%  years  in  active  Confederate 
service.  In  1862  he  went  out  as  first  lieutenant 
of  a  company  raised  in  Mecklenburg  County  and 
returned  as   its  captain. 

The  mother  was  a  member  of  another  historic 
family  in  Mecklenburg,  of  Scotch-Irish  origin. 
Her  father  was  Silas  Hunter,  and  her  grandfather, 
Henry  Hunter,  a  Scotchman  who  came  from  the 
North  of  Ireland  about  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  and  settled  on  the  hanks  of  Rocky 
River  in  what  became  known  as  Poplar  Tent  com- 
munity, his  land  lying  in  Cabarrus  County  ad- 
joining Mecklenburg.  Henry  Hunter  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  old  Poplar  Tent  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Cabarrus  County,  which  is  still  in  ex- 
istence and  is  one  of  the  historic  congregations  of 
that  denomination.  He  was  a  large  man  intel- 
lectually and  physically.  It  is  said  that  he  had 
to  send  to  England  for  his  hats,  there  being  none 
to  be  obtained  in  his  neighborhood  large  enough 
for  him.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Samuel  A.  Garri- 
son, Silas  Hunter,  married  Jennie  McCaleb,  who 
was  also   from   the  North   of   Ireland.      He   had   a 


large  plantation  on  Stony  CreeK,  near  Millard 
Creek  Church,  Mecklenburg  County,  reared  a 
family  of  nine  children,  and,  for  a  planter  of 
those    days,    prospered    exceedingly. 

On  account  of  the  breaking  of  fortunes  by  the 
war  and  the  general  disarrangement  of  all  plans 
based  on  the  peaceful  development  of  the  South, 
David  A.  Garrison,  as  a  boy,  was  deprived  of 
even  the  most  meager  school  privileges.  He  prac- 
tically had  no  schooling  until  he  was  more  than 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  all  that  he  finally 
acquired  was  obtained,  through  his  work  on  the 
farm  and  the  money  lie  saved  from  his  small  sal- 
ary as  a  clerk.  As  soon  as  qualified,  he  also  taught 
school  and  applied  every  dollar  he  could  save  to 
further  his  medical  education.  In  1893  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  entering  the  old  Louisville 
Medical  College  and  graduating  from  it  with  his 
professional   degree    three   years   later. 

During  his  first  vacation  the  young  man  ob- 
tained a  certificate  from  the  college  authorities 
permitting  him  to  practice,  and  thereby  he  earned 
enough  money  to  materially  further  his  studies. 
On  his  graduation  in  1896,  Doctor  Garrison  lo- 
cated at  Bessemer  City,  Gaston  County,  where 
he  practiced  for  twelve  years,  and  in  1908  be- 
came a  resident  of  Gastonia.  Having  been  de- 
nied the  .benefits  of  education  during  his  earlier 
years,  even  after  he  had  commenced  active  prac- 
tice he  was  an  eager  reader  and  a  constant  stu- 
dent. In  his  professional  development  he  has  pur- 
sued a  number  of  important  post-graduate  eourses, 
those  of  recent  years  being  mostly  in  the  line  of 
surgery.  He  has  enjoyed  extensive  operative  and 
clinical  experience  in  the  New  York  Polyclinic, 
under  the  Mayo  brothers  at  Rochester,  Minne- 
sota, and  in  various  institutions  at  Boston,  Phila- 
delphia, Cleveland  and  Baltimore  (Johns  Hopkins 
Hospital  and  University).  In  addition  to  his 
training  in  the  science  and  practice  of  surgery, 
he  has  made  special  study  and  research  in  mat- 
ters connected  with  sanitation  and  public  health. 
The  knowledge  he  has  gained  in  the  latter 
branches  has  been  freely  applied  to  the  local  prob- 
lems, the  solution  of  which  was  designed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  health  of  the  home  people.  In  con- 
nection with  the  community  work  and  betterment 
associations  which  he  has  been  instrumental  in 
organizing  throughout  the  county  in  co-operation 
with  the  city  and  the  County  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, he  has  leetured  for  several  years  on  sani- 
tation, preventive  medicine  and  the  conservation 
of  the  public  health  generally.  The  result  has 
been  that  there  has  been  a  remarkable  improve- 
ment throughout  the  county  in  cleanliness,  the 
preparation  of  pure  food  and  its  protection  from 
possible  infection,  the  adoption  of  vaccination, 
and  other  measures  consistent  with  advanced  pub- 
lic hygiene. 

It  was  through  Doctor  Garrison 's  original  sug- 
gestion and  continuous  agitation  of  the  matter 
that  the  drainage  of  Long's  and  Crowder's  creeks 
was  brought  about  in  Gaston  County,  thus  vastly 
benefitting  the  health  of  the  communities  adja- 
cent to  their  courses  and  also  greatly  enhancing 
the  value  of  the  neighboring  lands.  In  January, 
1917,  he  also  drew  a  legislative  bill  providing  for 
the  inspection  of  meat  and  milk,  and  is  strenu- 
ously urging  its  adoption  and  enforcement.  With- 
out disparagement  to  the  efforts  of  others  along 
similar  lines,  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  Doc- 
tor Garrison  is  the  originator  of  this  far-reaching 
food-inspection  bill,  and  of  many  other  measures 
designed  to  safeguard   the  public   health,  such  as 


310 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  proper  drainage  and  improved  sanitary  con- 
ditions in  the  mill  villages  of  the  county.  He  was 
the  first  to  suggest  a  nurse  and  welfare  worker 
for  every  industrial  center  in  the  county,  and  at 
the  present  time  one  of  his  paramount  ambitions 
is  to  have  established  a  county  sanitarium  for  tu- 
bercular patients  in  Gaston  County.  In  1917  he 
organized  Gaston  County  Sanatorium  for  the  treat- 
ment of  medical  and  surgical  cases,  of  which  Doc- 
tor Garrison  is  president  and  treasurer.  The  build- 
ing in  which  this  institution  is  occupied  is  owned 
by  Doctor  Garrison.  Its  location  is  at  217  West 
Long   Avenue,   Gastonia. 

As  indicative  of  his  standing  in  his  profes- 
sion and  in  his  social  and  religious  relations,  it 
is  added  that  he  has  served  as  vice  president  of 
the  North  Carolina  State  Medical  Association;  is 
a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  a  Shriner;  was 
one  of  the  founders,  with  his  brother,  Eev.  J.  M. 
Garrison,  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Bessemer  City,  and  is  now  an  elder  in 
the  local  body  at  Gastonia.  Doctor  Garrison's  wife, 
before  her  marriage,  was  Miss  Juniata  Coltrane, 
of  Concord,  daughter  of  D.  B.  Coltrane  of  that 
city,  the  founder  and  president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  and  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
prominent  citizens  of  Cabarrus  County. 

James  Acra  Hackney.  In  a  comparatively 
brief  career  of  not  more  than  ten  years  James 
Acra  Hackney  has  done  much  for  himself  and 
also  for  the  general  business  development  of  the 
City  of  Washington,  where  he  is  today  one  of  the 
most  prominent  business  leaders. 

He  is  a  son  of  George  and  Bessie  (Acra)  Hack- 
ney, his  father  well  known  as  a  wagon  and  carriage 
manufacturer.  The  son  w'as  born  at  Wilson,  North 
Carolina,  September  22,  1890,  and  was  liberally 
educated,  attending  local  school  and  high  school, 
Oak  Ridge  Institute,  and  was  both  a  literary 
and  law  student  in  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, but  did  not  graduate  and  has  found  a  busi- 
ness career  more  satisfactory  to  him  than  a 
profession.  As  a  young  man  he  worked  with  his 
father  in  the  manufacturing  business,  learned  all 
the  mechanical  as  well  as  the  business  details  of 
carriage  making,  and  had  considerable  experience 
as  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Hackney  Buggy  Com- 
pany at  Wilson.  In  1913  the  company  sent  him 
on  the  road  as  a  salesman,  and  in  September, 
1914,  he  joined  forces  with  the  Washington  Buggy 
Company  as  its  assistant  manager.  Since  then 
other  responsibilities  have  been  promoted  upon 
;him  and  he  is  now  secretary,  treasurer  and 
general  manager  of  an  industrial  corporation  that 
employs  seventy  skilled  workmen.  Mr.  Hackney 
is  also  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Beaufort 
County  Storage  Warehouse  Company  and  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Hassell  Supply  Company.  He  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Mr.  Hackney  married  March  7,  1916,  Mae 
Ayers,  of  Washington,  daughter  of  E.  W.  Ayers, 
a  well  known  merchant.  They  have  one  son,  James 
Acra,  Jr.,  born  January  3,  1917. 

Thojias  Christian  Wooten,  a  highly  success- 
ful lawyer  and  member  of  a  family  of  professional 
men  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  has  been  in 
active  practice  at  Kinston  for  over  twenty  years. 
He  is  widely  known  in  the  state  as  a  leader  in 
the   democratic   party. 

Mr.  Wooten  was  born  in  Lenoir  County,  North 
Carolina,  March  9,  1862,  a  son  of  John  Franklin 
and  Mary  Adams  (Christian)   Wooten.     His  father 


was  also  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  bar 
in  Lenoir  County.  Thomas  C.  Wooten  was  edu- 
cated in  Kinston  Academy  and  was  a  student  in 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1882-83.  While  in  the  University  he 
served  as  editor  of  the  University  Magazine. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1883  Mr.  Wooten  began 
practice  at  Snow  Hill  in  Green  County  and  from 
there  moved  to  a  larger  and  more  important  field 
at  Kinston  in  1896.  He  has  made  his  mark  in  the 
general  practice  rather  than  as  a  special  or  cor- 
poration lawyer. 

Mr.  Wooten  served  as  mayor  pro  tern  of  Kinston 
in  1896  and  was  elected  an  alderman  for  two  years. 
He  was  born  with  a  taste  for  polities  and  has 
been  active  in  the  democratic  organization  since 
he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  1900  he  was 
Bryan  elector  and  led  the  ticket,  and  in  1915  he 
was  elected  recorder  of  the  Criminal  Court  in 
Kinston.  Among  his  various  official  and  profes- 
sional interests  Mr.  Wooten  is  also  something  of  a 
farmer,  and  owns  a  rather  noted  place,  consisting 
of  365  acres  and  comprising  part  of  the  old  bat- 
tleground on  which  General  Hoke  fought  his  last- 
engagement,  known  as  Wise 's  Forks. 

Mr.  Wooten  is  a  Mason  and  is  identified  with 
the  Queen  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
For  twelve  years  he  has  been  teacher  of  the 
Woman 's   Bible   Class    in   that   church. 

He  has  been  thrice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Emma  Carr,  a  near  relative  of  Governor  Can- 
of  North  Carolina.  For  his  second  wife  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Moore,  niece  of  Judge  William  Faircloth 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  North  Carolina,  and  the 
one  child  of  that  union,  Bessie,  is  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Sanders.  For  his  third  wife  Mr.  Wooten  married 
Julia  Holderness  Dixon,  of  Caswell  County,  North 
Carolina. 

Bobert  Nirwana  Simms.  Few  men  can  hope 
to  successfully  embraee  so  many  interests  and  ren- 
der effective  service  in  them  all  as  Robert  Nir- 
wana  Simms  has  done  in  the  twenty  years  since 
he  left  college  and  took  up  the  practice  of  law. 
He  is  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  North  Carolina, 
has  a  large  and  important  practice,  is  a  leader 
in  politics,  in  church  affairs,  and  an  able  leader 
in  various  other  movements. 

He  was  born  near  Huntington,  West  Virginia, 
May  14,  1S76,  a  son  of  Eev.  Albert  Meredith 
Simms,  D.  D.,  and  Mary  F.  (Stewart)  Simms. 
His  father  was  a  prominent  Baptist  minister  and 
at  one  time  was  pastor  of  the  Tabernacle  Baptist 
Church  of  Raleigh,  and  previously  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Dallas,  Texas. 

Mr.  Simms  after  leaving  the  public  schools 
entered  Wake  Forest  College,  where  he  took  his 
degree  of  A.  B.  in  1897  and  finished  his  course 
in  the  law  department  in  the  same  year.  In  col- 
lege he  distinguished  himself  as  an  orator  and 
debater,  was  senior  class  orator  and  gold  medalist 
and  is  now  president  of  the  Wake  Forest  Alumni 
Association  of  Wake  County. 

Since  his  admission  to  the  bar  at  Raleigh  in 
1897  Mr.  Simms  has  been  in  active  general  prac- 
tice in  all  the  State  and  Federal  courts.  His 
services  have  been  called  into  requisition  in  the 
organization  of  a  number  of  corporations  and 
among  others  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
general  counsel  for  the  Raleigh  &  Southport  Rail- 
way Company  and  is  attorney  for  the  Norfolk 
Southern  Railroad  Company.  He  is  a.  director  and 
general  counsel  of  the  Raleigh  Savings  Bank  & 
Trust  Company.     Mr.  Simms  has  been  a  member 


HISTORY  OP1  NORTH  CAROLINA 


311 


of  the  North  Carolina  State  Bar  Association 
since  it  was  organized.  In  the  summer  of  1917 
he  was  tendered  by  Governor  Biekett  the  appoint- 
ment as  judge  of  the  Superior  Courts  of  the 
Seventh  Judicial  District  of  North  Carolina,  but 
he  declined  the  same.  For  sixteen  years  he  has 
served  as  deacon  of  the  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church 
at  Kaleigh  and  assisted  to  organize  and  has  con- 
tinuously taught  for  seventeen  years  the  Baraca 
Class  of  the  church,  the  first  Baraca  organization 
in  the  South.  He  is  a  former  vice  president  of 
the  World  Wide  Baraca  Philathea  Union,  for 
years  has  been  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Missions  and  is  former  president  of  the  State 
Sunday  School  Association,  an  interdenomina- 
tional organization.  He  is  a  trustee  of  Meredith 
College  and  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Baptist  Young  People  's  Union. 

Mr.  Simms  is  chairman  of  the  Raleigh  Bar  As- 
sociation. He  served  in  the  North  Carolina  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  1901-02  and  in  1904  was  a 
presidential  elector.  On  November  25,  1908,  he 
married  Miss  Virginia  Egerton  of  Asheville,  North 
Carolina.  They  have  three  children:  Robert  Nir- 
wana,  Jr.,  and  Ann  Egerton  and  Albert. 

James  Andrew  Wellons  has  been  an  honored 
member  of  the  bar  of  Smithfield,  Johnston  County, 
for  fully  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Many  worthy 
achievements  have  marked  his  professional  career, 
and  he  has  also  done  much  to  justify  the  esteem 
of  his  fellow  citizens  in  public  office  and  as  a 
leader   in   publie   affairs. 

He  was  born  in  Johnston  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, May  17,  1862,  a  son  of  Dr.  James  David 
Thomas  and  Alice  Louisa  (Blackmail)  Wellons. 
His  father  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  Army 
through  the  war,  and  after  the  war  practiced  med- 
icine steadily  until  his  death  on  December  10, 
1915,  having  been  a  greatly  venerated  figure  in 
his  profession  and  a  much  beloved  citizen  for 
over  a  half  century. 

James  A.  Wellons  spent  part  of  his  youth  dur- 
ing the  reconstruction  era  and  had  to  depend  upon 
private  schools  for  his  educational  advantages.  In 
1884-85  he  attended  the  Bingham  Military  School, 
then  located  at  Mebane.  For  twelve  years  he  was 
a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Johnston  County,  and 
at  one  time  was  a  teacher  in  Turlington  Institute, 
in  1892  he  graduated  from  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  October  of  that  year,  and  at 
once  began  a  general  practice  at  Smithfield.  In 
1893  he  was  elected  eounty  attorney,  and  filled 
that  office  eight  years.  He  has  been  three  times 
honored  by  the  votes  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  the 
office  of  mayor  of  Smithfield,  first  being  elected 
in  1910,  again  in  1912  and  in  May,  1914.  He  is 
a  trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic  Sons  of  America. 

December  15,  1892,  Mr.  Wellons  married  Flor- 
ence E.  Lassiter,  of  Johnston  County.  Robert 
Andrew,  the  oldest  of  their  seven  children,  is  a 
well  qur.lified  attorney,  and  was  a  law  partner 
with  his  father  in  the  firm  of  Wellons  &  Wellons 
until  1917,  when  he  joined  the  Aviation  Corps 
of  the  United  States  Army.  William  Bryant,  of 
the  University  of  .North  Carolina,  is  the  second 
born  of  their  children.  Mabel  Florence,  the  third 
in  order  of  birth,  is  a  student  in  the  Peace  In- 
stitute at  Raleigh,  and  the  other  children  in  or- 
der of  age  are:  Margaret  Alice,  in  the  grade 
schools  at  Smithfield,  Ava  Euzelia,  James  An- 
drew, Jr.,  and  Mary  Elizabeth. 


John  Henry  McMullan,  Jr.  An  enterprising 
spirit,  diversity  of  talent,  sound  business  ideas 
and  a  happy  temperament  may  all  be  credited  to 
one  of  Edenton  's  well  known  business  men  and 
popular  citizens.  Primarily  educated  for  the  law, 
he  has  been  equally  interested  in  both  business 
and  politics  for  some  years. 

John  Henry  McMullan,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Hert- 
ford, North  Carolina,  August  13,  1882.  His  par- 
ents were  Dr.  John  Henry  and  Lina  Caroline 
(Tucker)  McMullan,  the  latter  of  whom  died  at 
Edenton,  North  Carolina,  in  August,  1914. 

Dr.  John  Henry  McMullan,  for  many  years  an 
eminent  physician  known  all  through  Eastern 
North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Greene  County,  Vir- 
ginia, July  7,  1849.  His  parents  were  Rev.  Jere- 
miah and  Frances  (Dabney)  McMullan,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  noted  preacher  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  family  came  to 
North  Carolina  in  1860  but  returned  to  Virginia 
during  the  war  between  the  states.  The  young 
man  had  early  shown  a  preference  for  a  medical 
career,  and  after  attending  the  McMullan  School 
in  Greene  County,  Virginia,  and  the  academy  at 
Hertford,  North  Carolina,  he  became  a  student 
in  the  medical  department  pf  the  University  of 
Maryland,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1876. 
He  returned  to  Hertford  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion there  for  sixteen  years.  In  1891  he  came  to 
Edenton  and  ever  since  has  been  numbered  with 
the  city's  most  skilled  and  trustworthy  physicians 
and  surgeons.  He  has  served  as  health  officer 
both  at  Hertford  and  Edenton  and  both  cities 
have  benefited  through  his  diligent  care  and 
scientific  knowledge.  He  is  one  of  the  most  valued 
members  of  the  county  and  state  medical  organiza- 
tions. Doctor  McMullan  was  married  Januarv 
4,  1877,  to  Miss  Lina  C.  Tucker,  of  Hertford. 
Their  six  children  all  survive,  namely:  Pencie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  James  N.  Pruden,  a  well 
known  attorney  at  Edenton ;  John  H.,  Jr. ;  Harry, 
who  is  an  attorney,  resides  at  Washington,  North 
Carolina;  Mildred  June,  who  resides  with  her 
father;  Lina  Louise,  who  is  the  wife  of  William 
M.  Bond,  an  attorney  of  Denver,  Colorado ;  and 
Jessie  Pailin.  Doctor  McMullan  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  stewards  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  at  Edenton. 

John  Henry  McMullan,  Jr.,  completed  his  aca- 
demic course  at  Edenton  and  then  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  and  in  1906  was 
graduated  from  the  law  department  of  that  insti- 
tution. For  some  years  Mr.  McMullan  has  been 
active  in  the  business  field.  Becoming  interested 
in  the  life  insurance  line,  he  was  superintendent 
of  agents  for  one  of  the  old  line  companies,  and 
in  1908  he  went  into  the  automobile  and  garage 
business.  His  garage,  with  dimensions  of  40 
by  80  feet,  and  his  show  room  with  dimensions 
of  36  by  48  feet,  give  him  an  abundance  of 
floor  space.  He  carries  a  full  line  of  automobile 
goods  and  is  the  sole  agent  for  Studebaker  cars 
and  Republic  trucks  for  Northeastern  North  Caro- 
lina. 

It  is  not  remarkable  that  a  young  man  so 
thoroughly  educated  and  with  such  evident  practi- 
cal business  ideas,  should  claim  the  attention  of 
forward  looking  citizens  when  affairs  of  great 
civic  importance  had  to  be  considered,  hence  in 
1907  he  was  urged  for  the  office  of  mayor  and 
elected  on  the  democratic  ticket.  He  gave  the 
city  a  sound  business  administration.  He  is  an 
important  factor  in  county  politics,  and  for  the 
past   ten  years  has  been   chairman  of  the  county 


312 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


executive  committee  of  his  party  and  is  now 
democratic  nominee  for  the  legislature.  He  is 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Edenton  Auditorium 
Company  and  has  a  number  of  minor  interests. 
Fraternal  organizations  as  a  rule  have  not 
appealed  to  him,  but  he  has  never  given  up  his 
membership  in  his  old  college  fraternity,  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon.  Mr.  MeMullan  is  a  communicant 
in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  has 
served  as  a  vestryman. 

N.  Wilson  Wallace.  One  of  the  best  com- 
pliments and  highest  honors  that  communities  of 
American  people  can  pay  to  an  individual  is  to 
keep  a  man  of  affairs  and  of  high  business  and 
personal  standing  in  one  office  through  a  long- 
period  of  years.  Such  an  official  record  not  only 
suggests  on  the  face  signal  competence  and  effi- 
ciency in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  but  also 
a  high  order  of  merit  and  integrity  of  character 
that  would  make  such  a  man  trusted  in  any  of 
the    broader    relationships    of    life. 

It  is  an  honor  of  this  kind  that  has  been  paid 
N.  Wilson  Wallace,  who  is  now  in  his  twentieth 
consecutive  year  of  service  as  sheriff  of  Mecklen- 
burg county.  Mr.  Wallace  besides  being  a  promi- 
nent official  is  representative  of  a  pioneer  family 
of  the  county,  one  of  the  largest  individual  land 
owners,  a  practical  farmer  and  a  merchant  at 
Charlotte. 

He  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  County,  in  Crab 
Orchard  Township,  in  1856.  The  Wallace  family 
is  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and  has  lived  in  North 
Carolina  since  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution, 
coming  here  from  Virginia.  The  Wallaces  contin- 
uously have  had  their  home  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Mecklenburg  County.  Sheriff  Wallace's  grand- 
father, Matthew  Wallace,  was  a  well  known  Meck- 
lenburg citizen,  while  the  parents,  Wilson  and 
Caroline  (Harrison)  Wallace,  were  also  natives  of 
the  county  and  both  are  now  deceased. 

Much  interest  attaches  to  the  birthplace  of 
Sheriff  Wallace.  It  is  the  historic  ' '  Bock  House ' ', 
located  about  seven  miles  east  of  Charlotte  in  Crab 
Orchard  Township.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  homes 
in  the  county  still  standing.  It  was  built  in  1786 
by  William  Wallace,  who,  however,  was  no  relative 
of  this  branch  of  the  family.  Sheriff  Wallace 
owns  the  farm  on  which  this  landmark  is  located, 
and  has  a  number  of  other  fine  farms  in  the 
eastern  section  of  the  county.  He  grew  up  as  a 
farmer  and  has  had  remarkable  success  in  develop- 
ing and  handling  the  resources  of  North  Carolina 
soil. 

As  a  merchant  and  business  man  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Newell  &  Wallace  at  the  Town 
of  Newell.  He  has  a  number  of  other  valuable 
business  interests  in  the  City  of  Charlotte,  and  has 
long  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the  commercial  and 
industrial  life  of  that  city. 

He  was  well  known  and  a  substantial  figure  in 
his  home  township  before  lie  entered  county  public 
life  and  served  as  constable  and  tax  collector  in 
his  home  locality.  He  was  first  elected  sheriff  of 
the  county  in  1898,  and  every  two  years  since 
then  the  people  of  the  county  have  unfailingly 
placed  their  confidence  and  re-elected  him  to  the 
same  office.  The  county  has  never  had  a  more 
business  like  administration,  and  while  he  has  dis- 
charged his  duties  with  a  precision  and  a.  method- 
ical earnestness  that  always  gets  results,'  he  has 
retained  his  great  popularity  witli  all  classes  of 
citizens. 

On  January  8,  1878,  Mr.  Wallace  married  Miss 


R.  E.  Newell.  She  died  March  13,  1905,  the  mother 
of  eight  children,  named  Daisy  V.,  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Grier,  N.  W.,  Jr.,  William  Newell,  Jack  H.,  Lillian 
K.,  John  S.  and  Ruth  Howerth. 

Robert  Cowan  Strong.  From  his  admission  to 
the  bar  in  1893  Robert  Cowan  Strong  has  been 
concerned  with  a  great  deal  of  important  civil 
litigation  in  the  courts  of  Raleigh  and  North 
Carolina,  and  was  formerly  attorney  for  the  West- 
ern Union  Company  and  is  now  counsel  for  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Company.  In  the  fall  of  1907 
he  was  appointed  Supreme  Court  reporter,  and  has 
since  carried  those  responsibilities  in  addition  to 
his  private  law  practice.  He  is  one  of  the  best 
known  members  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Asso- 
ciation. Mr.  Strong  is  also  known  as  a  writer, 
and  is  author  of  a  book  which  has  had  a  very  large 
circulation  not  only  among  lawyers  but  among 
laymen.  It  is  "Law  of  Usual  Contracts,"  a 
treatise  on  everyday  law  and  especially  valuable 
to  the  business  man  and  to  all  who  require  some 
general  knowledge  of  the  legal  phases  of  business. 

Mr.  Strong's  father  was  a  prominent  lawyer 
of  Wake  County,  the  late  George  Vaughn  Strong, 
who  at  one  time  served  as  judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court  of  Wake  County.  Mr.  Strong's  mother  was 
Anna  Eliza  Cowan. 

Born  at  Thomaston,  North  Carolina,  June  5, 
18,65,  Robert  Cowan  Strong  gained  his  early  edu- 
cation at  Raleigh,  attending  Lovejoy  Academy  and 
Raleigh  Male  Academy.  His  first  business  expe- 
rience was  as  clerk  in  a  hardware  store.  In  the 
meantime  he  studied  law  at  home  under  his  father. 
Mr.  Strong  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  Good  Shepherd. 

September  25,  1895,  he  married  Miss  Daisy  L. 
Horner,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  Horner,  a  promi- 
nent educator.  There  are  four  living  children : 
Francis  Lambert,  a  graduate  of  St.  Mary's  Col- 
lege; Robert  Cowan,  Jr.;  William  Hunter  and 
John  Moore.  One  son,  James  Horner,  died  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  months. 

Joseph  Judson  YotJNG,  M.  D.  Hardly  a  name 
is  spoken  with  more  respect  in  Johnston  County 
and  with  better  appreciation  of  its  significance 
as  betokening  high  ability  and  the  best  of  skill 
and  the  most  conscientious  services  in  the  medi- 
cal profession  than  that  of  Dr.  Joseph  Judson 
Young,   of  Clayton. 

Doctor  Young,  who  has  been  in  active  practice 
for  twenty  years,  was  born  in  Wake  County, 
North  Carolina,  September  14,  1872,  son  of  Joseph 
Judson  and  Mary  Samuel  (Turner)  Young.  His 
father  was  a  Wake  County  planter  and  saw  active 
service  as  a  Confederate  soldier  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  the  war  between  the  states. 
Doctor  Young  had  his  early  lessons  directed  by 
a  private  tutor  at  home,  also  attended  instruc- 
tion under  C.  Alfonse  Smith  at  Selma  and  in  1893 
graduated  A.  B.  from  Wake  Forest  College.  He 
took  his  medical  training  in  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  Maryland,  from  which  he 
graduated  M.  D.  in  1897  and  at  once  located  at 
Clayton.  While  lie  has  always  handled  a  gen- 
eral practice,  he  has  given  his  attention  and  has 
found  his  services  engaged  in  diseases  of  women 
and  children.  Doctor  Young  is  a  member  and 
former  president  of  the  Johnston  County  Medi- 
cal Society.  He  is  also  a  member  in  high  stand- 
ing of  the  North  Carolina  and  Tri-State  Medical 
societies   and    the   American    Medical   Association. 

For  ten  years  Doctor  Young  was  an  alderman 


X.  WILSON  WALLACE 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


513 


at  Clayton,  for  a  similar  time  was  trustee  of  the 
graded  schools,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Liberty 
Cotton  Mills  of  the  town. 

January  25,  1899,  he  married  Hiss  Margaret 
Maie  Robertson,  of  Clayton,  daughter  of  Dr. 
James  Battle  and  Julia  Ann  Ellington  Kobertson. 
Mrs.  Young  is  a  graduate  of  the  Salem  Female 
College.  They  have  two  children,  both  in  school, 
Mary  Louise  and  Dorothy  Maie.  Doctor  Young 
was  formerly  a  steward  and  is  an  active  mem- 
ber  of   the    Methodist   Episcopal   Church. 

David  Jokdax  Whichard  is  one  of  the  veteran 
newspaper  men  of  North  Carolina,  learned  the 
printing  trade  when  a  mere  youth,  and  was 
publisher  of  a  paper  by  the  time  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Mr.  Whichard  has  for  many  years 
been  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Greenville  Re- 
flector and  has  made  it  one  of  the  ablest  papers 
in  the  state  in  point  of  circulation  and   influence. 

Mr.  Whichard  was  bom  at  Greenville  August  8, 
1862,  a  son  of  David  Fleming  and  Yioletta  Hearne 
( Jordan)  Whichard.  His  father  spent  a  number 
of  years  as  a  teacher,  served  as  deputy  sheriff  and 
deputy  register  of  deeds  and  lacked  only  one  vote 
of  being  elected  to  the  office  of  register  of  deeds 
of  Pitt  County.  In  the  beginning  of  the  war 
between  the  states  he  entered  the  Confederate 
Army  and  was  in  service  with  the  rank  of  com- 
missary sergeant   until  the   close   of   hostilities. 

David  J.  Whichard  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  a  private  school  conducted  by  his  mother. 
He  had  barely  mastered  the  rudiments  of  an  ele- 
mentary education  when  he  began  learning  the 
printing  trade.  In  1877,  when  he  was  fifteen, 
he  and  his  brother  Julian  established  a  small 
paper  known  as  the  Express.  In  1882  they 
established  the  Eeflector,  a  weekly  paper,  and  in 
1885  David  J.  Whichard  bought  out  his  brother  's 
interest  and  in  1894  established  the  daily  edition 
of  that  paper.  The  weekly  edition  is  still  con- 
tinued under  the  name  Eastern  Reflector.  Mr. 
Whichard  was  editor  in  charge  until  1913,  and 
has  since  been  president  of  the  Publishing  Com- 
pany and  also  editor.  In  the  early  part  of  1917 
the  Publishing  Company  was  dissolved  and  he 
again  became  sole  owner  of  the  paper. 

At  different  times  other  activities  have  engaged 
his  time  and  attention.  For  twenty-nine  years  he 
was  manager  of  the  local  office  of  the  Western 
Union  and  for  four  years  was  express  agent  at 
Greenville.  He  served  as  city  clerk,  two  years, 
and  since  May  26,  1913,  has  been  postmaster  of 
Greenville  and  since  1914  has  been  secretary  of 
the  North  Carolina  Postmasters  Association.  Both 
personally  and  as  an  editor  and  publisher  Mr. 
Whichard  has  put  forth  strenuous  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  of  prohibition  in  his  community  and 
state.  He  was  the  founder  and  is  vice  president 
and  director  of  the  Home  Building  &  Loan  Asso- 
ciation of   Greenville. 

Mr.  Whichard  has  been  a  deacon  of  the  Memo- 
rial Baptist  Church  of  Greenville  since  1884,  and 
for  many  years  has  been  chairman  of  the  board  of 
deacons  and  a  trustee  of  the  church.  He  is  a 
Royal  Arch  Mason.  November  14,  1888,  at  Green- 
ville, he  married  Miss  Hennie  Sutten.  They  have 
four  children,  Hennie,  Essie  Sheppard,  David 
Julian  and  Walter  Linden.  The  son  David  has 
been  assistant  postmaster  of  Greenville  since  he 
was  twenty  years  of  age.  Following  the  entrance 
of  our  nation  in  the  world  war,  military  leave  of 
absence  was  obtained  and  the  young  man  enlisted 
in  the  army  service  and  went  overseas. 


Leonidas  Dacosta  Stephenson,  county  treas- 
urer of  Wake  County,  represents  an  old  and  promi- 
nent name  in  this  section  of  North  Carolina,  and 
both  he  and  his  father  before  him  have  enjoyed 
enviable  prominence  in  public  affairs. 

His  father,  L.  D.  Stephenson,  Sr.,  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1874,  served 
with  the  rank  of  colonel  on  Governor  Vance 's 
staff,  and  for  many  years  was  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  Wake  County,  and  was 
also  on  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  State  Insti- 
tution for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  L.  D.  Stephenson, 
Sr.,  married  Arabella  Matchiner.  Throughout  all 
the  period  of  his  publie  service  he  was  an  active 
farmer,  and  his  son  has  likewise  followed  the 
business  of  farming,  and  that  is  his  essential 
vocation. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  the  Raleigh  Male  Academy,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two  entered  the  United 
States  internal  revenue  service,  with  which  he  was 
connected  for  six  years.  He  then  gave  all  his 
time  for  two  years  to  his  farm  interests,  and  for 
twelve  years  was  connected  with  the  rural  delivery 
service,  though  farming  all  the  time.  In  1914  he 
was  elected  county  treasurer  of  Wake  County 
and  was  re-elected  to  that  important  offiee  in  1916. 

Mr.  Stephenson  is  one  of  the  most  influential 
democrats  of  Wake  County.  He  is  affiliated  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  and  has  served  as  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Wentworth  Christian  Church.  Decem- 
ber 22,  1897,  he  married  Miss  Anna  Harris,  who 
is  also  a  native  of  Wake  County.  They  have  four 
living  children:  Susan  W.,  Julia  E.,  Leonidas  D., 
Jr.,  and  Eliza  A.  They  lost  a  daughter,  Anna 
Ruth  at  the  age  of  seven  years. 

Thomas  Ruffin  Hood.  In  the  business  affairs 
and  citizenship  of  Smithfield  Thomas  Ruffin  Hood 
has  for  many  years  borne  unusual  responsibilities 
and  enjoyed  those  things  which  constitute  real 
success  not  only  in  a  business  way  but  as  repre- 
senting the  best  fruits  of  an  honest  and  straight- 
forward life. 

Mr.  Hood  was  born  in  Wake  County,  North  Car- 
olina, September  29,  1857,  a  son  of  John  Cogdell 
and  Martha  Ann  (Young)  Hood.  His  father  was 
also  a  man  of  varied  business  interests  and  activi- 
ties, and  was  at  one  time  a  carriage  manufac- 
turer, was  in  the  turpentine  industry,  and  later 
for  a  number  of  years  was  a  merchant  at  Smith- 
field.  Thomas  R.  Hood  received  most  of  his  edu- 
cation in  a  private  school  at  Smithfield.  His  fa- 
ther moved  to  this  town  in  1871,  and  soon  after- 
wards the  son  went  to  work  in  his  father 's  drug 
store.  Wheu  the  latter  died  in  1887  Thomas  R. 
and  his  brothers  took  over  the  business  and  in 
1890  the  former  became  sole  proprietor.  He  has 
kept  this  business  growing  and  flourishing  ever 
since  and  at  tne  same  time  has  found  various  other 
interests  to   absorb  his  time  and  abilities. 

Mr.  Hood  is  vice  president  of  the  Austin  Ste- 
phenson Company,  is  president  and  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Smithfield,  and  his  participation  in  public  affairs 
has  been  represented  by  a  term  of  four  years  as 
treasurer  of  Johnston  County,  a  long  service  as 
treasurer  of  the  City  of  Smithfield,  and  as  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  graded  schools. 
In  1905  and  1906  he  served  his  state  as  presi- 
dent of  the  North  Carolina  Pharmaceutical  Asso- 
ciation.     He    is    now   chairman   of    the   board    of 


314 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


stewards  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Hood  is  an  active  Mason  and  treas- 
urer of  his  lodge. 

On  February  9,  1881,  he  married  Miss  Lucy 
Ann  Woodall,  of  Smithfield,  daughter  of  Seth  W. 
Woodall.  Their  five  children  are  now  well  es- 
tablished in  business,  professions,  and  in  home 
and  social  life.  William  Dameron  is  a  success- 
ful druggist  at  Kinston,  North  Carolina.  Eva 
Woodall  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Thel  Hooks,  an  officer 
in  the  Medical  Reserve  Corps  of  the  United 
States  army.  Eula  Kirkman  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Ralph  Smith  Stevens,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Medical 
Corps  of  the  United  States  Army.  Henry  Cog- 
dell,  better  known  as  Hal,  is  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  drug  business  at  Smithfield.  Lucy 
Edwards,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  is  the  wife 
of  Dr.  Wallace  E.  Coltrane,  of  Dunn,  North  Car- 
olina. 

Hon.  George  Cowper.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Winton  December  12,  1916, 
George  Cowper  was  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Hertford  County  Bar.  In  the  minutes  of  the 
court  of  that  county  is  spread  a  resolution,  drawn 
up  by  members  of  the  bar,  which  testifies  to  the 
eminent  place  he  held  there  for  so  many  years. 
It  was  the  conclusion  of  these  resolutions  that 
' '  in  his  death  the  profession  to  which  he  belongs 
has  suffered  great  loss  which  cannot  easily  be  re- 
paired, and  the  community  a  citizen  of  high  char- 
acter and  lofty  ideals.  The  individual  members 
of  the  bar  and  his  associates  everywhere  who  were 
brought  in  contact  with  him  feel  that  they  have 
lost  a  friend  whom   they  will  greatly  miss. ' ' 

At  the  time  of  his  death  George  Cowper  was 
just  entering  his  seventieth  year.  He  was  born 
in  Maney  's  Neck  Township  of  Hertford  County 
December  8,  1847.  His  father,  Richard  Green 
Cowper,  was  also  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
Hertford  County.  He  was  born  in  Hertford  Coun- 
ty, was  educated  under  private  instruction,  was  a 
farmer  and  planter  by  occupation,  but  filled  many 
positions  of  trust.  He  was  sheriff  of  the  county, 
was  a  member  of  both  the  House  and  Senate  of 
the  state,  and  also  sat  as  a  delegate  in  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention.  He  acquired  a  large  body 
of  land  in  Hertford  County  and  his  fine  old  home- 
stead was  widely  known  as  ' '  Vernon  Place. ' '  He 
lived  before  the  war,  and  was  an  active  whig  in 
politics.  He  supported  the  Methodist  Church. 
Richard  G.  Cowper 's  children  were  named  Sallie  A., 
Margaret,   Retta   and    George. 

The  late  George  Cowper  spent  his  early  child- 
hood at  Vernon  Place,  attended  school  in  Frank- 
linton,  and  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age  when 
the  war  broke  out.  He  restrained  his  ardor  for 
military  service  several  years,  but  in  1864,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  entered  the  army  of  the  Con- 
federacy, being  attached  to  the  Home  Guards.  He 
saw  some  service  in  Hertford  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties. 

With  the  close  of  his  army  career  he  entered 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1865.  He 
remained  there  until  the  close  of  the  session  of 
1868,  pursuing  the  regular  academic  course.  He 
would  have  graduated  the  next  session,  but  in 
common  with  most  of  the  young  men  then  at- 
tending the  university  he  did  not  return.  This 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  university  had  fallen 
into  discredit  because  of  the  pernicious  political 
influences  that  had  taken  possession  of  it  and  de- 
prived it  of  its  efficiency.  His  record  while  in  uni- 
versity was  in  every  way  creditable.     Dr.   Kemp 


B.  Battle,  in  his  history  of  the  university,  Vol.  1, 
page  771,  says  of  him:  "George  V.  Cowper  of 
Hertford  County  was  first  in  all  studies  but  mathe- 
matics. ' '  Chief  Justice  Clark,  who  was  a  fellow 
student,  states,  that  though  his  associates  in  col- 
lege were  such  men  as  Fabius  H.  Busbee,  Patrick 
H.  Winston,  Jacob  Battle  and  others  of  our  most 
brilliant  men,  he  was  considered  to  have  no  supe- 
rior as  a  student. 

After  leaving  university  Mr.  Cowper  returned  to 
his  father 's  farm  in  Hertford  County.  On  Novem- 
ber 19,  1874,  he  married  Miss  Rebecca  J.  Riddick, 
of  Maney 's  Neck  Township.  While  residing  at  the 
old  home  he  began  the  study  of  law.  On  Septem- 
ber 3,  1877,  he  was  elected  as  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Inferior  Court  of  his  county,  being  asso- 
ciated with  John  W.  Moore  and  W.  P.  Shaw.  This 
was  the  first  court  organized  in  the  county  under 
the  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  1877.  In  1878  he 
obtained  his  license  to  practice  law  and  in  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  was  sworn  in  as  an  attorney  be- 
fore the  court,  of  which  he  had  to  that  time  been 
a  member. 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  removed 
to  Norfolk,  Virginia,  where  he  taught  in  the  city 
schools.  With  this  exception  of  two  or  three  years 
he  spent  practically  all  his  life  in  Hertford  County. 
Returning  to  Hertford  County  he  located  in  Win- 
ton  for  the  practice  of  law.  Along  with  his  legal 
duties  he  served  as  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction for  the  county  from  1885  to  1892.  At 
the  August  term,  1892,  of  the  criminal  court  for 
the  county  which  superseded  the  Inferior  Court 
under  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1891,  he 
was  elected  solicitor  and  filled  that  office  until 
February,  1897.  Mr.  Cowper  served  as  a  senator 
from  the  First  Senatorial  District  in  1899. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Cowper  was  a 
communicant  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  fully 
accepted  the  great  principles  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion and  faced  death  with  calmness  and  confi- 
dence. Quoting  again  from  the  resolutions  of  the 
bar :  ' '  During  his  life  as  a  citizen  and  at  the  bar 
he  was  noted  for  his  honorable  dealings.  His 
straightforward  integrity  and  his  respect  for  the 
rights  and  opinions  of  others.  He  was  well  read 
in  polite  literature  and  his  conversation  and 
speeches  were  always  chaste,  ornate  and  well  pre- 
sented and  free  from  anything  that  would  offend 
the  most  delicate  taste. ' ' 

His  old  associates  and  friends  will  especially 
recognize  the  aptness  of  the  followng  concise  trib- 
ute penned  to  him  and  published  in  the  North  Car- 
olina News  and  Observer :  ' '  Mr.  Cowper  was 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
from  the  time  of  his  location  in  Winton  and  gained 
for  himself  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  learned 
and  proficient  lawyer.  Although  a  diligent  stu- 
dent of  law  throughout  his  life,  he  devoted  much 
of  his  time  to*  a  thorough  and  careful  study  of  lit- 
erature. He  was  complete  master  of  the  classics 
and  well  acquainted  with  all  standard  authors. 
Law  was  his  business,  literature  his  recreation ; 
and  those  who  came  under  the  spell  of  his  bril- 
liant, scintillating  power  as  a  conversationalist 
promptly  recognized  in  him  a  gentleman  of  un- 
surpassed culture  and  refinement  who  gained  some- 
thing whether  at  work  or  at  play." 

Mr.  Cowper  was  survived  by  one  daughter  and 
two  sons:  Miss  Jessie  Cowper,  of  Winton;  R. 
W.  Cowper,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia;  and  George  V. 
Cowper,  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar  of 
Kinston,  North  Carolina. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


315 


George  Vernon  Cowper.  The  profession  of 
law  lias  from  time  immemorial  attracted  to  its 
ranks  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  notably  bril- 
liant men.  When  rightly  followed,  it  is  one  of  the 
noblest  callings,  affording  full  play  to  Christian 
sympathy,  and  holding  a  mighty  prerogative,  that 
of  instigating  exoneration  of  and  restitution  to  the 
wrongly  oppressed,  or  the  administration  of  just 
retribution  to  the  guilty.  It  does  not  afford  room 
for  opportunity  to  the  weakling,  but  the  strong  it 
strengthens  to  a  keener  insight  into  human  thought 
and  feeling,  with  a  more  accurate  realization  of 
the  obligations  ami  responsibilities  that  are  civili- 
zation's bequest  to  modern  manhood.  Of  the 
legists  of  Lenoir  County  who  have  during  recent 
years  won  success,  one  of  the  more  recent  addi- 
tions to  the  fraternity  is  George  Vernon  Cowper. 
During  a  period  of  fifteen  years  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  practice  at  Kinston,  the  county  seat,  and 
by  reason  of  his  talents  has  risen  to  a  high  place 
in  his  calling,  while  at  the  same  time  his  respect 
for  the  highest  ethics  and  principles  of  the  pro- 
fession have  gained  him  the  confidence  of  his  pro- 
fessional associates  and  the  people  in  general. 

George  Vernon  Cowper  wTas  born  at  what  was 
known  as  ' '  Vernon  Place, ' '  at  Como,  Hertford 
County,  in  the  extreme  northeastern  part  of  North 
Carolina,  December  20,  1879,  being  a  son  of  George 
and  Rebecca  Jane  (Riddick)  Cowper.  George 
Cowper  was  an  attorney  and  practiced  for  forty 
years  in  the  Hertford  County  courts.  George  V. 
Cowper  attended  the  public  schools,  graded  and 
high,  and  Winton  Academy,  and  then  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  spent 
three  years.  After  one  year  in  the  law  department 
he  received  his  license  at  the  fall  term  of  1901, 
his  degree,  ami  in  the  following  year  commenced 
practice  at  Kinston,  where  he  has  since  continued 
in  the  enjoyment  of  a  constantly  increasing  profes- 
sional business.  Mr.  Cowper 's  practice  is  general 
in  character  and  takes  him  into  all  the  courts,  and 
he  has  had  remarkable  success  with  a  number  of 
important  pieces  of  jurisprudence.  Since  1906 
he  has  acted  as  attorney  for  Lenoir  County,  and 
has  represented  a  number  of  large  corporations  in 
a  legal  way.  Aside  from  his  profession  he  is  in- 
terested in  a  number  of  enterprises,  and  at  this 
time  is  director  of  the  Farmers  and  Merchants 
Bank  of  Kinston,  of  which  he  is  also  attorney. 
As  a  friend  of  education  he  acted  for  three  years 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
graded  schools  of  Kinston,  and  is  now  chairman  of 
the  county  board  of  education,  and  has  always 
been  a  supporter  of  movements  making  for  an  ad- 
vancement of  educational  standards,  as  well  as  for 
civic  betterment  and  general  welfare.  Politically 
a  stanch  and  unwavering  democrat,  he  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  his  party,  and  dur- 
ing the  past  six  years  has  been  chairman  of  the 
Lenoir  County  Democratic  Committee.  At  present 
he  is  elector  for  the  Second  Congressional  Dis- 
trict. With  the  members  of  his  family  he  belongs 
to  Saint  Mary  's  Episcopal  Church  of  Kinston,  and 
during  the  past  ten  years  has  acted  in  the  capacity 
of  vestryman  of  that  church. 

On  November  21,  1906,  Mr.  Cowper  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Rosabell  Roundtree,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Francis  and  Alice  (Edwards)  Round- 
tree,  the  former  a  well-known  physician  of  Kin- 
ston. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cowper  are  the  parents  of 
three  children:  George  Vernon,  Jr.,  Marion  Round- 
tree  and  Albert  Wallace.  Mr.  Cowper  is  active  in 
fraternal   affairs   at   Kinston,   and    holds   member- 


ship in  the  local  lodges  of  the  Masons,  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

Upon  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war  against  Germany  Mr.  Cowper,  though  beyond 
the  draft  age,  took  a  leading  part  in  Lenoir  and 
adjoining  counties  in  many  war  activities.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Legal  Advisory  Board  and  is 
Government  appeal  agent  of  Lenoir  County.  In 
all  of  the  campaigns  for  subscriptions  to  Liberty 
Bonds,  War  Stamps  and  donations  to  the  Red 
Cross,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  other  movements,  he  has 
been  active,  and  his  services  in  presenting  the  mat- 
ter to  the  people  in  public  speeches  over  a  large 
territory  covering  Lenoir  and  adjoining  counties, 
have  been  continually  used. 

William  Samuel  Clark  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  best  known  business  men  of  Tarboro,  having 
been  continuously  in  merchandising  there  for 
forty-seven  years.  He  holds  many  other  interests 
both  as  a  business  man  and  citizen. 

Mr.  Clark  was  born  in  Martin  County,  North 
Carolina,  June  19,  1846,  a  son  of  Samuel  S.  and 
Mary  (Watson)  Clark.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Pitt  County,  North  Carolina,  and  was  a 
planter.  William  S.  Clark  completed  his  educa- 
tion in  the  Hillsboro  Military  Academy,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  began  merchandising  on 
a  small  scale.  In  1872  he  came  to  Tarboro,  and 
his  business  as  a  general  merchant  has  been  grow- 
ing steadily  throughout  all  the  years.  He  is  now 
head  of  the  firm  William  S.  Clark  &  Sons,  his 
associates  being  Samuel  Nash  Clark  and  Daniel 
Russell  Clark.  Mr.  Clark  is  also  a  director  of 
the  Fountain  Cotton  Mills,  and  owns  and  directs 
the  cultivation  and  operation  of  300  acres  of  farm 
land. 

He  has  played  an  active  part  in  public  affairs, 
was  chairman  of  the  county  board  of  commission- 
ers eight  years,  for  one  term  was  mayor  of  Tar- 
boro, and  for  fifteen  years  was  chairman  of  the 
board  of  the  graded  schools.  He  is  affiliated  with 
the  Royal  Arcanum. 

June  20,  1876,  Mr.  Clark  married  Miss  Lossie 
Grist,  of  Washington,  North  Carolina.  Eight 
children  have  been  born  to  their  marriage : 
William  Grimes;  Nannie  Grist;  Susan  H.,  wife  of 
Marsden  Bellamy,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina:  Rena  Hoyt;  Samuel 
Nash;  Isabelle  Hamilton,  wife  of  J.  Horton  James, 
an  insurance  man  of  Wilmington;  Daniel  Russell; 
and  Placid  Bridgers.  Mr.  Clark  is  a  vestryman 
in    Calvary   Episcopal   Church    of   Tarboro. 

J.  Rufus  Hunter  is  one  of  the  most  scholarly 
men  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  He  enjoys 
the  distinction  of  a  Doctor  of  Phdosophy  degree 
from  Johns  Hopkins  University.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  professor  of  science  in  various 
colleges  and  institutions,  but  finally  turned  aside 
from  the  educational  field  to  take  up  insurance, 
and  with  his  brother  Carey  J.  Hunter  has  the 
state  agency  in  North  Carolina  for  the  Union  Cen- 
tral Life  Insurance  Company,  with  offices  in 
Raleigh. 

A  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  at  Apex,  he 
is  a  son  of  Joseph  C.  and  Piannetta  (Beckwith) 
Hunter.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and  also  a  civil 
engineer,  and  for  a  number  of  years  filled  the  office 
of  county  surveyor.  Mr.  Hunter  received  an  edu- 
cation in  private  schools  and  in  1885  graduated 
Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Wake  Forest  College.     He 


316 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


engaged  in  teaching  and  farming  for  three  years, 
and  in  1889  was  given  the  degree  Master  of  Arts 
by  his  alma  mater.  From  1891  to  1893  Mr.  Hun- 
ter held  the  chair  of  science  and  physics  in  the 
Wisconsin  State  Normal  School  at  Oshkosh.  He 
took  his  post-graduate  work  in  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University  at  Baltimore,  and  was  awarded  his 
Ph.  D.  degree  in  1895.  For  the  following  ten 
years  he  held  the  chair  of  professor  of  chemistry 
in  Eichmond  College  at  Richmond,  Virginia. 

In  1905  he  resigned  from  the  college  to  take 
up  life  insurance  work  in  his  native  state.  Mr. 
Hunter  is  a  member  of  the  Raleigh  Country  Club 
and  is  a  deacon  in  the  First  Baptist  Church. 
April  30,  1912,  he  married  Miss  Nannie  Gordon 
"Willis,  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia. 

Hiram  Lewis  Grant.  A  busy,  useful  life  full 
of  honorable  achievement,  is  what  Hiram  Lewis 
Grant,  one  of  Goldboro  's  most  honored  citizens, 
can  see  as  he  casts  a  retrospective  view  backward. 
Although  he  may  justly  be  credited  with  success- 
ful undertakings  far  beyond  the  ordinary,  Mr. 
Grant  is  yet  active  in  the  business  world,  and  his 
advice  and  counsel  along  political,  educational  and 
moral  lines  show  the  same  wise  moderation  and 
good  judgment  as  in  years  gone  by. 

Hiram  Lewis  Grant  was  born  at  Woonsocket, 
Rhode  Island,  January  26,  1843.  His  parents 
were  John  S.  D.  and  Lucinda  C.  (Brown)  Grant, 
old  New  England  names  that  yet  prevail  in  many 
sections.  The  father  of  Mr.  Grant  was  connected 
with  the  manufacturing  industries  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  in  his  son 's  boyhood  and  youth  was  a  super- 
intendent in  cotton  mills.  In  the  public  schools 
and  the  academy  at  Woodstock,  Hiram  L.  Grant 
secured  an  excellent  education.  His  native  city 
offered  many  excellent  business  opportunities,  but 
before  the  youth  had  chosen  his  career  the  war 
between  the  states  was  precipitated  and  when  but 
eighteen  years  old,  on  September  3,  1861,  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  soldier  in  Company  A,  Sixth 
Connecticut  Volunteer  Infantry.  While  war  was 
not  then  waged  with  the  inhumanity  that  casts  a 
blot  on  civilization  in  1918,  at  the  best  of  times  it 
is  terrible  and  terrifying,  and  so  the  brave  young- 
soldier  found  it  as  he  marched  and  fought,  as  was 
his  duty,  facing  a  determined  enemy  on  many  a 
battlefield  and  displaying  such  valor  that  pro- 
motions, one  after  the  other,  pushed  him  higher  and 
higher  in  rank  until  he  became  major  of  his  regi- 
ment, not,  however,  without  the  war  taking  toll. 
In  the  summer  of  1863,  when  the  Union  forces 
were  storming  Fort  Wagner  on  Morris  Island, 
Charleston  Harbor,  a  situation  arose  that  made 
the  commander  issue  a  call  for  volunteers  who  were 
willing  to  endanger  their  lives  in  order  to  silence 
the  enemy's  guns  on  the  ramparts.  Heroes  were 
not  lacking,  and  one  of  the  twenty  who  stepped  for- 
ward was  Hiram  L.  Grant.  The  ghastly  work  was 
to  crawl  up  the  sand  dunes,  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy's  guns  and  "silence"  them.  The  task  was 
accomplished,  but  five  of  the  heroic  men  never 
came  back  and  three  others,  Mr.  Grant  included, 
were  badly  wounded.  This  took  place  July  23, 
1863,  and  on  August  23d,  he  was  awarded  a  medal 
of  honor  by  Gen.  Q.  A.  Gillmore  that  he  cherishes 
as  one  of  his  most  highly  prized  possessions. 

For  eight  months  following  this  daring  feat 
Mr.  Grant  was  confined  in  a  hospital  at  Beaufort, 
North  Carolina.  After  he  recovered  sufficiently 
he  rejoined  his  regiment  and  was  appointed  to 
provost  duty  at  Hilton  Head.  He  then  was  ordered 
to  Virginia  and  was  appointed  to  the  Tenth  Army 


Corps,  under  General  Butler,  and  took  part  in  the 
entire  Virginia  campaign  on  the  staff  of  General 
Hawley  following  which  came  the  battle  of  Fort 
Fisher,  North  Carolina.  Major  Grant  was  made 
2>rovost  marshal  at  Wilmington  and  later  at  Golds- 
boro.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  honorably 
discharged  and  was  mustered  out  August  24,  1865. 

Although  all  necessity  concerning  life  in  the 
South  had  been  removed,  Major  Grant  after  his 
return  to  New  England  found  his  thoughts  stray- 
ing back  to  the  land  of  genial  climate,  flowers  and 
kind  people,  who,  notwithstanding  his  execution 
of  the  military  law  while  he  was  provost  marshal, 
had  shown  him  evidences  of  friendly  understanding 
that  warmed  his  heart  as  he  remembered  it.  He 
decided  that  among  such  people  he  desired  to  find 
a  permanent  home. 

That  Major  Grant  was  equally  highly  regarded 
by  the  people  of  Goldsboro  was  abundantly  proved. 
He  embarked  here  in  a  mercantile  business  and 
before  long  found  himself  postmaster,  appointed 
without  his  knowledge,  and  in  this  office  he  served 
for  seventeen  years.  In  1868,  when  he  had  been  a 
resident  of  the  state  for  only  three  years,  his  fel- 
low citizens  made  him  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  again  without  his  -seeking  the 
honor.  Always  a  republican  in  polities,  he  never 
has  sought  preferment  for  himself,  but  in  1892, 
without  his  consent,  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Senate,  and  in  1894  was  re-elected.  It  was  during 
his  terms  in  the  Senate  that  he  gained  the  honor- 
able reputation  of  having  done  more  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  graded  schools  in  this  section  than  any 
other  individual.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Education  and  it  was  through  his 
efforts  that  an  impetus  was  given  the  subject  of 
universal  education  which  aroused  an  interest  that 
has  never  subsided.  Perhaps  the  younger  generation 
now  enjoying  public  school  advantages  at  Golds- 
boro do  not  know  that  Major  Grant  made  possible 
the  first  public  school  in  this  city.  He  cherished 
the  idea  for  some  time  before  he  found  opportunity 
to  make  it  practical.  Finally  he  prevailed  upon  the 
Fair  Association  to  donate  an  old  buiiding  for  the 
purpose,  and  this  he  moved  to  a  lot  of  his  own, 
rebuilt  and  furnished  the  structure  himself  and 
thus  started  the  first  public  school,  the  nucleus  of 
one  of  the  finest  public  school  systems  in  efficiency 
in  the  state.  For  twenty  years  he  served  as  a 
school  trustee  and  as  secretary  of  the  school  board, 
and  later  for  ten  years  was  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Colored  Normal  School.  In  numerous 
other  ways  Major  Grant  proved  his  public  spirit 
and  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  Goldsboro 
during  his  active  public  life.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  served  as  a  city  alderman,  and  it  was 
through  his  efforts  that  the  first  fire  limit  law 
was  passed. 

In  1898  when,  after  so  many  years  of  peace, 
the  United  States  became  again  involved  in  war, 
Major  Grant  tendered  his  services  in  some  ca- 
pacity, which  were  accepted,  and  he  was  appointed 
paymaster  with  the  rank  of  major  and  served  thir- 
teen months,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  Porto  Rico 
and  at  New  York  City,  and  was  mustered  out  in 
the  spring  of  1899.  In  November  of  that  year  he 
was  appointed  clerk  for  the  United  States  District 
Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of  North  Carolina, 
having  four  deputies  under  him,  one  each  at  Wil- 
mington, Newbern,  Washington  and  Elizabeth  City, 
and  he  served  as  such  until  1913.  At  one  time 
Major  Grant  was  the  caucus  nominee  for  the  office 
of  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
losing  the  appointment  by  the  loss  of  but  one  vote. 


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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


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Few  men  are  more  widely  known  in  business 
circles  at  Goldsboro  than  Hiram  L.  Grant.  For 
forty-five  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  a  brick 
manufacturing  business  here  and  his  product  is 
one  of  the  market,  staples.  He  is  president  of  the 
Grant  Realty  Company  and  of  the  firm  of  H.  L. 
(■rant  &  Son,  owners  and  dealers  in  farm  and  city 
property.  In  1913  he  erected  the  Grant  six-story 
concrete  office  building,  with  pressed  brick  veneer 
and  fireproof  throughout,  the  finest  structure  of  its 
kind  in  this  city.  For  years  his  interests  have  been 
so  many  and  so  substantial  that  his  name  has  been 
a  recognized  asset  in  the  encouragement  of  laud- 
able investments  here. 

Major  Grant  was  married  two  years  after  the 
close  of  his  Civil  war  service,  on  December  2,  1868, 
to  Miss  Lizzie  Green,  who  was  born  at  Putnam, 
Connecticut,  and  was  an  old  school  mate.  To  this 
union  the  following  children  were  born :  John 
Hiram,  who  is  a  minister  serving  the  Congre- 
gational Church  at  Elyria,  Ohio:  Evylin,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Daniel  F.  Gay,  a  prominent  attorney 
of  Worcester,  Massachusetts;  Mabel,  who  is  the 
wife  of  J.  F.  Bowles,  a  merchant  at  Statesville, 
Nprth  Carolina;  Louis  X.,  who  is  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  brick  manufacturing  business  at 
Goldsboro  and  a  member  of  the  firm  of  H.  L. 
Grant  &  Son;  and  Minnie  E.,  who  died  at  Golds- 
boro, January  20,  1916.  She  was  the  wife  of 
C.  E.  Wilkins,  who  is  a  cotton  manufacturer  and 
buyer  in  this  eity. 

Major  Grant  belongs  to  no  fraternal  organiza- 
tions, other  than  patriotic  ones,  being  a  member 
of  l>oth  the  Grand  Army  and  of  the  Loyal  Legion. 
From  youth  he  has  endeavored  to  lead  an  upright 
christian  life  and  is  a  member  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Goldsboro,  in  which  he  formerly 
served  in  the  office  of  deacon  and  also  for  many 
years  was  active  in  Sunday  School  work.  He  has 
always  been  a  liberal  benefactor  of  worthy  proj- 
ects and  from  the  time  he  established  his  home 
at  Goldsboro  until  the  present,  has  been  a  ben- 
eficial influence  and  an  upbuilder. 

Frank  K.  BROADHfRST  is  one  of  the  young 
men  of  energy  and  ability  who  are  making 
modern  business  history  in  the  Town  of  Smith- 
field. 

Mr.  Broadhurst  was  born  in  Wayne  County, 
North  Carolina.  December  22,  1881,  a  son  of 
substantial  farming  people  of  that  section,  David 
John  and  Martha  (Baker  i  Broadhurst.  After  his 
education  in  the  Goldsboro  graded  school  he  de- 
termined that  his  career  should  be  identified  with 
business,  and  after  some  preliminary  training  and 
experience  he  came  to  Smithfield  in  1903  and 
has  since  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Smithfield  Cotton  Mills.  Mr.  Broadhurst  was  also 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Ivanhoe  Manufac- 
turing Company,  another  cotton  mill,  and  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Cotter-Underwood  Company,  one  of 
the  principal  general  merchandise  establishments 
of  the  town.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Smithfield.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Broadhurst  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  Order 
and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

December  20,  1905,  he  married  Miss  Nell  Mor- 
gan, of  Smithfield.  They  have  a  family  of  four 
children:  Morgan,  Pauline.  Virginia  and  Nell 
Morgan. 

George  Howard  has  been  an  important  figure 
in  industrial  and  business  affairs  at  Tarhoro  and 
elsewhere  for  upwards  of  thirty  years. 


He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bunnymede 
Mills,  Nos.  1  and  2  at  Tarboro  and  No.  3  at  Wil- 
son, and  has  been  president  of  the  business  since 
organization.  He  is  also  vice  president  of  the 
Edgecombe  Homestead  and  Loan  Association, 
president  of  the  Tarboro  Ginning  Company, 
treasurer  of  the  Edgecombe  County  Fair  Associa- 
tion, chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Tar- 
boro Public  Schools,  a  member  of  the  exemption 
board  and  has  also  carried  on  a  large  business  as 
a  builder  and  contractor  and  as  a  dealer  in  build- 
ers  supplies. 

Mr.  Howard  was  born  May  13,  1866,  sou  of 
George  and  Anna  (Stamps)  Howard.  His  father 
was  a  prominent  and  successful  attorney  of  North 
Carolina.  George  Howard  was  educated  in  the 
Bingham  Military  School  and  in  1885  graduated 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
first  associated  with  his  father  in  the  hardware 
business,  before  he  entered  the  larger  field  of 
industrial  enterprise  where  his  name  is  now  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  state.  Mr.  Howard 
is  a  Knight  Templar  Masou,  and  is  an  elder  of 
the   Presbyterian    Church    of    Tarboro. 

April  19,  1892,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Bawls 
of  Tarboro,  daughter  of  E.  W.  and  Mary  (Cham- 
berlain) Eawls.  Her  father  was  a  merchant.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Howard  have  five  children :  George ; 
Elizabeth  Stamps,  now "  Mrs.  B.  R.  Howell,  of 
Fayetteville,  North  Carolina;  Eawls;  Mary 
Chamberlain;    and  Robert. 

Elliott  S.  Millsaps.  To  be  full  of  his  subject, 
to  have  its  fundamentals  ground  into  him  by  ex- 
perience, is  one  of  the  primary  qualifications  of 
the  teacher,  the  salesman,  or  in  any  line  of  lead- 
ership, whether  it  be  in  the  humblest  role  of  di- 
recting a  few  employes  in  a  common  task,  or  in 
handling  the  operations  of  an  army. 

A  position  of  leadership,  involving  peculiar  re- 
sponsibilities and  powers,  is  that  of  district  ageut 
for  the  agricultural  extension  work  carried  on  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and 
the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Experiment 
Station.  The  man  in  charge  of  this  district  of 
North  Carolina  of  which  Statesville  is  the  center  is 
Elliott  S.  Millsaps.  Mr.  Millsaps  was  a  practical, 
thorough  and  efficient  farmer  long  before  he  as- 
sumed the  role  of  a  leader  in  the  agricultural  up- 
lift of  Western  North  Carolina.  Another  valuable 
qualification  was  his  former  experience  as  a  teacher, 
and  thus  he  has  the  ability  to  mix  with  farming 
people  of  his  own  class  and  at  the  same  time 
impart  knowledge  through  his  own  well  trained 
mind. 

Mr.  Millsaps  is  not  only  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina but  is  identified  with  the  state  by  a  line 
of  ancestry  that  goes  back  into  extremely  early 
days.  The  original  seat  of  the  Millsaps  family 
was  Alexander  County.  That  section  of  the  state 
was  originally  settled  by  Mr.  Millsaps'  great-great- 
grandfather,  Joseph  Millsaps.  Joseph  Millsaps 
with  two  companions,  Mayberry  and  Smith,  ar- 
rived there  some  years  before  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Joseph  Millsaps  was  either  a  native  of  Wales 
or  the  son  of  a  Welshman.  These  three  original 
settlers  ^n  coming  to  the  region,  after  the  man- 
ner of  pioneer  settlers,  ' '  looked  the  country  over  ' ' 
and  having  each  manifested  his  choice  they  divided 
the  territory  among  them  into  three  parts.  The 
land  thus  settled  embraced  a  very  large  expanse 
of  country. 


318 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Mr.  Millsaps  '  great-grandfather  was  ' '  Billy ' ' 
Millsaps,  who  became  the  father  of  nineteen  chil- 
dren. These  children  and  their  descendants  scat- 
tered over  not  only  Western  North  Carolina  but 
many  western  states,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana,  Texas,  and  through  all  the  gen- 
erations they  have  proved  a  strong,  sturdy,  sub- 
stantial race  of  people.  For  the  most  part  they 
have  followed  the  vocation  of  farming. 

The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Millsaps  was  Col.  Tom 
Millsaps,  who  before  the  war  was  a  colonel  of 
State  Militia  in  Alexander  County.  Elliott  S. 
Millsaps  was  born  on  the  old  Millsaps  homestead 
eleven  miles  northeast  of  Taylorsville  in  Alexander 
County  in  1865.  His  birthplace  was  on  land  con- 
tained in  the  original  tract  settled  by  his  great- 
great-grandfather.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Jane  (Hendren)  Millsaps,  the  former  of  whom  is 
deceased.  His  father  served  a  portion  of  the  war 
in  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  for  many  years 
a  farmer.  Mr.  Millsaps '  mother  is  of  pure  English 
descent.  She  was  born  in  Wilkes  County,  North 
Carolina,  where  the  Hendrens  were  very  early  set- 
tlers. 

Elliott  S.  Millsaps  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  with 
all  his  other  interests  he  has  never  for  any  length 
of  time  been  out  of  touch  with  the  things  of  the 
soil  and  the  vocations  based  upon  it.  For  several 
years  he  combined  teaching  with  farming.  His 
early  ambition  was  to  secure  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion, but  conditions  prevented  his  carrying  out 
this  aim.  By  hard  work  he  acquired  what  might 
be  termed  a  liberal  education.  He  attended  pub- 
lie  schools  until  he  was  about  sixteen  and  at 
nineteen  began  teaching  in  his  native  county.  He 
taught  school  while  he  was  finishing  his  own  edu- 
cation and  was  connected  with  several  academic 
schools  in  Alexander,  Yadkin  and  Iredell  coun- 
ties. 

Mr.  Millsaps  came  to  Iredell  County  and  began 
farming  and  teaching  in  1895.  He  bought  and 
occupied  a  farm  eleven  miles  northwest  of  States- 
ville  on  the  Wilkesboro  Road.  After  three  or  four 
years  he  gave  up  teaching  and  turned  his  entire 
attention  to  the  management  of  his  land. 

It  is  largely  due  to  his  experience  as  a  practical 
and  successful  farmer  that  he  has  the  complete  con- 
fidence of  the  hundreds  of  men  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact  as  a  district  agricultural  agent.  The 
farm  which  he  acquired  in  Iredell  County  twenty 
years  or  so  ago  was  not  one  in  which  he  could 
take  great  pride  on  account  of  its  fertility  and 
well  tilled  fields  and  improvements.  He  has  built 
it  from  the  ground  up,  and  in  solving  the  various 
problems  with  which  North  Carolina  agriculturists 
have  to  deal,  Mr.  Millsaps  is  not  only  able  to 
point  out  methods  that  have  been  successfully 
used  elsewhere,  but  also  the  results  of  his  own 
experience  vivid  in  his  mind.  When  he  left  his 
farm  to  take  his  present  position,  he  carried  with 
him  the  record  of  a  most  successful  experience. 
He  had  developed  his  land  to  the  point  where  he 
raised  on  portions  of  the  farm  fifty  bushels  of  corn 
to  the  acre  and  a  bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre.  He 
kept  a  herd  of  pure  bred  Poland  China  sows  and 
usually  sold  about  eighty  pigs  per  year.  Mr. 
Millsaps  still  owns  this  farm,  comprising  153 
acres,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  best  in 
the  entire  county. 

Mr.  Millsaps  served  for  a  time  as  county  demon- 
stration agent  in  the  Government 's  extension  work, 
and  in  1908  he  was  offered  and  accepted  his  pres- 
ent work  as  district  agent  of  the  agricultural  ex- 
tension work  under  the  department  of  agriculture. 


His  district  embraces  forty-one  counties  in  North 
Carolina,  and  he  has  under  him  thirty  county 
agents.  This  district  embraces  practically  all  of 
the  rich  Piedmont  region  of  North  Carolina  as 
well  as  the  mountain  section.  Mr.  Millsaps  has 
the  ability  to  speak  plainly  and  forcibly  and  to 
the  point  and  express  himself  in  simple  and  clear 
English.  Much  of  his  work  consists  of  lecturing 
and  demonstrating  and  he  has  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  ablest  public  speakers  before 
the  Farmers '  Institutes  and  other  agricultural 
gatherings  and  one  whose  addresses  are  always 
heard  with  profit. 

Progressiveness  has  been  a  keynote  in  his  entire 
career.  He  is  always  quick  to  adopt  modern  ideas 
without  sacrificing  the  best  of  the  old  ones.  Some 
years  ago  he  wrote  for  the  Progressive  Farmer  at 
Raleigh,  edited  by  L.  L.  Polk,  the  first  article  in 
North  Carolina  advocating  rural  free  delivery. 
This  article  was  widely  copied  throughout  the  state. 
It  was  at  his  own  solicitation  and  petition  that  the 
second  rural  route  in  the  state  was  established, 
the  one  out  of  Statesville  over  the  Wilkesboro 
Road  toward  his  own  home.  In  the  matter  of 
rural  telephones  he  was  also  a  pioneer.  He  got 
the  first  rural  telephone  line  in  Iredell  County, 
a  line  built  out  toward  his  farm,  and  soon  that 
community  had  eighty  subscribers.  Mr.  Millsaps 
has  always  conceived  it  his  duty  to  do  things  not 
only  for  himself  but  for  others  as  well.  He  de- 
termined that  his  children  should  have  a  college 
education,  and  in  affording  them  these  privileges 
he  earned  one  of  the  durable  satisfactions  of  life. 
Mr.  Millsaps  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

His  wife  before  her  marriage  was  Miss  Delia 
E.  Brown  of  Iredell  County.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  two  daughters:  Miss  Vera, 
Ewing  S.,  Gratz  B.,  and  Miss  Katherine.  Miss 
Vera  is  a  science  teacher  and  in  1917  took  charge 
of  the  science  department  of  the  high  school  of 
Gastonia.  The  son,  Ewing,  is  a  graduate  of  the 
A.  &  M.  College,  has  served  as  county  demonstra- 
tion agent  for  Clay  County,  but  is  now  a  sergeant, 
in  the  Statesville  Volunteer  Company  that  is  en- 
rolled in  the  new  National  army.  The  other  son, 
Gratz  B.,  is  a  corporal  in  the  same  company. 

Nathan  0  'Berry,  son  of  Thomas  and  Cinderilla 
(Pope)  O 'Berry,  was  born  in  Tarboro,  North  Car- 
olina, on  January  26,  1856.  His  father  was  an 
extensive  flour  miller  and  railroad  official,  and 
his  mother  a  woman  who  led  the  simple  life,  be- 
lieving that  the  demands  of  the  outside  world 
furnished  no  excuse  for  neglecting  the  duties  of 
home — a  type  of  woman  which  has  done  great 
things  for  the  state  and  nation. 

The  education  of  the  son  was  in  the  high  school 
of  Edgecombe  County — in  the  school  of  experience, 
and  by  familiarity  and  acquaintance  with  good 
books. 

On  November  14,  1882,  he  married  Miss  Estelle 
Moore,  of  New  Hanover  County,  North  Carolina, 
the  daughter  of  Joel  and  Eliza  Moore.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  O 'Berry  have  two  children,  Estelle,  wife  of 
Dr.  Ross  S.  McElwee,  of  Statesville,  and  Thomas, 
the  only  son,  who  married  Miss  Annie  Land,  of 
Kinston,  North  Carolina.  He  lives  in  Goldsboro 
and  is  vice  president,  and  general  manager  of 
Enterprise  Lumber  Company. 

Mr.  O  'Berry  moved  to  Goldsboro  about  forty 
years  ago  and  in  1887  he  organized  the  Enterprise 
Lumber  Company  at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina, 
and  for  the  past  thirty  years  has  been  its  presi- 
dent.    The  Enterprise  Lumber  Company  owns  one 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


319 


hundred  million  feet  of  standing  timber  and  it 
cuts  approximately  fifteen  million  feet  per  year. 
It  operates  twenty-five  miles  of  railway,  and  the 
original  capital  stock  of  $13,500.01)  has  been  in- 
creased to  $40,000.00.  The  stock  is  worth  about 
$600.00   per  share. 

In  1902  Mr.  O 'Berry  organized  the  Whiteville 
Lumber  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $80,000.00. 
This  company  has  since  declared  a  stock  dividend 
of  100  per  cent,  and  recently  there  was  an  increase 
of  the  capital,  making  the"  total  $200,000.00. 

During  the  fourteen  years  of  its  existence  the 
value  of  the  company 's  property  has  increased 
three  fold,  and  its  stock  is  now  worth  $230.00  per 
share.  The  company  owns  and  operates  forty-five 
miles  of  railway  and  cuts  from  over  15,000,000  to 
18,000,000  feet  of  lumber  a  year.  There  are  more 
than  300  men  employed  in  various  departments 
of  the  business. 

In  1910  he  was  one  of  the  principal  organizers 
of  the  Empire  Manufacturing  Company,  and  was 
its  first  president  and  is  now  vice  president.  This 
company  has  200  persons  on  its  pay-roll.  It  has 
a  capital  of  $120,000.00  and  its  stock  is  worth 
from    $250    to    $300    per    share. 

He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Utility 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  was  the  first  com- 
pany in  Eastern  Xorth  Carolina  to  work  up  gum 
timber  for  commercial  purposes.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  various  cotton  mills,  and  other  manu- 
facturing enterprises  of  Goldsboro,  and  is  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Wayne  National  Bank.  He  was  for  two 
successive  terms  president  of  the  North  Carolina 
Pine  Association.  He  was.  also  president  of  the 
North  Carolina  Forestry  Association. 

He  began  life  without  money  and  his  great  suc- 
cess is  due  to  tireless  energy,  sound  judgment,  fair 
and  just  treatment  of  his  employes,  and  the  power 
of  organization. 

He  has  never  been  a  candidate  for  public  office, 
but  his  influence  in  polities  has  been  as  potential 
as  in  business,  and  he  has  taken  an  active  interest 
in  all  political  campaigns.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  National  Convention  at  Baltimore  which  nomi- 
nated Mr.  Wilson,  and  had  the  distinction  of  being 
elected  unanimously  as  a  delegate  from  a  district 
which  was  very  strong  for  Mr.  Wilson,  and  which 
declined  to  instruct  him  as  to  his  vote,  knowing 
that  he  would  represent  truly  the  sentiment  of  the 
district,  whieh  he  did. 

Perhaps  one  of  his  greatest  achievements  was 
in  connection  with  the  State  Prison  of  North 
Carolina.  Prior  to  1900  when  C.  B.  Aycock  was 
elected  governor  of  North  Carolina,  the  prison 
had  been  a  burden  to  the  people  of  the  state  and 
each  session  of  the  General  Assembly  had  to  make 
appropriations  for  its  support  and  maintenance. 
When  Aycock  was  elected  governor  he  called  on 
O  'Berry  as  his  close  personal  friend  to  accept  the 
position  as  a  director  of  this  institution,  and  al- 
though it  was  with  great  personal  sacrifice,  he 
responded  to  the  call  of  his  friend  and  his  state, 
and  in  four  years,  being  ably  seconded  by  the 
other  members  of  the  board  of  directors,  and  by 
the  superintendent,  who  was  elected  by  the 
board,  he  caused  to  be  adopted  such  changes  in 
business  methods  and  in  the  manner  of  keeping 
books  and  accounts  of  the  institution,  and  in  cut- 
ting off  unnecessary  expenses,  that  the  institu- 
tion became  self  supporting,  and  since  that  time 
it  has  paid  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  into 
the  treasury.  The  election  of  the  superintendent 
illustrates  the  character  of  the  man.  The  gov- 
ernor intimated   that  he  desired  the  election   of  a 


man  of  high  character  and  fine  intellect,  but  who 
had  not  had  very  much  business  experience  of  the 
nature  required  in  the  management  of  the  insti- 
tution, and  Mr.  O 'Berry  told  the  governor  that 
he  could. not  vote  for  him ;  that  being  his  appointee 
he  might  consider  his  resignation  in  his  hands  at 
any  time,  but  that  he  could  not  vote  for  any  one 
for  the  position  as  superintendent  unless  satisfied 
that  he  was  the  best  qualified  man  for  the  posi- 
tion. The  governor  declined  to  accept  his  resig- 
nation and  said  that  while  he  wanted  the  man 
named  by  him  to  be  elected,  and  hoped  Mr. 
O  'Berry  could  change  his  opinion,  he  expected 
him  to  remain  on  the  board  because  he  needed  him, 
and  that  he  could  exercise  his  own  judgment  in 
the  election  of  a  superintendent. 

He  has  been  a  very  busy  man  all  of  his  life,  but 
he  has  found  time  to  take  an  active  part  in  all  that 
has  made  for  the  moral  and  financial  up-lift  of  his 
community,  and  it  is  rare  that  there  is  any  move- 
ment in  which  the  people  of  this  community  are  in- 
terested that  he  is  not  among  the  leaders. 

He  is  generous  to  his  church,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  largest  contributors  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Red  Cross  funds.  He  has  gone  the  limit  on 
Thrift  Stamps,  and  has  purchased  liberally  of  each 
issue  of  Liberty  Bonds,  both  for  himself  and  for 
the  companies  he  represents. 

He  is  on  the  executive  committee  of  Col.  F. 
H.  Fries,  who  has  charge  of  the  Thrift  Stamp 
and  War  Savings  campaign  in  the  state,  and  is  in 
charge  of  the  organization  of  the  lumber  interest 
in  the  state  for  the  purchase  of  these  stamps. 

He  has  the  absolute  confidence  of  the  people  of 
his  community  and  is  worthy  of  it. 

Col.  Davidson  Hearne  Milton-  was  appointed 
on  October  1,  1916,  superintendent  of  the  State 
Home  for  Confederate  Soldiers  at  Raleigh,  a  po- 
sition for  whieh  he  is  eminently  qualified  on  ac- 
count of  his  tact,  his  genial  good  nature,  his 
broad  experience  in  public  administration  and 
affairs  and  his  specially  sincere  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  old  veterans,  all  of  whom  are  greatly 
attached  to  him. 

Colonel  Milton  was  born  at  Albemarle,  Stanly 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1848.  The  date  of 
his  birth  indicates  that  he  was  only  thirteen  years 
old  when  the  war  broke  out.  While  his  extreme 
youthfulness  was  a  bar  to  active  military  service 
it  did  not  prevent  the  outflow  of  his  ardent  spirit 
of  enthusiasm  for  the  cause.  During  the  year 
1865,  when  he  was  seventeen,  he  bought  a  horse 
and  equipment  and  was  ready  and  anxious  to  join 
Stuart's  Cavalry.  Though  the  war  closed  with- 
out his  having  been  called  into  actual  service, 
his  spirit  and  patriotism  were  such  that  he  has 
always  been  looked  upon  by  the  old  veterans  as  a 
real  comrade  in  arms.  For  years  the  old  soldiers, 
his  friends  and  business  and  political  associates 
have  affectionately  known  him  as  "Colonel"  Mil- 
ton, a  title  conferred  upon  him  on  account  of  his 
prominence   in   political    affairs. 

Colonel  Milton  is  a  son  of  James  R.  and  Mary 
A.  (Kirk)  Milton.  He  is  of  English  descent. 
Many  generations  back  his  lineage  was  the  same 
as  that  from  whieh  came  the  great  English  poet 
John  Milton.  His  great-great-grandfather,  Rob- 
ert Milton,  came  from  Virginia  to  North  Carolina 
prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  settlement 
was  made  on  the  Dan  River  in  Caswell  County, 
near  the  present  Town  of  Milton,  named  for  the 
family.      Colonel    Milton 's    great-grandfather   was 


320 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


William  Hilton,  and  his  grandfather  was  Thomas 
F.  Milton.  James  B.  Milton,  his  father,  moved 
from  Montgomery  County  to  Stanly  County  in 
1841,  soon  after  that  county  was  organized,  it  be- 
ing cut  off  from  Montgomery  County.  The  Mil- 
tons  and  the  Hearnes  were  pioneers  and  were 
builders  of  the  Town  of  Albermarle,  which  has 
since  become  one  of  the  industrial  cities  of  North 
Carolina. 

Colonel  Milton  for  a  long  number  of  years  has 
borne  a  very  prominent  and  influential  part  in 
state  politics.  In  1874  he  was  made  chief  dep- 
uty sheriff  of  Stanly  County,  under  Sheriff  W.  H. 
Hearne,  serving  in  that  capacity  four  years.  For 
three  years  he  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  under  A.  C.  Freeman  and  remained  in  the 
same  capacity  for  eight  years  under  S.  H.  Milton. 
During  Cleveland 's  second  administration  he 
spent  four  years  in  Washington  in  the  treasury 
department  under  John  G.  Carlisle.  On  return- 
ing to  North  Carolina  he  was  clerk  of  the  State 
Department  of  Insurance  at  Raleigh  under  Colonel 
Young  for  eight  years,  resigning  this  office  to 
engage  in  banking  at  High  Point.  Colonel  Mil- 
ton was  cashier  of  the  Home  Banking  Company 
of  High  Point  until  1916. 

The  death  of  his  wife  early  in  that  year  was 
such  a  shock  and  sorrow  to  him  that  his  health 
was  seriously  impaired,  much  to  the  alarm  of  his 
many  friends,  and  he  was  compelled  to  give  up 
his  business  interests  at  High  Point  and  retire. 
Mrs.  Milton  before  her  marriage  was  Miss  So- 
phronia  Hearne,  member  of  the  Stanly  County 
family  already  mentioned.  Her  father,  the  late 
Joshua  Hearne,  and  her  cousin,  Sidney  H.  Hearne, 
were  both  men  of  leadership  in  the  affairs  of  Al- 
bemarle and  Stanly  County.  Colonel  Milton  has 
three  children:  B.  H.  and  Sam  G.  Milton,  of 
Greensboro;  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  May  Tucker,  of 
High  Point. 

The  people  of  Stanly  County  look  upon  Colonel 
Milton  as  one  of  their  most  important  contribu- 
tions to  the  larger  life  and  politics  of  the  state. 
A  sterling  and  uncompromising  democrat,  he  has 
been  a  figure  in  every  campaign  in  the  state  since 
1868.  His  influence  in  politics  has  been  such 
that  more  than  one.  election  has  been  decided  by 
him.  He  has  been  associated  in  political  cam- 
paigns as  speaker  and  worker  with  most  of  the 
big  men  of  the  state  since  Vance's  first  campaign 
of  1876,  and  has  enjoyed  the  friendship  and  clos- 
est confidence  of  the  state 's  real  leaders  in  the 
past  forty  years. 

Amos  Turner  Walston  is  widely  known  in 
Edgecombe  County,  where  he  has  served  for  over 
ten  years  as  clerk  of  courts.  He  belongs  to  an 
old  and  substantial  family  of  the  county,  chiefly 
identified  with   the   agricultural   industry. 

Mr.  Walston  was  born  at  St.  Lewis  in  Edge- 
combe County  December  4,  1869,  a  son  of  William 
Franklin  and  Louise  (Pitt)  Walston.  His  father 
was  born  a  farmer  and  merchant.  The  son  after 
an  education  in  the  public  schools  did  farm  work 
and  clerked  in  the  store  for  six  years,  and  then 
settled  down  to  an  active  career  as  an  agricultur- 
ist, which  he  followed  ten  years.  After  a  brief 
experience  as  a  merchant  he  was  appointed  in 
August,  1906,  clerk  of  courts,  and  in  November 
of  the  same  year  was  regularly  elected  to  that 
office.  He  has  been  the  choice  of  the  people  at 
every  subsequent  election  and  has  given  the  most 
satisfactory  anil  creditable  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  office. 


Mr.  Walston  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics.  December  24,  1900, 
he  married  Miss  Lina  Harrell,  of  Edgecombe 
County.  They  have  three  children,  Ellen,  Lillian 
and  Sue. 

Frederick  Isler  Sutton.  A  very  considerable 
number  of  the  prominent  men  of  North  Carolina 
have  had  more  or  less  training  in  the  law,  and 
while  one  may  not  declare  definitely  that  success 
in  that  learned  profession  proves  the  possession 
of  abilities  that  insure  the  same  in  others,  it  so 
often  has  appeared  to  be  true  that  the  fact  seems 
reasonably  well  established.  When  one  considers 
the  broad  field  of  knowledge  that  is  necessarily 
familiar  ground  to  the  capable  lawyer,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  understand  why  in  positions  where  wis- 
dom, patience,  justice  and  humanity  are  equally 
as  important  factors  he  so  completely  governs  the 
situation.  Thus  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that 
the  intelligent  citizens  of  Kinston,  North  Carolina, 
discovered  in  the  talented  young  lawyer,  who  had 
ra]jid]y  risen  to  prominence  at  its  bar,  the  posses- 
sion of  qualities  needful  for  the  highest  municipal 
office  in  their  gift,  nor  that  during  his  three  ad- 
ministrations as  mayor  of  the  city  he  has  been 
efficient  in  every  particular.  In  numerous  ways 
Frederick  Isler  Sutton  is  a  leading  citizen  of 
Kinston. 

Mr.  Sutton  was  born  at  Kinston,  North  Caro- 
lina, September  7,  1886,  his  parents  being  Levi 
Mewborn  and  Cora  (Grimsley)  Sutton.  His  great- 
great-grandfather  was  John  Sutton,  who  married 
Sallie  Arendall,  daughter  of  Maj.  William  Aren- 
dall,  who  served  in  the  Continental  Army  during 
the  War  of  the  Bevolution,  he  being  a  son  of  the 
Earl  of  Arendall  of  Scotland.  The  great-grand- 
father of  Frederick  I.  Sutton  was  William  Sutton, 
who  served  through  the  War  of  1812,  and  who  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Frederick  Isler,  who  came  to 
America  with  Baron  de  Graffenreid.  Mr.  Sutton's 
paternal  grandparents  were  Frederick  Isler  and 
Huldah  (Mewborn)  Sutton,  and  on  the  maternal 
side  his  grandparents  were  W.  P.  and  Elizabeth 
(Dixon)  Grimsley,  the  Grimsley  family  being  one 
of  the  old-established  ones  of  this  section.  Levi 
Mewborn  Sutton  was  but  sixteen  years  of  age  when 
he  volunteered  for  service  in  the  Confederate  Army 
during  the  war  between  the  states,  through  which 
he  served  bravely.  Later  he  became  a  prominent 
planter. 

Ample  family  means  provided  the  best  of  private 
instruction  for  Frederick  I.  Sutton  until  he  was 
ready  to  enter  Kinston  High  School,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1904,  and  he  then  became  a 
student  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  being 
graduated  in  1908,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts.  This  was  followed  by  a.  course  at  the  Har- 
vard Law  School,  where  he  received  his  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws  with  the  class  of  1911,  and  an 
enjoyable  trip  through  European  countries,  then 
at  peace,  assisted,  as  travel  ever  does,  in  still  fur- 
ther and  broader  visiou  and  mental  enlightenment. 
When  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion at  his  native  place  in  December,  1911,  it  was 
with  a.  thorough  equipment,  not  only  in  the  law 
but  for  the  other  eventualities  that  at  one  time  or 
another  are  reasonably  sure  to  be  accepted  as 
moral  responsibilities  by  public-spirited  and  con- 
scientious men  of  education.  Such  men  can 
scarcely  avoid  political  activity  and  fortunately  so, 
and  in  191.".  Mr.  Sutton  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  mayor  and  was  re-elected  to  this  office  in  1915 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


321 


and  again  in  1917.  He  gave  the  city  so  admirable 
an  administration  that  business  improved,  public 
utilities  were  started,  the  city 's  finances  were 
placed  on  a  sounder  basis  and  many  movements 
for  the  encouragement  of  worthy  enterprises  were 
inaugurated.  To  mention  several  of  these,  Mayor 
Sutton  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Kinston 
Fair  Association,  in  which  he  has  continued  to  be 
interested;  has  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  North 
Carolina  Good  Roads  Association,  of  which  he  is 
vice  president,  and  has  been  active  in  the  work  of 
the  Carolina  Municipal  Association,  of  which  he  is 
vice  president,  secretary  and  treasurer.  He  has 
likewise  been  one  of  the  foremost  factors  in  the 
activities  of  the  North  Carolina  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, and  at  this  time  is  vice  president  of  that 
association.  In  1911,  when  the  Kinston  Chamber 
of  Commerce  was  organized,  he  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  its  founding  and  served  as  its  secretary 
and  treasurer  four  times.  Aside  from  his  large  and 
constantly  increasing  law  practice,  he  is  variously 
interested  in  business  affairs,  and  is  a  director  of 
the  Caswell  Trust  and  Banking  Company.  He  is 
prominently  known  in  Masonry,  belonging  to  Saint 
John 's  Lodge  No.  4,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons;  Caswell  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons; 
Saint  Paul 's  Commandery,  Knights  Templar ;  and 
Sudan  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  of  which  last  named  he  is  a  char- 
ter member;  and  also  holds  membership  in  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Junior  Order  United 
American  Mechanics  and  Alpha  Tau  Omega  and 
Pi  Sigma  fraternities. 

On  November  10,  1915,  at  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Sutton 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Annie  Gray  Fry, 
who  was  born  at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  Mrs. 
Sutton  is  a  daughter  of  J.  W.  Fry,  former  general 
manager  of  the  C.  F.  &  Y.  V.  Railroad  Company 
and  president  of  the  Greensboro  Life  Insurance 
Company,  and  now  president  of  the  Greensboro 
Loan  and  Trust  Company.  Her  maternal  grand- 
father was  Col.  Julius  Gray,  who  was  president  of 
the  C.  F.  &  Y.  V.  Railroad  Company  and  the 
Greensboro  National  Bank.  Her  great-grand- 
father was  Governor  John  M.  ^forehead,  and  she  is 
a  direct  descendant  of  Col.  Joshua  Fry,  of  Revolu- 
tionary war  fame,  and  Meriwether  Lewis,  and 
a  first  cousin  of  Major  Lewis.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sut- 
ton are  the  parents  of  one  son:  Frederick  Isler 
Sutton,  Jr.,  who  was  born  at  Greensboro  Septem- 
ber 13,  1916.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sutton  take  part  in 
the  city  's  pleasant  social  life,  but,  because  of  his 
energetic  nature,  recreation  as  a  means  of  merely 
passing  time  has  never  appealed  to  Mr.  Sutton. 
His  name  may  be  found,  however,  on  the  list  of 
those  willingly  contributing  to  charities  and  pro- 
moting useful  and  helpful  organizations,  and  in 
this  connection  he  is  a  member  of  the  county  board 
of  health. 

William  Barret  Taylor  was  one  of  the  first 
tobacco  manufacturers  to  recognize  the  possibilities 
of  Winston  and  give  that  town  its  impetus  in 
the  progress  which  has  continued  until  Winston- 
Salem  is  a  name  known  all  over  the  world. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  the  traditions  and  inheritance  of 
the  Virginia  aristocracy.  He  was  born  on  a  farm 
three  miles  from  the  City  of  Richmond.  His 
paternal  lineage  goes  back  several  generations  to 
Edmund  Taylor,  who  according  to  the  family  ac- 
count was  one  of  six  or  seven  brothers  who  came 
from  England  to  America  in  colonial  times.  Ed- 
mund Taylor  joined  the  colonists  in  their  struggle 
for  independence   during   the   Revolutionary   war. 

Vol.  T— SI 


Maj.  Edmund  Taylor,  grandfather  of  William  B. 
Taylor  and  son  of  the  revolutionary  soldier,  was 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Porterfield  with  the  rank  of 
major  during  the  War  of  1812.  It  is  said  that 
he  was  the  first  captain  of  that  famous  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  Richmond  Blues.  By  occupation 
he  was  a  merchant  and  he  established  the  first 
wholesale  dry  goods  house  in  Richmond.  Early 
in  the  last  century  he  made  a  business  trip  to 
New  Orleans.  New  Orleans  was  then  as  far  away 
from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  as  China  is  now  in 
point  of  time  and  difficulty  of  travel,  and  in  going 
to  the  southern  metropolis  he  went  over  the  moun- 
tains to  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and  thence 
by  boat  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  At 
New  Orleans  he  traded  a  cargo  of  sugar  for  40,000 
acres  of  land  in  Florida  which  was  still  a  Spanish 
possession.  While  returning  from  the  South  Major 
Taylor  was  stricken  with  yellow  fever  and  he 
died  at  Ronceverte,  West  Virginia,  where  his  re- 
mains were  laid  to  rest.  Major  Taylor  married 
Frances  Ann  Richardson.  She  was  born  in  Han- 
over County,  Virginia,  a  daughter  of  John  or  Wil- 
liam Richardson,  who  was  a  planter  and  slave 
holder  and  owned ,  a  handsome  estate  known  as 
Rose  College.  Mrs.  Edmund  Taylor  survived  her 
husband,  was  twice  married  after  that  and  died  a 
widow  at 'the  age  of  sixty-three.  Her  second  hus- 
band was  Rev.  James  W.  Douglas  and  her  third 
Doctor  Wadell   of   Staunton,  Virginia. 

Prof.  Henry  Porterfield  Taylor,  father  of  the 
Winston-Salem  business  man,  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  his  time.  He  was  born  in 
the  City  of  Richmond  in  1817.  He  was  educated 
in  Sydney  College,  Washington  and  Lee  University, 
and  Princeton  College.  With  this  training,  forti- 
fied by  his  innate  culture  and  remarkable  purity 
of  character,  he  entered  the  educational  field  and 
established  a  preparatory  school  in  Richmond.  He 
presided  over  that  institution  of  learning  for  many 
years,  until  ill  health  compelled  him  to  abandon 
the  work.  In  the  meantime  he  had  bought  an 
During  the  war  between  the  states  Professor  Tay- 
lor was  exempt  from  military  duty  on  account  of 
his  frail  health.  However,  he  was  made  captain 
of  a  company  of  conscript  guards.  The  best  light 
estate  three  miles  out  of  the  city  on  the  Chicka- 
hominy  River,  and  that  became  the  family  home, 
afforded  on  his  positive  character  and  manhood 
is  found  in  his  attitude  during  the  stormy  and 
passionate  period  of  the  war,  when  partisanship 
and  conventional  conduct  were  most  rigidly  adhered 
to.  While  he  believed  slavery  was  a  divine  institu- 
tion and  was  not  capable  of  being  destroyed,  he 
had  some  advanced  views  as  to  the  methods  of 
treating  slaves  and  in  the  course  of  the  war  he 
wrote  a  very  long  and  elaborate  article  in  which 
he  denounced  the  separation  of  slave  families.  The 
Confederate  Government  refused  him  permission 
to  publish  this  article.  Besides  its  main  thesis 
it  also  contained  some  severe  strictures  upon  the 
abolitionists  and  the  republicans  of  the  North. 
When  the  South  surrendered  his  wife  burned  the 
manuscript  fearing  it  would  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Yankees  and  become  the  basis  of  persecu- 
tion. Professor  Taylor  was  one  of  the  "pacifists" 
of  his  time.  He  abhorred  war  as  a  means  of  set- 
tlement of  difficulties  between  individuals  and  na-' 
tions,  and  while  he  was  captain  of  the  company  of 
Conscript  Guards  he  refused  to  wear  a  uniform. 
He  dressed  merely  in  citizen 's  clothes  and  went 
about  unarmed,  using  moral  suasion  instead  of  a 
gun  in  making  arrests.  After  the  war  he  super- 
intended his  estate  and  as  an  auctioneer  he  cried 


322 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


many  sales  in  Richmond.  The  death  of  this  vali- 
ant and  sturdy  character  occurred  November  20, 
1887. 

Professor  Taylor  married  Cornelia  Storrs.  She 
was  born  at  Hunslet  Hall  in  Henrico  County,  Vir- 
ginia. Her  grandfather,  Joshua  Storrs,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Hunslet  Hall,  England,  and  of  Quaker  par- 
ents. His  marriage  out  of  church  forfeited  his 
birthright  membership  as  a  Quaker.  Coming  to 
America  in  colonial  times  he  located  in  Henrico 
County,  where  he  acquired  a  large  estate  and 
built  a  mansion  of  baronial  pretensions,  surrounded 
by  ample  grounds.  This  place  is  located  about 
five  miles  from  Richmond.  After  his  death  his 
son,  Gervas,  succeeded  to  the  ownership,  spent  his 
lifetime  there,  and  descendants  of  Gervas  still  own 
and  occupy  the  place.  Gervas  Storrs,  father  of 
Cornelia  Storrs  Taylor,  was  born  in  Henrico  County 
and  married  Martha  Truehart  of  Hanover  County, 
Virginia.  Cornelia  Taylor  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three,  having  reared  nine  children :  Pauline, 
Emily  Morris,  Frances  Douglas,  Cornelia,  Mary 
Boiling,  William  Barret,  Sidney,  Jaequelin  P.,  and 
Henry  P.,  Jr. 

William  B.  Taylor  spent  his  early  life  on  the 
family  estate  near  Richmond  and  his  early  char- 
acter was  molded  by  the  example  of  his  honored 
father  and  by  the  stormy  environment  of  war 
times.  Most  of  his  early  education  was  given  him 
by  his  father.  When  he  was  only  eleven  years  of 
age  and  while  his  father  was  in  the  service  of 
the  Confederate  Government  he  had  to  assume 
many  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  home  farm  and 
he  spent  nearly  every  day  in  the  fields  with  the 
slaves.  The  intermediate  fortifications  for  the  de- 
fense of  Richmond  were  built  only  half  a  mile 
from  the  Taylor  home,  and  during  the  four  years 
of  the  war,  while  the  Union  forces  were  constantly 
battering  at  the  approaches  and  gates  of  Richmond, 
he  witnessed  many  scenes  of  carnage. 

In  1868  Mr.  Taylor  went  to  work  in  a  tobacco 
factory  at  Richmond,  and  there  acquired  a  thor- 
ough technical  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the 
business.  He  was  in  the  tobacco  business  at  Rich- 
mond until  1879,  when  he  went  half  way  around  the 
globe  to  Australia,  touching  at  Honolulu  and  New 
Zealand  on  the  outbound  voyage.  He  landed  at 
Sydney,  and  there  became  manager  of  the  tobacco 
factory  of  Thomas  Saywell.  After  one  year  on 
that  island  continent  Mr.  Taylor  returned  home, 
and  at  Liberty,  now  Bedford,  Virginia,  he  accepted 
a  tempting  offer  made  him  by  Col.  William  Graves, 
a  tobacco  manufacturer,  and  was  in  his  service  for 
three  years.  His  next  removal  was  to  Lynchburg, 
Virginia,  where  he  entered  the  tobacco  business 
under  the  firm  name  of  Taylor  &  Gish.  A  year 
later  the  factory  was  burned.  About  that  time 
Mr.  Taylor  visited  Winston,  North  Carolina,  which 
was  then  a  small  but  flourishing  town.  He  im- 
mediately recognized  the  wonderful  possibilities  of 
the  Piedmont  District  for  tobacco  culture  and  the 
advantages  of  Winston  as  a  point  of  manufacture, 
and  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  its  advantages 
outweighed  those  of  any  other  place  he  determined 
to  locate  there.  Being  unable  to  convince  his 
partner,  he  purchased  a  release  from  the  contract, 
and  in  1884,  with  his  brother,  Jaequelin,  estab- 
lished the  tobacco  factory  at  Winston  which  for  so 
many  years  was  conducted  under  the  name  Taylor 
Brothers. 

In  1879  Mr.  Taylor  married  Elizabeth  McCaw 
Boggs,  a  daughter  of  Gen.  William  R.  and  Mary 
(Symington)  Boggs.  Her  father  was  a  graduate 
of  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West 


Point  and  was  an  officer  in  the  regular  army.  At 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  North  and 
South  he  resigned  his  commission  and  returned  to 
the  service  of  his  beloved  Southland  and  rose  to 
the  rank  of  general  in  the  Confederate  army. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  have  five  children:  Mary 
Symington,  Henry  Porterlield,  William  Barret,  Jr., 
Archibald  Boggs,  Cornelia  Storrs.  The  daughter 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  John  L.  Dillard  and  has  one 
daughter,  Elizabeth  McCaw.  Henry  P.  married 
Rosamond  Straus.  William  B.,  Jr.,  married 
Prances  Swain.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  are  active 
members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Win- 
ston-Salem. Politically  he  is  now  aligned  as  a 
christian  socialist.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  well  read  man, 
has  studied  economic  and  social  problems  and  has 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  which  distinguished 
his  father.     He  is  also  a  ready  writer. 

Jacqtjelin  Plummer  Taylor  was  the  type  of 
citizen  whom  Winston-Salem  or  any  other  com- 
munity could  ill  afford  to  lose,  even  though  his 
life  work  had  been  well  done  before  his  death.  He 
was  for  many  years  actively  associated  with  his 
brother,  William  B.  Taylor,  in  the  manufacture  of 
tobacco  at  Winston-Salem,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  founding  the  great  tobacco  industry 
at  that  point. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  three  miles  from  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  September  21,  1856,  a  son  of 
Henry  Porterfield  and  Cornelia  (Storrs)  Taylor. 
Of  his  family  and  his  early  environment  reference 
is  made  in  the  sketch  of  his  brother,  William  B. 
Taylor,  on  other  pages. 

He  was  educated  both  in  the  neighborhood 
schools  and  under  his  father 's  direction,  and  he 
started  his  business  career  as  clerk  in  a  store  at 
Richmond.  In  1884  he  came  to  Winston  and  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  the  firm  of  which  his 
brother,  William  B.,  was  a  member,  and  subse- 
quently the  brothers  formed  a  partnership  so  long 
known  as  Taylor  Brothers. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Taylor  was  married  in  1887  to  Miss 
Sarah  Dewees.  She  was  born  in  Fleming  County, 
Kentucky.  There  were  five  children:  Charles  Mar- 
shall, Edward  Douglas,  Jane  Marshall,  Pauline 
Wharton,  and  Jaequelin  Plummer,  Jr. 

Jaequelin  P.  Taylor  died  at  Winston-Salem  De- 
cember 9,  1916.  He  was  much  more  than  a  prac- 
tical and  successful  business  man.  Much  study 
and  observation  had  convinced  him  of  many  ad- 
vanced truths  and  he  applied  them  in  practice  so 
that  he  could  properly  be  denominated  a  christian 
socialist.  At  one  time  he  was  candidate  of  the  so- 
cialist party  in  North  Carolina  for  governor. 

His  interests  and  his  character  were  well  sum- 
marized in  an  editorial  in  the  Winston-Salem  Jour- 
nal following  his  death.  The  Journal  said:  "Mr. 
Taylor  was  one  of  the  most  highly  respected  and 
dearly  loved  Christian  men  in  Winston-Salem,  his 
endeavors  always  having  been  to  advance  the  in- 
terests and  help  the  conditions  of  the  working 
people.  He  has  been  a  faithful  and  consistent 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  this 
city  since  moving  here,  and  has  always  contributed 
liberally  of  his  splendid  means  to  his  church  and 
to  others  in  the  city  as  well  as  to  all  charitable 
and  benevolent  causes.  One  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguishing marks  of  this  noble  and  admirable  man 
was  his  prominence  and  enthusiasm  as  a  socialist. 
Not  of  the  extreme  or  abnormally  radical  type 
but  of  a  conscientious  and  workable  socialism, 
which  he  thought  would  benefit  the  working  man. 
It    was    this    spirit    that    prompted    him    and    his 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


323 


brother  to  increase  the  wages  in  their  factory  and 
shorten  the  hours  of  the  workers." 

James  Alderman  Powers,  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  bar,  is  known  professionally  and 
as  a  citizen  both  at  Jonesboro  and  at  Kinston, 
and  has  been  in  active  practice  at  the  latter  city 
for  the  past  eight  years. 

Mr.  Powers  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Pender 
County,  North  Carolina,  May  11,  1882,  a  son  of 
Leonidas  Clifton  and  Ella  (Alderman)  Powers. 
His  father  was  a  farmer  and  his  son  grew  up 
in  a  rural  atmosphere  and  imbibed  much  of  the 
wholesome  spirit  of  country  life  while  he  was  a 
boy.  He  acquired  a  liberal  education,  at  first  in 
the  public  schools  and  later  in  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege, which  he  attended  four  years.  Two  years  of 
this  time  were  spent  in  the  law  department  and  in 
February,  1908,  he  gained  admission  to  the  bar. 
Mr.  Powers  practiced  at  Jonesboro,  but  in  March, 
1909,  removed  to  Kinston,  where  he  has  built  up 
a  large  and  'successful  practice.  While  living  at 
Jonesboro  he  served  as  mayor.  He  is  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  democratic  party  in  his  county. 

Robert  L.  Gibbon,  M.  D.  One  of  the  most  in- 
teresting names  in  the  medical  profession  of  Char- 
lotte is  that  of  Gibbon,  there  having  been  five 
generations  of  physicians  in  this  family.  For  more 
than  eighty  years  the  Gibbon  family  has  been 
identified  with  the  history  of  Charlotte,  not  only 
iu  professional  but  in  civic  and  official  life,  and 
its  members  have  always  contributed  materially 
to  the  progress  and  welfare  of  this  city.  A  worthy 
representative  of  the  name  is  found  in  Dr.  Robert 
L.  Gibbon,  one  of  the  leading  surgeons  of  the  city, 
where  his  entire  professional  career  has  been 
passed.  He  is  a  native  of  Charlotte,  and  was 
born  in  1866,  being  a  son  of  Dr.  Robert  and  Mary 
A.  (Rogers)  Gibbon,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. 

The  great-grandfather  of  Dr.  Robert  L.  Gibbon 
was  Dr.  John  Gibbon,  a  medical  and  surgical  prac- 
titioner of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
city  he  carried  on  professional  work  for  many 
years.  His  son,  Dr.  John  H.  Gibbon,  grandfather 
of  Robert  L.,  was  born  in  that  city  and  early  ex- 
pressed a  predilection  for  his  father's  profes- 
sion and  studied  under  the  elder  man  's  preceptor- 
ship,  in  addition  to  attending  several  noted  insti- 
tutions. He  rose  to  a  high  place  in  his  calling  and 
also  became  one  of  the  distinguished  men  of  his 
day,  and  finally,  in  1835,  was  appointed  by  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury  to  the  post  of  superin- 
tendent of  the  United  States  Mint  at  Charlotte. 
Immediately  upon  reaching  this  city  he  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  office  and  remained  in  that 
capacity  up  to  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  between  the  South  and  the  North.  During 
those  years  the  mint  at  Charlotte  and  the  one  at 
Philadelphia  were  the  only  one  where  the  mintage 
of  gold  coins  was  carried  on,  and  before  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California  Charlotte  was  in  fact 
a  very  important  center  of  the  gold  mining  in- 
dustry, gold  mining  being  quite  extensively  car- 
ried on  in  North  and  South  Carolina  and  in  North- 
ern Georgia.  After  the  war,  and  up  to  about  the 
year  1913,  the  famous  old  mint  at  Charlotte  was 
used  as  a  government  assay  office,  the  coinage  of 
gold  having  been  discontinued.  Many  interesting 
incidents  in  the  history  of  Charlotte  are  con- 
nected with  the  mint.  Dr.  John  H.  Gibbon,  after 
taking  up  his  position  at  Charlotte,  devoted  his 
time  exclusively  to  the  duties  in  connection  there- 


with and  never  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. He  died  in  Baltimore,  where  he  had  been 
invited  to  deliver  an  address,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  highly  respected  men  of  his  community. 

Dr.  Robert  Gibbon,  the  father  of  Dr.  Robert  L. 
Gibbon,  was  born  at  Holmesburg,  a  suburb  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822,  and  was 
twelve  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Charlotte.  He  inherited  the  family  lean- 
ing toward  medicine  and  after  some  preparation 
entered  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  about  1848,  and,  returning  from 
Philadelphia,  began  the  practice  of  his  calling  at 
Charlotte.  He  rose  rapidly  in  the  profession,  and 
had  attained  a  distinguished  place  among  medical 
men  by  the  time  the  war  between  the  states  had 
come  on,  and  was  appointed  chief  surgeon  of 
Lane 's  Brigade  from  North  Carolina  in  the  Con- 
federate Army,  serving  with  distinction  as  such 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war.  When  peace 
was  declared  he  returned  to  Charlotte,  where  he 
continued  to  be  engaged  in  practice  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  and  here  his  death  occurred  in 
1898.  Some  time  after  the  close  of  the  war  his 
father,  Dr.  John  H.  Gibbon,  established  what  was 
then  a  country  home,  now  the  property  and  a  part 
of  the  grounds  of  the  Charlotte  Country  Club, 
adjoining  the  city  on  the  east.  The  Gibbon  home 
(remained  there  for  many  years.  Dr.  Robert  L. 
Gibbon  was  widely  and  favorably  known  in  the 
medical,  profession,  a  man  of  distinguished  attain- 
ments and  comprehensive  learning,  who  was  de- 
voted to  his  profession  and  an  upholder  of  its 
highest  ethics.  As  a  citizen  he  contributed  of  his 
abilities  to  the  securing  and  maintenance  of  good 
government,  and  in  his  relations  with  his  fellow 
men  he  was  honorable  and  straightforward  in  his 
dealings.  Just  after  the  close  of  the  war  between 
the  states  Doctor  Gibbon  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
A.  Rogers,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  who  at 
that  time  was  among  the  refugees  from  that  city 
living  in  Mecklenburg  County,  where  she  was  stay- 
ing with  friends  at  Davidson  College.  She  died 
in  1876,  among  her  children  being  Robert  L.  and 
John  H.,  the  latter  being  a  professor  of  surgery 
at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  where 
he  has  spent  most  of  his  time  since  his  graduation 
from  that  institution.  Dr.  Robert  Gibbon,  after 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  married  Mrs.  C.  M. 
Harris,  of  Laurens,  South  Carolina,  who  survives 
him. 

Robert  L.  Gibbon  prepared  for  college  in  the 
Carolina  Military  College,  which  was  then  con- 
ducted at  Charlotte  by  Col.  J.  P.  Thomas,  who 
afterward  went  to  Citadel,  at  Charleston,  Doctor 
Gibbon  studied  medicine  at  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege of  Philadelphia,  and  progressed  in  his  studies 
so  rapidly  that  he  was  graduated  from  that  in- 
stitution before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age 
and  had  to  wait  until  he  attained  his  majority  in 
order  to  receive  his  diploma  allowing  him  to  begin 
the  practice  of  his  calling.  He  was  engaged  in 
general  practice  until  1910,  since  which  time  his 
work  has  been  confined  to  surgery,  a  field  in  which 
he  has  gained  a  reputation  that  extends  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  native  city.  Besides  his  office 
practice  in  this  branch  of  the  profession  he  is 
surgeon  on  the  staffs  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital, 
the  Charlotte  Sanitarium  and  Saint  Peter 's  Hos- 
pital. He  holds  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  and 
friendship  of  his  fellow  practitioners,  and  is  a 
valued  member  of  the  Mecklenburg  County  Medical 
Society,  the  North  Carolina  Medical  Society,  the 
Southern   Surgical  and   Gynecological  Association, 


324 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  American  Medical  Association  and  the  Ameri- 
can College  of  Surgeons. 

Doctor  Gibbon  married  Miss  Louise  Erwin  Wil- 
son, of  Morganton,  Burke  County,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  the  late  Maj.  James  W.  Wilson,  who 
was  a  Confederate  officer  during  the  war  between 
the  states  and  later  a  railroad  civil  engineer  and 
1  milder  of  eminence,  having  constructed,  among 
other  enterprises  of  like  importance,  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad  from  Salisbury  to  Ashe- 
ville.  Doctor  and  Mrs  Gibbon  are  the  parents  of 
five  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  James  Wilson 
Gibbon,  who  is  a  student  at  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  and  who,  when  he  receives  his  degree,  will 
be  the  fifth  generation  of  the  family  to  be  repre- 
sented in  the  medical  profession. 

Walker  Taylor  the  quiet  and  efficient  business 
man  and  citizen  is  the  most  apt  characterization 
oi  Walker  Taylor  of  Wilmington.  In  the  course 
of  his  active  career  he  has  done  a  great  many 
things  well,  and  such  a  service  means  more  to 
the  welfare  of  the  community  and  state  than 
individual  achievement  by  other  men  which  bring 
them  more  fame. 

The  core  of  his  activities  since  early  boyhood 
has  been  the  insurance  business.  When  he  left 
the  public  schools  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was 
clerk  in  stores  for  several  years,  and  then  accepted 
a  clerkship  in  an  insurance  office.  Since  1893  Mr. 
Taylor  has  been  in  the  insurance  business  under 
his  individual  name  at  Wilmington,  and  represents 
and  is  a  director  in  some  of  the  strongest  fire 
insurance  organizations  of  the  South.  He  is  a 
director  of  the  North  Carolina  Home  Insurance 
Company  of  Ealeigh;  director  of  the  Jefferson 
Standard  Life  Insurance  Company,  vice  president 
of  the  National  Fire  Insurance  Association,  and 
again  and  again  has  appeared  before  committees 
of  Congress  in  behalf  of  insurance  legislation. 
His  success  as  an  insurance  man  by  no  means 
limits  his  varied  activities.  He  is  secretary  of 
the  Wilmington,  Brunswick  &  Southern  Railway 
Company;  president  of  the  Mechanics  Home  Asso- 
ciation; director  of  the  Murchison  National  Bank; 
director  of  People 's  Savings  Bank ;  director 
AVilmington  Stamp  and  Printing  Company.  He 
is  on  the  retired  list  of  the  North  Carolina  National 
Guard  with  the  rank  of  Drigadier  general.  He 
served  with  that  organization  for  many  years, 
rising  from  the  ranks  to  colonel,  and  Governor 
Ayeoek  during  his  administration  called  him  back 
into  active  service  as  paymaster  of  the  State 
Militia. 

In  May,  1914,  Mr.  Taylor  was  appointed  United 
States  Collector  of  Customs  for  the  District  of 
North  Carolina.  That  office  he  still  holds  and  its 
duties  take  the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  atten- 
tion. 

In  1896  he  organized  the  "Boys  Brigade"  at 
Wilmington  and  his  individual  service  has  vitalized 
that  organization  throughout  the  twenty  years  of 
its  successful  existence.  The  brigade  is  largely 
made  up  of  poor  boys  and  these  young  men  come 
together  every  Monday  night  for  the  purpose  of 
social  times  and  for  such  inspiration  as  they 
derive  from  association  with  and  the  talks  given 
by  prominent  men  of  the  city  and  state.  Mr. 
Taylor  himself  has  been  on  hand  almost  every 
meeting  night.  The  organization  has  helped  many 
a  poor  boy  to  secure  a  position  and  earn  an 
honest  livelihood,  and  it  has  also  tended  to  develop 
manhood   and   a  worthy  purpose  in  life. 


Mr.  Walker  Taylor  was  born  in  South  Carolina 
October  26,  1864.  His  parents,  John  Douglas  and 
Sarah  Elizabeth  (Walker)  Taylor,  were  both  na- 
tives of  North  Carolina  but  were  in  South  Carolina 
in  1864  on  account  of  the  yellow  fever  epidemic. 
The  family  returned  to  the  plantation  in  North 
Carolina  in  1865,  and  on  the  old  farm  Walker 
Taylor  spent  the  first  ten  years  of  his  life. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Cape  Fear  Club,  and  is 
ruling  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Wilmington.  He  is  an  ex-director  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Greensboro.  Fraternally  he  is 
affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  is  past  grand  chancellor  of  the  North 
Carolina  Knights  of  Pythias,  is  past  sachem  of 
the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 

April  19,  1893,  he  married  Miss  Rosa  Lilly 
dimming,  of  Wilmington,  daughter  of  Preston 
and  Virginia  (Lilly)  Summing.  They  have  three 
children:  Virginia  is  Mrs.  D.  S.  Oliver,  of  Wil- 
mington, Mr.  Oliver  being  associated  in  business 
with  Mr.  Taylor;  Walker,  Jr.,  formerly  a  student 
in  Princeton  University;  and  Katherine  Grandi- 
son,  who  is  a  student  in  Bryn  Mawr  College  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  son  and  son-in-law  are  both 
now  serving  the  country  as  officers  in  the  United 
States  Army,   both  being  in  France. 

Kerr  Craige.  Keen  of  comprehension,  and  pos- 
sessing a  broad  knowledge  of  law,  Kerr  Craige,  of 
Salisbury,  Rowan  County,  is  numbered  among  the 
leading  attorneys  of  his  community.  A  native  of 
Salisbury,  he  comes  of  distinguished  pioneer  stock, 
being  a.  descendant  in  the  sixth  generation  from 
Archibald  and  Mary  Craige  who  were  among  the 
earlier  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  Yadkin  Valley 
which  subsequently  became  and  is  now  Rowan 
County. 

The  next  in  line  of  descent  was  David  Craige, 
Sr.,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  who  was  distinguished  for  his  bravery  and 
patriotic  daring.  He  married  Polly  Foster  and 
their  son,  David  Craige,  Jr.,  married  Mary  Foster, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  Burton  Craige,  who 
was  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  his  day  and 
who  was  the  grandfather  of  Kerr  Craige,  of  whom 
we  write.  Burton  Craige  married  Elizabeth  Erwin, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  Col.  James  Erwin,  of  Burke 
County,  North  Carolina,  and  a  great-granddaughter 
of  Gen.  Matthew  Locke,  a  distinguished  Revolu- 
tionary patriot  of  Rowan  County.  Their  son,  Hon. 
Kerr  Craige,  who  was  also  a  distinguished  lawyer 
and  soldier,  was  the  father  of  Kerr  Craige,  of 
this  sketch. 

Acquiring  his  elementary  education  in  private 
schools  at  Salisbury  he  later  continued  his  studies 
for  a  number  of  years,  in  the  public  schools  of 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  spent  some 
time  at  the  Horner's  Military  Institute,  in  Oxford. 
Having  determined  upon  the  profession  of  law,  in 
which  his  family  has  been  eminently  successful  for 
almost  a  century,  Mr.  Craige  then  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  graduated 
from  its  law  department  with  the  class  of  1907. 
Receiving  his  license  to  practice  law,  in  February, 
1908,  he  formed  a  copartnership  with  his  brother, 
Burton  Craige,  with  whom  he  has  since  been  as- 
sociated. For  a  number  of  years  he  was  the  state's 
prosecuting  attorney  for  Rowan  County  and  he 
continues  to  enjoy  an  extensive  and  remunerative 
practice  in  his  profession,  as  well  as  the  esteem  of 
his  community,  in  the  welfare  of  which  he  takes 
a  genuine  interest. 


<^~<7 


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ffriii.  tPflM^pC  /Thi/^i. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


325 


Mr.  Craige  is  a  member  of  Andrew  Jackson 
Lodge  No.  576,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Order 
of  Masons. 

Claiborne  McMillan  Campbell,,  Jr.,  is  a 
prominent  young  educator  of  North  Carolina,  has 
been  active  in  the  teaching  profession  since  leav- 
ing Trinity  College,  and  is  now  superintendent  of 
schools   at  Washington. 

He  was  born  at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  Jan- 
uary, 9,  1884,  a  son  of  Claiborne  M.  and  Kate 
(Asheraft)  Campbell.  His  father  was  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  con- 
sequent upon  his  itinerant  vocation  the  son  was 
educated  in  different  communities,  attending  the 
public  schools  at  Asheville  and  Gastonia  in  this 
state,  also  Charlotte,  and  for  his  higher  instruc- 
tion was  a  student  in  Rutherford  College  and  then 
in  Trinity  College  at  Durham,  where  he  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1907. 

On  leaving  Trinity  Mr.  Campbell  taught  four 
years  as  instructor  of  history  in  the  Durham  High 
School.  The  following  two  years  he  spent  as 
superintendent  of  schools  of  Jonesboro  and  in 
1913  was  called  to  his  present  responsibilities  as 
superintendent  of  the  Washington  School  Sys- 
tem. He  is  one  of  the  best  known  members  of 
the  North  Carolina  Teachers  Assembly  and  be- 
longs to  the  National  Education  Association.  Mr. 
Campbell  is  a  Mason,  master  of  Orr  Lodge  No. 
1 04,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  is 
also  affiliated  with  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  the 
Knights  Templar  Commandery  and  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

On  November  6,  1912,  he  married  Miss  Helen 
Allison,  of  Mocksville,  North  Carolina,  daughter 
of  Gustave  A.  and  Henrietta  (Morris)  Allison. 
Her  father  is  an  agent  of  the  Southern  Railroad 
Company.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  have  one  son, 
Claiborne   M.,    Jr.,    born    Jfcnuary   8,   1914. 

Colonel  William  R.  Myers.  A  life  that  was 
as  useful  as  it  was  long,  and  expressed  in  many 
beneficent  services  to  the  public  welfare  as  well 
as  for  self  and  family,  was  that  of  Colonel  William 
R.   Myers   of  Charlotte. 

He  was  born  in  Anson  County.  North  Carolina, 
December  17,  1813,  and  died  at'Charlotte  in  1896, 
aged  eighty-two  years,  two  months,  six  days.  He 
was  of  distinguished  ancestry  on  both  sides.  His 
mother  was  Mary  Pickett.  His  father  Absalom 
Myers  was  an  influential  citizen  who  several  times 
represented  his  county  in  the  Legislature. 

Colonel  Myers  studied  law  under  Governor  Gra- 
ham at  Hillsboro,  and  came  to  Charlotte  in  1843. 
In  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Sophia  Springs, 
daughter  of  John  Springs.  Colonel  Myers  sur- 
vived his  w-ife  a  number  of  years,  and  of  their 
eight  children  seven  survived  their  father:  Mr. 
J.  S.  Myers,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Jones,  W.  R.  Mvers,  R. 
A.  Myers,  Mrs.  C.  L.  Hunter,  Mrs.  W.  P.  Myers 
and  Mr.  Baxter  S.  Myers. 

Soon  after  locating  at  Charlotte  William  R. 
Myers  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  County  Court, 
an  office  he  held  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was 
a  fine  lawyer,  enjoyed  a  large  practice,  but  in 
later  years  the  claims  of  his  private  affairs  grad- 
ually weaned  him   from  his  practice. 

In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  before  the  war, 
but  was  opposed  to  secession.  When  the  war  was 
prepared,  he  gave  his  steadfast  loyalty  to  the 
Confederate  cause.  His  services  were  especially 
notable  and  valuable  when  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  he  assisted  in  the  formation   of  the  vigilance 


committees  organized  to  suppress  incendiary  fires. 
He  was  thus  the  real  leader  and  the  fountainhead 
of  law  and  order  in  the  entire  community.  He 
also  raised  a  company  and  as  captain  led  it  into 
the  Confederate  Army  as  Company  G  of  the 
Thirty-fourth  Regiment  North  Carolina  Troops. 

From  the  close  of  the  war  for  thirty  years  Mr. 
Myers  was  interested  in  every  public  movement  in 
his  home  community,  in  the  state  and  the  nation. 
He  was  a  steadfast  republican  in  politics,  accept- 
ing the  principles  of  that  party  from  conviction 
and  did  much  to  build  up  a  strong  minority  party 
in  the  state  and  keep  it  true  to  its  fundamental 
principles.  He  never  sought  political  honor  for 
himself,  though  he  might  have  had  such  honors 
for  the  asking. 

Much  of  his  time  was  given  without  remunera- 
tion to  the  general  welfare  of  his  city.  He  served 
as  city  commissioner  and  twice  represented  the 
county  in  the  Legislature,  but  his  best  services 
were  rendered  through  the  constant  manifestation 
of  a  public  spirit  which  made  him  neglectful  of 
nothing  that  concerned  the  real  welfare  and  ad- 
vancement of  Charlotte.  Credit  has  always  been 
given  him  for  securing  the  passage  of  the  stock 
law  for  Mecklenburg  County.  He  early  recognized 
the  necessity  for  such  a  law  and  finally  secured 
its  passage.  The  results  that  followed  that  law 
and  the  building  of  good  roads  have  always  been 
looked  upon  as  two  of  the  most  important  meas- 
ures connected  with  the  prosperity  and  progress 
of  the  county.  Colonel  Myers  was  exceedingly 
liberal  and  charitable,  and  his  generosity  was 
notably  expressed  in  his  active  support  and  work 
for  the  organization  of  a  college  for  the  higher 
education  of  men,  and  another  institution  for  the 
higher  education  of  women.  There  should  also  be 
remembered  his  beneficent  gift  of  a  large  and 
beautiful  site  for  Biddle  University  for  the  educa- 
tion of  colored  men. 

Colonel  Myers  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  and  served  a3  secretary  of  the 
first  vestry  of  St.  Peter's  Church  at  Charlotte. 
Outside  of  his  professional  and  public  life,  his 
interests  were  in  the  realm  of  larger  business 
affairs.  For  some  years  he  served  as  president 
of  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  &  Ohio  Railroad,  and 
was  its  pres;dent  when  the  railroad  property 
was  sold  to  the  Richmond  &  Danville  Railroad 
Company.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  First  National  Bank  at  Charlotte,  served  as 
vice  president  and  director,  and  was  similarly 
identified  in  an  influential  way  with  other  commer- 
cial  enterprises. 

It  was  a  well  justified  tribute  to  his  personal 
character  when  some  one  wrote :  ' '  The  strength 
and  charm  of  Colonel  Myers'  personality  were 
felt  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He 
was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  brave,  gentle 
and  true  as  his  race — true  as  steel.  He  held 
his  friends  and  they  loved  him." 

John  Springs  Myers.  In  the  degree  that  an 
individual  proves  the  broadness  and  sincerity  of 
his  character  and  his  sense  of  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility devolving  upon  him  both  relative 
to  his  private  interests  and  those  of  the  public, 
just  in  that  measure  does  he  deserve  and  achieve 
lasting  success.  Efficiency  and  preparedness  for 
whatever  life  may  brinff  are  desirable  assets  in 
the  formation  of  character  and  the  accumulation 
of  the  evidences  of  material  prosperity.  Without 
a  "table,  common-sense  outlook  on  life  no  indi- 
vidual   can    expect    to    produce    upon    others    that 


326 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


profound  effect  so  desirable  in  order  to  substan- 
tially establish  permanent  prosperity.  This  is  a 
fact  that  some  men  never  appreciate,  while  others 
recognize  it  from  the  start  and  their  careers  are 
full  of  large  accomplishments  and  public-spirited 
achievemets  that  lend  themselves  to  effecting  the 
favorable  light  in  which  such  men  are  regarded 
by  the  community.  To  the  latter  class  belongs 
John  Springs  Myers,  retired  capitalist  of  Char- 
lotte, who  in  every  sense  of  the  word  has  achieved 
a  permanent  and  lasting  prosperity.  Early  in  his 
career  he  became  aware  of  the  responsibilities 
which  rested  upon  him  and  of  the  debt  which  he 
owed  himself  and  his  community,  and  in  generous 
measure  he  has  been  rewarded  by  success  for  his 
achievements,  not  alone  in  a  material  way,  but  in 
the  respect  and  gratitude  of  his  community.  Not 
the  least  feature  of  Mr.  Myers '  accomplishments 
was  the  starting  of  the  improvements  upon  his 
plantation  which  eventually  led  to  what  is  now 
the  beautiful  Myers  Park  development,  but  many 
other  labors  have  contributed  to  the  rounding  out 
of  a  career  that  has  been  as  useful  to  the  public 
as  it  has  been  successful  personally. 

John  Springs  Myers  was  born  November  1,  1847, 
at  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  is  a  son  of  William  R.  and  Sophia  (Springs) 
Myers  and  a  maternal  grandson  of  John  Springs, 
one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  South. 
John  S.  Myers  had  an  early  advantage  of  good 
parentage  and  excellent  home  training,  and  of 
being  the  son  of  a  father  who  set  him  the  example 
of  worthy  public-spirit  in  the  accomplishment  of 
many  things  that  assisted  Charlotte  in  its  develop- 
ment. The  common  schools  of  the  city  furnished 
the  youth  with  his  early  training,  following  which 
he  clerked  in  the  store  of  Brown,  Tate  &  Com- 
pany for  two  years,  and  in  the  establishment 
of  Brem,  Brown  &  Company  for  one  year. 
Returning  to  his  studies,  he  went  to  the 
Bingham  High  School  in  Alamance  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  remained  there  for  2%  years,  the 
faculty  at  that  time  being  composed  of  Col. 
William  Bingham,  Maj.  Robert  Bingham,  Maj. 
William  B.  Lich  and  Capt.  John  J.  Norwood. 
When  he  left  school  Mr.  Myers  chose  cotton  plant- 
ing and  a  mixed  husbandry  for  his  life  occupation 
and  commenced  business  on  a  five-horse  unimproved 
farm,  two  miles  southeast  of  Charlotte.  Through 
enterprise  and  industry  he  increased  his  business 
to  a  forty-horse  proposition.  Urged  by  a  con- 
suming desire  for  success,  he  availed  himself  of 
all  the  information  to  be  obtained  from  any  source 
of  information  in  regard  to  agriculture,  from 
Liebig  's  Chemistry  to  The  Southern  Cultivator,  a 
publication  devoted  to  farming  in  the  South,  which 
was  supported  by  articles  from  the  pen  of  David 
Dixon  of  Georgia,  the  greatest  farmer  of  his  day, 
and  many  other  able  correspondents  of  that  period. 
By  a  proper  application  of  the  information  re- 
ceived in  this  manner,  sufficient  success  followed 
to  compensate  fully  for  all  effort  expended. 

As  a  side  line  to  his  regular  business  Mr.  Myers 
even  as  early  as  the  '80s  became  imbued  with  the 
idea  that  Charlotte  gave  forth  promise  of  be- 
coming a  city  of  more  than  ordinary  consequence, 
and  therefore  determined  to  be  among  the  first 
to  bring  about  such  a  result.  Accordingly,  even 
in  those  early  days,  he  essayed  to  lay  out  lines,  to 
run  streets,  and  to  set  out  trees  and  flowering 
shrubs  such  as  he  thought  would  add  to  the  beauty 
of  the  naturally  beautiful  landscape,  the  city 
limits  already  having  encroached  largely  upon  his 
proposition.      The    plan    worked    agreeably    and   in 


accordance  with  Mr.  Myers '  expectations,  but  work 
progressed  slowly  until  George  Stephens,  a  man 
of  large  vision  and  accurate  conception,  recog- 
nized what  were  the  actual  possibilities  of  a  proper 
and  scientific  development  of  the  Myers  Park  lo- 
cality. Mr.  Stephens  thereupon  organized,  with 
his  friends,  the  Stephens  Developing  Company 
which  is  now  engaged  in  bringing  forth  results 
which  exceed  the  greatest  expectations  of  the 
people  of  the  community  beholding  the  transition. 
The  work  is  being  done  under  the  plans  of  Mr. 
Nolen,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  architects  in 
the  landscape  line  in  the  South,  assisted  by  modern 
grading  and  developing  methods  and  by  engineer- 
ing work  of  the  highest  character.  Many  who 
have  traveled  extensively  in  this  and  other  countries 
have  given  evidence  of  their  pleasure  and  aston- 
ishment at  the  beauty  and  completeness  of  this 
work,  which  is  adding  to  Charlotte  a  community 
that  will  contribute  inestimable  value  to  its  pres- 
tige and  its  importance. 

For  more  than  forty  years  Mr.  Myers  has  been 
identified  with  movements  which  have  served  to 
add  to  the  advancement  of  Charlotte  as  a  city  and 
to  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of  its  people.  In 
1874,  through  his  efforts,  there  was  brought  about 
the  passage  of  the  Stock  Law,  which  provided 
for  the  elimination  of  the  cattle,  hogs  and  other 
stock  running  at  large.  This  measure  met  with 
violent  political  opposition,  but  its  successful  adop- 
tion resulted  in  more  beneficial  results  than  any 
other  change  that  had  been  made  in  a  century. 
Its  justice  was  quickly  acknowledged,  and  in  its 
working  it  soon  brought  about  a  more  kindly 
neighborhood  relation  than  had  ever  before  ex- 
isted in  the  community.  It  likewise  cleared  the 
way,  by  the  removal  of  old  and  ugly  rail  fences, 
for  the  straightening  and  improving  of  all  public 
and  private  roads.  In  1875  Mr.  Myers  bore  a 
prominent  part  in  another  good  movement,  when 
the  enterprising  and  intelligent  portion  of  the  com- 
munity realized  the  necessity  of  a  financial  expendi- 
ture for  the  improvement  of  public  roads.  This 
measure  was  also  strenuously  opposed  by  one  of 
the  political  parties,  and  was  only  a  partial  suc- 
cess for  some  years ;  but  through  the  united  efforts 
of  the  wisest  men  in  both  of  the  leading  political 
organizations  was  adopted  finally  as  a  necessary 
and  desirable  part  of  a  well-founded  county  gov- 
ernment. The  restoration  of  agricultural  fairs,  in 
1877  and  1878,  a  measure  for  the  encouragement  of 
better  and  enlarged  farming  operations  and  an  in- 
crease in  manufacturing  enterprises,  was  success- 
fully led  and  accomplished  by  Mr.  Myers. 

Mr.  Myers  is  and  always  has  been  a  conservative 
democrat,  and  in  1882  the  people  of  Mecklen- 
burg County  considered  him  worthy  to  represent 
the  community  for  two  years  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  North  Carolina,  and  their  con- 
fidence in  his  fidelity  and  ability  was  not  mis- 
placed. In  1896  and  1898  he  served,  under  the 
Springs  administration,  as  a.  member  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Charlotte,  and  while 
acting  in  that  capacity  was  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee.  In  1913  he  promoted  ami  accomplished 
the  drainage  of  the  principal  streams  of  Mecklen- 
lurg  County.  The  means  of  having  this  work  done, 
for  the  better  health,  comfort  and  advancement  of 
the  community  was  Mr.  Myers'  donation  of  $.5,000 
in  cash  to  the  fund,  he  being  the  only  individual 
to  so  contribute.  While  he  is  now  practically  re- 
tired from  active  affairs,  Mr.  Myers  is  still  a 
workimr  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  a  position  which  he  has  held 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


327 


since  1901,  also  an  active  member  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  the  City  of  Charlotte,  and  an 
active  member  of  the  township  trustees,  an  organ- 
ization that  handles  the  roads  of  the  county. 
Since  1870  he  has  been  almost  continuously  a 
faithful  member  of  the  vestry  of  Saint  Peter 's 
Parish,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of 
North  Carolina.  Careful,  conservative  and  pos- 
sessed of  far-seeing  judgment,  Mr.  Myers  has  won 
enviable  distinction  among  the  men  of  his  time 
and  locality.  Honorable  and  upright  in  his  deal- 
ings, he  has  lived  the  right  life  and  is  a  worthy 
example  of  those  whose  admirable  efforts  build 
up  and  make  secure  the  business  of  city,  state  and 
nation. 

Mr.  Myers  was  married  December  22,  1870,  to 
Miss  Mary  Rawlinson,  daughter  of  Col.  J.  W.  and 
Jane  (Moore)  Rawlinson,  of  York,  South  Carolina. 
Colonel  Rawlinson  was  prominent  in  the  public  af- 
fairs of  South  Carolina,  and  was  aide-de-camp 
on  the  staff  of  Governor  Pickens,  war  governor  of 
that  state.  On  her  mother 's  side  Mrs.  Myers  is 
descended  from  Governor  James  Moore,  colonial 
governor  of  South  Carolina;  from  Col.  William 
Erwin  who  was  a  colonel  of  the  Continental  line 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  from  Capt.  Richard 
Springs  and  Capt.  Alexander  Moore,  Revolution- 
ary patriots.  Her  maternal  grandfather  was  Dr. 
William  Moore,  a  physician  of  York  County,  South 
Carolina.  Mrs.  Myers  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Myers  have  five  children :  Rawlinson, 
Mrs.  George  Stephens,  Richard  A.  Myers,  Wood- 
ard  Myers  and  Mrs.  Harold  Cothrane  Dwelle. 

William  Berry  McKoy.  There  is  perhaps  not 
a  prominent  lawyer  in  North  Carolina  who  has 
more  studiously  avoided  the  responsibilities  and 
complexities  of  polities  and  office  holding  than 
William  Berry  McKoy,  of  Wilmington.  Though 
comparatively  little  known  in  public  life,  William 
Berry  McKoy  has  long  held  a  secure  place  of 
prestige  among  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  state. 

His  birthplace  was  at  Wilmington,  and  since 
December  24,  1852,  the  date  of  his  birth,  he  has 
almost  continuously  lived  in  that  city.  His  parents 
were  William  Henry  and  Franeonia  (Berry)  Mc- 
Koy, his  father  long  a  merchant  of  Wilmington. 
He  was  liberally  educated,  first  in  private  schools 
and  afterwards  in  Cape  Fear  Academy,  conclud- 
ing with  the  regular  course  of  Princeton  Univer- 
sity, where  he  was  graduated  in  1876.  Mr.  McKoy 
studied  law  under  George  V.  Strong,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1879.  Since  then,  a  period 
covering  almost  forty  years,  he  has  been  employed 
in  the  large  general  practice  which  has  rewarded 
his  skillful  efforts  and  thorough  learning  as  a 
lawyer,  and  the  real  record  of  his  life  's  service  is 
written  in  the  great  volume  of  litigation  that 
has  passed  through  his  hands  in  the  past  thirty- 
five  years.  Among  other  interests  he  is  attorney 
for  and  a  director  in  the  Mechanics  Homes  Asso- 
ciation of  Wilmington.  When  a  young  man  he 
made  the  first  complete  set  of  abstracts  of  titles 
of  New  Hanover  County. 

Though  never  an  office  seeker,  Mr.  McKoy  has 
for  twenty  years  been  a  figure  in  the  democratic 
party  and  has  served  for  years  as  a  member  and 
chairman  of  the  democratic  executive  committee. 
He  is  a  past  grand  master  of  North  Carolina 
Masons,  has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree  of 
Scottish  Rite  and  also  belongs  to  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

On  December  14,  1886,  he  married  Miss  Catherine 


Bacon,  daughter  of  Henry  Bacon,  who  was  a 
civil  engineer  long  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  Government.  To  their  marriage  have  been 
born  five  children:  Elizabeth  F.;  William  Ancrum, 
who  is  a  civil  engineer  now  in  the  I.  C.  C.  service 
for  the  government;  Henry  Bacon,  late  employed 
as  a  construction  engineer  on  the  Lincoln  Memo- 
rial at  Washington,  D.  C. ;  and  now  in  France 
in  the  engineers  corps;  Francis  Kelton  was  a 
student  in  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 
at  Raleigh  and  in  1916  enlisted  in  the  Third 
Regiment  of  the  District  of  Columbia  National 
Guard  and  at  present  is  lieutenant  in  the  aviation 
corps  in  France ;  and  James  Hasell,  still  pur- 
suing his  studies. 

John*  Quincy  Myers,  M.  D.  It  is  possibly  true 
that,  as  the  old  belief  had  it,  each  individual  is 
born  with  at  least  one  natural  gift.  However,  not 
everyone  seeks  to  discover  it,  or  finding  this 
talent,  has  the  opportunity  to  nurture  or  develop 
it.  But  it  is  proved  by  both  history  and  biography 
that  many  of  the  most  brilliant  men  of  the  country 
have  felt  this  natural  bent  from  youth,  and,  with 
enthusiasm,  controlled  only  by  circumstances,  have 
sought  advancement  along  the  line  of  their  special 
gift.  Not  so  many,  perhaps,  have  reached  their 
cherished  goal  in  their  most  receptive  years,  some 
indeed  not  until  the  evening  of  life,  but  there  are 
those  who  at  the  open  door  of  manhood  find  also 
the  door  open  to  their  chosen  field  of  effort.  In 
this  connection  respectful  attention  is  called  to 
Dr.  John  Quincy  Myers,  of  Charlotte,  founder  and 
proprietor  of  Tranquil  Park  Sanitarium,  who,  still 
in  the  prime  of  life,  has  accomplished  a  work  that 
w-ould  take  many  men  an  entire  career  to  achieve. 

Dr.  John  Quincy  Myers  was  born  at  New  Life, 
Wilkes  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1877,  and  is  a 
son  of  Turrelius  C.  and  Julia  (Brown)  Myers, 
natives  of  the  same  county,  who  were  both  born 
and  reared  in  the  New  Life  community,  which  is 
seventeen  miles  from  Wilkesboro,  the  county  seat. 
Turrelius  C.  Myers,  who  has  been  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising and  farming  at  New  Life,  postmaster 
of  the  village  and  a  sturdy,  dependable  citizen,  is 
a  son  of  the  late  John  Newton  Myers,  who  was  a 
county  magistrate  of  Wilkes  County  during  the 
Civil  war.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Julia  (Brown) 
Myers,  John  Milton  Brown,  also  occupied  the  same 
position  in  Wilkes  County,  where  both  families 
have  been  well  and  favorably  known  for  many 
years. 

John  Quincy  Myers  attended  the  local  schools 
and  took  his  academic  work  at  Fairview  Academy, 
ten  miles  from  his  home.  He  then  entered 
Davidson  College  in  Mecklenburg  County,  where 
he  took  both  the  academic  work  and  the  courses  in 
the  medical  department  at  Davidson,  which  was 
then  known  as  the  North  Carolina  Medical  Col- 
lege. He  made  a  splendid  record  as  a  student  at 
Davidson,  graduating  with  honors  in  both  depart- 
ments, being  elected  president  of  his  class  and 
receiving  many  other  rewards  at  the  hands  of  his 
fellow  students  and  the  teachers.  These  came  to 
him  through  no  particular  favors,  but  were  the 
result  of  hard  work  and  serious  application.  He 
taught  in  the  public  schools  of  North  Caro- 
lina for  four  years  and  also  clerked  in  a  village 
store  thus  working  out  his  education.  He  left 
Davidson  College  in  1904  and  went  to  New 
York,  where  he  took  post-graduate  work  in  the 
New  York  Polyclinic  working  under  the  University 
of  New  York  anil  Bellevue  Faculty  and  received  a 
certificate  therefrom  in  1906.    Subsequently  he  took 


328 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


further  post-graduate  woik  at  Philadelphia,  at 
Johns  Hopkins  University  of  Baltimore,  at  Chi- 
cago, and  at  the  Mayo  Clinics  at  Rochester,  Minne- 
sota. It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Doctor  Myers  had 
a  most  thorough  and  extensive  preparation  for 
his  life  work. 

Doctor  Myers  began  practicing  at  Wilkesboro, 
the  county  seat  of  his  native  county,  in  1904,  and 
soon  built  up  a  successful  and  lucrative  practice. 
Later  he  became  associated  with  the  late 
Dr.  George  Doughtor,  at  whose  death  he  succeeded 
to  his  practice,  but  in  1909  left  Wilkesboro  and 
came  to  Charlotte,  where  he  has  continued  in 
practice,  specializing  in  internal  medicine.  Shortly 
after  coming  to  Charlotte  Doctor  Myers  com- 
menced working  upon  what  has  since  become  an 
important  enterprise  in  the  medical  profession  and 
which  has  the  greatest  promise  for  eminent  suc- 
cess. This  is  the  Tranquil  Park  Sanitarium,  which, 
after  the  expenditure  of  two  years  of  constant 
energy  and  $65,000  in  money,  was  thrown  open 
in  August,  1916.  In  defining  the  aims  of  this  in- 
stitution and  its  purposes,  Doctor  Myers  has  said : 
' '  The  purpose  of  the  institution  is  to  diagnose 
and  treat  all  non-contagious,  non-surgical  cases; 
no  specialty  will  be  made  of  any  cases  of  drug 
addictions.  The  sanitarium  is  strictly  a  medical 
institution,  as  distinguished  from  a  surgical,  and 
all  medical  cases  are  admitted  for  diagnosing  and 
treatment  except  contagious  cases.  Ample  oppor- 
tunities are  available  in  most  cities  for  the  proper 
treatment  of  surgical  cases,  and  Charlotte  is  espe- 
cially fortunate  in  the  number  and  equipment  of 
its  general  as  well  as  surgical  hospitals.  The  found- 
ers of  Tranquil  Park  Sanitarium  believe  that  there 
exists  in  this  part  of  the  country  an  opportunity  to 
serve  the  profession  of  medicine  by  establishing  an 
institution  that  will  bear  to  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine the  same  relation  the  many  excellent  surgical 
hospitals  throughout  the  country  bear  to  surgery. 
Tranquil  Park  Sanitarium  is  established  for  the 
special  diagnosis  and  treatment  of  all  medical  pa- 
tients. It  will  use  hospital  methods  for  acute 
cases  and  sanitarium  facilities  for  chronic  patients. 
It  does  not  treat  alcoholic  or  insane  cases. 
Owning,  as  we  do  in  connection  with  the  sanita- 
rium, fifty  acres  of  land  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city, 
in  close  proximity  to  the  beautiful  Myers  Park 
development,  our  facilities  for  the  treatment  of 
chronic  invalidism  and  nervous  cases  are  exception- 
ally good.  The  surroundings  are  homelike  in  char- 
acter; the  buildings  were  so  designed  as  to  obtain 
a  maximum  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine ;  ample  bal- 
conies and  lounging  rooms  have  been  provided;  the 
bedrooms  are  well  heated  and  ventilated,  with  run- 
ning water  in  every  room ;  a  number  of  rooms 
are  provided  with   private  baths. ' ' 

The  buildings  and  grounds  of  this  institution  are 
owned  by  the  Tranquil  Park  Land  Company.  The 
administration  and  main  building  contains  between 
thirty -five  and  forty  rooms,  the  building  being 
three  stories  in  height.  The  basement  floor  con- 
tains space  for  the  hydrotherapeutic  and  electric 
baths,  rest  rooms,  etc.,  while  the  first  floor  con- 
tains a  general  dining  room,  kitchen  and  the  ad- 
ministrative offices,  and  a  number  of  rooms  for 
patients.  The  third  floor  is  given  over  to  patients ' 
rooms.  The  foundation  and  lower  part  of  the 
building  are  of  pink  and  gray  granite,  which  was 
quarried  near  the  site  of  the  new  hospital  build- 
ing, while  the  upper  portions  of  the  walls  are  of 
pressed  brick.  The  interior  of  the  main  floors  is 
finished  with  a  special  ceiling  of  asbestos  com- 
pound, and  the  whole  is  finished  in  most  attractive 


style,  combining  beauty,  convenience  and  sanitary 
values.  A  feature  of  the  new  plant  is  the  extensive 
grounds,  comprising  fifty  acres  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful country  beyond  Myers  Park.  On  this  area 
have  been  planted  many  varieties  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  tennis  courts  and  golf  links  have  been 
completed  for  the  amusement  of  convalescent  pa- 
tients as  well  as  those  going  to  the  institution  for 
rest  and  the  building  up  of  health.  There  are 
numerous  walks  and  sequestered  nooks  which  have 
been  provided  by  the  plans  of  the  architects,  and 
the  whole  tract  has  been  carefully  and  scientifically 
treated  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the  best 
possible  results.  The  plant  is  provided  with  city 
water,  light,  including  gas  and  electricity,  and  all 
other  convenience,  and  is  reached  by  a  private  road, 
an  extension  of  Queens  Road,  running  past  Queens 
College.  Doctor  Myers  has  also  erected  a  hand- 
some ten-room  residence,  located  within  100  feet 
of  the  main  hospital  building,  where  he  resides 
with  his   family. 

Doctor  Myers '  talents  and  his  attractive  person- 
ality have  won  him  a  place  of  high  standing  at 
Charlotte,  and  particularly  with  the  medical  pro- 
fession of  the  city  and  the  state.  He  has  served  as 
vice  president  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State 
of  North  Carolina,  as  well  as  chairman  of  several 
sections  of  that  body.  He  was  elected  to  and  holds 
at  this  time  the  position  of  member  of  the  State 
Examining  Board  of  North  Carolina,  being  the 
youngest  man  ever  elected  to  the  board,  and  is  also 
ex-president  of  the  Mecklenburg  County  Medical 
Library  Society,  a  high  honor  to  be  held  by  one 
who  was  comparatively  a  newcomer  in  the  county. 
At  the  recently  organized  North  Carolina  Hospital 
Association  he  was  elected  its  first  secretary  and 
treasurer.  He  was  commissioned  by  the  governor 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Twentieth  Annual  Convention 
of  The  American  Hospital  Association  held  in  At- 
lantic City,  New  Jersey,  September  24,  1918,  at  the 
Royal  Palace  Hotel.  He  is  an  honorary  member 
of  The  Accademia  Fisieo-Chimica  Italiana,  Pal- 
ermo, Italy. 

Doctor  Myers  was  married  in  1906,  at  Rocking- 
ham, Richmond  County,  North  Carolina,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Crosland,  who  was  born  in  that  county. 
They  have  three  children,  namely :  John  Quiney,  Jr., 
William    Turrelius   and    Elizabeth. 

Adolphus  Buchanan  Hunter  has  had  a  long 
and  active  career  in  business  affairs  in  Apex,  and 
is  widely  known  both  there  and  in  the  City  of 
Raleigh  as  a  banker  and  as  a  prominent  leader  in 
church  affairs. 

He  was  born  in  Wake  County,  North  Carolina, 
December  3,  1855,  a  son  of  Joseph  C.  and  Pianetta 
(Beckwith)  Hunter.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 
a  surveyor,  and  at  one  time  operated  a  sawmill. 
The  son  received  unusually  thorough  advantages 
as  a  boy,  not  only  in  private  schools  but  also  in 
Wake  Forest  College.  He  began  his  business 
career  as  a  general  merchant  at  Apex.  He  served 
as  mayor  of  that  town  one  term,  and  in  1903 
represented  his  home  district  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture. 

Mr.  Hunter  is  now  president  of  the  Merchants 
and  Farmers  Bank  at  Apex  and  is  a  director  of 
the  Commercial  National  Bank  of  Raleigh.  He 
is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Missionary  Baptist 
Church,  is  moderator  of  the  Raleigh  Association, 
and  was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  which 
erected  the  magnificent  church  in  Apex  at  a  cost 
of  $20,000. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


329 


On  December  10,  188.3,  Mr.  Hunter  married  Miss 
Alice  Carter,  of  Harnett  County.  Mr.  Hunter  is 
an  active  democrat  in  politics. 

Dred  Peacock,  of  High  Point,  is  a  North  Car- 
olina citizen  distinguished  by  an  unusual  range 
of  ability  as  well  as  by  the  purity  of  character 
and  intellectual  interests  which  his  friends  and 
associates  so  much  admire.  Mr.  Peacock  was  at 
one  time  one  of  the  foremost  educators  of  the 
Sonth.  From  educational  work  he  turned  to  busi- 
ness, achieved  success  there,  and  now  combines 
large  business  interests  with  the  profession  of  the 
law.  One  of  the  greatest  jurists  the  world  has 
ever  known  did  not  take  up  the  law  until  past 
middle  age,  and  Dred  Peacock  was  forty-eight 
years  old  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  North 
Carolina  bar  in  August,  1912. 

Mr.  Peacock  was  born  at  Stantonburg,  Wilson 
County,  North  Carolina,  April  12,  1864,  sixth  in 
a  family  of  seven  children  born  to  Dr.  C.  C.  and 
Ava  (Heath)  Peacock.  His  father  had  a  farm 
and  his  childhood  was  spent  partly  there  and 
partly  in  the  Town  of  Wilson.  Undoubtedly  the 
life  of  the  open  fields  and  the  forests  exerted  a 
tangible  influence  upon  his  impressionable  youth. 
While  in  later  years  a  splendid  specimen  of  vig- 
orous manhood,  Mr.  Peacock  had  precarious  health 
as  a  child,  but  under  the  wise  care  of  his  father 
he  developed  both  the  stronger  qualities  of  the 
mind  and  of  character.  In  his  early  childhood  also 
the  blight  of  war  and  reconstruction  was  upon 
southern  society.  The  point  has  been  well  made 
that  in  the  then  prevailing  gloom  it  was  almost 
inevitable  that  younger  people  growing  up  in  such 
an  atmosphere  should  have  imbibed  something  of 
a  spirit  of  pessimism.  It  was  the  rare  good  for- 
tune of  Dred  Peacock  that  he  escaped  the  per- 
manent influence  of  this  despondency. 

His  father  was  not  only  an  excellent  physician 
but  a  man  of  literary  tastes,  and  the  son  early 
acquired  a  habit  of  reading  and  had  the  books 
to  satisfy  the  splendid  natural  taste.  In  his  home 
Town  of  Wilson  he  also  had  the  opportunities  of 
better  schools  than  were  found  in  many  sections 
of  North  Carolina.  In  the  fall  of  1883  he  entered 
the  freshman  class  of  Trinity  College,  where  he 
was  graduated  in  June,  1887.  He  went  to  college 
with  a  good  preparation,  correct  habits  of  study, 
sound  ideals  and  a  stable  character.  He  was  so- 
cially popular  in  college  and  also  took  an  unusually 
large  proportion  of  college  honors  without  set- 
ting for  himself   the  task  of  getting  them. 

On  the  day  of  his  graduation,  June  9,  1887, 
he  married  Miss  Ella  Carr,  daughter  of  Prof.  0. 
W.  Carr.  once  a  member  of  the  college  faculty. 
This  marriase  united  two  people  in  bonds  of  do- 
mestic affection  and  of  similar  intellectual  tastes. 
Of  Mr.  Peacock 's  career  as  an  educator  it  is  ap- 
propriate that  some  liberal  quotations  should  be 
made  from  a  sketch  written  some  years  ago  by 
Bishop  John  C.  Kilgo,  who  as  biographer  had  the 
advantage  of  a  close  and  sympathetic  knowledge 
of  not  only  his  personal  subject  but  of  the  work 
performed  and  the  conditions  surrounding  it. ' ' 

' '  For  a  year  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Peacock 
was  principal  of  the  Lexington  Female  Seminary. 
The  success  which  attended  him  there  was  so 
marked  that  in  the  fall  of  1888  he  was  called  to 
the  chair  of  Latin  in  the  Greensboro  Female  Col- 
lege. For  six  years  he  held  this  position,  and 
upon  the  death  of  the  president,  Dr.  F.  L.  Reid, 
he  was  chosen  head  of  the  college.  His  progress 
had  been  exceptionally  rapid,  having  attained  at 
the  age  of  thirty  years  the  presidency  of  one  of 


the  oldest  and  most  influential  colleges  for  women 
in  the  southern  states. 

"It  was  natural  that  he  should  have  become  an 
educator.  There  were  no  financial  straits  that 
forced  him  into  the  schoolroom,  nor  was  he  mak- 
ing it  a  stepping  stone  to  another  profession,  nor, 
least  of  all,  was  he  influenced  by  a  lack  of  ability 
to  succeed  in  business.  He  loved  knowledge,  and 
all  of  his  nobler  sympathies  were  with  the  school 
as  a  center  of  learning.  He  had  the  genius  of  the 
educator  and  was  signally  fitted  for  the  work. 
Because  of  his  merits  his  alma  mater  conferred 
upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Lit- 
erature, also  giving  him  membership  upon  its  board 
of  trustees. 

' '  Honesty  was  the  ruling  aim  of  his  policy  as 
the  president  of  the  Greensboro  Female  College. 
Education,  and  especially  the  education  of  young- 
women,  has  been  too  greatly  hindered  by  undue 
claims  and  outward  pretenses.  Very  large  academic 
distinctions  have  been  granted  upon  exceedingly 
small  academic  acquirements.  As  president  of 
this  old  college  Dr.  Peacock  declined  to  confer 
any  of  the  usual  academic  degrees,  simply  grant- 
ing to  his  graduates  diplomas  of  graduation.  Yet 
it  is  very  doubtful  whether  any  southern  college 
for  women  as  jealously  watched  after  the  sound 
training  of  its  students. 

"For  eight  years  Dr.  Peacock  was  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Greensboro  Female  College,  and 
throughout  the  entire  time  it  was  embarrassed  by 
a  debt  which  required  all  the  skill  and  good  man- 
agement possible  on  the  part  of  its  president  and 
directors  to  keep  it  open  and  continue  its  useful 
mission  to  the  church  and  state;  and  in  1902  he 
was  forced  on  account  of  his  failing  health  to 
resign  his  position  and  abandon  his  cherished 
hopes  as  an  educator — a  work  for  which  he  had 
shown   such   exceptional   qualifications. 

' '  But  there  is  another  side  to  the  work  which 
he  did  for  education  in  North  Carolina  that  de- 
serves public  gratitude.  For  fourteen  years  he 
gave  his  vacations  to  building  among  the  people 
a  better  educational  sentiment.  There  are  very 
few,  if  any,  counties  in  the  state  in  which  his 
voice,  invested  with  a  charm  and  potency  for 
educational  advancement,  did  not  ring  out  clear- 
ly on  the  subject  of  the  diffusion  of  education 
among  the  masses  of  the  people. ' ' 

Bishop  Kilgo  also  called  attention  to  the  li- 
brary which  was  accumulated  under  Doctor  Pea- 
cock's supervision.  In  memory  of  their  deceased 
baby  daughter  he  and  his  wife  gave  $1,000  as  a 
nucleus  for  such  a  collection  of  books,  and  at  the 
end  of  seven  years  over  7,000  volumes  had  been 
acquired  at  a  cost  of  $15,000.  This  library  was 
accessible  to  the  students  of  the  Female  College 
at  Greensboro,  and  when  that  institution  was 
practically  bankrupt  Doctor  Peacock  made  the 
library  a  gift  to  Trinity  as  the  Ethel  Carr  Pea- 
cock Memorial  Collection.  It  is  a  splendid  library, 
and  one  of  the  best  reference  collections  of  books 
in  the  South. 

Another  brief  quotation  should  be  made  in 
Bishop  Kilgo 's  words:  "There  is  a  traditional 
notion  that  one  who  teaches  well  is  not  adapted 
to  practical  matters.  Much  is  heard  of  the  aca- 
demic world  as  distinguished  from  the  world  that 
is  doing  things.  Dr.  Peacock,  however,  inherited 
business  talent  as  well  as  intellect;  and  when  he 
turned  with  regret  from  the  school  he  walked  into 
the  world  of  business  and  asserted  himself  with  a 
calm  mastery.  In  a  few  weeks  he  began  a  very 
successful  business  and  assumed  a  high  place 
among  the  active  business  men  of  the  state,  and 


330 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


year  by  year  he  entered  new  fields  of  industry, 
developing  in  each  the  power  of  a  master  and 
adding  to  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  capacity  and 
enterprise. ' ' 

Since  1904  Mr.  Peacock's  home  has  been  at 
High  Point.  Por  ten  years  he  was  in  active  busi- 
ness. He  became  vice  president  of  the  Globe 
Home  Furniture  Company  and  treasurer  of  the 
High  Point  Art  Glass  Company.  He  was  one 
of  the  charter  stockholders  in  the  High  Point 
Savings  and  Trust  Company,  of  which  he  is  now 
a  director,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  was 
a  director  of  the  Commercial  National  Bank  of 
High  Point.  He  was  formerly  a  director  in  the 
Southern  Car  Company  and  a  director  in  the  Home 
Savings  Bank  of  Greensboro.  He  is  also  secre- 
tary and  a  director  of  the  McLelland  stores,  a  large 
'  New  York  mercantile  concern  operating  ten  cent 
stores  throughout  the  East  and  South.  Mr.  Pea- 
cock was  instrumental  in  having'  this  firm  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  North  Carolina  with 
offices  in  High  Point. 

Along  with  these  business  affairs  Mr.  Pea- 
cock handles  a  very  large  law  practice.  Though 
he  did  not  begin  practice  until  August,  1912,  his 
reputation  as  a  lawyer  is  now  assured  all  over 
the  state.  He  has  appeared  with  success  before 
the  highest  courts  and  has  brought  into  his  prac- 
tice the  same  splendid  integrity  of  character  and 
high  ideals  which  characterized  his  former  work 
as  a  teacher  and  also  in  the  business  field. 

Por  several  years  Mr.  Peacock  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  High  Point  City  Council.  Prom  June, 
1914,  to  June,  1915,  he  was  judge  of  the  re- 
corder 's  court.  Por  many  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Wesley  Memorial  Methodist  Church 
in  High  Point.  He  has  one  of  the  largest  Sun- 
day school  classes  in  the  South,  consisting  of 
over  100  members,  to  which  he  has  lectured  every 
Sunday  morning  since  1909.  Mr.  Peacock  and 
family  reside  in  a  beautiful  home  on  North  Main 
Street  in  High  Point.  Their  two  living  children 
are  John  Peacock  and  Miss  Odell  Peacock. 

Charles  L.  Amos.  One  of  the  men  who  have 
had  much  to  do  with  the  increasing  fortunes  of 
High  Point  as  a  great  center  of  the  furniture 
industry  of  the  South  is  Charles  L.  Amos,  whose 
name  is  now  associated  with  half  a  dozen  of  the 
larger  financial  interests  of  that  section  of  the 
state. 

Mr.  Amos  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Eeidville 
in  Rockingham  County,  son  of  Thomas  Amos,  a 
native  of  the  same  locality,  and  grandson  of 
Jesse  Amos,  who  was  born  in  Virginia.  The 
grandfather  on  coming  to  North  Carolina  settled 
in  Rockingham  County  and  was  a  farmer  there 
until  his  death.  Thomas  Amos  grew  up  on  a 
farm,  and  on  reaching  manhood  bought  a  place 
of  his  own  in  the  suburbs  of  Reidsville  and  is  still 
living  there.  He  married  Mary  Elizabeth  Ray, 
who  was  born  in  Rockingham  County,  daughter 
of  Robert  and  Priscilla  (Thomas)  Ray.  They 
reared  eight  children,  named  Ella,  James,  Lillie, 
Mattie,  Robert,  Will,  Jasper  (now  deceased)  and 
Charles  L. 

Charles  L.  Amos  had  his  youth  in  the  rural 
environment  of  the  old  homestead  farm.  His  edu- 
cfltion  was  acquired  chiefly  in  the  Reidville  pub- 
lic schools.  A  short  time  after  completing  his 
work  in  school  he  came  to  High  Point  and  went 
to  work  as  clerk  in  the  furniture  house  owned  by 
his  brother  Robert  and  Mr.  T.  A.  Kearns.  Six 
months  later  he  acquired  Mr.  Kearns'  interest 
and   he    and    lus   brother    Robert   have    since    been 


active  partners  and  have  brought  their  industry 
to  rank  among  the  important  enterprises  of  the 
city.  It  is  now  incorporated  as  the  Amos  Furni- 
ture Company,  with  Mr.  Amos,  president.  Rob- 
ert Amos  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Amos 
Hosiery  Company,  and  gives  all  his  time  to  that 
business,  While  Charles  L.  is  the  responsible  ex- 
ecutive in  the  furniture  house.  He  is  also  in- 
terested in  other  enterprises,  being  vice  president 
of  the  Amos  Hosiery  Company,  a  stockholder  in 
the  Bank  of  Commerce  and  the  Wachovia  Bank 
and  Trust  Company,  in  the  Highland  Cotton 
Mills,  and  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the 
Piedmont  Building  &  Loan  Association,  and  is 
interested  in  another  building  and  loan  associa- 
tion. 

January  1,  1913,  he  married  Miss  Mabel  A. 
Kenner,  who  was  born  in  Northumberland  Coun- 
ty, Virginia,  daughter  of  James  and  Marian  Ken- 
ner. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Amos  have  one  son,  Charles  L., 
Jr.  Both  are  members  of  the  Wesley  Memorial 
Church.  Mr.  Amos  is  affiliated  with  High  Point 
Lodge  No.  255,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks;  with  Numa  P.  Reid  Lodge  No.  344,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  High  Point  Chapter 
No.  70,  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

William  J.  Sherrod.  The  Greensboro  bar  has 
one  of  its  hardest  working  members  in  the  per- 
son of  William  J.  Sherrod,  who  has  brought  to 
the  profession  talent  of  a  high  order  and  thor- 
ough training,  and  his  increasing  experience  has 
brought  him  rapidly  a  large  and  profitable  clien- 
tage and  a  high  standing  in  legal  circles. 

Mr.  Sherrod  has  an  ancestry  that  deserves  some 
special  reference  at  this  point.  The  original  Eng- 
lish branch  of  the  family  lived  at  one  time  in  the 
locality  known  as  Sherwood  Forest,  an  historic 
and  romantic  section  of  England.  The  name  was 
originally  spelled  Sherwood,  but  this  particular 
branch  undoubtedly  came  to  spell  the  name  the 
way  it  was  pronounced.  When  the  Sherrods  came 
to  America  in  colonial  times  they  first  settled  in 
Pennsylvania  and  from  there  came  into  the  wilds 
of  North  Carolina.  William  J.  Sherrod 's  grand- 
father, John  Sherrod,  was  born  in  1800  in  Martin 
County,  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  man  of  large 
property  and  high  standing  in  the  community, 
owning  a  plantation  of  upwards  of  1,200  acres 
and  having  a  great  retinue  of  slaves  to  perform 
the  work  of  the  fields  and  the  household.  When 
the  war  came  on  it  is  said  that  upwards  of  300 
negroes  belonging  to  the  Sherrod  family  were 
given  their  freedom.  John  Sherrod  married  Eliza- 
beth Bowers,  who  was  born  in  Martin  County  in 
1804.  John  Sherrod  died  while  the  war  was  still 
in  progress  and  his  wife  about  three  years  later. 
They  had  fourteen  children,  six  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity:  Sally,  who  married  a  Mr.  Purvis; 
John  Watson,  who  served  throughout  the  war  as 
surgeon  in  a  Confederate  hospital  at  Richmond; 
Mary  Ann,  who  died  unmarried;  Nancy  J.,  who 
married  a  Mr.  Best;  William  L. ;  and  Bettie,  who 
married  Blunt  J.  Bryan,  a  farmer  of  Edgecombe 
County.  Something  more  than  this  casual  men- 
tion is  due  the  memory  of  Bettie  Bryan.  She  was 
left  a  widow  with  six  young  children,  the  oldest 
only  twelve  years  old.  She  resolutely  undertook 
the  task  of  providing  for  the  family  and  super- 
intending the  farm,  and  she  earned  the  gratitude 
of  her  children  and  of  all  who  knew  her  by  her 
success  in  this  heavy  task,  having  reared  and  edu- 
cated the  children  and  keeping  them  all  together 
until  they  were  grown  and  had  homes  of  their 
own. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


331 


William  Llewellyn  Sherrod,  father  of  William 
J.,  was  born  on  a  plantation  near  Hamilton  in 
Martin  County,  North  Carolina,  in  November,  1832. 
He  attended  the  schools  at  home  and  also  a  fine 
preparatory  school  at  Hamilton  conducted  by  Prof. 
J.  M.  Horner,  one  of  North  Carolina 's  famous 
educators.  Later  he  attended  an  academy  in 
Alamance  County.  He  did  not  choose  to  adopt  a 
profession,  and  after  completing  his  academic 
course  he  returned  to  the  farm.  During  the  war 
he  was  detailed  to  raise  supplies  for  the  Confed- 
erate Government.  By  purchase  of  the  interests 
of  the  other  heirs  he  succeeded  to  the  ownership 
of  the  old  homestead,  and  showed  such  exceptional 
ability  in  the  management  of  this  property  that 
he  accumulated  a  fortune.  He  continued  to  live 
on  the  farm  until  1912,  when  he  removed  to  En- 
field, where  he  is  now  living  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-six.  He  married  at  the  age  of  forty-five 
Carrie  Catherine  Newberry.  She  was  born  on  a 
plantation  near  Plymouth  in  Albemarle  County, 
North  Carolina,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Phelps  and 
Sarah  Ann  (Lanier)  Newberry.  William  L.  Sher- 
rod and  wife  had  six  children :  Annie,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  three  years;  William  J.;  Rusha  Lu- 
cile,  who  married  Dr.  M.  A.  Fleming;  Mary  Belle, 
wife  of  Herbert  I.  Salsbury;  Watson  Newberry; 
and  Mrs.  Raymond  Woods. 

William  J.  Sherrod  was  born  at  the  home  of  his 
maternal  grandparents  in  Washington  County, 
North  Carolina.  As  a  boy  he  had  the  advantages 
of  both  the  public  and  private  schools.  He  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Horner's  Military  Institute 
at  Oxford,  and  from  there  entered  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  pursuing  special  work  in  the 
academic  department  and  also  studying  law. 
After  two  years  at  the  university  he  was  licensed 
to  practice  and  at  once  came  to  Greensboro,  where 
he  has  found  his  opportunities  and  his  work  in 
the  profession.  He  is  active  in  local  civic  and 
social  affairs,  is  a  member  of  the  Merchants  and 
Manufacturers  Club,  the  Country  Club,  is  affiliated 
with  Greensboro  Lodge  No.  76,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Greensboro  Council  No.  3, 
Royal  and  Select  Masters;  Greensboro  Chapter  No. 
13,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Ivanhoe  Commandery  No. 
8,  Knights  Templar;  and  Oasis  Temple  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine  at  Charlotte.  He  is  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  St.  Andrews  Episcopal 
Church,  is  a  vestryman  and  for  two  years  was 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  Mrs.  Sher- 
rod is  a  Presbyterian. 

In  September,  1907,  he  married  Elizabeth  Ser- 
geant, who  was  born  in  Greensboro,  daughter  of 
George  and  Lulu  (MeCulloch)  Sergeant.  They 
have  two  sons,  William  J.,  Jr.,  and  George  Ser- 
geant  Sherrod. 

Hon.  Edwin  Ferebee  Atdlett  is  one  of  the 
great  lawyers  of  the  North  Carolina  bar.  Those 
associated  most  closely  with  him  during  the  last 
thirty  years  have  been  constantly  impressed  by 
his  profound  legal  wisdom,  purity  of  public  and 
private  life,  and  that  quiet  dignity  which  makes 
him  an  ideal  follower  of  his  calling.  It  has 
been  given  to  few  men  to  endear  themselves  to 
so  great  an  extent  to  their  professional  asso- 
ciates and  those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact 
in  the  discharge  of  public  duties.  He  is  now 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar  Association, 
elected  at  its  last  annual  meeting  at  Wrights- 
ville,  North  Carolina.  This  is  the  highest  honor 
in   the   gift  of  the  association. 

Mr.  Aydlett  is  in  fact  one  of  the  fortunate  men 
of  North  Carolina.  He  was  fortunate  in  having 
a  good  parentage,  a  good  endowment  of  intellect 


and  feeling,  a  liberal  education,  and  in  attaching 
himself  to  one  of  the  greatest  of  learned  profes- 
sions. While  he  has  borne  a  large  share  of  the 
labors  of  professional  life,  accomplishing  not  less 
for  the  public  welfare  than  for  his  own  advan- 
tage, he  has  been  distinguished  for  his  singular 
purity  of  character  and  moral  purpose,  and  from 
all  the  exactions  of  a  busy  career  has  preserved 
his  love  of  letters,  his  pursuit  of  invigorating  pas- 
times, and  his  indulgence  in  the  amenities  of  a 
refined   and  gentle  home  life. 

An  interesting  review  of  his  career  is  found 
in  an  article  written  several  years  ago  by  the 
late  Col.  R.  B.  Creecy. 

Edwin  Ferebee  Aydlett  was  born  in  Camden 
County,  North  Carolina,  May  14,  1857.  His  par- 
ents were  Abner  and  Clotilda  Aydlett.  His  father 
was  long  prominent  in  the  official  affairs  of  Cam- 
den County,  having  been  sheriff  and  chairman 
of  the  board  of  county  commissioners.  He  was 
a  merchant  and  a  farmer  and  was  successful  in 
both  pursuits.  His  parents  were  both  members  of 
the  Baptist  Church  and  they  trained  him  from 
boyhood  in  the  paths  of  holiness,  and  when  he 
attained  manhood  he  departed  not  therefrom. 
Since  his  active  and  successful  live  he  has  never 
forgotten  his  sacred  duties  but  has  always  given 
to  all  church  organizations,  activities  and  charities 
a  liberal  support.  To  the  church  in  this  town  he 
has  been  the  central  pillar  both  in  godly  counsel 
and  in  material  advancement.  In  the  general 
association  of  the  church  he  has  been  an  active 
and  influential  member  and  for  several  years  was 
the  efficient  and  judicious  moderator  of  the  Chowan 
Baptist   Association. 

In  childhood  and  boyhood  he  was  healthy,  ro- 
bust and  active.  Born  and  reared  in  the  country 
and  in  touch  with  nature,  his  environments  were 
such  as  develop  manhood,  intellectuality,  ob- 
servation and  self  reliance,  qualities  which  belong 
to  the  simple  farm  life.  While  surrounded  by  the 
influence  of  that  farm  life,  which  is  said  to  be 
the  peculiar  nursery  of  great  men,  he  did  not  spend 
his  time  in  idleness  or  frivolous  pursuits.  Born 
to  competence,  he  was  not  under  the  compulsion 
of  necessity  to  toil  for  his  daily  bread,  but  he 
was  trained  by  a  thoughtful  mother  and  father 
to  regard  work  as  a  blessing  and  a  duty,  and  to 
their  good  counsel  he  attributed  his  fondness  and 
capacity  for  labor,  both  physical  and  mental. 
While  he  was  a  boy  he  was  employed  in  the 
various  labors  of  the  farm,  sometimes  following 
the  plow,  sometimes  the  hoe,  and  sometimes  attend- 
ing to  the  cotton  gin. 

His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  country 
school,  taught  irregularly,  but  his  crumbs  of  learn- 
ing were  carefully  gathered  and  nothing  was  lost. 
His  preparatory  education  having  been  finished, 
he  sought  the  higher  schools  of  learning.  As  a 
boy  he  was  fond  of  books  and  study  and  by  his 
own  efforts  added  to  his  store  of  learning.  He 
aspired  to  the  higher  learning  of  the  colleges.  To 
say  that  he  attained  it  without  difficulty  would 
not  be  entirely  accurate.  He  came  of  that  more 
fortunate  middle  class  who  have  had  neither 
wealth  nor  penury  and  who  have  had  to  encounter 
neither  the  necessities  of  the  one  nor  the  responsi- 
bilities, cares  and  temptations  of  the  other.  He 
had  to  obtain  his  college  education  through  care- 
fulness, economy  and  personal  sacrifice. 

He  entered  Wake  Forest  College  at  an  early  age 
and  graduated  with  distinguished  honor  in  his 
class,  delivering  the  salutatory  oration,  the  next 
highest  distinction   in   scholarship. 

He  chose  the  legal  profession.     His  father  was 


332 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


an  officer  of  the  court,  aud  young  Aydlett  was 
much  in  the  courthouse,  and  the  high  ideal  of  that 
grandest  of  human  pursuits  came  under  his  ob- 
servation, firing  his  imagination.  Law  schools 
were  then  expensive  and  inaccessible,  but  the  mem- 
bers of  the  profession  were  kind  and  helpful  in 
explaining  intricate  points.  Trusting  to  his  own 
self  reliance  and  determined  resolution  and  know- 
ing that  an  intelligent  reader  knows  when  he  fully 
comprehends  what  he  reads,  he  took  up  his  legal 
tasks  alone  and  unaided.  Through  the  kindness  of 
a  leading  member  of  the  bar  in  Elizabeth  City  he 
had  the  use  of  the  text  books  that  he  required. 
Industry  and  a  resolute  purpose  conquered  all 
other  difficulties. 

In  January,  1881,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
by  the  license  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  returned 
to  Camden  County  to  begin  his  practice.  While 
reading  there  as  an  attorney  at  law  he  was  made 
county  superintendent  of  education.  Desiring  a 
larger  field  of  practice  and  a  closer  association 
with  the  leading  members  of  the  profession,  he 
moved  to  Elizabeth  City  in  November,  1881,  and 
there  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  C.  W.  Grandy. 

In  Elizabeth  City  he  made  friends  and  attracted 
attention  by  his  industry,  his  fidelity  to  his  clients, 
and  his  careful  examination  of  all  questions  of  law 
involved  in  a  case.  This  soon  found  appreciation 
and  he  was  appointed  official  attorney  of  Elizabeth 
City  and  an  alderman.  He  was  also  made  presi- 
dent of  the  Elizabeth  City  Improvement  Company, 
an  organization  that  has  been  of  great  benefit  to 
the  town  and  has  extended  its  corporate  limits. 
He  also  served  as  director  in  the  cotton  mills, 
knitting  mills,  the  Savings  Bank  as  vice  president, 
and  as  attorney  for  the  Suffolk  and  Carolina  Rail- 
way Company. 

Some  of  the  qualities  that  have  distinguished 
him  as  a  lawyer  are  reflected  in  the  following 
quotations:  "Richly  endowed  by  nature  with 
genius  and  talent,  highly  educated,  fully  equipped, 
confident  of  his  own  strength  and  abilities,  with 
the  tread  of  a  giant  he  entered  upon  the  battles 
of  life,  determined  by  honest  methods  to  win 
fame,  fortune  and  success.  He  is  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  what  an  honest  lawyer  may  accomplish. 
Recognizing  that  the  law  is  a  jealous  mistress,  he 
devoted  himself  to  its  practice  with  diligence  and 
assiduity,  not  lured  from  its  path  by  the  false 
and  flickering  light  of  political  strife. 

"He  was  leading  counsel  in  the  celebrated  Wil- 
cox murder  case  which  was  tried  a  few  years  ago. 
Public  sentiment  and  indignation  were  so  strong 
against  his  client  that  it  was  impossible  to  acquit 
him  and  he  was  convicted  of  murder,  but  owing  to 
the  riotous  proceedings  in  the  courthouse  during 
the  delivery  of  Mr.  Aydlett 's  speech,  the  Supreme 
Court  granted  a  new  trial  and  at  the  second 
trial  he  was  convicted  of  murder  in  the  second 
degree. ' ' 

A  democrat  of  stronc  convictions,  while  never 
seeking  office  for  himself,  Mr.  Aydlett  has  given 
gratuitous  service  in  its  campaign  contests  and 
has  been  tendered  a  candidacy  to  manv  of  his 
partv's  choicest  places,  judicial  and  political. 

"Tn  his  personalitv."  said  Colonel  Creecy,  "Mr. 
Aydlett  is  of  medium  stature,  of  pleasant  ex- 
pression, denoting  the  happy  combination  of  firm- 
ness and  benevolence.  He  is  affable,  genial  and 
comnanionable.  kind  and  helpful  to  the  younger 
members  of  the  profession.  To  his  seniors  he  is 
courteous  and  respectful,  to  the  court,  alwavs  def- 
erential, but  to  his  equals  wh;le  always  observing 
the  canons  of  professional  courtesy,  is  tenacious  of 
the    rights    of    his    clients,    strikes    out    from    the 


shoulder,  asks  no  quarter  and  gives  none.  He  has 
the  ruddy  glow  of  health  and  though  not  of  robust 
mold  in  his  physical  constitution,  is  alert,  active, 
energetic  and  healthy. 

' '  As  an  upbuilder  of  the  town  Mr.  Aydlett 's 
public  service  is  invaluable.  He  has  accumulated 
wealth  by  his  own  wonderful  business  capacity, 
and  by  his  professional  skill,  and  has  expended 
it  with  a  liberal  hand  in  the  improvement  of  the 
town.  His  investments  have  been  large  and  have 
shown  by  their  success  wisdom  and  wise  forecast. 
His  love  for  his  old  home  has  always  been  a 
marked  feature  of  his  character.  He  has  refused 
liberal  offers  to  cast  his  lot  in  other  places,  always 
saying  that  Elizabeth  City  was  the  best  place  for 
him. 

"But  the  chief  claim  to  our  gratitude  and 
esteem  is  the  lesson  of  his  life  and  character.  It 
is  an  object  lesson  to  every  young  man  who  grows 
up  among  us  who  wants  to  be  something  in  the 
community,  a  lesson  of  industry,  self  reliance, 
manhood,  virtue,  good  habits,  sobriety,  integrity 
and  love  of  home  and  home  people. ' ' 

A  number  of  years  ago  Mr.  Aydlett  erected  a 
building  at  the  Thomasville  Orphanage  which 
would  accommodate  thirty-three  children.  The 
Chowan  Association  erected  a  similar  building. 
Later  Mr.  Aydlett  proposed  to  the  association  that 
he  would  support  and  maintain  the  thirty-three 
children  in  his  building  if  the  association  would 
do  the  same  for  the  thirty-three  children  in  its 
building.  While  this  generous  offer  was  not 
accepted,  it  stands  as  a  conspicuous  example  that 
has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public  of  his 
manifold  benevolences.  He  is  now  and  from  his 
earliest  years  has  been  an  earnest  working  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church  and  has  stood  firm  in 
the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared.  Success  has 
come  to  him  in  liberal  measure,  but  wealth  has 
never  been  an  end  and  aim,  and  much  that  has 
come  to  him  has  been  wisely  distributed  and  al- 
lotted among  numerous  worthy  causes. 

Any  man  might  be  envied  who  while  his  powers 
and  vigor  of  life  are  still  unabated  can  justly 
and  worthily  be  made  the  object  of  such  a  com- 
mentary as  is  found  in  an  issue  of  the  Wake  Forest 
College'  Howler  of  1913,  an  issue  that  was  dedi- 
cated to  Mr.  Aydlett.  The  words  of  the  dedica- 
tion read  as  follows:  "Devoted  son  of  Wake 
Forest  College,  salutatorian  of  the  class  of  1879, 
superintendent  of  education  of  Camden  county, 
1881,  brilliant  attorney,  true  friend  to  the  poor, 
benefactor  to  orphans,  unselfish  servant  of  his 
fellow  men:  counting  political  advancement  as 
naught  beside  his  chosen  profession ;  earnest 
worker  in  the  cause  of  truth,  justice  and  patriot- 
ism, and  a  faithful  steward  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  this  eleventh  issue  of  the  Howler  is  respect- 
fullv  dedicated. ' ' 

On  December  19,  1883,  at  Raleigh,  Mr.  Aydlett 
married  Miss  Ettie  Hunter  Briggs.  Her  father, 
Thomas  H.  Briggs,  was  a  prominent  business  man 
and  citizen  of  Raleigh.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aydlett 
became  the  parents  of  five  children:  Ettie  Briggs, 
who  married  W.  T.  Minor  December  5,  1911 ; 
Evelyn  Lamb,  who  married  P.  G.  Sawyer  June 
1(1.  1914:  Edwin  F.  Aydlett,  who  died  in'infancy; 
Edwin  F.  Avdlctt.  Jr..  who  married  Effie  Poag 
April  !.">,  1914:  and  Helen  Bvrd,  who  married 
Dr.   R.   L.   Kendrick   June   20,   1918. 

Thomas  H.  Battle.  One  of  the  foremost  men 
of  Rocky  Mount,  one  who  has  been  identified  with 
and  largely  instrumental  in  founding  and  for- 
warding  the    leading   enterprises   of   this   city,   is 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


333 


Thomas  H.  Battle,  who  is  president  of  the  Rooky 
Mount  Savings  &  Trust  Company  and  is  at  the 
head  of  numerous  other  concerns  and  corporations 
of  similar  importance.  He  also  has  many  other 
claims  to  distinction.  Mr.  Battle  was  born  at 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  in  1860.  His  father,  Dr. 
Kemp  P.  Battle,  was  formerly  president  of  the 
University  of'  North  Carolina  and  a  member  sub- 
sequently of  its  faculty. 

Thomas  H.  Battle  attended  school  in  the  capital 
city  and  after  completing  the  high  school  course 
entered  the  university  and  was  graduated  in  law 
in  1882  and  was  licensed  in  the  same  year.  In 
December,  1882,  he  opened  a  law  office  at  Tarboro 
and  two  weeks  later  was  elected  solicitor  of  the 
Inferior  Court.  Mr.  Battle  remained  at  Tarboro 
for  eighteen  months  and  then  came  to  the  village 
of  Rocky  Mount,  seeking  a  wider  field  for  his 
talents,  although  circumstances  so  changed  his 
activities  that  he  really  practiced  his  profession 
but  a  short  time  here,  evincing,  however,  a  con- 
ception of  law  that  has  been  valuable  to  him  per- 
sonally and  immensely  valuable  to  the  best 
interests  of  this  city,  with  which  his  life  has 
since  been  so  closely  identified. 

One  of  the  early  and  important  industries  of 
Rocky  Mount  were  the  cotton  mills,  and  when 
Mr.  Ruffin,  the  treasurer  of  the  Rockv  Mount 
Mills,  retired  in  1898  Mr.  Battle,  who  had  been 
president  of  the  company  for  years,  became  treas- 
urer with  Mr.  R.  H.  Ricks  as  president.  They 
have  continued  in  these  offices  to  the  present  time. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Battle 's  influence  and  busi- 
ness connections  have  grown  wider  and  wider.  In 
addition  to  the  cotton  mills  under  his  direct  man- 
agement, he  is  president  of  the  Rocky  Mount 
Savings  &  Trust  Company,  the  Rocky  Mount 
Homestead  &  Loan  Association,  and  the  Rocky 
Mount  Insurance  and  Realty  Company,  and  is 
president  of  the  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount. 

The  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount  was  organized  in 
1889,  the  prime  movers  being  Thomas  H.  Battle, 
S.  E.  Westray  and  L.  F.  Tillery,  Mr.  Westray 
being  the  first  president,  Mr.  Battle  vice  president 
and  Mr.  Tillery  cashier.  At  that  time  Rocky 
Mount  was  a  village  and  the  launching  of  so  im- 
portant an  enterprise  as  the  founding  of  a  bank 
aroused  local  interest  and  pride  and  the  bank, 
well  managed  by  Mr.  Battle,  prospered  from  the 
start.  Five  years  after  its  organization  Mr.  Battle 
succeeded  Mr.  Westray  as  president.  The  capital 
of  the  bank  at  the  beginning  was  $25,000  and 
from  time  to  time  it  has  been  increased  as  its 
needs  and  the  needs  of  the  town  for  financial 
accommodation  have  grown  until  it  is  now  The 
National  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount  with  a  capital  of 
$100,000  and  undivided  profits  and  surplus  of 
$110,000. 

This  bank  has  to  its  credit  the  fact  that  it  has 
never  hesitated  to  back  up  with  the  necessary 
funds  every  well  considered  movement  for  the  up- 
building of  the  community,  and  one  case  in  point 
was  the  establishing  of  the  Rocky  Mount  Tobacco 
Market,  the  first  in  Eastern  North  Carolina  and 
by  many  considered  a  wild  venture.  The  officers 
of  this  bank  have  always  been  men  of  sound, 
practical  business  sense  and  after  thoroughly 
investigating  conditions  they  were  persuaded  that 
the  culture  and  production  of  tobacco  in  this  sec- 
tion was  certain  to  hecome  a  great  industry  if 
properly  managed.  Hence  the  Bank  of  Rocky 
Mount  furnished  the  finances  that  established  the 
market  which  has  now  grown  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  employers  of  labor  and  producers  of  wealth 


in  the  city.  It  is  but  justice  to  Mr.  Battle  and 
the  Bank  of  Rocky  Mount  to  assert  that  this  pros- 
perity has  been  the  direct  result  of  good  judgment 
and   business   foresight   on  their  part. 

Another  instance  of  Mr.  Battle 's  public  spirit 
which  assisted  greatly  Rocky  Mount's  development 
and  illustrates  still  another  side  of  his  noble  char- 
acter was  in  connection  with  the  Rocky  Mount 
graded  schools.  At  one  time  he  gave  the  sum  of 
$800  outright  and  assumed  responsibilities  that 
insured  the  completion  of  the  school  buildings  of 
first  class  construction  and  ever  since  has  main- 
tained his  interest  in  educational  advancement 
here  and  for  many  years  served  as  chairman  of 
the  graded  school  board. 

Politics  as  a  business  could  never  interest  such 
a  sound,  wholesome  man  as  Thomas  H.  Battle,  but 
by  1886  he  had  grown  too  important  to  Rocky 
Mount  to  find  himself  able  to  decline  election  to 
the  mayoralty  and  for  ten  consecutive  years  he 
served  in  that  office,  giving  the  people  an  admir- 
able administration  and  bringing  about  the  mea- 
sures which  have  made  it  one  of  the  pleasantest, 
most  prosperous  and  sanitary  little  cities  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina.  On  retiring  as  mayor 
he  accepted  a  place  on  the  board  of  town  alder- 
men and  ever  since  his  influence  has  been  used  to 
further  progress  and  reform. 

Mr.  Battle  was  married  in  18S7  to  Miss  Bettie 
Davis,  of  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  who  died  after 
the  birth  of  one  son,  Kemp  Davis  Battle.  He 
was  born  October  9,  1888,  and  was  reared  at 
Rocky  Mount  and  attended  the  high  schools  of 
Rocky  Mount  and  Warrenton,  later  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  subsequently  the  University 
of  Denver,  Colorado,  in  August,  1910,  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  North  Carolina  bar,  after  which  he 
went  to  Colorado  and  was  there  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  practiced  law  for  one  year  in  Denver.  In 
1913  he  returned  to  Rocky  Mount,  where  he  is 
now  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  substantial  practice. 

In  1895  Mr.  Battle  was  married  to  Miss  Sallie 
Hyman,  and  they  have  three  children:  Hyman 
Llewellyn,  who  was  born  August  1,  1896,  com- 
pleted his  education  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1916  and  is  a  resident  of  Philadelphia; 
and  Ethel  Hall  and  Josephine,  both  of  whom  are 
yet  in  school.  Mr.  Battle  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Rocky  Mount  Episcopal  Church  and  he 
is  one  of  the  unostentatious  supporters  of  many  of 
the   church 's  charities   and   benevolences. 

Romulos  Sydenham  Folger,  Esq.  Noteworthy 
among  the  public  officials  of  Surry  County 
is  Romulus  Sydenham  Folger,  Esq.,  of  Dobson,  who 
has  served  honorably  and  faithfully  as  justice  of 
the  peace  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  has  like- 
wise filled  other  offices  of  responsibility  in  a  most 
satisfactory  manner.  A  native  of  North  Carolina, 
he  was  born  November  20,  1840,  in  Browntown, 
Davidson  County,  of  pioneer  stock,  being  a  de- 
scendant in  the  fourth  generation  from  Latham 
Folger,  the  founder  of  the  Folger  family  in  North 
Carolina,  his  ancestry  being  thus  traced:  Latham 
Folger,  Reuben  Folger,  Milton  Young  Folger,  and 
Romulus  S.  Folger.  The  branch  of  the  Folger 
family  to  which  he  belongs  came  to  this  state  from 
New  England,  Latham  Folger  having  been  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Peter  Folger,  one  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  the  Island  of  Nantucket,  which  was 
his  birthplace. 

Reuben  Folger  was  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
owning  and  operating  a  plantation  in  what  is  now 
Forsyth  County,  near  Kernersville,  where  he  spent 


334 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  last  years  of  his  life.  He  married  Lydia 
Wilson,  a  native  of  Randolph  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  they  reared  six  sons,  as  follows:  Cyrus, 
Alfred,  Rufus  W.,  Benjamin  F.,  Jackson,  and 
Milton  Y.  Three  of  these  sons,  Benjamin,  Alfred 
and  Milton,  became  physicians,  and  all  of  them 
were  expert  violinists. 

Milton  Young  Folger  was  born  on  the  home 
plantation,  in  Forsyth  County,  near  Kernersville, 
in  1819,  and  there  obtained  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion, attending  the  rural  schools  of  his  neighbor- 
hood. Deciding  upon  a  professional  career,  he 
read  medicine  with  an  older  brother,  and  after 
the  completion  of  his  studies  located  first  in 
Kernersville,  later  settling  in  Brownville,  Davidson 
County,  where  he  built  up  an  excellent  patronage. 
Coming  to  Surry  County  in  1843,  he  continued 
in  active  practice  in  Rockford  until  1867,  when 
he  settled  permanently  in  Dobson,  where  he  held 
an  assured  position  among  the  best  known  phy- 
sicians of  the  community  until  his  death,  in  1890, 
at  the  age   of   seventy-two  years. 

Dr.  Milton  Y.  Folger  was  twice  married.  He 
married  first  Miss  Elizabeth  Pegram,  a  native  of 
Guilford  County,  North  Carolina.  She  died  Au- 
gust, 1850,  leaving  four  children,  namely:  Romulus 
S.,  of  this  sketch;  Eunice  M. ;  Adrian  Rush;  and 
Fannie  Leslie.  He  married  for  his  second  wife,  in 
1852,  Elizabeth  Gray,  who  was  born  in  Davie 
County,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  (Kelley)  Gray.  She  died  in  Dobson,  leaving 
the  following  named  children :  Joseph,  Mollie, 
Thomas  W.,  Maude,  Metta,  Alice,  Ida,  and  Ben- 
jamin F. 

Romulus  S.  Folger  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Rockford  and  Dobson  in  the  days  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth,  subsequently  continuing  his  studies 
at  East  Bend  under  the  wise  instruction  of  Pro- 
fessor Livermore.  In  May,  1861,  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Captain  Reece  's  Company,  Twenty- 
eighth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  troops,  but  was 
soon  commissioned  as  first  lieutenant.  He  remained 
with  his  command  until  the  following  spring  when 
he  re-enlisted,  and  was  granted  a  furlough  of 
thirty  days,  and  returned  to  his  home  for  a  visit. 
Within  a  very  short  time  the  commander  of  his 
regiment  sent  an  order  for  all  men  out  on  a  fur- 
lough to  return  at  once  and  go  to  the  relief  of 
Newbern,  which  fell,  however,  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy  before  the  commands  reached  the  men 
thus  called  upon.  Mr.  Folger  was  soon  after  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  service,  but  in  Sep- 
tember, 1862,  after  a  short  stay  at  home,  he  re- 
enlisted  in  the  same  company  and  regiment,  and  as 
first  lieutenant  again  went  to  the  front.  Just 
before  the  battle  at  Chancellorsville  he  was  com- 
missioned adjutant  of  the  regiment,  and  subse- 
quently served  in  that  official  capacity  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Folger  was  at  Appomattox 
when  Lee  surrendered,  and  being  allowed  to  keep 
his  horse  rode  home  after  receiving  his  parole. 

Soon  after  returning  to  his  old  home,  Mr.  Folger 
began  the  study  of  law  at  Rockford  with  Hon. 
R.  M.  Pearson,  and  there,  in  June,  1866,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  Beginning  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  1866,  in  Dobson,  he  met  with  excellent 
success,  and  continued  his  legal  work  until  1882 
when  he  was  elected  county  clerk  of  Surry  County, 
a  position  that  he  held  continuously  by  re-election 
for  a  period  of  12%  years.  For  the  past  twenty 
years  Mr.  Folger  has  served  with  distinction  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  during  the  time  has  con- 
ducted and  won  many  important  suits.  Few  have 
been  contested,  but  whenever  an  appeal  has  been 


made  the  higher  courts  have  invariably  sustained; 
his  decisions. 

Mr.  Folger  married  first,  in  the  twenty-first 
year  of  his  age,  Miss  Juliet  Gray,  who  was  born 
in  Davie  County,  North  Carolina,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Kelley)  Gray.  She  died  at  the 
age  of  forty  years,  leaving  four  children,  namely: 
Romulus  Roseoe,  a  dentist  in  Doblbn;  Mary  J.; 
Walter  C,  who  achieved  success  as  a  physician, 
died  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years;  and  Rush  G., 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Dobson.  Mr. 
Folger  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss  America 
C.  Booker  and  of  their  union  two  children  have 
been  born,  Myrtle  and  Ruth. 

Mr.  Folger  is  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  town 
commissioners  and  of  the  board  of  education, 
while  in  1880  he  was  census  enumerator.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  non-affiliating  member  of  the  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons,  and  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Hon.  James  Lacy  Mayo  is  one  of  the  promi- 
nent newspaper  men  of  North  Carolina  and  has 
also  been  an  active  figure  in  public  affairs,  being 
the  present  representative  from  Beaufort  County 
in  the  State  Legislature. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Beaufort  County  Oc- 
tober 28,  1878,  a  son  of  Lacy  R.  and  Dorcas  E. 
(Potter)  Mayo.  He  grew  up  on  a  farm,  largely 
educated  himself,  and  by  his  own  ability  and 
resources  has  gained  a  creditable  position  in  his 
native  state.  On  August  4,  1909,  Mr.  Mayo  es- 
tablished the  Washington  News,  and  his  success 
with  this  paper  has  led  to  his  acquiring  the  Belle- 
haven  Journal,  a  weekly  paper,  while  on  June 
15,  1917,  he  established  the  Greenville  News  at 
Greenville,   North   Carolina. 

Mr.  Mayo  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Beaufort  County  in  1908.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  Legislature  during  his  mem- 
bership, and  one  measure  which  he  advocated  and 
introduced  was'  the  stock  law  bill.  This  measure 
passed  both  houses  as  a  result  of  his  hard  work, 
but  was  finally  knocked  out.  The  bill  contained 
the  same  provisions  which  are  now  being  pushed 
by  the  United  States  Government  in  Eastern  North 
Carolina  to  eradicate  the  stock  tick  and  estab- 
lish laws  regarding  live  stock.  Mr.  Mayo  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  his  church  is  the 
Methodist. 

He  married  Miss  Ella  D.  Phillips.  They  are 
the  parents  of  six  children:  Lillian  Ruth,  Lacy 
Rayfield,  Ella.  Elizabeth,  James  Lacy,  Jr.,  George 
Philip  and  Stella  Catherine. 

Hon.  J.  Elyvood  Cox.  Forty  years  ago  J. 
Elwood  Cox  was  interested  in  a  small  lumber 
manufacturing  concern  at  High  Point.  Through 
his  energies  a  business  has  been  built  up  in  the 
manufacture  of  hard  wood  stock  for  shuttles, 
bobbins,  etc.,  which  now  has  plants  in  operation 
in  several  other  states  and  is  one  of  the  primary 
sources  of  production  of  these  specialties  in  the 
country.  The  business  has  a  large  export  as  well 
as  domestic  trade.  For  about  thirty-seven  years 
Mr.  Cox  had  the  principal  responsibilities  of  this 
business,  but  recently  he  incorporated  it  as  the 
J.  Elwood  Cox  Manufacturing  Company,  and  has 
turned  the  management  over  to  his  nephew,  Joseph 
D.  Cox. 

Large  and  important  though  this  manufacturing 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


335 


company  is,  and  oue  of  the  bulwarks  of  High 
Point  s  greatness  as  a  lumber  and  furniture  cen- 
ter, it  by  no  means  measures  the  extent  and  scope 
of  Mr.  Cox's  interests.  Though  a  resident  of  that 
town  most  of  his  active  life,  his  activities  have 
been  by  no  means  parochial  in  character,  but  have 
earned  him  a  conspicuous  place  among  the  nation  's 
manufacturers  and  bankers.  His  associates  say 
that  Mr.  Cox  has  achieved  success  largely  by  his 
capacity  for  tireless  work  and  the  power  of  con- 
centration upon  business  detail  rarely  excelled. 
For  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  prominent 
me. nbers  of  the  American  Bankers  Association 
and  is  now  president  of  the  National  Bank  Section 
jr  that  association.  A  man  of  wealth,  he  is  at 
the  same  time  one  of  the  most  public  spirited 
and  liberal  citizens  of  High  Point.  His  name  and 
reputation  have  traveled  far  and  by  various  ave- 
nues. Many  North  Carolina  people  know  him  as 
a  prominent  leader  in  the  republican  party  of  the 
state.  In  19U8  he  was  republican  candidate  for 
governor  and  materially  reduced  the  former 
democratic   majority. 

While  his  achievements  have  been  to  a  large 
degree  the  expression  of  his  rich  and  varied  char- 
acter and  energy,  Mr.  Cox  undoubtedly  owes  much 
to  the  wholesome  ancestry  that  preceded  him.  He 
comes  of  a  long  line  of  sterling  Quakers.  His 
great-grandparents  were  John  and  Miriam  Cox. 
Little  is  known  of  John  Cox  beyond  the  fact 
that  he  lived  and  died  in  Perquimans  County.  His 
will  filed  with  the  records  of  that  county  was  pro- 
hated  in  February,  1813.  Joseph.  Cox,  grand- 
father of  J.  Elwood,  was  born  in  1783,  in  Perqui- 
mans County,  and  owned  and  occupied  a  farm  of 
300  acres  between  Hertford  and  Woodville  in 
that  county.  He  was  a  man  of  good  education, 
a  teacher,  and  also  a  Quaker  preacher.  He  died 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty -five.  Margaret  Roger- 
son,  his  wife,  was  a  daughter  of  "William  Roger- 
son,  who  was  with  the  colonists  in  their  struggle 
for  independence.  He  participated  in  Arnold's 
expedition  to  Quebec.  In  one  battle  he  was  severely 
wounded.  His  skull  was  fractured  by  a  piece  of 
shell  and  it  was  trepanned  with  a  silver  dollar. 
It  was  a  rare  piece  of  surgery  for  that  time  and 
he  lived  many  years  afterward.  His  daughter 
Dolly  married  Henry  Copeland,  and  became  a 
famous  Quakeress  and  abolitionist.  Her  home  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina  was  a  station  on  the 
underground  railway  through  which  many  a  slave 
passed  on  his  way  to  freedom.  Margaret  Roger- 
son  Cox  married  for  her  second  husband  Thomas 
Elliott.  She  reared  two  sons,  Joseph  and  Jona- 
than Elliott. 

Jonathan  Elliott  Cox,  father  of  J.  Elwood,  was 
born  in  Perquimans  County  January  21,  1818.  He 
was  educated  in  the  New  Garden  Boarding  School, 
now  Guilford  College,  in  Guilford  County,  having 
entered  that  school  the  first  year  it  was  founded, 
in  1837.  While  there  he  met  a  fellow  student, 
Elizabeth  Hare,  whom  he  afterwards  married.  For 
a  time  he  taught  school,  but  after  his  marriage 
located  on  a  farm  in  Northampton  County  and 
lived  there  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war. 
He  then  returned  to  New  Garden  to  take  charge 
of  the  boarding  school  property,  and  while  he  was 
master  his  wife  was  matron.  He  lived  in  that 
communitv  a  number  of  years,  but  finally  retired 
to  High  Point,  where  he  died  June  16,  1895.  He 
always  held  to  the  faith  of  the  Friends  and  was 
a  church   official. 

Elizabeth  Hare,  his  wife,  was  born  September 
29,   1817,   daughter   of  John   and   Edna    f Porter) 


Hare,  a  granddaughter  of  Henry  and  Jane  (John- 
son,) Hare,  and  great-granddaughter  of  John  Hare, 
who  was  a  native  of  England  but  came  to  America 
and  settled  at  Suffolk  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
Virginia.  Edna  Porter,  mother  of  Elizabeth  Hare, 
was  a  daughter  of  William  Porter  and  grand- 
daughter of  John  Porter.  All  these  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Elizabeth  Hare 
Cox  died  October  5,  1891.  Jonathan  and  Eliza- 
beth Cox  reared  four  children,  named  Margaret, 
Dr.  Joseph  J.,  Mary  E.  and  J.  Elwood. 

J.  Elwood  Cox  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Rich 
Square  in  Northampton  County,  North  Carolina, 
November  1,  1856.  Like  his  father,  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  New  Garden  Boarding  School  and 
afterwards  was  sent  west  to  a  noted  Quaker  insti- 
tution of  higher  learning  known  as  Earlham  Col- 
lege at  Richmond,  Indiana.  He  also  had  a  business 
course  in  a  college  at  Baltimore.  Among  his  early 
experiences  was  teaching  a  rural  school  and  selling 
fruit  trees  as  a  traveling  salesman. 

Some  time  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Cox  entered 
business  with  his  wife's  father.  The  business 
might  be  described  generally  as  lumber  manufac- 
turing, but  its  specialty  from  the  first  was  the 
manufacture  of  shuttles  for  cotton  mills.  Soon 
thereafter  his  father-in-law  retiring,  he  succeeded 
to  the  business,  and  it  was  under  his  able  personal 
management  and  control  that  by  successive  stages 
it  has  readied  the  highly  substantial  position  al- 
ready described.  Mr.  Cox  is  still  president  of  the 
company,  though  as  noted  the  active  management 
devolves  upon  his  nephew. 

Mr.  Cox  is  probably  more  widely  known  as  a 
banker  than  as  a  manufacturer.  When  the  Com- 
mercial National  Bank  of  High  Point  was  organ- 
ized in  March,  1891,  he  was  chosen  its  first  presi- 
dent, and  has  continued  to  fill  that  office  now  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Under  his  manage- 
ment this  bank  has  grown  to  a  point  where  it  may 
properly  be  named  with  the  larger  banks  of  any 
si"ate.  Its  showing  is  particularly  admirable  in 
the  fact  that  its  surplus  and  profits  now  exceed 
its  capital  stock  of  $150,000.  The  bank  had  total 
resources  in  the  summer  of  1918  of  more  than 
$3,000,000,  its  deposits  aggregating  nearly  $2,500,- 
000.  The  institution  has  never  failed  to  pay  a 
semi-annual  dividend  of  from  four  to  six  per 
cent.  Mr.  Cox  is  also  president  of  the  High  Point 
Savings  and  Trust  Company  and  is  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  ThomasviUe,  North 
Carolina,  the  Greensboro  Loan  and  Trust  Com- 
pany, the  Virginia  Trust  Company,  and  the  Jef- 
ferson Standard  Life  Insurance  Company. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Cox  has  been  an  interested 
and  a  popular  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
Bankers  Association  as  well  as  of  the  American 
Bankers  Association.  For  six  years  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  executive  council  of  the  latter 
body  and  in  1917  was  made  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Bank  section  of  the  American  Bankers  Asso- 
ciation. 

For  nineteen  years  Mr.  Cox  was  chairman  of 
the  City  School  Board  of  High  Point  and  also 
chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Guilford 
College.  He  is  a  republican  and  one  of  the  prom- 
inent  laymen   of  the   Friends   Church. 

The  New  Garden  Boarding  School,  now  Guil- 
ford College,  has  been  more  than  a  source  of  edu- 
cation to  the  Cox  family.  Both  Mr.  Cox  and  his 
father  attended  school  there  and,  as  already  noted, 
his  father  met  his  wife  as  a  fellow  student.  It 
was  at  New  Garden  Boarding  School  that  J.  El- 
wood Cox  also  found  his  life  companion.     She  was 


336 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Miss  Bertha  Snow,  a  native  of  Lowell,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  a  daughter  of  Captain  William  H. 
and  Lydia  J..  (Cramer)  Snow.  Eeference  to  her 
father  will  be  found  on  other  pages.  She  finished 
her  education  in  New  Garden  Boarding  School 
and  on  October  23,  1878,  she  and  Mr.  Cox  were 
united  in  marriage.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Clara  I.  Mr.  Cox  has  a  beautifutl  winter  home  at 
St.  Petersburg,  Florida,  where  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter spend  the  winter  months  and  he  goes  there 
for  as  long  a  time  and  as  frequently  as  his  many 
business  interests  will  permit. 

{ 

Capt.  Marion  C.  Toms.  There  was  every  rea- 
son why  Capt.  Marion  C.  Toms  should  be  called 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  men  of  western 
North  Carolina.  He  lived  to  be  beyond  three 
score  and  ten  and  from  a  boy  fighter  with  the 
Confederate  army  he  enjoyed  nearly  every  success 
and  appreciation  which  a  wholesome  ambition 
could  crave. 

He  was  born  at  Fairview  in  Buncombe  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1843,  son  of  James  Toms,  a 
pioneer  farmer  of  this  section  of  North  Carolina. 
Captain  Toms  had  reached  the  age  of  eighteen 
when  the  war  broke  out  and  joining  the  Buncombe 
Rifles  as  a  private  he  was  later  in  service  with 
the  Sixtieth  North  Carolina  Regiment  and  for 
distinguished  gallantry  at  the  battle  of  Murfrees- 
boro  was  commissioned  to  a  higher  rank  and  sub- 
sequently became  captain  of  Company  A  of  the 
Sixtieth  North  Carolina  Troops,  his  commission 
reading  ' '  for  skill  as  an  officer  and  for  valor  in 
battle. ' '  Following  the  war  Captain  Toms  re- 
entered school  at  Asheville,  and  then  took  up  his 
residence  at  Hendersonville,  which  was  his  home 
during   all  his   active   career. 

There  in  the  years  following  the  Civil  war, 
Captain  Toms  was  junior  partner  in  the  firm  of 
Ripley  &  Toms,  who  conducted  one  of  the  largest 
mercantile  establishments  in  the  western  part  of 
North  Carolina.  Later  Captain  Toms  entered  the 
mercantile  business  for  himself,  and  about  1890 
took  up  banking  as  cashier  of  the  State  Bank  of 
Commerce  at  Hendersonville.  From  about  1894 
until  his  death  Captain  Toms  had  been  engaged 
in  farming,  fruit  growing  and  other  similar  pur- 
suits. His  apple  orchards  in  Henderson  County 
were  among  the  largest  in  the  state. 

He  was  also  extensively  engaged  in  mining  in 
Henderson  County  and  elsewhere.  His  principal 
mines  were  the  Zircon  mines  of  Green  River,  out 
of  which  for  a  long  while  was  obtained  almost  the 
entire  supply  of  zircon  used  in  the  world.  Cap- 
tain Toms  was  everywhere  regarded  as  a  success- 
ful man  of  affairs,  and  his  holdings  of  property 
both  in  Henderson  and  Buncombe  were  extensive 
and  represented  no  small  share  of  wealth.  In 
Henderson  County  he  was  an  especially  familiar 
figure,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  known  by 
practically  every  man  and  woman  in  that  vicinity. 

Captain  Toms  was  appointed  by  the  state  as 
one  of  the  three  commissioners  to  ascertain  the 
furthest  point  reached  by  the  North  Carolina 
troops  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  and  mark 
that  point  by  the  erection  of  a  suitable  monument. 
Captain  Toms  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate 
of  1899,  and  rendered  most  creditable  service  in 
that  office.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Order. 

Captain  Toms  died  at  his  home  in  Henderson- 
ville October  12,  1917,  and  was  buried  at  Asheville 
in  his  native  county.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Josephine  French,  daughter  of  the  late  George  R. 
French    of   Wilmington.      She   died    in    1889    and 


was  the  mother  of  Captain  Toms '  only  son, 
Charles  French  Toms,  a  resident  of  Asheville. 
Captain  Toms  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss 
Katie  Johnson,  who  survives  him.  Her  father, 
Rev.  Harvey  Johnson,  was  president  of  Whitworth 
College   at   Brookhaven,   Mississippi. 

Charles  French  Toms,  whose  home  and  whose 
business  interests  are  chiefly  centered  at  Ashe- 
ville, belongs  essentially  to  Henderson  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  practiced  his  profession 
as  a  lawyer  with  eminent  success  for  many  years, 
and  where  he  gained  his  chief  distinctions  pro- 
fessionally and  in  politics. 

Mr.  Toms  was  born  in  Henderson  County  Sep- 
tember 5,  1872,  son  of  the  late  Capt.  M.  C.  Toms, 
of  whom  a  personal  record  appears  on  other  pages. 
He  was  educated  in  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  was  a  student  of  both  the  literary 
department  and  of  law.  After  his  admission  to 
the  bar  he  practiced  more  than  twenty  years  at 
Hendersonville.  During  that  time  he  was  ap- 
pointed and  elected  twice  as  solicitor  and  made  a 
splendid  record  as  prosecutor  for  the  state.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  of  1905,  and 
filled  various  other  political  offices.  He  has  been 
a  delegate  to  national  conventions  of  the  party, 
has  been  a  member  of  notification  committees, 
was  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
and  in  many  other  similar  ways  has  been  made 
to  sense  the  regard  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens. 

Mr.  Toms  until  recently  practiced  law  at  Ashe- 
ville, and  as  a  lawyer  had  a  very  large  and  exten- 
sive clientele.  He  is  extensively  engaged  in 
fruit  growing.  His  orchards  are  among  the 
largest  and  finest  in  the  state.  For  years  he  has 
been  interested  in  banking  and  mining.  In  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis  he 
was  awarded  a  medal  and  diploma  as  leader  in 
the  production  of  zircon,  a  mineral  of  little  known 
popularity  but  of  great  usefulness  in  commercial 
and  industrial  lines. 

Mr.  Toms  is  a  member  of  the  Sigma  Chi 
fraternity,  belongs  to  the  various  bodies  and  rites 
of  Masonry,  including  the  Mystic  Shrine,  is  active 
in  the  Baptist  church  and  is  one  of  the  vice  presi- 
dents of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union  of 
Philadelphia. 

On  March  7,  1894,  he  married  Miss  Ethel  Pank- 
nin,  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  Panknin  of  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children,  Hortense,  Charles  F.,  Jr.,  Frederick, 
Maurice   and  Margaret  Toms. 

George  Reade  French,  Sr.,  was  a  prominent  old 
time  merchant  and  business  man  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  exemplified  that  high  quality  of  honesty 
and  enterprise  which  makes  his  name  today,  thirty 
years  after  his  death,  associated  with  commercial 
success  and  a  symbol  of  the  highest  commercial 
integrity. 

Though  his  life  from  the  early  '20s  was  identi- 
fied with  the  City  of  Wilmington,  he  was  of  New 
England  ancestry  and  birth,  and  was  born  at 
Taunton,  Massachusetts,  January  24,  1802,  son  of 
Enoch  French.  He  began  his  business  career  in 
his  eighteenth  year,  as  manager  of  a  shoe  and 
leather  manufacturing  company  at  Oneysville, 
Rhode  Island,  now  a  part  of  the  City  of  Provi- 
dence. He  soon  gave  up  that  responsibility  and 
came  south,  locating  at  Darien,  Georgia,  where 
he  was  in  business  with  Perry  Davis  of  "pain 
killer"  fame. 

In  the  autumn  of  1822  Mr.  French  established 


^fafrm* 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


337 


the  present  boot  and  shoe  business  of  George  R. 
French  &  Sons  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  a 
firm  that  has  been  continuously  in  existence  ever 
since  and  has  always  been  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  reputable  in  this  state. 

George  R.  French  was  a  resident  of  Wilming- 
ton over  sixty-five  years.  He  died  in  that  city 
March  15,  1889,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
community  where  he  had  always  enjoyed  the 
highest  degree  of  success  and  esteem.  He  was  at 
one  time  president  and  a  director  of  the  Bank  of 
Wilmington,  and  a  director  of  three  other  banks. 

He  was  widely  known  in  Baptist  circles  as 
"Deacon  French,"  having  constructed  largely 
through  his  efforts  the  present  magnificent  church 
edifice  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Wilming- 
ton. He  was  also  president  of  the  Oak  Dale 
Cemetery  Association  and  of  the  Seaman  's  Friend 
Society,  and  was  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union  of  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  French  married  April  5,  1827,  Sarah  Caroline 
Weeks. 

Rev.  G.  S.  Jones,  a  resident  of  Hendersonville, 
North  Carolina,  deserves  the  memory  of  the  people 
of  North  Carolina  for  the  splendid  work  he  did 
as  a  Baptist  minister  and  as  an  effective  promoter 
of  home  missions. 

For  forty  years  he  was  a  missionary  of  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union  of  Philadelphia. 
During  that  long  period  he  established  Sunday 
schools  in  North  Carolina  from  the  mountains  to 
the  sea,  and  when  death  came  to  him  in  advanced 
age  he  had  long  enjoyed  the  enviable  distinction 
of  having  personally  established  more  Sunday 
schools  than  any  one  man  who  ever  lived. 

Rev.  G.  S.  Jones  was  born  in  Pasquotank  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1837,  and  died  at  Henderson- 
ville in  1910,  aged  seventy-three.  His  father, 
Malachi  Jones,  was  a  physician  of  Pasquotank 
County.  Rev.  Mr.  Jones  was  educated  in  local 
schools,  and  later  at  Wake  Forest  College,  where 
he  ranked  as  one  of  the  highest  men  in  his  class. 
After  the  Civil  war  he  removed  to  Henderson- 
ville, and  married  Margaret  French,  daughter  of 
the  late  George  R.  French,  Sr.,  of  Wilmington. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jones  was  a  man  of  fine  qualities, 
genial  and  lovable  in  disposition,  and  was  beloved 
by  everyone  who  knew  him  throughout  the  state. 

Ernest  Browxrigg  Dewey  is  one  of  the  most 
widely  experienced  and  oldest  in  point  of  con- 
tinuous service  insurance  men  in  North  Car- 
olina. His  home  and  business  headquarters  are 
at  Goldsboro,  where  he  has  spent  practically  all 
his  life. 

Mr.  Dewey  was  born  at  Goldsboro  January  10. 
1861,  a  son  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  and  Harriette  (Bor- 
den) Dewey.  He  received  a  public  sehool  educa- 
tion, and  as  a  young  man  began  business  life  for 
himself.  He  had  experience  as  a  bookkeeper  and 
clerk  and  subsequently  became  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  Dewey  Brothers  and  later  of  George 
W.  Dewey  &  Brother,  an  old  anil  prominent  in- 
surance firm.  Besides  his  connection  as  a  gen- 
eral insurance  man  Mr.  Dewey  is  special  agent  for 
the  Queen  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  America 
in  the  states  of  Virginia,  West  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina.  He  is  now  the  sole  owner  of  the 
George  W.  Dewey  Insurance  Agency.  He  is  also 
a  director  of  the  North  Carolina  Home  Insurance 
Company  of  Raleigh,  and  the  commissioner  of 
the  Electric  Light  Fund  of  the  City  of  Golds- 
boro. 

Mr.   Dewey    is   affiliated   with    the    Independent 

Vol.  T— 22 


Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Royal  Arcanum  and 
the  Benevolent  &  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Algonquin  Club  at  Goldsboro. 
On  June  10,  1884,  he  married  Sallie  Arlington, 
daughter   of  Dr.  B.   F.   Arlington   ot   Goldsboro. 

Hillary  M.  Wilder,  M.  D.  For  over  forty 
years  Doctor  Wilder  has  practiced  medicine  and 
surgery  at  Charlotte.  Iii  the  judgment  of  his  as- 
sociates and  contemporaries  he  lias  long  ranked 
as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  profession 
in  North  Carolina.  His  work  has  been  especially 
notable  in  the  field  of  surgery.  Doctor  Wilder  is 
also  prominent  socially  and  in  civic  affairs.  Men 
look  upon  his  frieiidsnip  as  a  rare  privilege.  He 
is  a  member  of  one  of  North  Carolina 's  oldest 
and  most  distinguished  families,  and  his  own  ca- 
reer has  added  luster  to  the  family  record. 

From  the  mass  of  interesting  data  concerning 
the  Wilder  family  a  tew  points  should  be  noted 
in  introduction  to  the  personal  life  of  Doctor 
Wilder.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  remotely 
of  German  origin.  They  first  appear  in  the  rec- 
ord as  having  gone  out  of  Germany  to  England 
to  assist  the  Duke  of  Richmond  in  his  wars  against 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  This  German  soldier  of 
fortune  for  his  services  was  knighted  in  England 
and  was  given  The  Sultam  House,  which  was  the 
home  of  the  family  for  several  generations.  The 
Wilders  of  England  were  patrons  of  Eton  College. 

The  first  of  the  name  to  come  to  America  was 
Roger  Wilder.  His  mother,  Martha  Wilder,  fol- 
lowed him  about  a  year  later,  landing  at  Plymouth 
Rock.  Roger  Wilder  is  honored  by  having  his 
name  on  the  Plymouth  Rock  Monument.  Martha 
Wilder  had  two  other  sons  who  came  with  her  and 
from  one  of  them  Doctor  Wilder  is  descended.  For 
many  years  the  Wilders  lived  at  Hingham,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Samuel  Wilder  came  from  Hingham,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  located  on  a  plantation  on  the  James 
River  near  Petersburg,  Virginia.  It  was  his  am- 
bition to  beeome  a  planter  and  own  negroes  which 
caused  him  to  remove  from  New  England  to  the 
old  South.  Descendants  from  this  Virginia 
planter  subsequently  removed  to  Johnston  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  thus  originated  the  North 
Carolina  family  of  the  name. 

Hon.  Hillary  Madison  Wilder,  grandfather  of 
Doctor  Wilder,  was  born  in  Johnston  County, 
North  Carolina.  He  became  a  prominent' and  in- 
fluential figure  in  his  generation.  Johnston 
County  sent  him  as  a  representative  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  the  years  1821,  1825,  1826,  1827 
and  1829,  and  he  served  as  state  senator  in  1830, 
1833  and  1834.  In  1835  he  sat  as  an  influential 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention.  While 
he  was  so  much  occupied  with  public  matters,  his 
private  business  was  as  a  planter  and  slave  owner. 
About  1840  he  removed  to  Wake  County,  estab- 
lishing his  home  five  miles  east  of  Raleigh,  the 
state  capital,  on  the  old  Tarboro  Road.  In  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  he  was  the 
friend  and  associate  of  practically  all  the  leading 
North    Carolinians. 

Gaston  H.  Wilder,  father  of  Doctor  Wilder,  was 
perhaps  even  more  prominent  in  North  Carolina 's 
business  and  public  life.  He  had  business  ability 
amounting  almost  to  genius,  and  his  experience  as 
a  man  of  affairs  brought  him  in  contact  with  all 
the  ereat  men  of  his  day.  He  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  with  the  class  of 
1838.  That  class  contained  a  number  of  young 
men  who  afterwards  made  names  and  impressed 
their    achievements    upon    the    history    of    North 


338 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Carolina.  Gaston  H.  Wilder  served  as  a  represen- 
tative in  the  General  Assembly  from  Wake  County 
in  1842,  1844  and  1846  and  again  in  1852.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  served  through  the  Mexi- 
can war,  being  paymaster  in  the  regular  United 
States  Army.  In  1854  and  again  in  1856  he  was 
state  senator  from  Wake  County.  He'  had  been 
educated  as  a  lawyer  and  was  a  very  able  advo- 
cate and  attorney,  but  in  time  he  retired  from 
private  practice  in  order  to  accept  the  post  of 
president  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  .Railroad.  This 
railroad,  extending  from  Ealeigh  to  Weldon,  and 
in  later  years  a  part  of  the  Seaboard  System,  was 
up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  one  of  the  chief 
traffic  lines  of  the  state.  Gaston  H.  Wilder  served 
as  its  president  until  about  the  opening  of  the  ■ 
war.  The  duties  of  the  position  were  very  oner- 
ous and  responsible,  and  at  the  time  the  war  came 
on  his  name  was  readily  recognized  as  distin- 
guished by  achievements  of  a  large  and  practical 
nature.  During  the  war  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment entrusted  him  with  many  important  busi- 
ness duties.  He  w^s  put  in  charge  of  all  the 
property  interests  owned  by  northern  parties  in 
North  Carolina.  In  1856  he  was  president  elector 
on  the  Buchanan  ticket,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
entertainment  committee  when  Mr.  Buchanan 
visited  Ealeigh  and  Chapel  Hill  about  1859. 

Gaston  H.  Wilder  married  Sarah  Hinton.  That 
introduces  the  name  of  another  prominent  North 
Carolina  family  into  this  lineage.  Sarah  Hin- 
ton was  the  daughter  of  Isaac  Hinton  of  Wake 
County,  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  three  Hin- 
tons  who  originally  settled  on  the  Neuse  River  in 
North  Carolina.  The  Hintons  owned  vast  tracts 
of  land,  developed  large  plantations  and  had  a 
great  many  slaves.  Mrs.  Sarah  Wilder  and  her 
husband,  Gaston  H.  Wilder,  together  owned  and 
operated  two  large  plantations,  one  in  Wake 
County  and  another  in  Alabama,  and  at  one  time 
they  had  250  negroes. 

On  the  old  Wilder  estate  five  miles  east  of 
Raleigh  in  Wake  County  Dr.  Hillary  M.  Wilder 
was  born  in  1851.  He  was  ten  years  old  when 
the  issues  which  had  so  long  been  debated  between 
the  North  and  the  South  broke  into  Civil  war. 
The  events  of  that  long  and  horrible  struggle  made 
their  impressions  on  his  youthful  mind  and  char- 
acter in  its  formative  state.  Despite  the  gen- 
eral overturning  of  private  and  public  interests 
during  that  period  Doctor  Wilder  was  accorded  a 
liberal  education.  He  attended  Davidson  College 
of  North  Carolina  during  the  presidency  of  Doc- 
tor McPhail.  He  pursued  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  now 
the  medical  department  of  Cornell  University.  He 
graduated  there  in  1872,  and  subsequently  pur- 
sued post-graduate  clinics  in  the  famous  Guy 's 
Hospital  in  London.  Doctor  Wilder  came  to  Char- 
lotte, Mecklenburg  County,  in  1876,  and  has  stead- 
ily been  a  resident  of  this  old  and  noted  city 
of  North  Carolina  and  almost  from  the  first  has 
been  a  leader  in  his  profession.  Soon  after  he 
came  to  Charlotte  Doctor  Wilder  was  elected 
county  physiean,  a  position  he  held  for  twenty- 
years,  longer  than  any  other  incumbent  of  the 
office.  Of  late  years  his  practice  has  been  con- 
fined largely  to  office  and  consultation  work  in 
surgery. 

His  friends  and  associates  esteem  him  not  only 
for  his  professional  accomplishments  but  for  the 
rare  resources  of  his  mind  and  social  nature. 
Doctor  Wilder  knows  men,  knows  life  from  contact 
with  the  world  at  many  points,  and  has  a  wonder- 


ful fund  of  historic  reminiscence  concerning  pub- 
lic affairs  and  notable  characters  in  his  home  state 
and  city. 

When  the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out  in 
1898  Doctor  Wilder  was  appointed  surgeon  with 
the  rank  of  major  in  the  First  Regiment  of  North 
Carolina  Volunteers  under  Col.  J.  F.  Armfield. 
With  the  regiment  he  went  into  active  service  in 
Cuba,  and  the  members  of  this  regiment  were 
among  the  first  troops  who  entered  the  City  of 
Havana.  They  remained  there  during  the  occu- 
pancy of  the  city  and  helped  in  cleaning  it  up 
under  Gen.  Leonard  Wood.  Prior  to  the  war 
Doctor  Wilder  had  been  surgeon  of  the  Fourth 
North  Carolina  Infantry,  serving  for  ten  years 
as  Maj. -Surgeon  with  the  Fourth  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  National  Guard. 

Doctor  Wilder  's  home  is  on  South  Tryon  Street 
in  Charlotte.  He  has  lived  there  since  1891.  It 
is  one  of  the  historic  places  of  Charlotte,  and  at 
one  time  was  one  of  the  finest  mansions  in  the 
city.  It  is  the  old  Tiddy  home,  and  during  the  war 
and  for  a  few  subsequent  years  was  occupied  by 
Mr.  Heilburn,  a  prominent  Charlotte  merchant.  It 
was  in  this  home  that  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  member 
of  President  Davis'  cabinet,  was  taken  care  of 
while  he  was  ill  and  toward  the  close  of  the  war. 
At  the  time  Mr.  Davis  and  members  of  his  cabinet 
were  in  Charlotte.  A  well  authenticated  fact  is 
that  Mr.  Davis,  upon  hearing  of  President  Lin- 
coln's death,  which  occurred  while  the  party  were 
in  Charlotte,  hastened  to  visit  Mr.  Benjamin  at 
the  Heilburn  home  and  consulted  on  official  busi- 
ness. This  constituted  perhaps  the  last  meeting, 
or  at  least  a  portion  of  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Confederate  cabinet. 

In  January,  1876,  Doctor  Wilder  married  Miss 
Sarah  Demares  Worsham,  of  Mecklenburg  County. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  children:  Gaston 
Wilder;  and  Celeste  Eloise,  wife  of  Mr.  K.  M. 
Blake,  their  home  being  at  250  Riverside  Drive, 
New  York  City.  Celeste  Eloise  Wilder  Blake  was 
educated  at  the  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary  at  Staun- 
ton, West  Virginia,  and  was  sent  abroad  to  study 
music  and  voice  culture  in  London  and  Paris  for 
several  years  and  reflects  in  voice  her  many  advan- 
tages of  study  and  tutelage. 

David  Jeptha  Rose.  Of  the  contracting  build- 
ers who  have  contributed  much  to  the  past  of 
Rocky  Mount,  and  who  because  of  their  superior 
equipment  and  progressive  ideas  may  be  counted 
on  to  share  in  the  development  of  the  future  of 
the  city,  mention  is  due  David  Jeptha  Rose,  who 
has  been  a  resident  of  Rocky  Mount  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  During  this  time 
he  has  grown  with  the  community,  where  evidences 
abound  on  every  hand  of  his  skill  and  ability  as 
well  as  the  superior  workmanship  which  he  puts 
into  every  contract  accepted  by  him.  Like  many 
other  successful  men  of  this  locality  Mr.  Rose  is 
a  product  of  the  farm,  having  been  born  in 
Johnson  County,  North  Carolina,  November  27, 
1861,  a  son  of  George  Pinkney  and  Nancy  B. 
(Ingram)  Rose.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and 
millwright  who  removed  with  his  family  to  Wayne 
County  in  1868,  and  in  that  community  the  parents 
of  Mr.  Rose  rounded  out  industrious  and  honorable 
lives. 

David  J.  Rose  was  seven  years  of  age  when 
taken  by  his  parents  to  Wayne  County,  and  there 
received  a  public  school  and  academic  education. 
His  career  was  commenced  as  an  agriculturist, 
but  the  duties  of  the  farm  held  out  no  attractions 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


339 


for  him,  and  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  of 
age  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter.  He 
was  about  twenty-eight  years  old  when  he  made 
his  first  venture  into  the  difficult  field  of  contract- 
ing, but  his  success  encouraged  him  to  further 
efforts,  and  by  the  time  he  came  to  Rocky  Mount, 
in  1892,  he  felt  himself  capable  of  competition 
with  men  who  had  established  reputations  as  con- 
tractors. A  contemporary  biographer  remarks: 
•'It  is  well  known  by  those  familiar  with  the 
subject  that  the  business  of  successful  contracting 
and  building  is  one  that  requires  a  high  order  of 
business  ability  and  a  sound,  level  judgment  to 
avoid  the  pitfalls  that  encompass  it.  It  is  no 
small  tribute  to  Mr.  Rose 's  capacity  that  he  has 
not  only  conducted  his  business  always  with  con- 
sistent good  faith  toward  all  concerned,  but  that 
he  has  been  largely  successful  financially  and  is 
now  one  of  the  strong  men  of  the  city,  speaking 
in  a  financial  sense.  He  has  been  equal  to  every 
emergency  that  has  arisen  in  his  widespread  field 
of  large  and  responsible  work,  and  the  impression 
one  gains  of  him  at  first,  as  being  a  man  of  force 
and  of  calm  and  sane  judgment,  is  one  that  is 
amply  corroborated  by  his  record.  *  *  *  In 
all  the  states  bordering  on  the  South  Atlantic 
Coast  in  which  he  operates,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  find  a  contractor  with  a  better  or  safer 
reputation  for  dependability,  thorough  efficiency 
and  fidelity  than  he.  This  reputation  is  well 
earned,  too,  and  has  been  built  up  by  years 
of  thorough  application,  hard  and  conscientious 
work,  and  the  utmost  care  of  the  interests 
of  those  who  have  employed  him.  The  work 
Mr.  Rose  has  done  has  been  on  a  large  scale, 
many  contracts  running  into  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  before  completion.  It  is 
true,  also,  that  Mr.  Rose  has  done  a  multitude  of 
the  less  costly  but  hardly  less  important  work, 
such  as  the  building  of  churches  and  residences, 
many  of  the  handsomest  in  the  Southeastern 
states  having  been  built  under  his  direction." 
One  of  these  residences,  erected  for  a  railroad  offi- 
cial, cost  approximately  $25,000.  At  Rocky 
Mount  among  his  contracts  are  to  be  found,  among 
others:  the  Hotel  Ricks,  the  Shore  Building,  the 
Masonic  Temple,  the  Bank  of  Rocky  jlount,  the 
Five  Points  Drug  Store,  the  store  of  W.  D.  &  C. 
A.  Cochran,  the  new  Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
churches,  parts  of  the  Roeky  Mount  Mills,  the 
Planters  Cotton  Seed  Oil  Company 's  factory,  the 
Railroad  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association 
building,  Rocky  Mount 's  new  passenger  station, 
and  numerous  others.  The  most  of  Mr.  Rose 's 
work,  however,  has  been  done  on  the  larger  con- 
structing plane.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was 
employed  on  a  large  number  of  important  con- 
tracts for  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  other  mammoth  industrial  concerns  in 
the  South  and  elsewhere.  The  railroad  shops  at 
South  Rocky  Mount  were  all  constructed  by  Mr. 
Rose  with  the  exception  of  two  of  the  first  build- 
ings. Among  some  of  his  largest  contracts  may  be 
mentioned  the  Morris  Fertilizer  Factory,  which 
cost  approximately  $200,000  which  Mr.  Rose  built 
at  Atlanta  for  the  Morris  Packing  Company  of 
Chicago;  all  the  buildings  in  connection  with  the 
mines  of  the  Florida  Phosphate  Mining  Company 
at  Bartow,  Florida,  which  cost  upwards  of 
$150,000;  the  big  factory  of  the  Dutton  Phosphate 
Company  at  Jacksonville.  Florida ;  factories  for 
the  great  Southern  Fertilizer  Company,  the  F.  S. 
Royster  Guano  Company,  of  Norfolk,  which  fac- 
tories   cost    something    like,    including    equipment 


$750,000,  and  which  Mr.  Rose  built  for  this  great 
concern  at  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  Tarboro,  North 
Carolina,  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina,  Colum- 
bus, Georgia,  Macon,  Georgia,  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama, and  Baltimore,  Maryland,  the  last  named 
factory  being  the  largest  in  the  South  and  alone 
cost,  complete,  about  $400,000,  and  scores  of 
others  of  equal  magnitude  all  over  the  Southern 
states,  including  F.  S.  Roysbi's  large  fertilizer 
works  at  Toledo,  Ohio.  He  also  erected  the 
National  Bank  building  of  Roeky  Mount,  North 
Carolina  at  a  cost  of  $150,000.  To  again  quote: 
' '  Mr.  Rose  is  widely  known  as  not  only  a  man 
who  completes  his  contracts,  large  or  small,  to  the 
very  letter,  but  a  big,  broad  man  who  is  not 
satisfied  until  his  patrons  have  received  absolute 
satisfaction  to  the  last  detail.  The  regard  in 
which  he  is  held  by  a  number  of  the  largest  cor- 
porations in  the  South,  and  indeed  all  over  the 
country,  who  award  him  contracts  year  after  year 
is  ample  proof  that  he  not  only  knows  his  busi- 
ness and  has  the  necessary  financial  and  industrial 
generalship  to  carry  out  satisfactorily  the  largest 
contracts,  but  is  the  sort  of  man  who  carries  his 
conscience  into  his  business,  and  who  makes  every 
yard  of  his  work  good  for  not  only  the  present 
but  for  the  future.  It  has  become  so  that  the 
only  bond  required  of  Mr.  Rose  is  the  reputation 
he  has  won  by  his  years  of  hard  work  and  uniform 
honesty   and   honorable   business   methods. ' ' 

Mr.  Rose  is  president  and  a  director  of  the  Rock 
Fish  Cotton  Mills,  a  director  in  the  National  Bank 
of  Rocky  Mount  and  the  Underwriters  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company.  He  was  formerly  president  of  the 
Rocky  Mount  Brick  Company,  and  has  important 
connection  with  other  enterprises  and  industries. 
His  offices  are  located  on  Rose  Street,  a  thorough- 
fare named  in  his  honor,  and  his  beautiful  and  com- 
modious residence  is  situated  on  Lexington  Street. 
His  record  as  an  office  holder  is  confined  to  mem- 
bership on  the  board  of  aldermen  from  1899  to 
1901,  but  in  numerous  ways  he  had  done  his  part 
in  assisting  the  city  in  its  civic  progress.  Frater- 
nally he  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
he  holds  membership  also  in  the  Sagamore  and 
Durand  Island   clubs. 

Mr.  Rose  was  first  married  October  5,  1892,  to 
Miss  Anna  Woodall,  of  Smithfield,  North  Carolina, 
aud  they  had  three  children :  Lucille,  Ira  Woodall 
and  Vera  Durham.  Mrs.  Rose  died  June  25,  1899, 
and  he  was  again  married  April  4,  1900,  to  Vara 
Benton,  of  Smithfield  also,  and  they  have  had  one 
child:    Dillon    Jeptha,    born   August   14,   1903. 

Ira  Woodall  Rose,  elder  son  of  David  J.  Rose, 
was  born  at  Rocky  Mount  September  25,  1895. 
He  attended  the  graded  and  high  schools  of  Rocky 
Mount,  Bingham  Military  Institute,  and  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College,  Raleigh,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  associated  with  his  father 
in  contracting  and  building.  He  is  accounted  one 
of  the  enterprising  and  progressive  business  men 
of  the  younger  generation,  upon  whom  will  rest 
the  responsibility  for  the  future  development  of 
this  prosperous  and  growing  community. 

William  Semore  Shitle,  a  prominent  North 
Carolina  educator,  has  been  connected  with  a  num- 
ber of  different  schools,  and  is  now  serving  his 
fifth  consecutive  term  as  superintendent  of  educa- 
tion for  Henderson   County. 

Mr.  Shitle  was  born  in  Rutherford  County, 
North  Carolina,  July  12,  1869,  son  of  Jerry  and 
Melissa   fNelon)   Shitle.     His  father  was  a  farmer 


340 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  country  district,  being 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  Bun- 
combe County  Institute.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  combined  other  vocations  with  teaching  school 
in  Buncombe  County  during  the  winter  time.  He 
was  clerk  in  a  general  merchandise  store  and  for 
two  years  was  in  the  postoffice  at  Fairview,  North 
Carolina.  For  one  year  Mr.  Shitle  taught  the 
Baptist  School  at  Sylva  in  Jackson  County,  for 
one  year  was  with  the  Fruitland  Institute  in 
Henderson  County,  had  charge  of  the  grade 
schools  at  Flat  Bock  a  year,  and  resigned  that 
office  to  accept  his  present  position  as  superin- 
tendent of  education  for  Henderson  County  in 
1909.  Mr.  Shitle  has  given  the  closest  study  to 
all  problems  arising  in  his  work,  has  done  much 
to  develop  and  improve  the  personnel  and  the 
material  equipment  of  the  county  schools,  and  the 
record  of  school  work  done  in  Henderson  County 
at  the  present  time  stands  in  vivid  contrast  to  the 
conditions  existing  when  Mr.  Shitle  first  became 
superintendent.  He  now  has  the  supervision  of 
a  staff  of  teachers  in  the  county  including  ninety 
white  teachers  and  twelve  colored. 

Mr.  Shitle  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Teachers  Assembly  and  the  Henderson  County 
Teachers  Association.  For  nine  years  he  served 
as  secretary  of  the  County  Board  of  Health.  He 
is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  and  has 
been  active  in  the  Baptist  Church,  serving  for- 
merly as  deacon  and  also  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school.  Mr.  Shitle  still  retains  a  modest 
interest  in  the  agricultural  affairs  of  North  Caro- 
lina, owning  a  small  farm. 

He  married  for  his  first  wife  Miss  Arizona  Free- 
man, of  Chimney  Bock,  Rutherford  County.  She 
died  September  23,  1903.  On  September  6,  1911, 
Mr.  Shitle  married  Janie  Catherine  Sinclair,  of 
Gerton,  Henderson  County.  Mr.  Shitle  has  three . 
children,  William  Woodrow,  James  Bavanell  and 
Janie  Catherine. 

Thomas  M.  Barnhardt.  For  many  years 
Thomas  M.  Barnhardt  has  been  connected  with 
the  upbuilding  of  Charlotte,  and  he  has  just  rea- 
son to  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  to  his  efforts  can 
be  traced  many  a  substantial  enterprise  or  ad- 
vancement contributing  greatly  to  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  this  section  of  the  state.  In 
every  sense  he  is  a  representative  citizen  and  a 
business  man  of  marked  ability.  It  is  to  the 
inherent  force  of  character  and  commendable  am- 
bition and  the  unremitting  diligence  of  Mr.  Barn 
hardt  himself  that  he  has  steadily  advanced  in  the 
business  world  until  he  now  occupies  a  leading 
place  among  the  active  and  leading  men  of  Meck- 
lenburg County. 

Thomas  M.  Barnhardt  was  born  at  Pioneer  Mills, 
Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina,  in  the  year 
1862,  and  he  is  a  son  of  Col.  Jacob  C.  and  Jane 
Adeline  (Melehor)  Barnhardt.  On  other  pages  of 
this  work,  in  the  sketch  of  Hon.  John  A.  Barn- 
hardt, a  brother  of  Thomas  M.  Barnhardt,  will 
be  found  details  concerning  the  parentage  and  an- 
cestry of  the  subject  of  this  review.  As  a  boy 
Mr.  Barnhardt  attended  the  old  Rocky  River  Acad- 
emy, an  adjunct  of  Rocky  River  Church,  in  Cab- 
arrus County,  where  he  received  a  good  ground- 
work of  education  under  the  able  preceptorship 
of  Professor  Curtis,  a  scholarly  teacher  of  high 
attainments.  Subsequently  he  was  matriculated 
as  a  student  in  the  famous  Bingham  Military 
School  at  Mebane,  conducted  by  Col.  Robert  Bing- 


ham. He  received  his  training  for  business  life 
in  his  father 's  store  at  Pioneer  Mills,  the  same 
being  known  under  the  name  of  J.  C.  Barnhardt 
&  Son,  where  he  spent  ten  years.  This  was  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  successful  country  stores  of 
its  time  and  it  enjoyed  a  lucrative  trade  from 
a  rich  territory  adjacent  to  Pioneer  Mills.  The 
business  was  built  up  by  Colonel  Barnhardt  upon 
principles  of  the  highest  honor  and  upon  adher- 
ence to  the  highest  ethics  of  merchandising — a 
business  that  was  a  source  of  great  pride  to  him 
in  his  lifetime  and  a  splendid  heritage  to  his 
children. 

On  leaving  Pioneer  Mills  Mr.  Barnhardt  came 
to  Charlotte.  This  was  in  1891,  and  for  a  few 
years  he  was  here  engaged  in  the  wholesale  pro- 
vision and  grain  business,  representing  Armour  & 
Company. 

About  1900  he  became  interested  in  the  cot- 
ton manufacturing  industry,  and  he  was  the 
founder  of  the  present  Barnhardt  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  of  which  he  is  the  principal  owner 
and  the  managing  official.  At  the  plant  of  this 
company  in  Charlotte  is  manufactured  various 
valuable  products  from  all  sorts  and  grades  of 
waste  cotton  from  cotton  mills — ' '  what  the  other 
mills  throw  away ' ' — as  Mr.  Barnhardt  expresses 
it.  For  the  purpose  of  this  output  he  has  had 
designed  and  built  special  machinery  and  devices 
for  cleaning,  separating  and  scouring  every  par- 
ticle of  waste  product  that  comes  into  the  plant. 
The  building  up  of  this  important  industry  to  its 
present  importance  has  been  brought  about  by 
ceaseless  study  and  energy  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Barnhardt,  and  he  may  well  be  proud  of  the  splen- 
did success  achieved.  It  is  an  industry  that  ful- 
fills the  modern  need  for  thoroughness,  efficiency 
and  perfect  system  in  industrial  practice  and 
for  conserving  and  utilizing  every  possible  waste 
material.  The  plant  is  favorably  located  on  the 
Sea  Board  Air  Jjine  Railway  and  is  housed  in 
well-built  and  commodious  structures.  The  prin- 
cipal products  manufactured  are  cotton  batts  and 
mattress  felts,  rolled  batts,  etc.,  for  manufac- 
turers of  mattresses,  furniture,  vehicles,  quilts 
and  caskets.  He  has  designed  and  is  now  manu- 
facturing in  large  quantities  a  special  rolled 
batt  for  automobile  upholstery,  the  same  to  take 
the  place  of  hair,  which  has  been  generally  used 
for  this  purpose.  Through  his  intelligent  edu- 
cational work  among  automobile  manufacturers 
he  has  succeeded  in  opening  up  a  splendid  mar- 
ket for  tins  product,  which  gives  promise  of 
great  future  development.  A  humble  but  none- 
theless important  by-product  of  this  plant  is 
a  fine  fertilizer  that  is  in  great  demand  by  the 
farmers  of  this  locality.  Large  quantities  of 
waste  for  machinery-cleaning  purposes  are  also 
turned  out.  This  factory  gives  employment  to 
a  great  number  of  men  and  women  in  this  sec- 
tion and  it  is  one  of  the  foremost  industries  of 
Charlotte. 

In  1900  Mr.  Barnhardt  married  Miss  Carrie 
Harper,  of  Caldwell  County,  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
F.  S.  Harper  and  a  niece  of  Major  G.  W.  F. 
Harper,  a  distinguished  character  of  Caldwell 
County,  a  sketeh  of  whose  career  appears  else- 
where in  this  edition.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnhardt 
have  a  family  of  five  interesting  and  attractive 
children,  whose  names  are  here  entered  iu 
respective  order  of  birth:  Thomas  M.,  Jr., 
Mary  Gwynn,  Jacob  G,  James  and  Nellie.  The 
Barnhardts  are  devout  members  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian    Church,    in    which    he    is    an    elder. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


341 


Mr.  Barnhardt  is  one  of  the  leading  and  influ- 
ential business  men  of  Charlotte,  where  he  has 
valuable  property  interests  in  addition  to  his 
factory.  His  interest  in  political  questions  is 
deep  and  sincere  and  he  gives  an  earnest  support 
to  Democratic  principles,  believing  that  the  plat- 
form of  that  party  contains  the  best  elements 
of  good  government.  In  every  movement  pro- 
jected for  progress  and  improvement  he  is  a 
leading  light  and  he  is  a  liberal  contributor  to 
local  charities. 

Martin  Stevenson  Willard.  Some  men  delay 
their  service  to  the  public  until  they  are  satisfied 
with  their  position  in  business  life.  Often  times 
they  wait  too  long  and  consequently  society  fails 
to  receive  from  them  its  proper  meed  of  service 
and  influence.  Martin  Stevenson  Willard  has 
been  constant  in  doing  for  the  public  good  all  the 
while  he  has  been  active  in  business.  He  is  still 
in  business,  and  he  is  also  still  doing  all  he  can 
for  the  advancement  and  uplift  of  his  home  city 
of   Wilmington. 

His  career  began  at  Washington,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  was  born  January  17,  1858,  a  son  of 
Albert  Alfonso  and  Mary  H.  (Stevenson)  Willard. 
His  father  for  many  years  was  a  merchant  at 
Washington,  North  Carolina.  The  son  had  the 
best  of  advantages  in  the  private  schools  of  Wil- 
mington and  also  in  schools  at  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut. When  it  came  time  to  make  choice  of  a 
vocation  he  found  position  as  clerk  in  an  insurance 
office  and  remained  there  ten  years.  In  1883  Mr. 
Willard  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  for  him- 
self, and  since  1906  has  given  all  his  time  to  his 
duties  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Carolina 
Insurance  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  that  company  in  1889,  and  was  the  first  man 
elected  secretary  and  treasurer.  Another  im- 
portant business  connection  is  as  president  of  the 
Willard    Bag   and    Manufacturing   Company. 

To  give  a  detailed  account  of  his  public  service 
would  require  several  paragraphs.  While  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  he  fathered  the  law 
establishing  the  Insurance  Department  of  North 
Carolina,  also  helped  revise  the  tax  laws,  and  was 
author  of  the  bill  which  compelled  the  fencing 
and  enclosing  of  livestock.  In  1912  he  was  elected 
chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners 
and  it  was  due  to  his  leadership  that  the  present 
handsome  county  building  was  erected,  a  concrete 
reenforced   structure   costing    $40,000. 

Public  health  officials  and  sanitarians  frequently 
take  Wilmington  as  an  example  of  one  of  the  most 
progressive  southern  cities  in  the  matter  of  safe- 
guarding the  public  health.  Those  who  know  how 
this  reputation  was  accomplished  say  that  the 
major  credit  should  be  given  to  Mr.  Willard,  who 
was  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Public  Health 
when  the  city  was  thoroughly  cleaned  up  and  the 
health  department  put  upon  a  basis  of  .efficiency. 

Mr.  Willard  formerly  served  on  the  Board  of 
Management  of  the  James  Walker  Memorial  Hos- 
pital, is  former  president  of  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission, is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  in  recent  years  has  devoted  much  of  his  seri- 
ous study  to  the  problem  of  handling  anil  manag- 
ing the  convicts  of  the  state.  His  studies  are 
directed  with  a  view  to  enlightening  the  conditions 
of  treatment  of  these  unfortunates  and  bringing 
about  conditions  which  will  inspire  them  with  new 
ideals  of  manhood.  He  is  treasurer  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Wilmington,  is  a  member 
of    the   Cape    Fear    Golf   and   Country    Club,   has 


been  grand  commander  of  the  Knights  Templars 
and  also  officially  connected  with  other  branches 
of  the   York   Rite   Masonry. 

On  December  0,.  1885,  Mr.  Willard  married 
Elizabeth  Getting  Oliver.  Mrs.  Willard,  who  died 
November  9,  1914,  was  the  daughter  of  William 
H.  and  Hannah  (Attmoie)  Oliver.  Her  father 
was  a  prominent  merchant  at  Newbern.  On 
October  25,  1916,  Mr.  Willard  was  married  to 
Margaret   Glendy   Martin   of   Salem,   Virginia. 

John  Early  Logan,  M.  D.  During  the  latter 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  people  of 
Greensboro  and  Guilford  County  who  did  not  have 
substantial  evidence  of  Dr.  John  Logan  'a  abilities 
as  a  physician  at  least  knew  and  loved  him  for 
his  character  and  the  uprightness  of  his  citizen- 
ship. He  was  one  of  the  old  time  physicians  whose 
name  and  memory  should  not  be  allowed  to  lapse 
in  a  community  which  he  served  so  long  and  faith- 
fully. 

Doctor  Logan  was  born  at  Greensboro  July  14, 
1835.  His  father,  Gen.  John  Logan,  was  a  native 
of  Ireland,  was  well  educated  in  Londonderry,  and 
in  young  manhood  came  to  America  and  settled 
at  Greensboro.  For  many  years  he  was  a  man  of 
prominence  in  the  local  life  of  the  city  and  county 
and  for  a  long  time  held  the  office  of  clerk  of 
courts  of  Guilford  County.  He  lived  there  until 
his  death  in  1857.  He  married  Elizabeth  Ambler 
Strang. 

John  Early  Logan  grew  up  in  an  environment 
which  was  calculated  to  bring  out  the  best  powers 
of  his  mind  and  character.  He  prepared  for  col- 
lege in  the  high  school  at  Greensboro  and  in  1857 
graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
For  a  year  he  studied  medicine  under  Dr.  Strud- 
wiek,  and  then  completed  his  preparation  in  Jef- 
ferson Medical  College  at  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1859.  Before 
taking  up  private  practice  he  served  a  year  as 
interne  in  a  hospital  at  Philadelphia,  and  had 
already  made  promising  progress  toward  the  acqui- 
sition of  a  successful  practice  at  Greensboro  when 
the  war  broke  out  between  the  states.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1861,  he  accepted  the  rank  and  the  duties  of 
assistant  surgeon  of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment 
North  Carolina  Infantry,  and  was  with  his  com- 
mand faithfully  performing  all  his  duties,  often 
under  fire  from  the  enemy's  guns,  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  His  name  is  on  the  official  list  of 
those  paroled  at  Appomattox  on  April  10,  1865. 

From  the  war  he  returned  unbroken  in  spirit 
to  resume  private  practice  at  Greensboro,  and  con- 
tinued his  work  among  an  enlarging  circle  of 
patrons  and  friends  almost  to  the  last.  The  death 
of  this  honored  phvsician  occurred  at  Greensboro 
March  31,  1902. 

Doctor  Logan  married  Miss  Frances  Mebane 
Sloan,  who  was  born  in  Greensboro,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Robert  M.  and  Sarah  (Paisley)  Sloan.  A 
brief  sketch  of  her  honored  father  will  be  found  on 
other  pages.  Mrs.  Logan  was  educated  at  Edge- 
worth  Female  Seminary,  where  she  studied  art, 
music  and  the  languages.  She  has  always  been 
a  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  life  and  in  the  artistic 
surroundings  of  her  comfortable  home  she  sometimes 
modestly  points  out  a  landscape  painting  that  hangs 
on  the  walls  and  which  was  the  work  of  her  brush 
when  she  was  only  fifteen  years  old.  Another  vivid 
experience  and  recollection  of  her  girlhood  was 
when  she  visited  her  uncle,  then  a  member  of 
Congress,  at  Washington  in  1861  and  attended 
Lincoln  's  inauguration   as  president.     Mrs.   Logan 


342 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


now  occupies  her  Grandfather  Paisley 's  home- 
stead, one  of  the  handsome  old  landmarks  of 
Greensboro.  It  is  in  the  third  block  from  the 
junction  of  Elm  and  Market  streets  and  only  one 
block  from  the  new  courthouse.  The  house  is  set 
in  the  midst  of  large  grounds  surrounded  with 
fruit  and  shade  trees.  Mrs.  Logan  has  made  it 
a  practice  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  summer 
months  to  entertain  as  host  to  large  parties  of 
children.  She  is  an  active  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian   Church. 

Hon.  Robert  Moderwell  Sloan.  This  is  a 
name  that  serves  to  recall  some  of  the  oldest  and 
most  prominent  families  of  North  Carolina,  of 
colonial  and  Revolutionary  lineage,  of  ardent 
patriotism  and  of  great  and  varied  usefulness  in 
public  and  private  life.  Robert  M.  Sloan  was  for 
a  long  period  of  years  a  business  man  at  Greens- 
boro, where  some  of  his  family  still  reside. 

He  was  born  at  Lexington,  Rock  Bridge  County, 
Virginia,  in  1812.  His  father,  John  Sloan,  was  a 
native  of  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  was  reared 
there  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  America, 
being  the  only  member  of  his  father 's  family  to 
locate  in  the  New  World.  In  Rockbridge  County, 
Virginia,  he  set  up  a  mercantile  business  at  Lex- 
ington and  also  owned  a  farm  nearby,  operated 
with  slave  labor.  Though  born  a  British  subject 
he  fought  with  American  troops  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  married  Mary  Shields,  who  was  a  life- 
long resident  of  Rockbridge  County.  They  reared 
seven  children,  named  Alexander,  James,  Robert, 
Mary,  Rachel,  John  and  Martha. 

Robert  Moderwell  Sloan  had  his  early  advan- 
tages in  the  schools  of  Lexington.  In  1827,  when 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  came  to  Greens- 
boro, North  Carolina,  Where  his  uncle,  James 
Moderwell,  was  at  that  time  a  successful  mer- 
chant. The  boy  became  a  clerk  in  his  uncle 's 
store  but  after  a  few  years  he  and  his  brother 
James  succeeded  to  the  business  and  continued  it 
prosperously.  Later  Mr.  Sloan  was  engaged  in 
other  lines  of  business.  He  always  took  an  active 
interest  in  city  affairs,  and  one  time  served  as 
mayor. 

His  home  was  the  old  Paisley  homestead  of 
Greensboro,  in  which  he  died  in  1905,  at  the  age 
of  ninety-three. 

His  wife,  Sarah  Paisley,  was  born  in  Orange 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1816.  Her  grand- 
father, Colonel  John  Paisley,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
on  coming  to  America  located  near  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania,  but  in  a  short  time  moved  south 
to  North  Carolina  and  acquired  land  in  the  eastern 
part  of  what  is  now  Guilford  County.  With  the 
aid  of  negro  slaves  he  cleared  up  and  developed 
a  plantation  there.  He  was  one  of  the  ardent 
colonists  who  believed  in  liberty  and  independence 
and  when  the  revolution  came  on  he  accepted  the 
rank  of  an  officer  in  the  Colonial  Army  and  was 
with  General  Greene  in  some  of  his  historic  cam- 
paigns through  the  Carolinas.  Colonel  Paisley 
married  Mary  Ann  Denny,  and  both  spent  their 
last  days  on  that  plantation. 

Rev.  William  Paisley,  father  of  Sarah  Paisley, 
was  born  on  a  plantation  eight  miles  east  of 
Greensboro  October  26,  1770.  In  early  youth  he 
was  converted,  joining  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  after  a  period  of  study  under  Dr.  David  Cald- 
well, an  eminent  early  divine  of  that  church,  he 
was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Orange  Presbytery 
in  1794.  His  first  sermon  was  delivered  at  Buf- 
falo  Church.     Soon   afterward  he   was   sent   as   a 


Presbyterian  missionary  to  the  scattered  settle- 
ments of  Tennessee  and  remained  there,  enduring 
all  the  hardships  his  mission  entailed,  until  1800.  ' 
On  returning  to  North  Carolina  he  served  the  Haw- 
field  and  Cross  Roads  churches,  but  in  1820  re- 
moved to  Greensboro,  where  he  organized  a  school 
for  boys.  In  1824  he  organized  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Greensboro,  which  is  today  one 
of  the  most  flourishing  churches  of  that  denomina- 
tion in  the  state.  When  Rev.  Mr.  Paisley  came  to 
Greensboro  he  found  a  mere  hamlet,  the  greater 
part  of  the  present  city  being  either  farm  land  or 
covered  with  brush  and  timber.  He  himself  pur- 
chased a  considerable  tract  of  land  on  what  is 
now  West  Market  Street,  three  blocks  west  of 
Elm,  and  there  built  a  house  in  the  midst  of 
commodious  grounds,  and  in  those  pleasing  sur- 
roundings spent  his  last  years.  He  died  March 
10,  1857.  The  old  Paisley  homestead  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Frances 
Sloan  Logan. 

Rev.  William  Paisley  married  Frances  Mebane. 
Her  father,  Alexander  Mebane,  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania November  26,  1744,  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Orange  County,  North  Carolina. 
He  achieved  special  prominence  in  colonial  and 
early  state  affairs  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  which  met  in 
Halifax  December  16,  1776.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Hillsboro  Convention  called  to  ratify 
the  Constitution.  From  1783  to  1793  he  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  State  Legislature  and 
finally  achieved  the  special  dignity  of  being  sent 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  first  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  re-elected  but  died  before 
beginning  his  second  term,  on  July  5,  1795.  He 
married  for  his  first  wife  Mary  Armstrong,  a 
native  and  lifelong  resident  of "  Orange  Countv. 
Mrs.  William  Paislev  died  in  1859. 

The  wife  of  Robert  M.  Sloan  died  in  1884, 
having  reared  seven  children,  named  John  Alex- 
ander, Frances  Mebane,  Mary  Virginia,  Julia 
Paisley,  Sarah  Roberta,  Mollie  Moderwell  and  Ida 
Louise.  The  son,  John  Alexander,  was  a  Con- 
federate soldier,  fighting  with  the  Twenty-seventh 
Regiment  of  North  Carolina  troops.  The  members 
of  the  Sloan  family  have  always  been  active  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  late  Robert 
M.  Sloan  served  it  as  an  elder. 

William  J.  Hutchison.  A  member  of  one 
of  the  old-established  families  of  Mecklenburg 
County,  William  J.  Hutchison  is  an  excellent 
representative  of  the  leading  agricultural  class 
of  this  region,  and  a  promoter  and  exponent  of 
advanced  education.  His  present  home  is  located 
six  miles  north  of  Charlotte,  on  the  Statesville 
Road,  and  is  one  of  the  model  farms  in  a  com- 
munity which  has  no  dearth  of  good  agricultural 
properties.  Mr.  Hutchison  was  born  in  the  com- 
munity where  he  has  ever  since  lived,  and  two 
miles  from  his  present  residence,  in  Mecklenburg 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1854,  being  a  son  of 
William   M.   and   Esther    (McClure)    Hutchison. 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  Mecklen- 
burg County  and  is  of  Scotch-Irish  origin,  having 
come  from  Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolutionary 
war  and  located  at  Charlotte  in  Mecklenburg 
County.  The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Hutchison  was 
Taylor  Hutchison,  whose  home  was  a  farm  in 
what  is  now  almost  the  heart  of  Charlotte,  being 
not  far  from  the  Southern  Railway,  and  situated 
on  what  is  now  Clarkson  Street.  The  land  em- 
braced   a    large    amount    of    territory,    including 


MRS.  ROBERT  M.  SLOAN 


ROBERT  M.  SLOAN 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


343 


that  now  occupied  by  the  city  cemetery,  and  a 
.good  deal  more  that  is  now  included  within  the 
city  limits,  and,  of  course,  most  valuable.  The 
great-grandfather  of  Mr.  Hutchison  was  William 
Hutchison,  who  lived  at  Charlotte  when  the 
large  city   was   still   a  small  hamlet. 

Because  of  the  ravages  of  war  and  the  equally 
trying  times  of  the  reconstruction  period,  William 
J.  Hutchison  gTew  up  in  a  very  poor  period  and 
was  deprived  of  the  advantages  and  educational 
opportunities  that  are  now  so  plentiful.  He  is 
essentially  a  self-made  man,  for,  beginning  with 
nothing,  he  has  worked  his  way  into  the  owner- 
ship of  land  and  property  and  the  possession  of 
prominence  as  a  citizen  that  must  be  very  grati- 
fying to  him.  When  a  young  man  he  bought 
a  piece  of  land  on  credit  and  began  farming  on 
his  own  account;  his  father  had  died  when 
William  J.  was  only  a  few  months  old,  and  he 
was  compelled  from  boyhood  to  make  his.  own 
way  and  to  prepare  his  own  opportunities.  He 
lived  for  many  years  on  the  place  near  to  that 
on  which  he  was  born,  and  two  miles  south  of 
his  present  home  place.  The  latter  is  a  splendid 
farm  of  183  acres,  beautifully  situated  on  the 
Statesville  Eoad,  six  miles  north  of  Charlotte. 
He  purchased  this  property  several  years  ago, 
and  within  recent  years  has  built  his  present 
residence,  a  modern  two-story  structure  equipped 
with  a  water  system  and  possessing  every  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  the  modern  home.  This 
is  a  fine  farm  and  is  one  of  the  show  places  along 
the  Statesville  Eoad.  In  addition  to  this  farm 
Mr.  Hutehison  owns  two  other  tracts  two  miles 
south,  one  of  which  is  the  original  home  place 
referred  to  above,  and  altogether  he  owns  nearly 
600  acres  of  rich  and  highly-cultivated  agricul- 
tural land.  He  carried  on  farming  under  the 
advanced  methods  of  the  present  day,  and  the 
property  and  interests  that  he  has  accumulated 
solely  from  farming  show  that  he  is  an  excellent 
tiller   of  the   soil. 

Mr.  Hutchison  is  a  member  and  deacon  of  the 
Williams  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church,  which 
is  situated  about  a  mile  from  his  home,  located 
on  the  Beatty  's  Ford  Road,  which  is  one  of  the ' 
highly  historic  thoroughfares  of  Mecklenburg 
County.  He  has  for  many  years  taken  a  leading 
part  in  the  affairs  of  this  splendid  country  con- 
gregation. In  1914  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  County  Borrd  of  Education  and  in  the 
election  of  1916  was  chosen  to  succeed  himself. 
His  political  views  make  him   a  stanch  democrat. 

Mr.  Hutchison  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Coch- 
ran, and  they  have  had  seven  children:  L.  L.,  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Hutchison,  Sehorn  '& 
Sipp,  of  Charlotte;  Olin  Parks;  Roy.  W.  Bruce, 
Mrs.  Irene  Gray,  of  High  Point ;  Mrs.  Jonsie 
Surratt,  of  Charlotte;  and  Miss  Louise,  who 
resides  at  home. 

Hont.  William  T.  Dortch.  "Among  the  gTeat 
lawyers  to  whom  North  Carolina  owes  much  for 
influence  for  good  upon  the  legal  profession  was 
William  T.  Dortch.  Though  enjoying  a  large  prac- 
tice, he  did  not  deem  that  the  pecuniary  rewards 
were  the  sole  objects  of  a  lawyer's  profession. 
While  successful  in  public  life  and  attaining, 
among  other  honors,  the  position  of  Confederate 
States  Senator,  he  did  not  permit  ambition  to 
swerve  him  from  his  duty.  His  face  and  figure 
"bespoke  power,  restrained  by  moderation.  In 
character,  and  I  might   almost  say  in  lineaments, 


he  recalled  that  ideal  of  the  great  race  from  which 
he  sprung,  the  first  William  of  Orange,  the  liber- 
ator of  Holland,  the  opponent  of  Alva  and  of  all 
intolerance  in  state  and  in  religion.  Mr.  Dortch 
was  a  strong  man,  conscious  of  his  power  but  mod- 
erate in  its  use.  He  achieved  without  effort  a  fore- 
most place  at  the  bar  and  in  the  state.  His  mem- 
ory will  always  be  found  in  veneration  by  both." 

These  were  the  words  used  by  Chief  Justice 
Clark  of  the  North  Carolina  Supreme  Court  in 
accepting  the  portrait  of  Hon.  William  T.  Dortch 
presented  on  May  23,  1916,  by  Hon.  Henry  G. 
Connor.  In  his  speech  of  presentation  Mr.  Connor 
reviewed  at  length  the  career  and  attainments  of 
the  subject  of  the  portrait  which  now  hangs  in  the 
Supreme  Court  chambers,  and  while  the  address 
cannot  be  quoted  in  its  entirety,  it  is  appropriate 
to  the  memory  of  the  great  lawyer  that  the  most 
salient  points  should  be  gathered  together  and 
preserved  in  this  section  of  the  History  of  North 
Carolina. 

William  Theophilus  Dortch,  a  son  of  William 
and  Drueilla  Dortch,  was  born  on  his  father 's 
plantation  in  Nash  Count}',  five  miles  from  Roeky 
Mount,  August  3,  1824.  He  grew  up  in  an 
agricultural  community,  in  which  there  was  neither 
large  wealth  nor  poverty,  but  honest  work  and 
plain,  healthful  manner  of  life.  During  Ms  early 
years  he  attended  the  neighboring  schools,  and  at 
the  appropriate  age  was  sent  to  the  Bingham 
School,  then  located  at  Hillsboro,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  William  J.  Bingham.  The  whole- 
some discipline  and  the  spirit  of  supervision  in  this 
excellent  institution  were  as  important  as  its  curri- 
culum, and  altogether  the  Bingham  School  was 
and  is  a  splendid  training  ground  for  men  who 
have  become  prominent.  Having  completed  his 
course  of  study  there  Mr.  Dortch  took  up  the 
study  of  law  under  Bartholomew  F.  Moore,  then 
living  at  Halifax,  North  Carolina.  Diligent  at  his 
studies,  at  the  January  term,  1845,  he  was  ad- 
mitted by  the  Supreme  Court  to  practice  in  the 
Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions,  and  a  year 
later,  as  provided  by  the  rules,  received  his  license 
as  an  attorney  and  counsellor  in  all  the  courts  of 
the  state.  The  first  three  years  of  his  professional 
life  were  spent  at  Nashville  in  the  county  town  of 
his   native  county. 

During  the  year  1848  he  removed  to  the  new  and 
rapidly  growing  town  of  Goldsboro,  which  recently 
had  been  made  the  county  seat  of  Wayne  County. 
There  he  spent  the  remaining  forty  years  of  his 
life.  He  attended  the  courts  of  Wayne,  Johnson, 
Lenoir,  Greene,  Edgcomb  and  Nash  counties  and 
also  of  Wilson  County  after  its  formation  in  1855. 
From  the  first  Mr.  Dortch  became  closely  aligned 
with  the  democratic  party.  He  was  elected  to  the 
House  of  Commons  from  Wayne  County  at  the 
session  of  1852  and  returned  to  the  session  of  1854, 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee. 
Many  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  North  Caro- 
lina during  the  middle  of  the  last  century  were 
members  of  the  Legislature  of  1854.  He  again 
represented  his  county  at  the  session  of  1858. 
During  that  session  occurred  the  historic  debate 
upon  the  proposition  to  enact  a  charter  for  a  rail- 
road connecting  the  North  Carolina  Railroad  at 
Greensboro  with  Danville,  Virginia.  At  the  session 
of  1860  Mr.  Dortch  was  chosen  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  TJpon  the  passage  of  the 
Ordinance  of  Secession.  May  20,  1861,  and  the 
ratification  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate 
States,   he    was,    with    Mr.    George   Davis,    chosen 


344 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Confederate  States  Senator.  He  held  this  position 
during  the  life  of  the  Confederacy,  giving  to  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Davis  his  loyal  support. 

At  the  age  of  forty-one,  at  the  fall  of  the  Con- 
federacy, Mr.  Dorteh  had  rendered  valuable  ser- 
vice to  the  state  and  held  high  and  honorable 
position.  By  the  passing  of  the  issues  and  the 
change  in  conditions  which  had  engaged  his  atten- 
tion he  was  like  others  similarly  situated,  con- 
fronted with  problems  in  his  private  and  public 
relations  growing  out  of  the  results  of  the  war. 
Like  all  others  who  had  either  favored  the  course 
pursued  by  the  majority  or  "gone  with  the  state" 
and  loyally  supported  the  cause  to  which  he  ad- 
hered, Mr.  Dorteh  with  that  sorrow  and  regret 
which  came  to  all  sincere  Southern  men,  accepted 
the  result  in  absolute  good  faith  and  conformed 
to  the  requirements  of  the  National  Government 
to  enable  himself  to  resume  his  civic  relations  and 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  Such  property  as 
he  had  saved  from  his  practice  during  the  years 
preceding  the  war  was  swept  away,  his  law  library 
was  partially  destroyed  by  Federal  troops  when 
they  entered  Goldsboro.  He  had  married  early  in 
life  and  found  himself  confronted  with  the  duty 
of  providing  for  the  support  and  education  of  a 
large  and  growing  family.  Like  all  who  had  ren- 
dered service  to  his  state,  Mr.  Dorteh  was  politic- 
ally disfranchised,  and  until  pardoned  pursuant  to 
the  plan  adopted  by  the  National  Government,  was 
deprived  of  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

For  twelve  years  he  devoted  his  entire  time  and 
energy  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  giving  to 
his  large  clientage  his  untiring  and  devoted  service. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  in  and  in  such  manner  as 
he  could  gave  the  democratic  party  his  aid  in  its 
struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  state  and  relief  from 
the  evils  brought  upon  the  people  by  the  reconstruc- 
tion policy  of  the  dominant  party.  At  the  election 
of  1878  he  responded  to  the  call  of  his  party  and 
people  to  represent  the  district  composed  of  Wayne 
and  Duplin  counties  in  tne  Senate.  He  was  re- 
elected to  the  sessions  of  1881  and  1883,  being 
chosen  president  of  the  Senate  at  the  session  of 
1879,  and  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee  at  the  session  of  1883.  As  the  session  of 
1881  the  necessity  for  codifying  the  statute  law  of 
the  state  was  manifest.  The  Eevised  Code  of  1851 
with  Battle  's  Revisal  of  1875,  had  become  of  little 
practical  value  by  reason  of  the  numerous  and 
radical  changes  in  the  statutory  law.  The  Legis- 
lature directed  that  the  entire  statute  law  be  codi- 
fied, incorporating  such  amendments  and  changes 
as  had  been  made  since  the  last  revisal.  For  this 
very  important  work  Mr.  Dorteh,  as  chairman, 
Hon.  John  Manning  and  Hon.  John  S.  Henderson, 
were  appointed  a  commission.  No  better  or  wiser 
selections  could  have  been  made.  All  of  the  mem- 
bers were  lawyers  of  large  experience,  accurate 
learning  and  industry.  That  the  work  was  well 
done  is  manifest  not  only  by  its  acceptance  and 
adoption,  without  change,  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1883,  but  by  the  judgment,  of  the  bench 
and  bar  of  the  state.  Mr.  Dorteh  gave  to  the 
duties  of  the  position  his  most  careful  considera- 
tion and  active  service.  The  Code  of  1883,  was 
the  authoritative  evidence  of  the  statute  law  of  the 
state  for  twenty  years  and  until  the  adoption  of 
the  Revisal  of  1905.  This  was  the  last  and  crown- 
ing public  service  rendered  by  him  to  the  state. 
During  his  service  in  the  Senate  Mr.  Dorteh  was 
the  author  of  a  number  of  important  public  stat- 
utes. As  a  legislator  he  was  conservative,  watchful 
of  the  public  interest,  and  attentive  to  the  proceed- 


ings of  the  Senate.  He  was  the  author  of  the 
' '  Dorteh  Bill ' '  providing  for  enlarged  facilities 
for  the  common  schools. 

Mr.  Dorteh  was  named  by  Governor  Vance  in 
1877  on  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad,  a  work  in  which  the  peo- 
ple of  the  state,  especially  the  West,  were  deeply 
interested,  and  to  the  building  of  which  by  the 
state  the  administration  was  committed.  Its  com- 
pletion was  to  mark  the  consummation  of  the 
North  Carolina  system,  adopted  and  begun  with 
the  construction  of  the  North  Carolina  and  At- 
lantic and  North  Carolina  Railroads,  and  the 
realization  of  the  vision  of  the  people  of 
the  state  of  a  transportation  system  connecting 
with  the  sections,  beginning  in  the  mountains  and 
terminating  at  the  ocean.  Many  difficulties  were 
encountered,  the  cost  was  very  large,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  the  eastern  counties  were  restless  under  the 
burden.  The  wisest  and  most  patriotic  men  of  the 
state  held  various  views  in  regard  to  the  best 
course  to  pursue.  In  1880  a  proposition  was  made 
by  northern  capitalists  to  purchase  the  property 
and  complete  construction  of  the  road.  When  the 
matter  came  up  before  the  Legislature  at  a  special 
session  Mr.  Dorteh  strongly  opposed  the  sale  but 
was  overborne  by  a  majority  of  the  Legislature. 
The  sale  was  made  and  the  road  finally  completed. 
Even  then  Senator  Dorteh  endeavored  to  safeguard 
the  future  interests  of  the  people  of  North  Caro- 
lina by  a  provision  protecting  the  people  from  any 
unjust  or  inequitable  imposition  of  traffic  charges 
or  rates,  but  this  proposed  amendment  was  de- 
feated. It  was  the  loyalty  of  Mr.  Dorteh  to  the 
welfare  of  the  people  of  the  state  and  his 
courageous  stand  in  the  face  of  defeat  to  secure 
to  them  the  benefits  which  were  expected  by  those 
who  had  labored  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  North  Carolina  system  of  transporta- 
tion, giving  to  the  people  of  all  sections  fair  and 
equal  rates  of  traffic,  which  is  of  interest  in  esti- 
mating the  value  of  his  public  service. 

It  is,  however,  as  a  man  and  a  lawyer  that  we 
find  in  his  character  and  conduct  those  qualities 
which  we  think  upon  most  pleasantly.  Mr.  Dorteh 
was  not  given  to  speculation  or  refinement  in  the 
practice  of  the  law;  he  was  not  a  reformer,  in  the 
usual  and  ordinary  sense  in  which  that  term  is 
used.  He  found  a  larger  interest  in  using,  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  the  methods  and  pro- 
cedure which  he  found  in  existence  than  in  devis- 
ing new  ones.  Trained  in  the  common-law  pro- 
cedure in  force  in  our  courts  prior  to  1868,  he 
opposed  the  new  Code  of  Procedure,  as  did  many 
others  of  the  lawyers  of  his  age.  When,  however, 
it  was  adopted,  he  familiarized  himself  with  its 
principles  and  provisions  and  came  to  recognize  its, 
value.  To  him  the  definition  of  the  complaint  as 
a  ' '  concise  statement  of  the  f aets ' '  constituting 
his  clients  cause  of  action  and  the  answer  as  an 
equally  concise  denial,  with  such  matter  of  defense 
as  he  intended  to  rely  upon,  was  easily  adopted. 
His  pleadings  were  models  of  conciseness,  clear- 
ness, and  freedom  from  evidential  and  irrelevant 
matter. 

While  Mr.  Dorteh  was  a  safe  and  wise  counsellor, 
an  accurate  and  well  informed  lawyer,  giving  close 
attention  to  all  interests  committed  to  his  care, 
it  was  in  the  courthouse  and  before  the  jury  that 
his  pre-eminent  ability  and  finest  powers  found 
their  fullest  expression.  From  the  impaneling  of 
the  jury,  the  reading  of  the  pleadings,  until  the 
rendition  of  the  verdict  his  interest  increased,  his 
mind  became  ever  more  active  and  alert — he  was 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


345 


at  his  best.  With  his  case  thoroughly  prepared,  the 
order  of  introducing  his  evidence  logically  ar- 
ranged, the  weak  points  in  the  armor  of  his  ad- 
versary anticipated,  and  exposed  by  the  adroit  and 
skillful  cross-examination  of  witnesses,  when  the 
moment  came  for  going  to  the  jury  he  was  master 
of  the  situation  and  usually  the  victor  when  the 
verdict  was  rendered.  He  wasted  no  time  nor 
weakened  his  cause  in  the  mind  of  the  jury  in  fight- 
ing over  irrelevant  and  immaterial  preliminaries. 
He  dealt  frankly  with  the  court,  fairly  with  coun- 
sel, knowing  when  to  make  concessions,  waive  for- 
malities, and  preserve  the  substantial  rights  of  his 
clients.  He  was  always  in  command  of  the  liti- 
gation, securing  and  retaining  the  confidence  of  his 
client;  he  did  not  hesitate  to  assume  responsibility 
and  managed  the  cause  from  start  to  finish  as  a 
skillful  commander,  granting  such  favors  to  op- 
posing counsel  as  he  deemed  just,  making  such 
admissions  as  in  his  judgment  were  proper,  and 
taking  the  responsibility  for  the  result. 

The  work  of  the  legislator  is  at  best  but  tenta- 
tive, and  for  a  day;  of  the  judge,  ever  undergoing 
examination,  criticism,  and  frequently  rejection; 
of  the  lawyer,  evanescent  and  soon  forgotten.  But 
the  man — that  which  for  the  want  of  a  more  ac- 
curate description  we  call  the  spirit,  the  soul,  the 
essence — lives  forever,  and  is  projected  into  the 
current  of  and  affects  human  life.  The  questions 
which  we  ask  of  every  man,  How  did  he  use  the 
opportunities  which  success  brings ' — if  failure  and 
defeat  overtake  him,  How  did  he  bear  himself,  and 
with  what  degree  maintain  his  integrity  ? — to  these 
questions,  applied  to  the  life  of  Mr.  Dortch,  a 
satisfactory  answer  may  be  given. 

As  a  citizen  he  was  obedient  to  the  laws  of  his 
state  and  country,  and  taught  others  to  be  so.  Mr. 
Dortch  was  not  given  to  professions  of  friendship 
nor  seeking  the  confidence  of  others;  and  yet  no 
man  was  more  strongly  attached  to  those  whom  he 
admired,  and  no  man  ever  doubted  his  absolute 
loyalty  nor  hesitated  to  confide  in  his  integrity. 
To  his  chosen  friends,  and  all  who  enjoyed  his  con- 
fidence, he  was  ready  to  give  assistance  to  promote 
their  welfare  and  happiness,  preferring  to  do  so  in 
his  own  quiet  unobtrusive  manner.  Probably  for 
no  one,  not  of  his  own  household,  did  he  have  more 
affectionate  regard  than  for  Judge  Strong,  with 
whom  for  many  years  he  held  most  intimate  per- 
sonal and  professional  relations ;  resident  of  the 
same  town  until  the  latter  moved  to  Raleigh,  prac- 
ticing at  the  same  courts,  differing  in  temperament 
and  cast  of  mind,  and  yet  having  each  for  the 
other  a  strong,  manly  affection.  Judge  Strong 
wrote  of  him:  "It  seems  that  nature  had  formed 
a  special  place  in  my  heart  which  he  only  could 
fill.  *  *  *  jje  was  indeed  one  of  the  bravest, 
truest,  best  and  greatest  men  that  I  have  ever 
known. ' ' 

The  most  sacred  relationships  of  life  brought  to 
ham  the  purest  pleasures,  accompanied  by  respon- 
sibilities the  discharge  of  which  taxed  his  splendid 
mental,  moral  and  physical  powers — all  of  which  he 
wisely  conserved  that  he  might  devote  them  to  the 
demands  of  duty.  He  placed  a  proper  estimate 
upon  money,  seeking  to  acquire  it  only  as  the  just 
reward  for  honest  service,  and  to  use  it  for  the 
benefit  of  those  to  whose  welfare  and  happiness 
he  had  devoted  his  life.  He  was  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word  a  prudent  man ;  his  personal  habits 
were  those  of  a  man  who  understood  his  duty  to 
preserve  his  health ;  in  nothing  did  he  indulge  to 
excess.  He  did  not  seek  ease,  but  found  pleasure 
in  labor.     He  was  an  unusually  industrious  man, 


having  but  little  patience  with  those  who  sought 
to  live  without  work.  Sincere  and  loyal  himself, 
he  had  no  sympathy  with  and  but  little  toleration 
for  insincerity  and  disloyalty  in  others.  As  with 
all  men  of  strong  character,  the  currents  of  his 
life  ran  deeply  and  quietly.  His  was  in  all  re- 
spects a  striking,  unusual  personality,  impressing 
itself  upon  all  with  whom  it  came  in  contact. 
While  not  given  to  humor,  his  quiet  smile  gave  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  appreciation  of  a  good 
story.  His  conversation  when  with  friends,  in  his 
home,  around  the  fireside,  on  circuit,  or  on  a  walk 
before  or  after  court,  was  interesting  and  en- 
lightening. He  was  not  a  reader  of  many  books, 
but  well  informed  in  regard  to  current  events.  He 
was  more  interested  in  what  men  did  than  what 
they  wrote. 

Mr.  Dortch  was  of  that  temperament  which  we 
find  in  quiet,  reserved  men  upon  whom  the  ex- 
periences of  life  make  a  deep  impression.  He  did 
not  care,  nor  did  he  know  how,  to  cast  them  off. 
He  rather  met  them  bravely,  and  carried  them  to 
the  end.  Upon  such  men  the  wear  and  tear  of  life 
tells  strongly. 

He  continued  to  work  to  the  end,  and  drew  upon 
his  weakened  resources  until  on  November  21,  1889, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  he  quietly  and  with  gentle 
resignation  slept. 

Mr.  Dortch  in  early  manhood  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Pittman  of  Edgcombe.  The  children 
born  to  them  were:  Harrod  Pittman  Dortch,  Isaac 
Eoote  Dortch,  Miss  Corinne  Dortch,  Mrs.  Mary  D. 
Scholfield,  William  T.  Dortch,  Mrs.  Annie  D.  Hill, 
Fitzhugh  L.  Dortch.  For  his  second  wife  Mr. 
Dortch  married  Miss  Hattie  Williams,  of  Berry- 
ville,  Virginia.  Their  children  were:  Allan  W. 
Dortch,  Helen  W.  Dortch,  James  Tyson  Dortch 
and  Miss  Selene  W.  Dortch. 

William  Theophilus  Dortch,  son  of  William 
T.  and  Elizabeth  (Pittman)  Dortch,  was  born  in 
Goldsboro,  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina,  April 
9,  1862.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
county,  at  the  Bingham  Military  School  and  at 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  read  law  at 
the  University  of  Virginia  and  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  was  licensed  to  practice  in 
1884.  Immediately  thereafter  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  father,  the  late  Hon.  W.  T.  Dortch, 
at  Goldsboro,  which  continued  until  his  father 's 
death  in  1889,  and  he  and  Judge  William  R.  Allen 
then  became  partners,  which  relationship  continued 
until  Judge  Allen  was  elected  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  courts  of  the  state,  when  the  partnership 
of  Dortch  and  Barhani  was  formed,  his  associate 
being  John  Langhorne  Barham. 

On  May  8,  1889,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Lewis,  oldest  daughter  of  General  William  Gaston 
Lewis.  They  are  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren: Elsie,  wife  of  R.  R.  Faison,  of  Goldsboro, 
who  is  a  captain  in  the  U.  S.  Army;  William  T., 
Jr.,  who  died  while  a  student  at  the  LTniversity  of 
North  Carolina;  Gaston  Lewis,  now  a  lieutenant 
in  the  U.  S.  Army;  Mary,  a  teacher;  Hugh, 
sergeant  in  the  U.  S.  Army ;  Lewis ;  Anna  Lewis ; 
Charles;  Redmond  Pittman  and  Helen.  The  three 
soldiers  named  above  are  now  serving  their  country 
in  France. 

Mr.  Dortch  was  appointed  by  President  Wilson 
in  December,  1913,  U.  S.  marshal  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  administration 
of  his  office  has  given  entire  satisfaction  to  the 
Government.  The  new  duties  imposed  upon  the 
office  as  the  exigency  of  the  war  have  been  oner- 


346 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


ous,  but  they  have  been  performed  diligently  and 
with  success.  In  the  primary  election  held  on  June 
1,  1918,  Mr.  Dorteh  was  nominated  as  the  demo- 
cratic candidate  for  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Third  Congressional  District,  and  no  doubt 
is  entertained  of  his  election. 

He  is  intensely  loyal  to  his  friends  and  to  the 
cause  he  advocates,  and  his  address  and  affable 
manners  have  made  him  very  popular  in  his  home 
county  and  in  the  state.  He  has  appeared  in  prac- 
tically all  of  the  important  cases  in  his  circuit  for 
the  last  twenty  years  and  has  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful, which  is  due  in  a  large  measure  to  his 
power  of  analyzing  evidence,  and  his  clear,  strong, 
forceful  presentation  of  his  cause.  He  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  his  section  and 
the  state  since  he  became  of  age,  and  has  rendered 
valuable  service  to  his  party. 

John  Langhorne  Barham  in  the  dozen  years 
since  he  began  practice  at  Goldsboro  has  attained 
not  only  front  rank  as  a  lawyer,  but  also  some  of 
the  noteworthy  honors  of  public  life.  He  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  State  Senate  from  1909 
to  1913,  and  while  in  the  Senate  was  chairman  of 
the  educational  committee.  His  service  in  that 
capacity  was  of  conspicuous  benefit  to  the  state, 
and  some  very  important  and  far  reaching  legis- 
lation was  enacted  in  behalf  of  the  schools  and 
bearing  the  impress  of  his  work  and  study  as 
chairman  of  the  educational  committee. 

He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics  in  the 
state  and  his  success  has  been  marked.  He  was 
manager  for  the  Honorable  George  E.  Hood  in  the 
congressional  nomination  for  the  Third  District 
and  also  for  the  Honorable  W.  T.  Dorteh  for  the 
same  position  in  June,  1918,  and  was  successful  in 
both  instances.  His  management  of  the  last  named 
campaign  and  the  contest,  that  followed  has  placed 
him  in  the  forefront  of  the  honorable  and  success- 
ful politicians  of  the  state.  He  is  a  lawyer  of 
unquestioned  ability  and  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  foremost  advocates  in  Eastern  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Barham  is  a  native  of  Virginia,  having  been 
born  at  Newsons  in  Southampton  County  January 
19,  1879.  His  parents  were  Joseph  Lewes  and 
Bettie  (Langhorne)  Barham.  His  father  is  both 
a  farmer  and  banker  and .  was  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  Virginia  in  1900  and 
1901.  John  L.  Barham  had  a  liberal  education, 
attending  Randolph-Macon  College  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  and  in  1903  was  licensed  to 
practice  law  after  taking  the  course  from  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
On  April  6,  1903,  he  located  at  Goldsboro  and  soon 
afterward  formed  a  partnership  with  William  T. 
Dorteh  under  the  name  Dorteh  &  Barham.  This 
firm  has  built  up  a  large  and  successful  clientele. 
For  five  and  a  half  years  Mr.  Barham  served  as 
city  attorney  at  Goldsboro. 

He  belongs  to  the  Kappa  Alpha  college  frater- 
nity, is  a  past  exalted  ruler  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  of  Goldsboro,  and  is  a 
member  of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church.  On 
April  26,  1906,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  Dewey, 
of  Goldsboro.  The  two  children  of  their  marriage 
are:  Charles  Dewey  and  Bessie  Langhorne.  Mr. 
Barham  married  for  his  present  wife  Bessie  Bron- 
son,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  They  have  one 
child,  Katherine. 

Andrew  Watson  Goodwin,  M.  D.  It  is  more 
than  thirty  years  since  Dr.  Goodwin  began  prac- 
tice as  a  physician  and  surgeon  at  Raleigh.    Those 


have  been  years  of  real  service.  He  has  worked 
constantly  and  unselfishly  not  only  for  the  good 
of  the  profession  but  for  the  welfare  of  humanity, 
and  consequently  it  is  hardly  possible  to  measure 
his  career  accurately  by  the  honors  and  distinctions 
he  has  won,  considerable  though  they  are. 

Born  at  Raleigh  September  15,  1863,  Doctor 
Goodwin  apart  from  his  own  important  attain- 
ments in  the  profession  has  a  very  interesting  an- 
cestry. He  is  a  member  of  a  family  that  has  been 
in  America  more  than  three  centuries.  His  line- 
age goes  back  through  numerous  generations  to 
Sir  John  Goodwin,  whom  the  Colonial  history  of 
Old  Virginia  states,  was  member  of  one  of  the 
expeditions  that  came  to  that  colony  in  the  year 
1607.  Between  the  historic  figure  and  later  gen- 
erations one  link  is  missing  in  the  genealogy,  and 
Doctor  Goodwin  has  so  far  not  found  time  to  make 
the  research  required  in  the  colonial  records  of 
Virginia  to  supply  the  data,  though  of  the  fact 
itself  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt. 

Doctor  Goodwin  also  had  a  Revolutionary  an- 
cestor. This  was  William  Goodwin,  who  was  born 
in  North  Carolina  in  1739  and  died  in  Wake  County 
of  this  state  in  1837.  His  'patriotic  service  was 
rendered  as  a  private  in  the  First  North  Carolina 
Batfalion,  and  he  afterwards  re-enlisted.  The 
North  Carolina  colonial  records,  Vol.  16,  page 
1066,  show  his  enlistment  as  a  private  in  1777, 
while  Vol.  15,  page  750,  show  his  re-enlistment  in 
1779.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  vigor  and 
vitality,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  lived  to 
be  almost  a  century  old.  In  1763,  in  Chatham 
County,  North  Carolina,  he  married  Winifred 
Thoroughalkile.  Their  children  were  named 
Demsey,  Jesse,  Henry,  Alstey,  William,  James, 
Nancy,  Elizabeth,  John,  Martha,  Rebecca  and 
Winifred. 

Among  these  ttie  line  is  carried  to  Doctor  Good- 
win through  the  son  William,  who  married  Sallie 
Straight.  She  died  in  1871.  The  next  generation 
was  represented  by  Simeon  P.  Goodwin,  who  was 
born  in  1820  and  died  in  1901.  He  married  in 
1843  Adelia  Yates,  who  was  born  in  1820  and  died 
in  1903.  They  were  the  parents  of  Doctor  Good- 
win, who  is  therefore  a  great-grandson  of  the 
patriot  who  was  with  the  North  Carolina  troops 
in  the  establishment  of  independence. 

Doctor  Goodwin's  father  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade  and  also  a  farmer.  Doctor  Goodwin  re- 
mained at  home  during  his  early  years,  and  in- 
stead of  attending  school  had  the  advantages  of 
instruction  from  his  cultured  mother.  He  grew  up 
in  a  period  of  North  Carolina  history  when  the 
state  was  still  poor  from  the  devastations  caused 
by  the  war,  and  he  therefore  came  into  intimate 
fellowship  with  toil  when  a  boy.  He  worked  on  the 
farm  and  after  he  entered  school  he  paid  his  own 
way  by  work  in  vacation  terms.  He  entered  the 
public  schools  in  1878,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
later  was  a  student  in  the  Raleigh  Male  Academy. 
He  remained  in  school  until  he  was  twenty  and 
also  had  special  instruction  outside  the  regular 
school  courses  under  Professor  Fray,  a  very 
eminent  educator.  He  borrowed  money  to  pay  his 
expenses  through  medical  school,  and  thus  a  stead- 
fast ambition  has  brought  him  to  the  high  posi- 
tion he  now  enjoys  in  medical  circles. 

For  fifteen  months  Doctor  Goodwin  studied 
medicine  under  Dr.  W.  I.  Royster  at  Raleigh.  In 
September,  1885,  he  entered  the  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College  of  New  York  City  and  was  gradu- 
ated M.  D.  in  1887.  In  April  of  the  same  year 
he  began  his  long  and  fruitful  practice  at  Raleigh. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


347 


On  June  29,  1887,  he  married  Love  C.  Haughton,  a 
daughter  of  Haywood  and  Adelaide  (Hinton) 
Haughton.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  son  and 
one  daughter. 

Six  months  after  beginning  practice  Doctor 
Goodwin  was  given  the  Chair  of  Anatomy  and 
demonstrated  anatomy  in  the  Leonard  Medical 
College  at  Raleigh,  and  was  visiting  and  con- 
sulting physician  to  the  Leonard  Medical  School 
Hospital  for  twenty-two  years.  In  1900  he 
was  elected  visiting  and  consulting  physician  to 
St.  Agnes  Hospital.  He  was  also  lecturer  on 
anatomy  and  surgical  anatomy  to  the  Training 
School  for  Xurses,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
physician  in  chief  to  St.  Agnes  Hospital.  He  also 
served  as  consulting  and  visiting  physician  to  Bex 
Hospital  at  Raleigh.  For  fifteen  years  Doctor 
Goodwin  did  special  X-Ray  work.  In  1902  he 
was  made  professor  of  Dermatology  and  Genito- 
urinary Diseases  and  Physical  Diagnosis  to  the 
Raleigh  Medical  University,  a  branch  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina.  He  has  served  as  presi- 
dent, secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Raleigh  Acad- 
emy of  Medicine  and  is  a  member  of  the  Wake 
County  and  North  Carolina  Medical  societies  and 
the   American   Medical  Association. 

Doctor  Goodwin  enjoys  the  Country  Club  as 
one  of  its  charter  members.  Religiously  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  in  which 
he  was  reared,  for  years  has  been  a  constant 
and  active  member  of  Sunday  school,  and  now 
belongs  to  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Raleigh. 
He  was  instrumental  and  active  in  originating  the 
Carolina  Trust  Bank,  which  was  sold  to  the  Mer- 
chants National  Bank,  and  was  on  its  board  of 
directors  some  time.  He  is  a.  charter  member 
and  director  of  the  Morris  Plan  Company  of 
Raleigh.  Doctor  Goodwin  was  greatly  interested 
in  Toung  Men 's  Christian  Association  work  at 
Raleigh,  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Modern  Pur- 
itans, Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  active 
in  the  Raleigh  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Judge  James  Iredell,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  LTnited  States  Supreme  Court  from  1790  until 
his  death  ten  years  later,  was  born  in  Sussex 
County,  England,  October  5,  1751,  oldest  child  of 
Francis  and  Margaret  (McCulloh)  Iredell.  His 
father  was  a  Bristol  merchant,  while  his  mother 
was  a  member  of  the  McCulloh  family  that  owned 
vast  estates  in  North  Carolina  colony.  The  father 
becoming  impoverished,  James  Iredell  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  was  through  the  influence  of  his 
mother 's  relatives  appointed  in  1768  to  the  office 
of  comptroller  of  the  customs  at  Edenton,  North 
Carolina.  His  age  was  carefully  concealed  from 
the  British  authorities,  though  he  rendered  a 
most  creditable  account  of  himself  while  in 
office.  Thus  the  boy  of  tender  years  crossed  the 
ocean  to  a  new  and  wild  country  and  soon  became 
a  part  of  the  little  village  of  Edenton.  He  was 
accepted  into  the  society  of  the  best  families  of 
the  town,  including  that  of  Samuel  Johnston, 
under  whom  he  subsequently  studied  law.  On 
July  18,  1773,  he  married  Hannah  Johnston,  sister 
of  his  legal  preceptor.  Her  example  and  influence 
more  than  all  else  shaped  his  future  career.  She 
was  a  loving  wife,  a  prudent  and  faithful  adminis- 
trator of  the  household,  and  a  wise  and  able 
friend  and  counselor  to  whom  he  ever  brought  the 
full  story  of  his  joys  and  triumphs,  his  sorrows 
and  reverses. 

December  14,  1770,  James  Iredell  received  a  li- 


cense to  practice  law  in  the  Inferior  Courts  and  on 
November  26,  1771,  was  licensed  to  practice  in 
the  Superior  Court.  During  the  years  that 
immediately  followed  he  found  himself  in  active 
sympathy  with  the  tide  of  revolutionary  ferment 
that  was  growing  stronger  and  stronger  in  all 
the  colonies  and  became  an  active  but  silent  par- 
ticipator and  adviser  in  the  councils  of  the  revolu- 
tionary leaders  in  North  Carolina.  Though  not  a 
member,  he  was  present  and  an  adviser  at  the 
Second  Provincial  Congress  of  April,  1775,  and 
in  November,  1776,  was  appointed  by  the  Con- 
gress one  of  the  commissioners  to  revise  the  laws 
of  the  state.  In  November,  1777,  law  courts  were 
re-established  in  North  Carolina  and  in  December 
of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  one  of  the  first 
judges  of  the  free  and  independent  state  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  then  barely  twenty-six  years 
of  age.  July  8,  1779,  the  governor  appointed  him 
attorney-general  of  North  Carolina  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  As  attorney-general  he  followed  the 
judges  through  their  laborious  rounds  through 
the  wilderness  over  swollen  rivers,  through  every 
kind  of  weather,  and  performed  adequately  all  the 
duties  of  his  office  and  at  a  meager  compensation 
until  1782,  when  the  war  being  over  he  resigned 
to  become  ' '  a  private  lawyer. ' '  He  soon  had  a 
large  practice,  and  at  the  same  time  his  work 
as  a  lawyer  and  publicist  counted  heavily  in  the 
settlement  of  some  of  the  most  mixed  problems 
of  early  state  affairs.  He  was  a  lawyer  in  some 
of  the  most  celebrated  cases. 

In  November,  1787,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly  a  member  of  the  council  and 
sole  commissioner  to  revise  and  compile  the  acts 
of  the  General  Assemblies  of  the  Late  Province 
of  North  Carolina.  This  work  was  always  known 
as  Iredell's  Revisal.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
able  and  energetic  advocates  of  the  adoption  of  the 
new  federal  constitution  in  1787,  and  it  is  said 
that  his  labor  and  eloquence  contributed  more  than 
anything  else  to  the  ratification  in  November, 
1789.  In  the  meantime  his  fame  had  spread 
abroad.  President  Washington,  recognizing  his 
great  abilities  by  his  debate  in  the  North 
Carolina  Convention  for  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution, nominated  him  for  a  seat  on  the  Supreme 
Bench  of  the  United  States  February  10,  1790. 
His  nomination  was  indorsed  by  the  Senate  the 
same  day  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  August  term 
of  1790.  Thus  his  learning  and  abilities  were 
impressed  upon  that  court  in  many  of  its  primary 
decisions  in  the  interpretation  of  the  constitution, 
and  some  of  his  opinions  and  arguments  may  be 
found  in  the  cases  of  Chisholm  vs.  Georgia,  Calder 
vs.  Bull,  Penhallow  vs.  Doane,  Hylton  vs.  United 
States,  Ware  vs.  Hylton  and  Talbot  vs.  Johnson. 
"Unquestionably  he  was  the  ablest  constitutional 
lawyer  on  the  bench  until  the  advent  of  Marshall, 
and  in  all  other  respects  the  equal  of  Justice 
Wilson.  While  his  labors  upon  the  Supreme  Bench 
were  but  light,  those  of  the  Circuit  were  arduous 
and  exhausting — his  circuit  at  one  time  compelling 
him  to  travel  eighteen  hundred  miles  " 

In  the  summer  of  1799  his  honorable  life  was 
nearly  spent.  The  severe  labors  of  the  circuit 
and  the  climatic  influence  of  the  sickly  region  in 
which  he  lived  and  traveled  had  undermined  his 
constitution  and  his  health  gave  way.  He  died 
at  Edenton  September  20,  1799.  "The  immature 
lad  of  seventeen,  torn  by  stress  of  fortune  from 
a  gentle  home  and  transplanted  in  a  strange  and 
wild  land — springing  in  a  day  into  the  maturity 
of  manhood,  rising  abrubtly  into  the  full  radiance 


348 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  public  life — called  in  rapid  succession  from  one 
high  office  to  another  until  he  had  exhausted  all, 
and  filling  all  with  equal  roundness,  until  at  the 
last,  weary  and  worn,  he  sinks  into  rest  followed 
by  the  love  and  respect  of  all. ' ' 

Thomas  Nixon.  When,  more  than  a  century 
and  a  quarter  ago,  George  Washington  said 
' '  Agriculture  is  the  most  useful  as  well  as  the 
most  honorable  occupation  of  man, ' '  he  uttered 
a  great  and  significant  truth  and  one  which  holds 
good  today.  The  vocation  of  farming  forms  the 
■  basis  of  all  business  prosperity,  and  the  life 
of  the  agriculturist  whose  operations  are  con- 
ducted in  an  intelligent  and  energetic  manner  is 
the  life  of  independence.  However,  not  all  pos- 
sess the  abilities  necessary  for  success  in  this 
vocation,  and  very  few  have  attained  the  pros- 
perity that  has  come  to  Thomas  Nixon,  who, 
with  the  exception  of  a  short  period  in  his  youth, 
has  devoted  his  entire  eareer  to  the  tilling  of  the 
soil  and  is  now  one  of  the  most  substantial  men 
of  the  agricultural  class  to  be  found  in  Perqui- 
mans  County. 

Thomas  Nixon  is  himself  a  product  of  the 
farming  community  in  which  he  now  resides, 
having  been  born  on  the  family  homestead  in 
Perquimans  County  October  12,  1869.  His  par- 
ents were  Thomas  and  Cornelia  (Townsend) 
Nixon,  honorable  and  honored  farming  people, 
who  passed  their  entire  lives  in  this  community, 
rounding  out  successful  careers  and  laboring  to 
such  good  effect  that  they  accumulated  a  good 
property,  were  able  to  pass  their  declining  years 
in  retirement  and  comfort,  and  won  and  held 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  their  fellow-citizens. 
The  country  schools  furnished  Thomas  Nixon, 
the  younger,  with  his  early  educational  training, 
following  which  he  entered  what  was  then  known 
as  the  New  Gordon  High  School,  but  is  now 
Gilliford  College.  Upon  the  completion  of  his 
studies  he  began  to  teach  school,  and  would  no 
doubt  have  continued  and  succeeded  as  an  edu- 
cator, but  the  death  of  his  father  called  him 
home  after  he  had  taught  only  one  term,  and, 
taking  over  the  reins  of  management,  he  began 
to  carry  on  the  work  from  the  point  where  his 
father  left  off.  That  he  has  been  successful  in 
his  operations  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  he  is 
now  the  owner  of  700  acres  in  Perquimans  County 
and  supervises  operations  on  about  800  acres 
more,  and  of  this  land  700  acres  are  under  culti- 
vation. His  farm  is  equipped  with  modern 
buildings,  substantial  and  attractive,  and  other 
improvements  have  been  installed,  while  the  work 
is  done  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  and 
the  most  approved  modern  methods.  He  has 
made  a  study  of  his  vocation  and  treats  it  more 
as  a  profession  than  merely  as  a  means  of  gain- 
ing a  livelihood,  and  for  this  reason  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  greater  measure  than  some  of  his 
less  progressive  brethren.  Mr.  Nixon  has  other 
interests  and  is  a  director  of  the  Hertford  Bank- 
ing Company.  He  is  public-spirited  in  his  sup- 
port of  movements  for  the  general  welfare  and 
has  done  his  share  in  assuming  the  responsi- 
bilities and  labors  of  citizenship,  although  he 
has  never  cared  for  public  office  and  takes  only 
a  voter 's  interest  in  political  parties  and  their 
conflicts. 

Mr.  Nixon  was  married  December  21,  1897,  to 
Miss  Edna  Jones  Graubery,  and  to  this  union 
there  have  been  born  four  children:  Julian  Grau- 
bery,  Marjory   Graubery,   Dorothy   Graubery   and 


Edna  Jones.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nixon  and  their 
children  belong  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
family  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  community, 
where  its  members  are  recognized  as  desrable 
acquisitions    of    society. 

John  Ckoom  Eodman,  M.  D.  The  distinguished 
abilities  and  service  of  Doctor  Rodman  of  Wash- 
ington have  made  him  most  prominently  known 
in  the  field  of  surgery  and  medicine.  He  is  a  man 
of  many  prominent  associations'  in  his  profession 
and  is,  also,  well  known  in  social  and  patriotic 
organizations. 

Doctor  Eodman  was  born  December  27,  1870,  a 
son  of  Judge  William  Blount  Eodman  and  Camilla 
D.  Croom,  his  wife.  He  received  his  education  in 
the  best  private  and  public  schools  of  that  time. 
He  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  the 
fall  of  1888  and  remained  there  for  two  years ;  and 
later  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  New  York,  the  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College,  and  received  his  degree  from  that 
institution  in  the  spring  of  1892.  He  returned  im- 
mediately to  his  home  in  Washington,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  began  the  practise  of  his  profession, 
in  which  he  has  had  abundant  success  both  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon. 

Dr.  Eodman 's  services  have  been  as  follows : 
Member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Board  of 
Medical  Examiners,  1908  to  1914;  chief  surgeon 
Washington  and  Vandemere  Eailroad  (N.  C), 
1905;  member  A.  M.  A.,' North  Carolina  Medical 
Society  (vice  president),  1904;  Seaboard  Medical 
Association,  secretary,  1889,  president,  1906;  Beau- 
fort County  Medical  Society ;  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 
fraternity;  Sons  of  Confederate  Veterans,  com- 
mander, North  Carolina  Div.,  1902-3;  in  politics 
democrat;  Episcopalian;  Mason;  member  of  local 
club  of  Elks,  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias; 
also  served  as  president  of  North  Carolina  Society 
of  Sons  of  the  American  Eevolution.  He  was  ap- 
pointed acting  assistant  surgeon  of  Public  Health 
Service  in  July,  1895,  and  is  still  in  the  service, 
and  was  appointed  in  December,  1917,  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson  chairman  of  the  Medical  Advisory 
Board  for  District  No.  17  of  North  Carolina. 

June  7,  1904,  Doctor  Eodman  married  Olzie 
Whitehead  Clark,  of  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  five  children:  John  Croon, 
Jr.,  Olzie  Clark,  Archie  Clark,  Owen  Guion  and 
Clark  Eodman. 

Ealeigh  Eutherford  Hatnes.  ' '  Peace  hath  her 
victories  no  less  renowned  than  war, ' '  and  among 
those  whose  names  deserve  to  stand  high  on  the 
roll  of  honor  in  North  Carolina  for  their  achieve- 
ments in  peace  is  Ealeigh  Eutherford  Haynes,  a 
native  of  Eutherford  County,  where  he  was  bora 
on  June  30,  1851. 

His  father  was  Charles  H.  Haynes,  a  fanner  in 
that  county,  a  deputy  sheriff,  and  a  neighborhood 
teacher.  His  mother  was  Sarah,  a  daughter  of 
Elijah  Walker,  a  man  of  considerable  means,  a 
slave-holder,  whose  farm  was  near  Ellenboro  in  the 
same  county.  Mrs.  Haynes  bore  her  husband 
eight  children,  Ealeigh  being  the  fourth  child 
and  the  eldest  son;  and  he  was  only  eight  years 
of  age   when  his   father  died  in   1859. 

Mrs.  Haynes  was  possessed  of  a  good  mind,  and 
was  eminently  practical,  but  particularly  was  she 
even-tempered,  and  noted  for  her  amiability  and 
gentleness,  and  for  the  wisdom  and  foresight  with 
which  she  trained  her  children.  From  early  youth 
Ealeigh  became  helpful  to  his  mother  on  the  farm, 


/Ut  fOv  nLf^t^t^ 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


349 


studying  his  lessons  at  night,  so  that  by  the  time 
he  was  twenty  he  had  become  a  capable  man.  He 
then  went  to  Union  County,  South  Carolina,  to 
learn  how  to  cultivate  cotton.  After  two  years 
he  returned  to  his  home  at  Ferry,  and  added  to 
his  farming  operations  both  a  store  and  a  saw 
mill.  This  beginning  was  indicative  of  his  enter- 
prise, his  energy  and  his  capacity.  He  was  success- 
ful from  the  start.  He  planned  thoughtfully  and 
acted  prudently  and  wisely.  His  mother  had 
counselled  him,  "never  go  security,  never  act  as 
guardian,  nor  hold  office,''  and  observing  her  in- 
junctions, he  avoided  pitfalls  and,  while  interested 
in  public  matters,  he  was  not  led  by  them  away 
from  his  business. 

He  was  happily  married  on  January  29,  1874,  to 
Amanda  Carpenter,  a  daughter  of  Tennessee  Car- 
penter, a  well-known  citizen  of  the  county.  They 
were  both  consecrated  Christians,  and  for  sixteen 
years  she  was  a  helpmate  to  him,  indeed,  their 
lives  being  happy  and  fortunate.  She  bore  him 
eight  children,  and  on  her  death  in  1890,  he  became 
both  father  and  mother  to  them,  exercising  such 
tender  care  and  affection  for  them  that  his  guid- 
ance had  the  happiest  influences  on  their  lives. 
Later  he  married  Litia  Kelley,  who,  however,  died 
childless  in  about  a  year. 

As  the  years  passed  and  Mr.  Haynes  prospered, 
he  invested  in  lands  until  he  was  known  as  one  of 
the  largest  landowners  in  that  part  of  the  state; 
and  his  reputation  for  wisdom,  prudence,  and  suc- 
cess constantly  grew.  Near  by  was  the  old  High 
Shoals  land  on  the  Second  Broad  River,  embrac- 
ing many  acres,  chiefly  a  wilderness  of  vines,  thorn 
bushes  and  bamboo,  but  with  much  valuable  timber 
and  a  fine  undeveloped  water  power.  This  he 
purchased  in  1885,  and  for  two  years  he  employed 
himself  in  getting  it  in  order,  cleaning  up  the 
farming  land,  building  tenement  houses,  and  clear- 
ing off  the  river  banks,  with  the  ultimate  purpose 
of  developing  the  water  power  and  erecting  a  mill 
of  some  kind,  the  nature  of  which  he  had  not  then 
determined. 

But  in  July,  1887,  in  pursuance  of  his  well  de- 
fined purpose,  he,  along  with  others,  began  the  work 
of  building  the  Henrietta  Mills, and  he  was  a  liberal 
subscriber  to  the  capital  stock  of  this  corporation, 
ami  did  a  large  part  of  the  work  in  getting  things 
in  shape  and  in  constructing  a  large  number  of 
tenements  surrounding  the  mill.  This  work  covered 
a  period  of  five  or  six  years.  About  eight  years 
after  the  Henrietta  Mills  was  started,  Mr.  Haynes 
and  his  associates  began  to  build  Henrietta  Mills 
Number  Two,  at  Caroleen,  and  in  this  connection 
he  cliil  a  great  deal  of  work  in  obtaining  the  land 
needed,  having  surveys  of  the  power  made,  and  he 
built  the  first  hundred  tenements,  besides  start- 
ing up  a  store  at  this  point  and  assisting  in  many 
other  ways.  In  1897  he  bought  the  necessary  land 
and  built  the  Florence  Mills  at  Forest  City,  the 
same  being  named  for  his  oldest  daughter,  but 
later  on  he  sold  out  his  holdings  in  this  mill  with 
satisfactory  advantage  to  himself,  but  never  dis- 
posed of  his  interest  in  the  Henrietta  Mills,  owning 
about  one-twentieth  of  the  whole  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

But  it  was  in  1900  that  he  selected  a  site  for 
another  mill,  lower  down  on  Second  Broad  River, 
in  a  wilderness  where  once,  when  a  lad,  he  had 
been  lost,  and  where  there  was  a  great  volume  of 
water  running  to  waste.  He  discerned  the  rare 
possibilities  of  the  location,  and  there  he  determined 
to  lav  the  foundations  of  a  treat  enterprise.  In- 
deed, he  was  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  but  withal  a 


man  of  sound  practical  judgment.  In  the  depth 
of  his  hazel  blue  eyes  there  shone  a  light  of  a 
master-builder;  and  in  the  energy  of  his  clear 
and  wonderful  brain  was  found  the  basis  of  suc- 
cessful achievement.  His  conception  was  not 
merely  to  build  another  mill  and  to  create  another 
industrial  center,  but  to  gather  about  it  an  orderly 
community  of  happy,  God-fearing  working  people, 
enjoying  all  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of 
improved  social  conditions.  Such  was  the  vision 
he  saw,  and  it  became  the  dream  of  his  life.  To 
this  consummation  he  devoted  his  energies.  Still 
he  had  other  and  diversified  interests.  He  was 
associated  in  many  enterprises.  He  was  concerned 
in  an  extensive  lumber  business  in  Eastern  Caro- 
lina and  in  Georgia;  in  a  line  of  general  stores; 
had  large  banking  interests,  being  president  of 
the  Haynes  Bank  at  Henrietta,  president  of  the 
Commercial  Bank  at  Rutherfordton,  director  of 
the  Charlotte  National  Bank,  and  of  the  Southern 
Loan  &  Savings  Bank,  Charlotte,  but  his  chief 
interest  centered  around  Cliffside,  where  he  alone 
could  see  the  beginning,  and  far  into  the  future 
possibilities   of   his   dream. 

Here  from  a  once  barren  waste  has  sprung  the 
largest  gingham  mill  under  one  roof  in  the  South, 
with  a  prosperous,  beautiful  town  of  happy  people 
about  it. 

The  Cliffside  Mill  is  built  on  Second  Broad 
River,  and  the  "Falls"  afford  most  of  the  power 
necessary  to  run  the  machinery,  the  balance  being 
generated  on  the  ground.  Seven  thousand  five  hun- 
red  bales  of  cotton  are  used  yearly,  and  70,000 
yards,  or  forty  miles,  of  gingham  a're  turned  out 
daily.  The  mill  does  its  own  coloring  and  finish- 
ing and  the  product  is  ready  for  the  jobbers  when 
it  leaves  the  mill.  Two  classes  of  gingham  are 
manufactured,  the  Cliffside,  a  staple  gingham,  and 
the  Haynes,  a  standard. 

Near  the  mill  entrance  are  seesaws  Mr.  Haynes 
had  built  for  the  children,  and  nearby  are  the 
offices  which  harbor  the  brain  power  of  the  mill 
and  in  which  the  clerical  work  is  transacted.  Across 
the  street  are  the  company's  store  and  a  library 
built  of  red  brick.  Then  there  are  the  moving 
picture  hall,  Cliffside  hotel,  postoffice,  bank,  garage, 
flower  mill,  skating  rink,  ice  factory  and  a  steam 
laundry. 

The  water  supply  of  Cliffside  is  the  boast  of 
the  town,  and  has  played  an  important  part  in 
its   remarkable   health    record. 

Cliffside  has  three  churches,  picturesque  and 
substantial  where  services  are  largely  attended 
and  the  children   carefully  trained. 

_An  ideal  graded  school,  with  six  teachers,  gives 
350  children,  six  or  eight  months '  Instruction  each 
year.  The  doetors,  also,  instruct  the  children, 
giving  addresses  on  health,  personal  cleanliness 
and    the   right   mode   of   living. 

The  broad  streets  of  the  town  are  lined  with 
trees  and  finely  cropped  hedges.  The  four  hundred 
prettily  built  and  neatly  painted  houses  flanking 
the  streets  are  homelike  and  attractive  with  flowers 
growing  in  profusion,  for  Mr.  Haynes  offered  prizes 
every  year  for  the  most  beautiful  yards  and  neatest 
kept  premises.  The  houses  are  lighted  with 
electricity  and  the  sanitary  arrangements  are  the 
best.  The  people  take  pride  in  the  furnishings  of 
their  homes,  many  having  pianos  as  well  as  auto- 
mobiles. They  have  regular  clean-up-days  for  their 
premises,  and  a  visitor  invariably  notes  the  spot- 
less appearance  of  the  whole  town. 

In  these  homes  live  a  contented,  healthy,  indus- 
trious, law-abiding,  God-fearing  people.     They  are 


350 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


an  independent  people,  too,  for  in  1917  the  Cliff- 
side  operatives  had  on  deposit  with  the  Mill  Com- 
pany $51,000,  at  6  per  cent  interest. 

In  the  past  ten  years  seventy-five  or  more  fam- 
ilies have  moved  away  to  farms  they  had  bought 
with  money  saved  at  the  mill.  Many  have  gone 
from  the  mill  to  bigger  things.  You  find  them  in 
the  schoolroom  as  instructors;  in  the  pulpit  as  min- 
isters of  that  Gospel  the  quiet  man  who  founded 
Cliffside  ever  tried  to  practice  in  his  daily  life,  for 
Ealeigh  Haynes  carried  his  religion  into  his  busi- 
ness. He  felt  that  this  was  the  way  to  serve  his 
generation.  He  sought  to  make  his  Cliffside  peo- 
ple ideal  by  banishing  ignorance,  poverty  and  pain, 
and  by  teaching  them  to  love  God  supremely  and 
their  neighbors  as  themselves.  He  not  only  be- 
lieved in  justice  as  a  principle  but  he  practiced  it. 
It  was  the  rule  of  his  life. 

Such  characteristics  and  purposes  in  life  de- 
served the  highest  measure  of  human  achievement, 
and  indeed  it  was  graciously  vouchsafed  him. 

He  attributed  his  success  to  such  maxims  as : 
Always  to  be  truthful;  pay  every  cent  you  owe; 
always  keep  at  something;  have  plenty  of  energy; 
never  give  up,  and  then,  most  of  all,  he  said,  "I 
never  engage  in  anything  that  I  did  not  go  to  God 
and  ask  Him  to  prosper  that  business  as  He  thought 
best,  and  my  advice  to  all  is  not  to  engage  in  any- 
thing in  which  you  are  not  willing  to  ask  God 's 
help. ' '  His  marked  Bible  shows  from  whence  he 
drew  his  strength. 

This  verse  marked  "Sept.  23,  1903,"  lets  one 
see  where  he  caught  the  vision  of  the  ideal  mill 
town :  ' '  Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by 
unrighteousness  and  his  chambers  by  wrong;  that 
useth  his  neighbor's  service  without  wages  and 
giveth  him  not  for  his  work. ' ' 

He  was  at  all  times  the  friend,  counsellor  and 
helper  of  his  people,  and  they  loved  him  and  helped 
him  realize  his  vision. 

Mr.  Haynes  had  been  a  great  sufferer  for  some 
thirty  years,  yet  he  did  not  let  it  interfere  with 
his  duties.  In  the  summer  of  1916  he  became  ill, 
but  the  autumn  found  him  back  at  Cliffside  much 
improved,  and  the  weeks  went  by  into  Christmas 
when  all  his  children  and  grandchildren  gathered 
to  his  spacious  and  well  appointed  home.  After 
the  greetings  of  joy  and  love  he  sat  apart  as  usual 
in  the  quiet  of  his  own  room.  After  his  death, 
hidden  away  among  his  papers,  letters  were  found 
written  that  night. 

That  in  his  heart  he  had  heard  the  "long  dis- 
tance call ' '  is  evident  and  his  house  was  set  in 
order.  He  felt  that  ten  years  more  were  needed 
to  perfect  things  he  had  planned,  and  willed  that 
the  property  be  left  intact  that  long  under  the 
guidance  of  his  son,  Charles,  who  is  a  worthy 
successor  of  such  a  father. 

One  last  word  he  had  to  say  that  Christinas 
night : 

' '  I  just  want  to  say  that  I  know  full  well  that 
some  of  these  days  I  shall  have  to  give  up  this  life. 
All  of  us  will  have  to,  how  soon  none  can  tell,  and 
it  is  no  doubt  best  that  we  do  not  know. 

' '  I  want  to  say  in  this  connection  that  I  feel 
that  I  have  done  my  duty  to  my  family  and  loved 
ones  and  to  my  country.  It  is  true  that  I  have 
had  many  obstacles,  but  I  have  discharged  my  duty 
as  best  I  could. 

' '  I  hope  that  the  undeveloped  plans  I  have  laid 
may  all  some  day  be  complete  and  the  country 
blessed  and  benefited  by  them  and  that  my  friends 
and  loved  ones  be  blessed  in  many  ways  and  that 
they   be   better   men    and    women,    and   that    they 


can  and  will  serve  their  country  as  best  they  can, 

and  serve  each  other  in  a  way  that  is  right,  and 

we   all   may   meet   by   and   by   up    yonder   where 

we    can   live    as    an    unbroken    family    in    heaven 
*     *     *  j  ; 

February  found  him  at  his  Florida  home  in  St. 
Petersburg,  accompanied  by  his  youngest  son, 
Grover  Cleveland.  Eeturning  late  in  the  afternoon 
from  an  outing  in  his  car  February  6,  1917,  he 
talked  to  a  man  in  the  yard  about  his  drive  and 
seemed  most  cheerful.  He  then  turned  to  go  into 
the  house,  and  at  that  instant  death  claimed  him 
with  a  smile  on  his  face,  a  smile  his  family  say 
that  lingered  even  when  he  was  brought  back  home 
again. 

His  life  teaches  what  a  man  may  do.  His  zeal 
and  high  ideals  inspire  one.  The  school,  the- 
churches,  the  mill,  the  town  and  country  sustained 
a  heavy  loss  and  on  his  children  and  on  the  leaders 
of  the  town  has  fallen  a  great  responsibility.  Real- 
izing this,  a  memorial  service  was  held  at  the  Bap- 
tist Church  February  11,  1917,  and  the  leaders  in 
all  of  the  works  with  warm  devotion,  fervid  zeal 
and  untiring  efforts,  laid  themselves  on  the  altar 
of  service. 

This  is  in  brief  the  life's  activities  of  Ealeigh 
Rutherford  Haynes,  a  patriotic  and  successful 
North  Carolinian,  combining  in  his  name  the  Cap- 
itol city  of  his  Commonwealth,  and  his  well-beloved 
native '  county,  and  embodying  in  his  character 
those  traits  and  qualities  which  make  men  great. 

It  may  truthfully  be  said  of  him:  "While  yet 
in  love  with  life  and  raptured  with  the  world,  he 
passed  to  silence  and  pathetic  dust.  Tet  after  all 
it  may  be  the  best,  just  in  the  hapiest,  sunniest 
hour  of  all  the  voyage,  while  eager  winds  are  kiss- 
ing every  sail,  to  dash  against  the  unseen  rock  and 
in  an  instant  hear  the  billows  roar  above  a  sunken 
ship.  For  whether  in  mid-sea  or  'mong  the  break- 
ers of  the  farther  shore,  a  wreck  at  last  must  mark 
the  end  of  each  and  all  and  every  life,  no  matter 
if  its  every  hour  is  rich  with  love,  and  every  mo- 
ment jewelled  with  joy,  will  at  its  close  become 
a  tragedy  as  sad  and  deep  and  dark  as  can  be- 
woven  of  the  warp  and  woof  of  mystery  and 
death."  Clyde  R   Hoet. 

Joseph  Adolphus  Williams  is  an  educator  by- 
profession,  took  up  school  work  when  a  young  man 
and  has  steadily  increased  his  opportunities  and 
his  abilities  by  experience  and  by  attendance  at 
the  higher  institutions  of  learning.  He  is  now 
the  capable  superintendent  of  the  graded  schools 
of  Clinton. 

Mr.  Williams  was  born  at  Bladenboro  in  Bladen 
County,  North  Carolina,  December  30,  1873.  His 
people  were  substantial  farmers  of  Gladen  County, 
he  being  the  son  of  Charles  Wesley  and  Abigail 
(Lennon)  Williams.  He  grew  up  on  a  farm, 
attended  the  public  schools  at  Bladenboro,  includ- 
ing the  high  school,  the  Robinson  Institute  at 
Lumbertnn  and  subseouently  finished  his  collegiate 
work  in  Wake  Forest  College,  from  which  he  holds 
the  degree  A.  B.,  and  by  advanced  work  during 
vacations  he  was  granted  the  Master  of  Arts  de- 
gree by  Columbia  University  at  New  York  in 
1916. 

Mr.  Williams  began  as  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools,  and  since  1903  much  of  his  work  has  been 
in  high  schools  or  as  superintendent.  He  was 
principal  and  superintendent  of  Stineeon  Institute, 
of  the  Spencer  graded  schools,  of  the  Greensboro 
High  School,  and  in  1914  was  elected  to  his 
present    post    as    superintendent    of    the    Clinton 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


351 


graded  school  system.  He  has  done  much  to  im- 
prove the  curriculum  and  raise  the  standards  of  the 
local  schools  at  Clinton,  and  these  are  now  among 
the  best  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Teachers  Assembly,  and  fraternally  is  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Missionary 
Baptist  church  and  teacher  of  the  Baraca  class 
at  Clinton.  Mr.  Williams  married,  June  2,  1915, 
Miss  Florence  Nightingale  Page,  of  Morrisville, 
North  Carolina. 

William  Gassaway  Gaither,  Jr.  While  it 
would  be  transcending  the  bounds  of  exact  reality 
to  state  that  this  is  the  young  man 's  age,  cer- 
tain it  is  that  of  recent  times,  men  of  the  younger 
generation  have  come  to  occupy  positions  and 
shoulder  responsibilities  held  and  assumed  before 
only  by  men  many  years  their  senior.  Elizabeth 
City  has  its  full  quota  of  progressive  young  man- 
hood in  business  circles,  and  in  this  class  one  of 
those  who  stands  undoubtedly  among  the  leaders 
is  William  Gassaway  Gaither,  Jr.,  whose  im- 
portant and  varied  connections  make  him  one  of 
the  best  known  figures  in  the  business  world  of 
the  county  seat  of  Pasquotank  County.  He  is 
a  native  son  of  the  Old  North  state,  and  was 
born  at  Hertford,  December  2,  1887,  his  parents 
being  William  Gassaway  and  Elizabeth  (Skinner) 
(Wood)    Gaither. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Gaither  was  for  many  years 
an  educator  well  known  at  Hertford,  and  in  his 
later  life  became  connected  with  the  steamboat 
business,  but  during  the  son 's  boyhood  the  fam- 
ily was  in  modest  financial  circumstances,  and 
after  the  youth  had  received  an  ordinary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  he  began  contributing 
to  his  own  support  when  only  twelve  years  of 
age.  His  first  employment  was  as  a  messenger, 
in  addition  to  which  he  did  odd  jobs  around  the 
depot  at  Hertford,  and  as  he  was  ambitious  and 
obliging,  and  always  willing  to  undertake  any 
honorable  task  that  presented  itself,  he  was  able 
to  make  noticeable  and  rapid  advancement. 
From  messenger  he  was  promoted  to  freight  clerk, 
and  later  to  ticket  agent  and  telegraph  operator, 
which  positions  he  held  when  still  in  his  j'outh. 
He  had  fixed  his  goal  far  ahead,  however,  and 
when  the  opportunity  presented  itself,  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  he  accepted  the  position  of  book- 
keeper with  the  Hertford  Banking  Company,  for 
the  duties  of  which  he  had  prepared  himself  by 
study  while  working  at  his  other  employment. 
He  rose  in  this  institution  to  the  position  of 
assistant  cashier,  but  June  10,  1909.  resigned 
this  office  and  came  to  Elizabeth  City  to  become 
assistant  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank.  On 
May  1.  1912,  he  was  elected  cashier,  an  office  in 
which  he  served  until  June  12,  1918,  when  he  re- 
signed to  enter  the  Virginia  Military  Institute 
Training  Camp  to  fit  himself  for  service  in  the 
army.  He  was  at  Camp  Wadsworth,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  was  recommended  for  entrance  to  an 
Officers'  Training  School.  On  September  10th  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Central  Officers'  Training 
School  at  Camp  Lee,  Virginia,  from  which  camp, 
after  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  from  the  service.  Upon  returning 
home  Mr.  Gaither  was  elected  a  director  and 
active  vice-president  of  the  institution  with  which 
he  was  formerly  connected,  assuming  his  new  du- 
ties December  16,  1918. 

On    various    occasions    Mr.     Gaither    has    con- 


nected himself  with  enterprises  with  names  of 
importance  in  the  business  world,  and  is  inter- 
ested in  a  number  of  prominent  concerns,  in 
several  fields,  being  president  of  the  Albemarle 
Motor  Company,  a  partner  in  the  Automobile  and 
Gas  Engine  Works,  treasurer  of  the  Highland 
Park  Besidential  Company,  and  a  director  in  the 
Elizabeth  City  Cotton  Mills,  the  Culpepper,. 
Griffin,  Old  &  Grice  Company,  fire  insurance  and 
bonds,  and  the  D.  M.  Jones  Company,  a  hard- 
ware concern.  Aside  from  business  life,  he  has 
played  no  inactive  part  in  progressive  advance- 
ment of  the  city  of  his  adoption,  being  a  director 
of  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association,  and 
a  member  of  the  Pasquotank  County  Council  of 
National  Defense.  His  religious  faith  makes 
Mr.  Gaither  an  Episcopalian,  and  he  was  a  vestry- 
man and  also  served  in  the  capacity  of  church 
treasurer.  He  also  served  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  aldermen  of  Elizabeth  City,  and  the 
justly  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
business  associates  and  others  is  shown  in  tlie 
fact  that  on  two  occasions  he  has  been  elected 
president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  As  a. 
fraternalist,  Mr.  Gaither  is  past  exalted  ruler  of 
the   Benevolent  and    Protective   Order   of   Elks. 

On  November  7,  1917,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Helen  Virgilia  Robinson,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Robinson,  of  Elizabeth  City. 

Robert  R.  Ragan  probably  sustains  more  active 
and  responsible  relations  with  the  larger  business 
affairs  in  High  Point  and  that  section  of  the  state 
than  any  other  individual.  A  dozen  or  more  manu- 
facturing and  business  enterprises  and  banks  value 
him  as  one  of  their  directors,  and  in  several  of 
these  concerns  he  is  one  of  the  chief  executive 
officials. 

Mr.  Ragan  was  born  at  High  Point,  son  of  Amos 
and  Martha  (English)  Ragan.  His  paternal  grand- 
parents were  Joseph-  and  Elizabeth  (Paine) 
Ragan,  while  his  maternal  grandparents  were 
Thomas  and  Mildred  (Tomlinson)  English.  His 
father,  a  native  of  Davidson  County,  moved 
to  Guilford  County  when  a  young  man  and 
bought  a  farm.  During  the  war  between  the  states 
he  carried  the  mail  between  Bennettsville  and 
Winston-Salem.  He  was  a  very  alert  and  pro- 
gressive business  man,  carried  on  a  large  enter- 
prise as  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  and  stood  high 
in  the  esteem  of  a  large  community.  He  lived  on 
his  farm  until  his  death.  His  widow  is  still  living 
on  the  old  homestead.  They  had  a  family  of  thir- 
teen children,  named  Susan,  Minnie,  Walter,  Ed- 
ward, Joseph,  William,  Robert  R.,  James  L.,  Hor- 
ace S.,  Annie,  Homer,  Catherine  and  Martha. 
Martha  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  Joseph  at 
twenty-five,  and  Minnie  aged  twenty-two. 

Robert  R.  Ragan  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  in  a 
rural  environment.  From  the  district  schools  he 
entered  Trinity  High  School,  and  from  there  car- 
ried his  studies  to  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  He  had  been  in 
medical  school  two  years  when  an  opportunity  to 
take  an  active  part  in  business  at  High  Point  ap- 
pealed to  him  and  he  gave  up  altogether  the  idea 
of  becoming  a  physician. 

This  opportunity  was  presented  through  the  pur- 
chase by  his  father  and  O.  E.  Kearns  of  the  stock 
and  good  will  of  the  Beeson  Hardware  Company 
at  High  Point.  Mr.  Ragan  was  given  an  interest 
in  the  business,  and  that  is  his  oldest  active  busi- 
ness relationship  with  High  Point.  He  finally 
bought  the  interests  of  Mr.  Kearns  and  later  those 


352 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  his  father,  and  is  now  proprietor  of  this  large 
and  well  known  hardware  establishment. 

He  is  also  president  of  the  Consolidated  Veneer 
and  Panel  Company,  president  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Wheel  Company,  and  is  a  director  of  the  fol- 
lowing industries  and  business  organizations: 
Highland  Cotton  Mills,  Pickett  Cotton  Mills,  High 
Point  Buggy  Company,  High  Point  Hosiery  Com- 
pany, Crown  Hosiery  Company,  Hill  Veneer  Com- 
pany, Union  Furniture  Company,  Giant  Furniture 
Company,  the  Commercial  National  Bank  and  the 
High  Point  Savings  and  Trust  Company.  At  the 
present  time  Mr.  Ragan  is  building  a  mill  at 
Thomasville  to  be  operated  as  the  Kagan  Knitting 
Mill. 

He  was  reared  in  the  Friends  church  and  still 
holds  to  that  faith.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated 
with  Guilford  Council  No.  23,  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics,  and  High  Point  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Polit- 
ically he  is  a  republican. 

Nelson  Whitford  Taylor.  The  character  of 
an  able  business  man  and  man  of  large  affairs  has 
been  ably  sustained  by  Nelson  W.  Taylor  at  Beau- 
fort for  a  number  of  years.  Mr.  Taylor  practically 
grew  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  business,  since  his 
father  was  a  merchant  at  Beaufort  and  in  his  ma- 
ture experience  has  reached  out  and  acquired  in- 
terests that  place  him  readily  among  the  leading 
men  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  born  in  Beaufort,  North  Caro- 
lina, September  7,  1856,  a  son  of  George  Washing- 
ton and  Sidney  Ann  (Bragg)  Taylor.  His  father 
was  quite  a  successful  man,  owned  and  operated 
farm  lands  and  was  also  a  hotel  proprietor  and 
merchant.  The  son  after  attending  the  public 
schools  at  Beaufort  entered  his  father's  general 
merchandise  store  and  his  experience  there  enabled 
him  to  start  in  business  for  himself. 

After  some  years  he  left  the  retail  grocery  busi- 
ness to  become  a  wholesale  merchant,  and  success 
in  one  line  has  brought  him  rapidly  accumulating 
interests  in  others.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was 
in  the  fish  and  oyster  canning  business. 

At  the  present  time  Mr.  Taylor  owns  the  Beau- 
fort Grocery  Company;  is  president  of  the  Beau- 
fort Banking  anil  Trust  Company;  president  of 
the  Davis  Canning  Company;  is  president  of  t.ie 
Armstrong  Grocery  Company  of  Newbem,  North 
Carolina;  is  director  in  various  other  commercial 
organizations  and  was  formerly  president  of  the 
Scott  Register  Company.  He  is  vice  president  of 
the  Morehead  City  Ice  and  Transportation  Com- 
pany. 

He  has  given  much  of  his  time  to  the  duties  and 
burdens  of  public  office.  From  1888  to  1900  he 
served  continuously,  a  period  of  twelve  years,  as 
county  treasurer  of  Carteret  County.  In  1901-02 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  this 
county.  He  has  also  served  as  mayor  of  Beaufort 
and  as  a  member  of  the  City  Council.  Mr.  Taylor 
is  senior  warden  of  the  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church  and  for  twenty-five  years  was  superinten- 
dent of  its  Sunday  school.  He  also  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Harmony. 

In  1880  he  married  Miss  Mary  C.  Buckman,  of 
Beaufort.  They  have  six  children,  most  of  whom 
are  grown  and  several  are  acquitting  themselves 
with  credit  in  business  lines.  Cecil  B.,  the  oldest, 
is  now  assistant  auditor  of  the  United  Fruit  Com- 
pany of  Boston,  Massachusetts;  Bayard  is  a  busi- 
ness associate  of  his  father;  Sidney  Elizabeth  is 
Mrs.  A.  D.  O 'Bryan,  of  Beaufort;  Nannie  Davis 
is    Mrs.    W.    K.    Hinnant,    of    Beaufort;     Nelson 


Whitford,     Jr.,    and    George    Edward    are     both 
students  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

Michael  Penn  Cummings,  M.  D.  While  he  has 
been  a  very  busy  man  professionally  since  enter- 
ing upon  the  active  practice  of  medicine  and 
surgery  at  Reidsville,  Dr.  Cummings  has  not 
neglected  those  broader  social  and  community 
interests  that  are  dependent  upon  the  exercise  of 
individual  public  spirit,  and  among  other  responsi- 
bilities is  now  serving  his  fourth  consecutive  year 
as   mayor   of  Reidsville. 

Doctor  Cummings  was  born  on  a  farm  in  New 
Bethel  Township  of  Rockingham  County,  March 
14,  1887.  He  is  a  son  of  Michael  P.  Cummings, 
Sr.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm  and  his 
early  education  was  acquired  in  rural  schools 
mder  private  tutors  and  from  Oak  Ridge  Insti- 
tute. In  1903  he  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  graduated  Ph.  B.  in  1907,  and.  then  con- 
tinued for  two  years  a  student  in  the  Medical 
Department.  His  final  courses  in  medicine  were 
carried  in  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  was  graduated  M.  D.  in  1911. 
The  following  year  he  supplemented  his  university 
training  by  service  in  the  Jefferson  Hospital.  It 
was  with  this  training  as  a  ground  work  that  he 
entered  upon  his  active  career  at  Reidsville. 

In  1913  Dr.  Cummings  married  Besse  Grove. 
She  was  born  in  Center  County,  Pennsylvania. 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Cummings  have  one  son,  Michael 
Penn,   Jr. 

Doctor  Cummings  is  a  member  in  good  standing 
of  the  Rockingham  County  and  North  Carolina 
State  Medical  Societies.  He  is  affiliated  with 
Reidsville  Lodge  No.  384,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  Chapter  No.  13,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  Ivanhoe  Commandery  No.  8,  Knights 
Templar,  Oasis  Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and 
is  also  affiliated  with  Reidsville  Lodge  No.  49, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  Reids- 
ville Council,  Junior  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  and  the  Dramatic  Order  of  Knights 
of  Khorassan. 

Herbert  Pennel  Moselet,  M.  D.  The  great 
war  has  already  called  into  its  ranks  some  of  the 
brightest  young  men  in  the  medical  profession, 
and  among  them  was  Dr.  Herbert  Pennel  Moseley, 
who  accepted  a  commission  with  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant  in  the  Medical  Reserve  Corps  and 
gave  up  a  very  promising  general  practice  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon  after  less  than  three  years 
of  residence  at  Farmville,  with  which  community 
he  had  become  identified  in  a  way  that  already 
made  him  accounted  one  of  the  prominent  younger 
members  of  the  profession  in  Pitt  County. 

Doctor  Moseley  was  born  in  Lenoir  County, 
North  Carolina,  November  12,  1888,  a  son  of 
William  Octavius  and  Fannie  D.  (Wooten) 
Moseley.  His  father  is  a  farmer  and  merchant. 
Doctor  Mosely  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Kinston,  attended  the  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College  at  Raleigh,  and  from  there  en- 
tered the  University  College  of  Medicine  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  where  he  received  his  Doc- 
tor of'  Medicine  degree  in  June,  1912.  The  next 
year  and  a.  half  he  spent  in  further  equipping 
himself  for  private  practice  as  house  physician 
and  surgeon  of  St.  Vincent 's  Hospital  at  Nor- 
folk, Virginia.  Then,  in  1914,  he  located  at 
Farmville  and  while  engaged  in  a  general  prac- 
tice was  specializing  in  surgery.  He  served  as 
local    surgeon    of    the    Norfolk   &    Southern    Rail- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


353 


Doctor  Moseley  is  a  member  of  the  County, 
State,  Seaboard  and  Tri-State  Medical  societies 
and  the  American  Medical  Association.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  York  Bite  Mason  and  Shriuer  and 
also  a  Knight  of  Pythias. 

William  Eaton  Fenner.  What  corn  is  to 
Illinois,  tobacco  is  to  North  Carolina.  The  growing 
of  this  aromatic  plant  and  its  subsequent  handling 
until  ready  to  be  offered  to  the  consumer  forms 
one  of  the  great  industries  of  the  South  and  is  a 
source  of  untold  wealth.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  ca- 
pricious weed  and  conditions  must  be  just  right 
and  its  curing  carried  on  in  a  certain  careful  way, 
or  it  neither  grows  abundantly  or  repays  the  leaf 
tobacco  men  for  their  work.  The  history  of  to- 
bacco in  the  past  proves  that  prior  to  the  great 
World  war  the  United  States  produced  two-thirds 
of  all  the  tobacco  used  in  the  world,  and  there  is 
reason  to  suppose,  because  of  agricultural  neglect 
for  several  years  in  Austria-Hungary,  Russia  and 
Germany,  that  this  country  will  ultimately  pro- 
duce all,  at  least  for  a  time.  One  of  the  leading 
tobacco  men  at  Eocky  Mount  is  William  Eaton 
Fenner,  who  is  in  the  tobacco  leaf  business  and 
carries  on  extensive  operations. 

William  Eaton  Fenner  was  born  at  Halifax, 
North  Carolina,  November  30,  1878.  He  is  a  son 
of  John  H.  and  Clara  (Ferebee)  Fenner,  the  form- 
er of  whom  is  a  farmer  in  Chatham  County.  Wil- 
liam E.  Fenner  attended  the  public  schools,  Wake 
Forest  College  and  the  Agricultural  and  Mechan- 
ical College  at  Raleigh.  His  whole  business  career 
has  been  connected  with  the  tobacco  industry. 
After  three  years  experience  as  a  clerk  at  Tarboro, 
Mr.  Fenner  was  a  tobacco  auctioneer  for  one  year 
and  then  spent  two  years  as  tobacco  buyer  at  En- 
field, North  Carolina,  acting  there  for  the  Imperial 
Tobacco  Company  (Limited)  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland. 

In  1904  Mr.  Fenner  came  to  Rocky  Mount  and 
for  the  following  five  years  was  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  E.  H.  Evens  &  Company,  and  then  estab- 
lished the  W.  E.  Fenner  Warehouse.  Mr.  Fenner 
has  developed  a  great  business.  His  first  ware- 
house has  dimensions  of  130x230  feet  and  he  se- 
cured also  a  house  next  door  and  in  one  year  pur- 
chased the  Leas  house,  this  giving  him  an  area 
of  234x480  feet.  He  also  owns  a  stemmery  with 
dimensions  of  70x100  feet.  The  entire  plant  is 
operated  by  steam  and  the  most  modern  methods 
are  made  use  of.  In  one  year  alone  Mr.  Fenner 
purchased  seven  million  pounds  of  leaf  tobacco. 
He  is  probably  one  of  the  best  judges  of  growing 
leaf  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Fenner  was  married  June  1,  1904,  to  Miss 
Anna  Howard  Baker,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Julian  Baker,  and  they  have  one  son,  Julian  Baker 
Fenner. 

Mr.  Fenner  is  a  public  spirited  citizen  but  is  not 
exceedingly  active  in  politics.  He  is  a  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  Mason  and  belongs  also  to  the  Mystic 
Shrine  and  additionally  is  identified  with  the  Ben- 
evolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  and  the 
United  States  Tobacco  Association.  He  is  a  man 
of  pleasant  address  and  of  social  instincts  and 
finds  agreeable  companionship  in  his  membership 
in  the  Sagamore  and  Country  Clubs  and  in  the 
Wilson  Country  Club. 

James  Harvey  Carson.  As  a  noteworthy  addi- 
tion to  the  personal  and  family  memoirs  in  this 
work,  the  editors  deem  it  a  privilege  to  include 
the  following  autobiography  prepared  by  the  late 

Vol.  T—  23 


James  Harvey  Carson  for  the  benefit  and  instruc- 
tion of  his  boys,  and  containing  much  of  historical 
interest  for  others  outside  the  family. 

Introduction :  I  have  thought  it  might  not 
prove  altogether  uninteresting  to  my  wife  and 
boys  to  read  something  I  had  written  about  my- 
self— especially,  when  I  am  dead  and  gone. 

As  these  memoirs  are  only  intended  for  the  eyes 
of  those  who  love  me,  I  know  they  will  bring  no 
charge  of  egotism  against  one  who  has  never 
shown  it  in  his  actions. 

Having  some  idle  time  in  this  year  of  grace 
1875,  and  believing  that  some  employment,  how- 
ever trivial,  is  better  than  doing  nothing,  I  have 
eoneluded  to  spend  some  of  these  idle  moments  in 
giving  a  short  account  of  myself. 

I  do  not  propose  to  make  any  startling  dis- 
closures, or  write  a  romance,  as  indeed  I  could 
do  neither,  did  I  confine  myself  to  the  truth,  and 
that  it  is  my  purpose  to  do;  and  if  what  I  suc- 
ceed in  writing  turns  out  to  be  dull  and  monot- 
onous, it  will  still  have  one  redeeming  trait — 
making  it  of  sufficient  interest,  I  hope  (to  my  fam- 
ily at  least)  to  repay  a  perusal. 

If  in  reading  these  pages  my  boys  should  find 
in  them  anything  to  make  them  better  citizens 
or  more  zealous  Christians,  my  task  will  surely 
not  have  been  iu  vain;  and  with  the  hope  that  an 
unseen  hand  may  constrain  them  to  choose  the 
ways  that  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  the  paths 
that  are  paths  of  peace,  I  will  conclude  this 
preface,  asking  indulgence  for  any  errors  that  may 
appear,  as  it  will  be  written  altogether  without 
notes : 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  June  10,  1875. 

I  was  born  in  Ashe  (now  Allegheny)  County, 
North  Carolina,   on  the  28th  of  April,  1830. 

My  parents  were  poor  but  honest  and  indus- 
trious, and  raised  a  family  of  eleven  children — 
nine  boys  and  two  girls.  Their  names  include 
Margaret,  John,  Robert,  William  and  Thomas 
(twins),  Smith,  James  Harvey,  Edwin,  Andrew 
and  Edwin. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  out  of  the  eleven  only 
one  was  honored  with  a  double  name  (which  is  my 
own)  and  two  of  the  children  have  the  same 
name — the  older  having  died  in  infancy. 

The  house  in  which  I  was  born  was  primitive 
in  style  and  unpretentious  in  appearance.  If  my 
memory  is  right,  it  did  not  possess  a  single  pane 
of  glass,  and  I  do  not  think  there  was  a  nail 
in  the  roof ;  and  as  it  was  built  of  logs,  there  was 
not,  perhaps,  one  pound  of  nails,  or  one  dollar's 
worth  of  hardware  used  in  its  construction,  and 
yet  my  recollection  of  it  is  that  it  was  comfort- 
able, and  as  it  was  in  keeping  with  the  style  of  the 
neighborhood  there  was  no  complaint  about  it 
that  ever  I  heard. 

My  parents  were  Irish,  and  immigrated  to  this 
country  about  the  year  1818.  The  two  eldest 
children  were  born  in  Ireland — the  third  child, 
Robert,  was  born  on  the  passage  to  this  country. 
With  the  exception  of  the  first  Edwin,  all  the 
children  lived  to  be  men  and  women,  and  all 
proved  to  be  sober,  moral,  and  religious. 

All  of  them  except  myself  grew  up  without 
using  tobacco  in  any  form  and  I  learned  the  ac- 
complishment away  from  home. 

My  father  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  every- 
thing in  the  wearing  line  was  woven  on  his  loom, 
save  an  occasional  ' '  store  dress ' '  for  the  girls 
after  they  began  to  have  beaux.  He  was  a  very 
good  English  scholar,  and  taught  school  at  times 
during  the  winter  months  when  no  work  could  be 
done  on  the  farm. 


354 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


As  his  family  began  to  grow  up  around  him, 
lie  by  degrees  accumulated  enough  to  build  a 
much  better  home  than  the  one  in  which  I  was 
born.  The  new  house  was  looked  upon  by  the 
neighbors  as  something  grand,  and  some  of  them 
even  went  so  far  as  to  hint  that  "Squire  Car- 
son ' '  was  getting  proud. 

My  mother  was  a  small  and  rather  delicate  wo- 
man in  appearance,  but  possessed  with  great 
energy,  and  had  enough  to  do  to  kill  a  half  dozen 
women  of  the  present  day;  but  with  all  her  care 
and  work,  I  never  heard  a  murmur  of  complaint 
from  her  lips.  She  was  said  to  have  been  an  Irish 
beauty  when  young,  and  I  can  readily  believe  it, 
if  the  saying  is  true  that  "beauty  is  as  beauty 
does." 

My  father  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  in  the 
Baptist  Church,  and  he  had  family  worship  every 
day,  and  frequently  the  preachers  would  stop  with 
him,  and  would  sometimes  have  preaching  at 
home.  Sunday  school  was  conducted  regularly 
either  by  my  father  or  some  member  of  the  fam- 
ily. It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  religious  in- 
struction was  not  overlooked  in  our  humble  home 
among  the  mountains,  but  was  observed  more 
strictly  than  it  is  today. 

Having  given  a  hasty  sketch  of  my  family,  I 
will  now  turn  more  particularly  to  giving  some 
account  of  myself. 

At  the  age  of  about  seven  years  I  was  first 
sent  to  a  school  in  the  neighborhood,  which  was 
taught  by  my  brother  John.  I  was  thought  to  be 
quick  to  learn,  and  I  well  remember  the  ' '  spelling 
bees"  we  would  have  at  night,  and  how  I  was 
praised  for  my  proficiency  in  the  art.  I  do  not 
remember  now  whether  I  got  out  of  the  speller  at 
that  school  or  not,  but  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  was  my  only  text  book,  as  the  school  lasted 
but  six  months;  at  all  events,  that  was  its  dura- 
tion for  me,  as  very  important  occurrances  to  me 
took  place  the  following  year.  My  brother  Eobert 
had  been  living  with  uncle  William  Carson  in 
Mecklenburg  County  for  some  seven  or  eight 
years,  and  when  he  returned  on  a  visit  in  the 
summer  of  1838,  uncle  William  had  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  father  to  let  me  come  down  to  Mecklenburg 
along  with  brother  Eobert  in  the  fall. 

Of  course  the  message  produced  a  commotion  in 
the  household,  and  it  was  some  days  before  a  de- 
cision was  reached.  My  mother  objected  to  let- 
ting me  leave  home  when  so  young,  fearing  (and 
very  justly)  the  evil  influences  that  would  be  en- 
countered among  the  negroes  of  so  large  a  plan- 
tation, with  only  my  brother  and  uncle  (who  spent 
half  of  his  time  in  Charlotte)  to  protect  me. 
Finally,  after  the  matter  had  been  discussed  pro 
and  con  for  days  by  all  the  family  and  a  good 
many  neighbors,  without  result,  it  was  left  to  me 
to  decide  for  myself,  and  I  decided  to  go.  My 
mother  went  to  work  at  once  to  get  me  ready 
for  the  journey.  Her  willing  hands  left  nothing 
undone  to  fit  me  out  in  a  becoming  manner  for 
the  long  journey  I  was  about  to  take. 

I  shall  never  forget  how  she  worked  and  wept 
at  the  thought  of  giving  me  up,  and  how  I  wished 
I  had  decided  differently,  but  the  die  was  cast, 
and  I  felt  that  it  would  be  an  everlasting  disgrace 
to  back  down  from  the  decision  I  had  deliberately 
made. 

Although  some  thirty-seven  years  have  passed 
I  still  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of  how  I 
felt  when  I  first  put  on  my  new  clothes  for  the 
journey,  and  with  what  pride  my  mother  viewed 
the  workmanship  of  her  hands,  and  how  she  em- 
oraced  again  and  again  her  darling  boy.     But  the 


day  in  time  came  around  when,  as  it  turned  out, 
I  was  to  bid  a  final  farewell  to  my  home. 

The  scene  can  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. My  father,  who  did  not  like  to  show  his 
weakness  to  the  family,  embraced  me  tenderly  and 
bade  me  good  by  early  in  the  morning,  and  went 
his  way  into  the  fields  to  conceal  his  emotion, 
mother  was  ever  present  with  me,  holding  me  in 
her  arms  until  the  last  moment,  giving  me  kind 
words  of  advice  and  counsel  when  her  sobs  would 
permit,  until  at  last  we  were  ready,  and  I  being 
lifted  up  behind  brother  Eobert,  we  turned  our 
faces  reluctantly  from  our  home  of  happy  mem- 
ories and  took  the  road  to  Charlotte,  which  was 
to  be  our  future  home. 

Such  is  a  hasty  history  of  myself  for  the  first 
eight  years  of  my  life;  and  my  departure  from 
my  parents'  roof  on  that  bright  October  morning 
may  be  considered  my  starting  point  in  life,  and 
my  debut  into  the  busy  world. 

The  journey  for  one  of  my  years  was  a  trying 
one,  and  not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  I  was  mounted 
behind  brother  Eobert  on  a  saddle  blanket,  with 
himself,  saddle  and  saddle  bags  (which  contained 
all  my  worldly  possessions,  except  what  I  had  on), 
in  front.  Our  first  stop  was  at  Mr.  Bryan's;  the 
journey  was  over  the  mountains,  and  about  twenty- 
five  miles  from  our  home.  Mr.  Bryan  lived  on  the 
beautiful  Yadkin,  about  two  miles  from  Jones- 
ville.  I  remember  how  helpless  I  was  when  I  was 
lifted  from  my  perch  to  the  ground,  and  had  to 
be  led  into  the  house,  as  I  could  not  walk  for 
sometime  after  being  lifted  from  the  horse.  But  a 
night's  rest  (and  it  was  a  sound  one)  refreshed 
me  wonderfully,  and  save  a  soreness  about  my 
lower  limbs,  I  was  all  right.  The  next  day,  how- 
ever, was  one  of  the  trying  days  of  my  life.  We 
made  a  distance  of  forty  miles  to  Statesville  on 
that  day.  Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  I  stood  such  a 
trip,  traveling  as  we  were'  When  I  was  taken  off 
the  horse  I  could  not  stand,  but  fell  fiat  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  Harbin  's  Hotel,  where  we  put 
up. 

I  was  so  sore  and  exhausted  that  I  could  not 
rest,  and  though  I  slept,  it  was  not  refreshing,  and 
the.  next  morning  I  felt  very  much  like  rebelling 
and  refusing  to  go  any  further,  and  wished,  oh 
how  ardently,  that  I  had  taken  my  mother 's  ad- 
vice and  stayed  at  home.  But  I  was  again  put 
upon  my  perch  for  the  third  day 's  journey,  and 
we  traveled  about  thirty-five  miles  and  put  up 
at  Dr.  Alexander's,  about  nine  miles  from  Char- 
lotte. My  experience  on  this  day  was  much  like 
the  previous  one — my  sufferings  being  great,  but 
somewhat  relieved  by  the  reflection  that  I  was 
nearing  my  destination,  and  that  the  next  day 
would  see  the  end  of  this  long-to-be-remembered 
journey. 

I  shall  surely  never  forget  it!  In  looking  back, 
it  seems  but  a  short  time,  so  indelibly  is  it  stamped 
upon   my   memory. 

On  tlie  next  day — October  15,  1838,  we  arrived 
in  Charlotte  and  took  dinner  (I  think)  at  Amzi 
McGinn's,  who  was  clerking  for  uncle  William, 
and  that  afternoon  we  went  out  to  the  plantation 
of  my  uncle,  which  was  seven  miles  from  Char- 
lotte,  in  the   Steel  Creek  neighborhood. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  remarkable  jour- 
neys of  my  life,  and  to  this  day  the  best  remem- 
bered. I  must  have  been  tough  to  have  stood  it, 
but  after  some  painful  suffering  of  perhaps  a 
fortnight's  duration,  I  was  all  right  bodily.  The 
change  of  scene  and  place  was  very  striking  and 
novel  to  me.  My  uncle,  it  may  be  proper  to  men- 
tion  here,   was   a  bachelor;    and   although   he   re- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


355 


eeived  me  kindly,  I  cannot  say  that  I  was  very 
favorably  impressed  with  his  reception,  as  it  was 
in  striking  contrast  to  the  separation  of  a  few 
days  before;  and  I  had  for  sometime  one  of  the 
biggest  spells  of  the  blues,  I  think,  that  ever  fell 
to  the  lot  of  a  boy  to  experience.  The  presence 
of  a  considerable  number  of  negro  children,  with 
bare  legs  and  long  shirts — evidently  as  much  sur- 
prised by  my  appearance  as  I  was  astonished 
and  bewildered  by  their  capers,  was  not  calculated 
to  dissipate,  but  rather  to  intensify  them,  and  it 
really  seemed  for  weeks  that  the  malady  was  be- 
coming chronic. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  my  father  had 
no  negroes  until  after  my  uncle  William's  death, 
when  he  purchased  a  woman  and  three  children  at 
his  sale.  Until  that  time  my  mother  and  sisters 
did  all  the  house  work,  and  seemed  to  do  it  well. 

On  my  uncle 's  plantation  everything  was  done 
by  negroes,  and  it  was  sometime  before  I  could 
reconcile  myself  to  eating  the  food  the  black 
hands  of  the  black  cook  prepared.  At  that  time 
my  uncle  owned  about  fifty  negroes,  big  and  little, 
and  it  was  many  a  day  before  I  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  all,  or  could  tell  them  apart.  Among 
the  number  of  little  imps  that  so  annoyed  me  at 
first  I  may  mention  Allen,  whom  all  of  you  know 
very  well,  and  who  has  proved  to  be  a  good  friend 
to  me  and  my  family.  At  that  time  he  was  some 
four  or  five  years  old,  with  a  very  long  head,  very 
black,  as  he  is  still,  but  always  in  a  good  humor. 
My  uncle  had  a  nice  farm  and  made  good  crops 
of  cotton  and  corn,  which  were  the  leading  pro- 
ductions then,  as  they  continue  to  be  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  The  cotton  field  was  a  novelty, 
as  cotton  was  not  cultivated  in  the  mountains,  • 
and  at  that  time  there  was  very  little  cotton 
grown  north  of  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. The  first  time  I  saw  my  uncle's  working 
force  altogether  was  in  a  cotton  field,  and  if  he 
had  not  been  with  me,  I  think  I  should  have  been 
very  much  alarmed,  but  as  they  did  not  molest 
me,  I  soon  gained  courage  and  lost  my  fear,  and, 
by  degrees,  as  we  become  accustomed  to  things 
we  see  every  day,  so  I  got  accustomed  to  the  new 
order  of  things  around  me.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore I  learned  their  names,  and  by  degrees  my 
fears  and  my  blues,  too,  wore  off,  and  I  began  to 
feel  myself  at  home. 

I  had  not  been  with  Uncle  long  until  he  started 
me  to  school  in  the  neighborhood.  The  teacher, 
Alexander  Johnston,  a  little,  squatty  Scotchman, 
still  lives,  or  did  a  few  months  ago.  He  was  little, 
it  was  true,  but  I  had  very  exalted  notions  of  his 
ability — in  fact  I  thought  that  he  knew  it  all,  and 
what  he  did  not  know  was  not  worth  a  cent.  Con- 
trary to  the  custom  now,  he  made  all  hands  "sing 
out ' '  at  the  peril  of  being  switched  across  the 
knees  or  back,  and  the  more  fuss  that  was  made 
in  "singing  out"  the  happier  he  became.  He 
joined  the  school  in  all  their  plays,  and  I  thought 
then  that,  taking  him  for  all  in  all,  I  should 
never  see  his  like  again.  He  would  go  home  with 
the  scholars  in  rotation,  but  I  soon  noticed  that 
he  always  came  home  with  me  when  Uncle  was  in 
town :  and  I  remember  well  the  tussles  that  he 
and  brother  Robert  would  have.  They  would  pull 
off  their  coats  and  set  to,  as  regularly  as  they 
would  meet,  and  the  falls  they  would  sometimes 
get  was  enough,  I  thought,  to  break  every  bone 
in  their  bodies,  but  the  contests  always  seemed  to 
be  drawn  battles,  as  neither  would  admit  that  the 
other  was  the  better  man.  How  long  I  went  to 
this  school  I  have  now  forgotten,  but  I  do  not 
think   it   could   have   exceeded   six   months.      After 


leaving  this  school  my  recollection  is  that  I  re- 
mained on  the  farm  for  some  months  until  an- 
other school  master  was  found  for  me.  My  next 
teacher  was  a  man  who  is  still  living,  by  the  name 
of  George  Washington  McDonald.  He  taught  in 
one  of  the  little  cabins  at  the  ' '  Arbor, ' '  or  Harbor 
as  it  was  called,  which  was  then  a  great  and  noted 
place  for  Methodist  ' '  Camp  Meetings, ' '  which  are 
still  kept  up,  I  believe,  by  that  denomination.  This 
was  some  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  from  home, 
which  was  a  long  distance  for  a  nine  year  old 
boy  to  go  alone  through  the  woods,  but  I  made 
the  trip  successfully,  and  always  ou  time.  Mr. 
McDonald  was  a  small  man  with  a  feminine  voice, 
and  a  small  head,  but  I  thought  that  if  there 
could,  by  any  possibility,  be  anything  that  Alex- 
ander Johnston  did  not  know,  George  Washington 
McDonald  did.  How  pleasant  (and  fortunate, 
too)  it  is  to  have  such  confidence  in  those  to  whom 
we  look  for  advice  and  instruction!  If  I  could 
only  have  seen  those  men  as  I  see  and  know  them 
now,  I  doubt  if  ever  I  should  have  gotten  out  of 
the  spelling  book,  but  my  confidence  was  never 
shaken  until  many  years  had  passed  away.  How 
men,  and  everything,  in  fact,  grow  small  as  we 
grow  older,  and  objects  upon  which  we  were  wont 
to  gaze  with  wonder  and  delight  become  in  after 
years  insignificant!  I  can  well  remember  that 
the  first  time  I  saw  the  brick  building  on  the 
Spring's  Corner,  and  the  old  jail,  I  thought  they 
were  perfection  itself  in  size,  style,  height,  depth, 
thickness.  In  fact  I  had  no  idea  that  there  was 
anything  that  could  surpass  them  on  the  habitable 
globe.  And  the  Mint!  And  more  especially  the 
eagle  over  the  front  entrance!  It  was  my  firm  be- 
lief then  that  nothing  could  surpass  it.  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald, like  Mr.  Johnston,  made  his  scholars 
' '  sing  out, ' '  and  it  was  done  in  fine  style.  At  a 
distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
sehoolhouse  the  sound  was  very  much  like  the 
seven  years  locusts  in  an  oak  grove.  Mrs.  Mary 
Wriston  was  one  of  the  scholars  at  this  school. 

If  I  remember  correctly,  I  went  about  six 
months  to  Mr.  McDonald,  and  not  long  after, 
sometime  in  the  year  1840,  my  uncle  brought  me 
to  Charlotte.  This  was  another  great  change,  and 
one  that  brought  back  the  blues  almost  as  much 
as  when  I  landed  at  the  plantation,  a  little  more 
than  a  year  ago. 

My  uncle  then  lived,  when  in  town,  on  the  lot 
where  the  Bank  of  Mecklenburg  building  and  the 
two  buildings  immediately  above  it  now  stand. 
His  dwelling  set  back  about  fifty  feet  from  the 
street,  was  a  one-story  frame  building  with  three 
rooms,  and  is  now  somewhere  in  town  and  belongs, 
I  think,  to  H.  G.  Springs,  who  bought  the  house 
when  it  had  to  be  removed  to  give  place  to  the 
bank  building,  which  was  erected  in  1858  or  59, 
for  the  branch  of  the  Bank  of  North  Carolina. 
The  store  house  of  my  uncle  occupied  the  space 
now  occupied  by  the  two  stores  above  the  present 
bank  building.  (It  may  be  necessary  to  mention 
here  that  my  uncle  was  a  merchant  as  well  as 
farmer,  and  spent  half  of  his  time  in  town.) 

The  store  room  was  a  two-story  frame  building 
to  which  was  attached  two  sheds,  one  on  the  end 
and  the  other  in  the  rear,  with  a  fireplace  and  a 
small  room  cut  off  one  end  for  the  clerks  to  sleep 
in.  The  adjoining  lot  above  had  a  store  room  on 
the  street — a  one-story  frame  building — and  a 
dwelling  house  set  back  some  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet  from  the  street.  This  is  the  property  on 
which  the  First  National  Bank  Building  and  the 
store  room  below  it  now  stand.  It  was  owned 
and  operated  by  James  H.  Orr,  a  worthy  and  an 


356 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


upright  man,  a  good  neighbor  and  a  Presbyterian 
elder.  He  has  but  one  living  child,  James  H.  Orr, 
Jr.  It  was  with  his  family  that  my  uncle  put 
me  to  board,  and  soon  after  I  started  to  school  to 
a  man  by  the  name  of  R.  G.  Allison,  who  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  good  teacher,  as  well  as 
that  of  being  a  finished  scholar.  The  school  house 
was  a  one-story  brick  building  on  College  Street, 
and  was  located  on  the  lot  where  the  residence  of 
W.  J.  Black  now  stands.  (John  B.  Boss'  home.) 
I  think  I  shall  remember  that  school  long  after 
many  subsequent  events  are  forgotten.  It  was 
here  that  I  first  came  into  contact  with  ' '  town 
boys" — a  stranger  to  them  all,  and  the  butt  of 
ridicule  to  many.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
my  parents  were  Irish,  and  not  having  much  inter- 
course with  the  outside  world  in  that  sparsely 
settled  mountain  eountry,  their  children  had  the 
Irish  brogue  pretty  strongly  developed.  The  pe- 
culiar idiosyncrasy  still  stuck  to  me  and,  though 
no  doubt  it  afforded  much  amusement  to  my  tor- 
mentors, it  caused  me  many  hours  of  misery.  My 
nicknames  were  numerous,  and  many  were  the 
jokes  that  were  perpetrated  at  my  expense,  and 
I  felt  that  every  boy  in  the  school  was  my  enemy. 
This,  perhaps,  was  in  the  end,  fortunate  for  me, 
as  it  soon  instilled  a  spirit  of  self  reliance  which 
in  after  years  I  have  found  to  be  of  great  service. 
My  tormentors  gave  me  but  little  rest  for  a 
long  time  after  I  entered  the  school,  but  as  every- 
thing earthly  has  an  end,  so,  by  degrees,  they  be- 
came less  annoying,  not,  however,  until  some  of 
them  found  out  that  it  was  not  altogether  safe  to 
carry  their  jokes  too  far. 

After  I  had  had  a  good  many  fights,  in  which 
I  generally  came  off  with  flying  colors,  the  tide 
in  my  favor  began  to  set  in.  Be  it  understood 
that  I  disclaim  any  merit  for  courage  when,  under 
similar  circumstances,  the  veriest  coward  would 
have  fought  and  sometimes  shown  himself  a  hero; 
and  I  believe  I  can  say  with  truth  that  I  never 
provoked  a  fight,  but  when  I  had  been  forced  into 
it  I  generally  fought  out  of  it  in  such  style  as 
proved  satisfactory  to  the  aggressor.  When  it 
was  discovered  in  school  that  the  little  ' '  freckle- 
faced  Irishman"  would  fight  it  was  really  sur- 
prising how  soon  I  began  to  have  friends.  When 
my  reputation  for  defending  myself  became  full}' 
established  my  tormentors  soon  vanished,  and  I 
had  as  many  friends  as  I  wanted;  and,  as  it  was 
not  in  my  Irish  nature  to  bear  malice,  I  readily 
accepted  their  friendship;  but  the  lesson  there 
learned  has  never  been  entirely  forgotten,  and  my 
sympathies  have  always  leaned  towards  those  who 
have  but  few  friends  and  who  are  unjustly  snubbed 
on  account  of  their  poverty,  or  because  they  do 
not  happen  to  have  rich  relations  and  friends  to 
give  them  a  lift. 

After  my  status  became  fully  established  in 
the  school  I  found  it  very  pleasant,  and  be- 
came well  pleased  with  my  surroundings.  The 
school  was  quite  large,  numbering  about  sixty 
scholars — some  of  them  grown  young  men.  Of 
all  that  number  I  can  name  but  two  besides  my- 
self who  now  live  in  Charlotte — M.  L.  Wriston 
and  John  L.  Brown.  There  are  others  scattered 
here  and  there,  but  the  great  majority,  together 
with  their  teacher,  have  passed  over  the  river; 
some  of  them  the  best  friends  I  ever  had — peace 
to  their  dust! 

How  soon  a  generation  disappears  and  is  for- 
gotten. This  was  the  first  school  I  had  attended 
where  the  sexes  were  not  mixed,  and  of  a  grade 
high  enough  to  prepare  for  college.  I  do  not 
know  how  long  I  went  to  Mr.  Allison,  but  it  must 


have  been  a  year  or  longer.  When  I  left  the 
school  I  was  again  taken  to  the  plantation  and 
put  iu  a  school  that  was  taught  by  a  Mr.  Cheek 
in  a  small  log  house  not  far  trom  big  Steel  Creek 
Church.  This  was,  I  think,  in  the  year  1842.  I 
had  another  long  walk  to  and  from  the  school 
house,  but  this  time  its  length  was  materially 
shortened  by  having  a  very  pleasant  companion 
part  of  the  way.  Her  name  was  Minerva  and 
her  father 's  house  stood  on  my  way  to  school, 
and  we  generally  went  together  and  were  very 
good  friends.  Her  father  did  not  have  a  very 
good  character  in  the  neighborhood,  as  he  had 
a  still-house,  and  it  was  thought  he  traded  his 
whiskey  to  the  negroes  for  stolen  cotton  and  other 
things.  I  know  my  uncle  thought  he  was  a  bad 
man. 

I  well  remember  a  very  ingenious  theft  that  was 
committed  on  the  plantation  about  this  time. 
Uncle  built  what  he  called  a  wheat  house,  for 
storing  his  wheat.  It  was  a  strong  log  house, 
with  the  floor  some  two  feet  from  the  ground,  to 
admit  of  free  circulation  of  air  underneath.  He 
then  put  his  wheat  in  hogsheads  and  covered  it 
with  a  sprinkling  of  lime  to  keep  off  the  weevil  and 
fly.  After  he  had  stored  his  crop  away  securely, 
as  he  thought,  he  soon  found  an  unusual  shrinkage 
in  some  of  the  hogsheads,  but  could  detect  no 
evidence  of  its  having  been  molested — the  lime 
was  spread  over  the  tops  of  the  vessels  just  as 
he  had  left  it — the  lock  had  not  been  tampered 
with,  and  there  was  no  scattered  grain  on  the 
floor;  but  the  wheat  continued  to  get  lower,  and 
still  lower  in  the  hogsheads.  This  was  a  mystery 
a  first  class  detective  would  have  found  hard  to 
solve,  and  it  worried  Uncle  no  little.  Finally, 
however,  in  examining  around  the  granary,  he 
found  the  clew  to  the  mystery.  The  thief  had 
crawled  under  the  floor,  and  with  auger  had 
bored  holes  through  the  floor  and  the  bottoms 
of  the  hogsheads,  and  plugged  up  the  holes.  By 
pulling  out  the  plugs  he  could  fill  his  bag  when 
the  opportunity  presented  itself.  Uncle  thought 
that  this  wheat,  together  with  many  other  things, 

found    its    way    to    neighbor   distillery. 

Nevertheless,  I  rather  liked  his  daughter,  and  I 
thought  she  was  as  pretty  as  anyone  I  had  ever 
seen.  So  we  continued  good  friends  and  com- 
panions as  long  as  I  went  to  that  school.  As  I 
was  only  about  twelve  years  of  age,  my  love  did 
not  last  very  long. 

At  this  time  there  was  an  encampment  of 
Catawba  Indians  on  the  road  to  the  school,  and 
from  what  tales  I  had  heard  of  them  from  the 
negroes  I  did  not  like  to  pass  near  their  quarters, 
but  finding  that  I  was  not  molested,  or  even 
noticed,  I  soon  picked  up  courage,  and  would 
frequently  stop  on  my  way  to  see  them  make 
crocks,  bowls,  etc.,  out  of  the  common  clay.  I 
have  seen  them  kill  squirrels  out  of  the  tops  of 
tall  trees  with  their  bows  and  arrows,  and  hit 
a  dime  in  a  forked  stick  twenty-five  yards  or 
farther.  I  thought  this  marvelous,  and,  boy-like, 
I  had  the  bow  and  arrow  fever  for  some  time, 
but  as  I  found  out  that  I  could  not  learn  the  art 
I  gave  up  my  bow  and  arrows. 

I  was  about  a  year  at  Mr.  Cheek's  school  and 
had  by  this  time  acquired  a  tolerably  fair  knowl- 
edge of  the  branches  of  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic.  I  remember  that  I  had  accomplished 
the  feat  of  doing  every  sum  in  Pike  's  Arithmetic 
at  this  school,  and  I  was  considered  quite  pro- 
ficient in  that  line — so  much  so  indeed  that  I 
was  called  upon  frequently  by  the  scholars  to  un- 
ravel the  hidden  mysteries  of  that  art,  and  might 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


357 


have  been,  very  justly,  considered  an  assistant  to 
the  teacher. 

Brother  Robert  and  I  were  permitted  to  make 
visits  to  our  mountain  home  once  in  two  years — 
going  generally  about  the  first  of  August  and 
returning  the  first  of  October.  These  visits  were 
pleasant  to  look  forward  to,  and  but  for  the 
pain  of  again  having  to  part — especially  from 
mother — they  would  have  been  enjoyed  far  more. 
Nevertheless  they  always  proved  a  delightful 
recreation. 

I  was  now  soon  to  bid  adieu  to  plantation  life 
and  take  up  my  permanent  quarters  in  Charlotte. 
Some  time  in  the  year  1843,  I  think  it  was,  I  was 
again  sent  to  school,  at  the  same  place,  to  a  Mr. 
Pomeroy,  who  had  recently  come  out  from  the 
!North.  I  felt  quite  at  home  now,  having  known 
quite  a  number  of  the  boys,  who  were  my  playfel- 
lows of  a  year  or  two  before  at  Mr.  Allison's 
school.  I  was,  too,  classed  among  the  big  boys, 
and  was  not  annoyed  by  jokes  at  my  Irish  brogue, 
as  I  had  been  the  year  before.  I  presume  a  good 
deal  of  it  had  worn  off  by  this  time. 

ilr.  Pomeroy  was  a  thorough  Yankee,  and  be- 
came very  unpopular  in  Charlotte,  so  much  so  that 
it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  be  out  on  the  streets  at 
night  alone.  I  do  not  think  anyone  would  have 
done  him  any  bodily  harm,  but  the  boys  soon  dis- 
covered that  he  was  cowardly,  and  would,  in  order 
to  have  a  little  fun,  chase  him  occasionally  through 
the  streets,  but  I  never  knew  of  his  having  been 
hurt.  Let  me  say  that  he  was  never  molested  by 
me,  nor  did  I  approve  of  it  in  others. 

Mr.  Pomeroy  taught  the  boys  to  sing,  a  part  of 
the  curriculum,  and  every  evening  he  would  exer- 
cise us  in  singing  for  an  hour.  This  part  of  his 
training  was  greatly  enjoyed  by  all,  and  all  his 
efforts  to  maintain  order  were  altogether  unsuc- 
cessful. He  persevered,  however,  and  in  time 
had  a  passable  choir.  His  stay  in  Charlotte  did 
not  last  over  one  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
returned  to  Yankee  land,  and  I  never  heard  of  him 
afterwards. 

At  the  close  of  this  school  I  was  put  in  the  store 
to  learn  the  art  of  merchandising;  for  be  it  known 
that  the  country  was  ' '  cursed ' '  at  that  early  day, 
as  it  is  now,  with  ' '  middlemen, ' '  but  not  blessed, 
as  now,  with  the  antidote — the  ' '  Grange. ' '  What 
a  paradise  the  country  will  be  when  middlemen 
( all  except  Grange  officers)  will  have  been  con- 
signed to  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets!  Xobody,  I 
fancy,  will  be  cursed  with  poverty  or  poor  kin 
then!  But  this  is  a  digression.  At  this  time 
Uncle  had  an  associate  in  business  with  him,  one 
William  Henderson,  who  was  to  boss  the  business 
and  I  was  to  be  clerk  ( 1844) .  As  the  trade  of 
Charlotte  at  that  time  was  not  large,  we  two  man- 
aged to  do  the  business  of  the  concern.  I  may 
remark  that  the  associate  was  not  calculated  to 
build  up  a  very  large  business — in  fact  he  was  sat- 
isfied to  do  very  little.  Our  sales  did  not  exceed 
one  thousand  dollars  per  month — in  fact,  that  was 
considered  a  fair  business  then. 

At  that  day  there  were,  all  told,  some  nine  or  ten 
stores  in  the  place.  Every  store  kept  a  general 
assortment  of  dry  goods,  hardware,  groceries,  hats, 
shoes,  etc.,  and  there  was  no  great  rush  to  do  busi- 
ness, and  we  had  no  merchants  that  wanted  to  do 
it  all,  but  each  one  had  his  regular  customers;  and 
the  present  system  of  ' '  drumming ' '  was  virtually 
unknown.  Although  the  business  was  small,  yet 
they  managed  generally  to  make  ' '  both  ends 
meet,"  and  lap  a  little,  as  the  expenses  of  living 
here  at  that  time  were  small  in  comparison  with 
the  present  day. 


As  I  was  saying,  the  associate  was  not  a  man 
to  push  business.  If  the  trade  was  lively,  he  was 
satisfied;  if  dull,  he  seemed  content.  I  think  I 
may  safely  make  the  assertion  that  he  never  had 
the  blues  because  of  dull  times.  He  was  fond  of 
music  and  tobacco,  and  when  he  got  down  his 
singing  book  (Southern  Harmony),  after  the  busi- 
ness of  the  day  was  over,  you  might  safely  infer 
that  he  was  going  "through  it"  before  retiring. 

My  uncle,  who  was  a  keen  observer  and  a  good 
judge  of  men,  was  not  very  long  in  finding  out 
that  the  man  was  a  fraud,  and  the  concern  was 
dissolved  in  about  a  year.  I  have  now  forgotten 
what  disposition  was  made  of  the  stock  of  goods, 
but  I  think  they  fell  back  on  Uncle 's  hands,  and 
he  shortly  sold  them  to  some  merchants.  This  was 
in  1845,  and  was  the  close  of  Uncle 's  mercantile 
career.  A  short  history  of  him  here  will  not  be 
out  of  place.  He  was  an  Irishman  and  landed  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1801,  and  very  soon 
thereafter  established  himself  in  Charlotte.  He 
was  a  hatter  by  trade,  and  carried  on  a  successful 
business  for  a  number  of  years.  After  he  had,  by 
great  economy,  made  enough  to  buy  property  and 
put  up  a  storehouse  he  abandoned  the  hat  busi- 
ness and  turned  his  attention  to  general  merchan- 
dising. This  he  followed  until  the  year  1845,  as 
above  stated.  He  had  also  accumulated  a  large 
amount  of  land  in  different  parts  of  the  county — 
the  plantation  upon  which  he  lived  a  portion  of 
his  time  being  the  largest  and  most  valuable.  He 
had  also  by  this  time  become  possessed  of  about 
fifty  slaves,  some  of  whom  he  had  bought,  but 
most  of  them  he  had  raised.  As  I  was  quite  young 
he  never  told  me  about  his  early  history.  I  have 
heard  from  others  that  he  courted  a  woman  soon 
after  coming  here,  but  his  suit  proving  imsueees- 
ful,  he  never  tried  his  hand  again.  Although 
austere  in  his  manner  seemingly,  he  was  fond  of 
company  and  relished  a  joke  with  his  friends.  He 
read  a  great  deal,  and  few  men  of  his  day  were 
better  informed  on  general  topics  than  he.  It  was 
a  short  time  before  he  abandoned  merchandising 
(I  think  in  1845)  that  he  and  brother  Robert  had 
some  misunderstanding  at  the  plantation,  which 
resulted  in  brother  leaving  him.  This  required 
more  of  his  time  at  the  farm  until  he  employed 
another  man  as  his  overseer.  His  health  was  giv- 
ing away  at  this  time,  and  he  could  not  take  that 
interest  in  business  or  give  it  that  personal  super- 
vision which  was  his  wont  when  in  health.  After 
disposing  of  his  goods  his  next  thought  was  to 
know  what  to  do  with  me;  and  he  gave  me  my 
choice,  either  to  go  to  school  and  prepare  myself 
for  college,  or  to  get  a  situation  as  clerk  in  some 
store.  I  preferred  the  store.  I  had  two  offers,  one 
by  R.  C.  Carson  and  the  other  by  H.  B.  Williams. 
I  chose  the  latter  for  reasons  known  only  to 
myself.  I  was  now  a  lad  of  fifteen  years  of  age, 
a  pretty  fair  penman  and  accountant,  and  not  a 
bad  clerk  for  one  of  my  years.  I  received  a  sal- 
ary of  seventy-five  dollars  and  board,  per  annum. 
This  would  be  considered  small  now,  but  at  that 
time  it  was  considered  quite  liberal,  and  I  managed 
to  live  upon  it,  but  boys  then  did  not  wear,  as 
now,  ten  dollar  boots  and  fifty  dollar  suits.  I  had 
not  been  with  Mr.  Williams  long  before  I  had 
most  of  the  bookkeeping  to  do,  being  considered 
correct  in  figures  and  writing  a  very  fair  hand. 

Mr.  Williams '  store  was  on  the  corner  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Central  Hotel.  It  was  a  two-story 
frame  building  which  fronted  on  Tryon  street  and 
to  which  was  attached  a  back  room,  one  story,  on 
Trade  street.  His  dwelling  was  on  the  lot  where 
Dr.  Miller  now   lives,   on   Tryon  street,  corner   of 


358 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Second  (present  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion site).  His  clerks  besides  myself  at  that  time 
were  L.  S.  Williams  and  John  Dixon.  The  busi- 
ness was  not  large,  but  about  equal  to  any  other 
house  in  the  place,  the  sales  amounting  to  about 
$15,000.00  per  annum. 

'Twas  about  this  time  that  the  intimacy  between 
your  mother  and  myself  began,  and  through  all 
the  ups  and  downs  of  subsequent  events — although 
our  course  was  anything  but  smooth — I  never  for 
a  moment  ceased  to  love  her  wholly  and  solely 
from  the  day  of  our  engagement  until  the  day  of 
our  marriage — and  from  the  day  of  our  wedding 
until  now,  and  (I  believe)  until  death.  This  is  a 
confession  I  don 't  remember  to  have  made  before, 
even  to  her;  but  I  am  trying  to  tell  the  truth  in 
these  pages,  and  it  is  not  expected  that  the  madam 
will  read  these  pages  of  history,  they  being  for 
the  benefit  of  our  boys.  As  I  will  have  occasion 
to  come  back  to  this  subject  again,  I  must  hasten 
on  with  my  narrative,  fearing  if  I  spin  it  out  too 
long  you  will  not  feel  enough  interest  in  it  to  read 
it  through.  My  stay  with  Mr.  Williams  was  some- 
thing over  a  year,  when  "Uncle  William's  health 
began  to  fail  rapidly,  and  on  the  23d  of  November, 
1846,  he  died  at  his  home  in  Charlotte.  Thus 
passed  away  the  only  relative  I  had  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country. 

Uncle  had  amassed  by  industry  and  economy  a 
large  fortune  for  the  time  in  which  he  lived,  and 
after  bequeathing  about  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  relatives,  friends,  Davidson  College,  and 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Charlotte,  he 
bequeathed  the  balance  to  me,  making  Joseph  H. 
Wilson  and  William  Johnston,  both  now  living  in 
Charlotte,  his  executors.  This  large  estate  was 
to  be  managed  by  them  for  my  benefit  until  I  be- 
came twenty-five  years  of  age. 

The  disposition  of  his  property  was  no  surprise 
to  me,  as  he  had  frequently  told  me  that  he  had 
made  me  his  heir.  Many  were  surprised  he  did 
not  leave  brother  Robert  something,  but  I  did  not 
expect  it,  knowing  him  as  I  did;  for  he  thought 
Brother  had  left  him  without  just  cause,  and  his 
confidence  in  him  from  that  date  was  lost.  My 
uncle's  death,  together  with  a  large  sum  inherited 
at  my  age  (16)  was  well  calculated  to  upset  me, 
and  produce  evil  results.  It  was  certainly  a  dan- 
gerous position  to  occupy  and  I  cannot  ascribe  it 
to  any  peculiar  merit  of  my  own  that  I  did  not 
become,  as  many  predicted,  a  drunkard  and  vaga- 
bond, but  to  the  interposition  of  an  unseen  Hand, 
which  has  conducted  me  through  many  perils  and 
dangers  which  have  beset  my  pathway.  To  God 
alone,  is  all  the  praise  due  for  my  deliverance.  My 
uncle  had  few  sincere  friends.  He  was  plain  and 
outspoken  in  his  views  and  never  practiced  the  art 
of  deception  or  played  the  demagogue  to  win 
favor;  if  he  liked  you,  you  would  soon  know  it; 
if  he  did  not  like  you,  he  would  make  little  effort 
to  conceal  it.  As  an  illustration  of  his  views  and 
feelings,  I  will  quote  here  some  lines  which  he 
wrote  in  his  Bible,  which  are  copied  from  Burns, 
one  of  his  favorite  authors: 

' '  To    catch   Dame    Fortune 's    cheering   smile, 

Assiduous,  wait  upon  her, 

And  gather  gear  by  every  wile 

That's  justified  by  honor, 

Not  for  to  hide  it  in  a  hedge, 

Not  for  a  train  attendant: 

But  for  the  glorious  privilege 

Of  being  Independent." 


Such  is  a  short  and  imperfect  sketch  of  the  man 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  what  I  possess  in  this 
world's  goods,  and  however  he  may  have  been 
looked  upon  by  the  world  around  him,  I  would  be 
an  ingrate  indeed  not  to  cherish  his  memory,  and 
hold  in  respectful  remembrance  his  many  virtues. 
Although  taking  a  lively  interest  in  the  politics 
of  the  day,  being  an  ardent  Henry  Clay  Whig,  he 
never  sought  any  office,  and,  to  my  knowledge, 
never  held  one — believing  the  post  of  honor,  the 
private  station.  He  was  plain  William  Carson 
through  life,  never  having  a  prefix  of  "Colonel, 
Captain,  or  even  Squire"  to  his  name,  but  pos- 
sessing more  good,  sound  sense  than  a  score  of 
such  titled  pigmies  of  the  present  day.  He  never 
connected  himself  with  any  church,  but  was  a 
Presbyterian  in  belief,  and  contributed  to  that 
denomination,  and  at  his  death  bequeathed  five 
thousand  dollars,  together  with  his  library,  to 
Davidson  College,  and  one  thousand  dollars  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  here. 

A  short  time  after  my  uncle's  death,  believing 
that  the  legacy  which  he  had  bequeathed  me  would 
be  more  than  ample  for  my  support,  and  thinking 
it  would  require  a  better  education  than  I  then 
had  to  manage  it,  I  determined  to  give  up  my 
position  in  the  store  and  to  commence  school  again, 
preparatory  to  going  to  college. 

This  was,  I  believe,  in  the  summer  of  1847.  I 
began  school  again  at  the  old  male  academy.  I 
found  that  I  was  making  slow  progress  in  my 
studies,  and  I  resolved  to  leave  the  school  and 
seek  an  education  somewhere  else. 

I  had  living  in  Asheville  a  friend  and  former 
schoolmate,  who  had  been  writing  to  me,  and  giv- 
ing glowing  descriptions  of  the  school  there.  This 
boy 's  name  was  Charles  Alexander,  a  son  of  Col. 
M.  W.  Alexander,  now  living  in  Charlotte. 
He  (the  Colonel)  had  removed  from  here  to  Ashe- 
ville a  year  or  two  before  to  take  charge  of  the 
' '  Eagle  Hotel, ' '  which  was  still  standing  at  last 
accounts.  From  Charley's  solicitations  and  de- 
scriptions I  was  persuaded  that  Asheville  was  the 
place  for  me,  and  I  arrived  there  in  the  fall  of 
1847  and  entered  the  school  of  Lee  and  Norwood. 
I  found  this  a  much  superior  school  to  the  one 
I  had  left,  but  I  made  a  serious  mistake  in  board- 
ing at  the  hotel,  to  be  near  my  old  friend.  It 
has  been  a  source  of  regret  that  I  did  not  board 
with  Colonel  Lee,  who  boarded  most  of  the  boys 
who  came  from  a  distance,  and  who  lived  about 
a  mile  out  of  town.  It  wall  not  do  to  throw  too 
many  temptations  in  a  boy's  way,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  place  for  a  boy  who  goes  from 
home  to  school  is  with  one  of  the  teachers,  and 
never,  under  any  circumstances,  at  a  public  house. 

I  hope  my  boys  will  benefit  by  my  experience 
in  this  matter.  Considering  the  many  temptations 
to  which  I  was  exposed,  and  which  took  my  mind 
from  study,  I  nevertheless  occupied  a  very  cred- 
itable position  in  my  class.  The  school  was  of  a 
higher  order  than  any  I  had  previously  attended, 
and  its  reputation  for  preparing  boys  for  college 
well  was  well  known,  especially  in  South  Caro- 
lina, the  state  from  which  most  of  the  boys  who 
were  non-residents  came.  I  may  mention  among 
the  students  at  the  school  the  names  of  Governor 
Vance,  Senator  Merrimon,  and  the  Rev.  Henry 
Dickson. 

From  some  cause,  not  known  to  me,  Lee  and 
Norwood  dissolved  copartnership  about  six  months 
after  my  arrival,  Mr.  Norwood  continuing  to  teach 
in  town,  and  Mr.  Lee  removing  his  school  to  his 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


359 


home,  about  one  mile  and  a  half  in  the  country. 
The  boys  from  Charlotte,  John  Springs,  Joe  and 
.Sam  Caldwell  and  I  went  to  Lee,  but  my  friend, 
Charley  Alexander,  continued  with  Norwood.  I, 
along  with  the  boys  from  Charlotte,  continued  to 
board  in  Asheville — now  with  a  Mr.  Reynolds.  This 
was  a  great  mistake,  but  we  had  pretty  much  our 
own  way  and  did  as  we  pleased.  The  consequence 
was  that  our  studies  were  neglected  and  our  ad- 
vancement slow. 

Colonel  Lee  is  still  living  at  his  old  home 
among  the  mountains.  Mr.  Norwood  is  said  to 
have  met  a  tragic  death  away  on  the  frontier  of 
civilization,  some  few  years  after  this  time. 

I  remained  with  Mr.  Lee  until  the  summer  of 
1819,  when  Charley  Alexander  and  I  concluded 
we  were  ready  for  college;  so  we  left  Asheville 
in  time  to  begin  the  fall  session  at  Davidson 
College.  The  Davidson  faculty  then  consisted  of 
Kev.  Samuel  Williamson.  D.  D.,  president;  Rev. 
S.  B.  O.  "Wilson,  Rev.  E.  Rockwell  and  Mortimer 
D.  Johnston.  Dr.  Williamson  still  lives  at  a  ripe 
old  age  in  Arkansas;  Mr.  Wilson  (I  believe; 
somewhere  in  Tennessee;  Mr.  Rockwell  near  States- 
ville,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Johnston  is  dead,  but 
his  widow  and  family  reside  in  Charlotte.  The 
number  of  students  then  was  about  seventy. 
Charley  and  I  entered  the  freshman  class,  which 
numbered  some  twelve  to  fifteen  boys;  we  selected 
different  societies — he  the  Philanthropic  and  I  the 
Eumanean.  Here  I  met  some  of  my  former  ac- 
quaintances and  schoolmates  from  around  Char- 
lotte. Among  the  number  were  James  M.  Hutch- 
ison, Thomas  Grier,  Alden  Alexander  and  N.  C. 
Clayland.  I  soon  felt  at  home  among  my  friends, 
and  my  surroundings  were  very  pleasant.  During 
the  first  year  of  my  course  I  made  good  progress 
in  most  of  my  studies,  and  stood  at  the  head  of 
my  elass,  but  Mr.  Wilson — the  Greek  and  Latin 
professor — and  I  took  a  mutual  dislike  to  each 
other,  or  I  fancied  so,  and  I  became  indifferent 
about  the  lessons  I  recited  to  him,  until  I  finally 
made  up  my  mind  to  leave  Davidson  and  go  to 
Chapel  Hill.  This  was  in  my  sophomore  year, 
about  the  close  of  1850.  As  it  turned  out,  how- 
ever, this  was  my  last  school,  and  the  end  of  my 
college  education.  When  I  left  Davidson  I  re- 
turned to  Charlotte  to  have  a  little  recreation 
and  spend  the  Christmas  holidays  with  my  friends, 
preparatory  to  my  departure  for  Chapel  Hill.  Soon 
after  this  the  dreaded  smallpox,  which  was  then 
looked  upon  as  an  evil  to  be  dreaded  more  than 
civil  war,  broke  out  in  Charlotte.  Those  who 
were  living  here  at  that  time  will  not  be  likely 
to  forget  it.  All  communication  with  the  outer 
world  was  cut  off,  and  fears  of  starvation  were 
seriously  apprehended,  as  we  had  no  railroads  to 
bring  in  supplies,  and  the  country  people  were 
afraid  to  come  to  town,  and  town  people  were 
not  allowed  to  go  to  the  country,  for  fear  of 
spreading  the  disease.  Thus  matters  stood  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1850  and  1851.  If  a  citizen 
of  Charlotte  happened  to  make  his  appearance  in 
any  of  the  surrounding  towns  he  would  be  "in- 
vestigated "  by  a  committee  of  citizens,  and  re- 
quested to  leave.  I  was  one  of  a  party  that  went 
to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  that  winter,  to  hear 
Jenny  Lind,  and  we  ' '  took  in ' '  Chester  on  our 
way,"  to  attend  a  ball,  but  we  had  not  been  there 
an  hour  before  the  committee  found  us  out,  and 
-we  had  to  leave  in  short  order.  The  consequence 
was  we  had  to  travel  over  some  terrible  roads, 
and  far  into  the  night,  before  we  found  a  place 
to  sleep;   by  this  time  we  were  wise  enough  not 


to  hail  from  Charlotte  or  anywhere  in  its  neigh- 
borhood. The  C.  C.  &  A.  Railroad  was  then  com- 
pleted to  Wiunsboio,  South  Carolina. 

How  things  have  changed  since  then!  Neither 
small]  iOx  nor  anything  else,  in  fact,  would  have 
such  an  effect  on  the  country  now.  A  country 
that  has  gone  through  four  years  of  civil  war 
cannot  be  easily  frightened.  Thus  Charlotte  was 
virtually  cut  off  from  the  outside  world  until  late 
in  the  spring  of  1851.  This  prevented  me  from 
entering  Chapel  Hill  at  the  beginning  of  the 
session,  and  I  at  last  made  up  my  mind  to  abandon 
the  idea  of  going  through  college.  This  was  per- 
haps a  wise  step  for  me,  as  Chapel  Hill  was  at 
that  time  considered  not  the  best  place  in  the 
world  for  a  young  man  like  myself  with  plenty 
of  money.  I  have  often  heard  young  men  say 
that  they  knew  more  about  their  text  books  when 
they  went  there  than  when  they  came  away.  I 
do  not  say  that  such  would  have  been  my  ease, 
but  I  fear  the  chances  would  have  been  in  favor 
of  it. 

At  this  time  I  became  of  age,  and  my  own  man, 
though  the  transition  was  imperceptible,  as  I  had 
been  acting  pretty  much  as  I  wished  since  the 
period  of  my  uncle 's  death. 

Having  abandoned  the  notion  of  going  through 
college,  and  my  health  being  quite  feeble,  I  thought 
a  sea  voyage  would  be  beneficial,  so  I  left  home 
about  the  first  of  July,  by  way  of  Charleston,  for 
New  York,  where  I  took  passage  for  Liverpool, 
July  5,  on  the  steamer  Arctic  of  the  Collins  Line. 
This  ship  was  then  considered  very  fine.  The 
Collins  Line  was  then  the  principal  competitor  of 
the  Cunard  Line,  which  has  had  such  remarkable 
success  and  whose  boats  are  justly  considered 
the  best  built  and  best  officered  ships  afloat. 
As  the  Collins  Line  was  looked  upon  as  Ameri- 
can and  the  Cunard  as  English,  I  naturally  pre- 
ferred the  former.  We  had  a  pleasant  voyage, 
and  made  the  trip  in  something  over  ten  days, 
having  met  with  no  rough  weather  of  any  conse- 
quence, although  it  appeared  anything  else  to 
me  but  smooth  at  times.  I  enjoyed  it  amazingly 
after  being  out  two  or  three  days  and  the  scare 
having  worn  off. 

The  only  acquaintances  I  had  when  we  went 
aboard  were  A.  F.  Brevard  and  a  young  man 
from  Tennessee  by  the  name  of  Fogg,  who  fell 
in  with  us  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  While 
on  ship  I  made  a  number  of  acquaintances,  who 
proied  to  be  very  agreeable,  and  long  before  the 
vessel  had  sighted  the  English  coast  I  had  begun 
to  feel  quite  at  home,  and  when  we  landed  at 
Liverpool  and  each  passenger  took  his  own  way, 
I  felt  as  if  I  had  parted  from  some  dear  friends. 

This  was  the  year  of  the  gTeat  London  Exposi- 
tion, and  there  had  never  been  such  a  rush  of 
Americans  to  Europe  before.  It  was  difficult  to 
secure  passage  across  and  more  difficult  to  secure 
return  passage,  and  those,  like  myself,  who  were 
going  for  a  short  trip,  for  health  or  pleasure, 
would  generally  secure  return  passage  immediately 
upon  arrival  at  Liverpool.  Our  stay  in  Liver- 
pool was  short.  As  soon  as  we  could  get  our  bag- 
gage out  of  the  custom  house  we  were  off  to  Lon- 
don. After  traveling  through  a  country  beautiful 
to  look  upon  ("scarcely  ever  out  of  sight  of  a  town"! 
for  two  hundred  miles,  we  found  ourselves  in 
London,  the  greatest  city  on  the  globe;  but  even 
London  was  overflowing  with  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that 
we  found  quarters  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  If 
you  will  look  in  the  encyclopedia  for  London  you 


360 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


will  see  a  picture  of  Trafalgar  Square  and  St. 
Paul 's  Cathedral.  Well,  our  lodgings  were  in 
Oovent  Garden,  not  much  over  a  stone's  throw 
from  either  place,  and  very  convenient  to  omnibus 
lines  to  Hyde  Park,  the  Exposition,  bank,  Thames" 
tunnel,  Westminister  Abbey  and  Houses  of  Par- 
liament— in  fact,  to  every  place  you  might  desire 
to  visit. 

We  had  not  been  in  the  great  city  a  week,  if 
so  long,  when  my  traveling  companion  found  he 
could  get  lodgings  in  a  very  obscure  part  of  the 
city  for  a  good  deal  less  money  than  we  were 
paying  at  Covent  Garden.  So  he  left  me  alone 
in  my  glory,  went  to  his  new  quarters,  and  I  saw 
but  little  of  him  afterwards;  as  I  found  I  got 
along  about  as  well  without  his  company  as 
with  it. 

As  I  said  before,  the  Exposition  was  the  place 
of  attraction,  and  during  my  stay  of  about  one 
month  there  were  but  few  days  that  did  not  find 
me  there.  The  building  was  so  large,  and  there 
were  so  many  things  to  be  seen,  and  such  a  crowd 
that  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  view 
of  anything,  and  it  required  much  time  to  see 
everything;  but  as  I  had  come  a  long  way  espe- 
cially to  see  it,  I  took  my  time,  and  got  enough 
of  it  at  last.  The  building  was  of  iron  and 
glass,  1,800  feet  long  and  about  600  feet  wide, 
often  crowded  in  every  aisle  with  all  sorts  of 
people. 

During  my  short  stay  I  visited  many  of  the 
most  noted  places;  in  fact,  I  was  Dusy  all  the 
time  going  from  place  to  place,  but  it  required 
a  much  longer  time  than  I  had  at  my  command 
to  see  it  all.  During  my  stay  I  had  improved 
very  much  in  health.  The  sea  voyage,  together 
with  the  change  in  diet  and  scenery,  contributed 
much  toward  this  improvement. 

After  spending  about  a  month  in  London,  and 
with  only  a  fortnight  of  my  time  left,  I  con- 
cluded to  make  a  short  trip  to  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land before  my  time  was  out;  so  I  bade  a  final 
adieu  to  the  great  city  and  took  the  train  for 
Edinburgh,  the  famous  city  of  Scotland.  After 
spending  about  a  week  here,  at  Glasgow,  the  lakes, 
etc.,  I  took  passage  on  a  steamer  from  Glas- 
gow for  Belfast,  Ireland.  My  stay  was  too  lim- 
ited to  see  much  of  the  country  where  my  ances- 
tors were  born.  It  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Belfast  that  they  first  saw  the  light,  and  from 
my  hasty  observations  I  was  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  it  a  much  better  country  than  I  had  been 
led  to  expect.  This  is  one  of  the  favored  sections 
of  Ireland,  composed  as  it  is  mostly  of  the  Prot- 
estant element,  and  on  that  account  greatly  in 
advance  of  the  Catholic  districts,  which  are  kept 
in  ignorance  by  the  teachings  of  this  religion. 

From  Belfast  I  went  through  the  country,  partly 
by  stage  coach  and  partly  by  railroad,  to  Dublin; 
and  after  staying  here  two  or  three  days  I  re- 
crossed  the  Channel  to  Liverpool,  where  I  arrived 
two  days  before  the  sailing  of  the  steamer  At- 
lantic, on  which  vessel  I  had  engaged  return 
passage  to  the  United  States.  I  was  in  England 
only  six  weeks,  but  in  that  short  time  I  had  seen 
a  good  deal  and  learned  much,  and  shall  always 
look  back  with  pleasure  to  the  agreeable  time 
so  profitably  spent. 

I  escaped  sea-sickness  until  crossing  the  Chan- 
nel between  Dublin  and  Liverpool.  The  sea  was 
not  rough,  but  we  had  short,  choppy  waves,  the 
kind  which  gives  a  very  disagreeable  motion  to 
the  boat,   and   is   more   liable    to   produce   nausea 


and  sea-sickness  than  the  highest  waves  of  the 
broad  Atlantic. 

On  our  return  we  had  head  winds  most  of  the 
way,  and  very  rough  weather  for  several  days — 
so  much  so  that  passengers  were  not  allowed  on 
deck.  I  did  not  ask  the  officers  of  the  ship  if 
there  was  danger,  because  if  there  was  I  did  not 
care  to  know  it,  but  there  was  much  anxiety 
among  the  passengers,  and  for  two  or  three  days 
there  were  no  amusements  aboard,  and  but  few 
appeared  at  meals.  Through  it  all  I  managed  to 
keep  from  sea-sickness,  and  did  not  miss  a  meal. 
Many  who  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  a  dozen  times 
did  not  fare  so  well.  On  the  thirteenth  day  out 
we  came  in  sight  of  land  once  more — a  welcome 
sight  to  many  on  board.  That  day  the  Captain 
furnished  the  wine  at  dinner,  and  many  compli- 
mentary speeches  were  made  and  toasts  offered  in 
honor  of  his  skill  in  piloting  us  safely  through 
the  dangers  of  the  deep.  On  the  next  morning — 
September  3d,  I  think  it  was,  we  landed  safely 
in  New  York,  where  several  of  my  friends  were 
awaiting  my  arrival.  It  was  several  days  before 
I  could  get  clear  of  the  feeling  of  being  still  on 
board,  and  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  walk 
straight,  but  by  degrees  this  feeling  wore  off,  and 
I  felt  all  right  again. 

I  would  remark  here,  in  regard  to  sea  voyages, 
that  when  the  weather  is  clear  and  the  sea  calm 
there  can  be  nothing  more  enjoyable,  but  when 
it  is  wet  and  stormy,  I  much  prefer  being  on  land. 
In  fact,  I  think  there  are  many  who  pretend  to 
be  in  love  with  ' '  Old  Ocean ' '  who  would  rather 
love  him  at  a  distance.  I  confess  to  being  one  of 
that  class,  although,  if  I  thought  my  health  re- 
quired a  sea  voyage,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  cross 
the  ocean  again.  In  doing  so,  however,  I  should 
trust  myself  to  the  care  of  the  Cunard  Line,  be- 
lieving it  to  be  the  best  officered  and  safest  of 
any  other. 

After  spending  a  short  time  in  New  York,  I, 
with  two  other  of  my  friends,  concluded  to  take 
a  short  pleasure  trip  before  returning  home.  We 
visited  Saratoga,  Niagara  Falls,  Montreal,  Boston, 
etc.,  and  returned  to  New  York  in  about  two 
weeks.  Soon  thereafter  we  returned  to  Charlotte, 
about  October  1,  1851,  having  in  the  space  of 
four  months  traveled  over  ten  thousand  miles. 

I  was  not  at  home  long  before  I  found  a  life 
of  idleness  exceedingly  irksome,  and  calculated  to 
lead  to  bad  habits ;  so  I  concluded  to  engage  in 
something,  not  so  much  to  make  money  as  to  have 
something  to  do;  and  to  this  end  I  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  John  L.  Watson  in  the  summer 
of  1853,  our  firm  being  changed  to  M.  H.  Peoples 
&  Company. 

In  the  death  of  Jack  Watson,  as  he  was  gener- 
ally called,  I  sustained  a  heavy  loss,  for  I  think 
he  was  the  best  friend,  outside  my  own  family, 
that  I  ever  had.  His  many  noble  and  disinter- 
ested acts  of  kindness  to  me  shall  not  be  forgot- 
ten while  memory  lasts.  In  the  spring  preceding 
his  death  the  Be'v.  David  Baker  (this  should  have 
been  Daniel — my  error),  a  noted  Presbyterian 
preacher  and  revivalist  from  Texas,  visited  this 
section,  and  among  the  many  converts  who  were 
through  his  instrumentality  added  to  the  church 
was  Jack  Watson,  and  although  I  was  absent  dur- 
ing his  sickness  and  death,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  his  conversion  was  sincere  and  his  death  a 
triumphant  vindication  of  its  reality,  as  he  sent 
me  word  that  ' '  all  was  well, ' '  and  urged  me  with 
his  dying  breath  to  come  to  Jesus. 


A?/i  (a/V>y-C/{/L- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


361 


It  may  be  proper  to  remark,  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  boys,  that  their  mother  was  one  of  Dr. 
Baker's  converts  also,  and  many  others  who  have 
proved  themselves  worthy,  we  trust,  of  this  high 
calling.  At  the  death  of  my  dear  friend,  I  lost 
much  of  my  former  interest  in  our  business,  and 
it  was  not  a  great  while  before  I  sold  my  part 
of  it.  In  the  fall  of  1853  I  connected  myself  with 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Having  been  very  deeply 
impressed  by  the  sermons  of  Dr.  Baker  in  the 
spring,  but  not  wishing  to  be  hasty  in  such  an 
important  matter,  I  did  not  make  application  for 
membership  until  my  convictions  seemed  to  me  to 
justify  such  a  course.  And  even  now  I  often 
have  my  doubts  and  misgivings  as  to  whether  I 
am  "His"  or  not,  and  I  look,  as  it  were,  through 
a  glass  darkly. 

Some  other  matters  of  much  importance  occurred 
about  this  time.  Perhaps  the  one  of  greatest  im- 
portance was  the  agreement  of  marriage  be- 
tween your  mother  and  me.  It  occurred  on  the 
classic  banks  of  the  French  Broad  river,  about 
two  miles  west  of  Asheville,  some  time  about  the 
first  of  September,  1853.  As  I  have  already  made 
some  confessions  which  many  would  consider  as 
rather  humiliating,  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should 
here  add  anything  to  what  has  already  been  said, 
further  than  to  remark  that  the  engagement  was 
not  broken,  but  held  securely  until  we  were 
married. 

At  this  time  my  health  was  not  good.  I  had  been 
suffering  with  rheumatism,  and  had  been  trying 
baths  at  Warm  Springs  in  Madison  County  during 
the  summer,  and  not  finding  the  relief  I  sought  I 
went  to  Florida  the  following  winter,  and  derived 
much  benefit  from  my  trip.  I  spent  the  great  por- 
tion of  my  time  at  Orange  Springs.  I  returned 
much  improved  some  time  in  March  (I  think), 
1854. 

On  the  25th  May,  following,  your  mother  and 
I  were  married,  in  the  house  now  occupied  by 
the  Eev.  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller,  which  then  belonged 
to  your  mother  's  father,  H.  B.  Williams.  We  were 
married  by  the  Eev.  Hall  Morrison,  who  still  lives 
at  a  ripe  old  age.  We  would  have  been  married 
by  our  pastor — the  Eev.  Cyrus  Johnston,  but  he 
was  absent — being  a  delegate  to  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  church  that  year. 

We  had  a  large  wedding,  with  six  "attendants" 
each,  which  number  should  be  materially  lessened, 
should  the  same  ceremony  have  to  be  gone  through 
with  again,  but  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  called  upon 
again  to  undergo  the  trial.  I  think  my  duty  to 
my  children  would  forbid  a  second  marriage,  if 
the  memory  of  my  first  wife  did  not. 

The  last  event  (our  marriage)  brings  this  his- 
tory to  a  point  where  I  might  as  well,  perhaps, 
leave  it,  as  my  biography  is  as  well  known  to  your 
mother  since  our  marriage  as  it  is  to  myself,  and 
if  I  conclude  to  continue  it  farther  it  will  be  more 
for  the  purpose  of  relating  other  events  not  closely 
connected  with  my  own  history,  but  giving  some 
account  of  Charlotte  and  its  citizens,  an  account 
which  might  be  of  some  service  as  a  source  of 
reference  hereafter. 

I  will  therefore  bring  this  hastily  written  bio- 
graphy of  myself  to  a  close,  being  fully  aware  of 
its  many  imperfections,  but  trusting  that  some- 
thing good  may  result  to  some  of  my  boys  in  its 
perusal.  My  end  will  have  been  fully  accom- 
plished if  it  should  prove  the  instrument  of  keep- 
ing one  of  our  boys  out  of  one  temptation,  or  from 
committing  one  sin. 

Remember  your   pathway   through   life   will   be 


beset  with  many  things,  which  of  themselves  may 
be  harmless  enough,  but  nevertheless  should  be 
avoided,  if  they  are  calculated  to  keep  the  mind 
from  serious  thoughts.  It  is  well  that  the  young 
should  have  their  amusements — it  is  necessary  they 
should  have — but  at  the  same  time  they  should 
remember  that  there  is  a  point  in  the  most  inno- 
cent, beyond  which  it  is  not  prudent  to  go. 

Eichaed  Clay  Caeson,  a  man  of  affairs  at 
Whiteville,  North  Carolina,  and  formerly  very 
closely  identified  with  mercantile  and  industrial  in- 
terests in  the  state,  is  a  native  son  of  North 
Carolina  and  took  up  his  business  career  fully 
thirty  years  ago. 

He  was  born  at  Charlotte,  December  10,  1866. 
son  of  James  Harvey  and  Mary  Ann  (Williams) 
Carson.  His  parents  were  in  well-to-do  circum- 
stances and  he  grew  up  in  a  home  of  culture  and 
was  given  the  best  of  school  advantages.  He  had 
private  instruction  until  1875,  from  that  year  until 
1882  attended  the  Carolina  Military  Institute  at 
Charlotte,  and  was  a  student  of  Davidson  College 
at  Davidson  from  1882  to  1886. 

On  leaving  college  he  was  in  the  manufacturing 
business  from  1887  to  1890,  and  then  became  con- 
nected with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  a  sales- 
man from  1890  to  1892,  and  as  special  agent  from 
1892  to  1894.  In  the  latter  year  Mr.  Carson  estab- 
lished the  Charlotte  Hardware  Company  at  Char- 
lotte, North  Carolina,  and  remained  in  active  charge 
of  this  large  and  prospering  institution  until  fail- 
ing health  compelled  him  to  retire  in  1900.  Since 
then  he  has  given  his  attention  largely  to  various 
investments. 

While  in  college  Mr.  Carson  was  a  member  of  the 
Sigma.  Alpha  Epsilon  fraternity,  is  a  member  and 
deacon  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  is  a  democratic 
voter,  and  earlier  in  his  career  was  for  a  short 
time  connected  with  the  North  Carolina  Naval 
Eeserves.  On  May  7,  1895,  he  married  Ella  Jen- 
kins Burwell,  daughter  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Armis- 
tead  Burwell  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

Judge  Armistead  Burwell.  The  ancient  and 
beautiful  custom  of  perpetuating  in  song  and  story 
the  deeds  and  achievements  of  illustrious  men  has 
been  so  long  sanctioned  and  followed  as  to  be  now 
considered  one  not  founded  upon  mere  sentimenr, 
but  also  upon  the  obligation  due  by  the  living  to 
the  dead,  and  to  themselves.  The  sentiment  is  one 
of  loving  remembrance  of  the  good  they  accom- 
plished, their  kindliness  and  human  charity,  which 
touched  deeply  our  hearts  when  they  were  our  com- 
panions in  the  active  scenes  of  this  life,  and  after 
they  are  gone  awakens  our  sense  of  gratitude.  The 
obligation  springs  from  the  duty  we  owe  coming 
generations  to  preserve  in  permanent,  form  the 
story  of  their  lives,  as  an  inspiration  and  an  in- 
centive to  higher  and  nobler  endeavor.  The  ten- 
dency of  all  ages  has  been  progressive,  from  good 
to  better  things,  and  it  will  continue  to  be  so  until 
we  have  fully  secured  the  best  that  is  attainable 
in  this  world.  But  we  will  never  reach  the  farthest 
goal  of  our  aspirations  if  the  ripened  wisdom  of 
our  ancestors,  gathered  by  hard  experience  in  the 
practical  affairs  of  life,  that  knowledge  and  under- 
standing which  alone  can  safely  guide  us  in  our 
present  and  future  course,  we  in  turn  do  not 
eventually,  by  the  same  medium,  transmit  to  those 
who  may  come  after  us  the  inestimable  benefit  to 
our  added  wisdom  and  experience.  Nothing  has 
done  more  to  contribute  to  this  sum  of  human 
knowledge  which  has  prepared  us  to  take  up  the 


362 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


burden  of  life  where  they  have  laid  it  down  than 
the  records  we  have  made  and  preserved  of  our 
great  men,  benefactors  of  their  race,  who,  in  their 
day  and  generation,  were  leaders  of  thought  and 
exponents  of  the  best  in  law,  literature  and  science. 
It  is  this  hallowed  custom,  to  which  I  have  referred, 
that  brings  me  into  this  presence  today,  at  the 
request  of  his  friends  and  loved  ones  and  by  the 
courteous  invitation  of  your  committee,  to  speak  a 
few  grateful  words  to  the  memory  of  a  cherished 
and  honored  friend.  I  can  hardly  trust  myself  to 
think  of  him,  much  less  to  talk  of  him,  without 
unrestrained  emotion,  for  I  am  sure  no  man  es- 
teemed him  more  for  his  constant  and  never-failing 
friendship  or  admired  him  more  for  his  many  noble 
and  excellent  qualities.  Before  recounting  his  vir- 
tues and  assigning  his  name  to  that  exalted  place 
it  deserves  in  the  annals  of  our  illustrious  dead, 
let  me  briefly  trace  his  career,  as  boy  and  man, 
soldier,  lawyer,  statesman,  jurist  and  patriot. 

Armistead  Burwell,  the  subject  of  this  memorial, 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina, 
October  22,  1839.  He  had,  therefore,  when  he  died 
reached  and  passed  far  beyond  the  high  plateau 
of  middle  life,  after  a  long  career  filled  with  honor 
and  usefulness.  His  father  was  Robert  Burwell, 
an  eminent  Presbyterian  divine  and  educator,  and 
his  mother  was  Margaret  Anna  Robertson,  remem- 
bered by  those  who  knew  her  as  a  woman  of  rare 
intellectual  endowment  and  beautiful  traits  of  char- 
acter. She  was  noted  far  and  wide  as  the  finest 
type  of  gentle  and  noble  Southern  womanhood,  and 
many  are  her  pupils  who  would  today  gladly  and 
lovingly  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  this  tribute. 
This  couple,  both  natives  of  Dinwiddie  county,  Vir- 
ginia, where  they  were  happily  married,  emigrated 
from  that  state  and  settled  in  Hillsboro,  North 
Carolina,  where,  as  I  have  stated,  Judge  Burwell 
was  born.  It  was  fine  stock  on  both  sides,  and 
there  was  in  it  a  blended  inheritance  of  the  noblest 
virtues,  refinement,  culture  and  a  strict  devotion 
to  principle.  There  was  no  pride  of  ancestry  with 
him,  for  while  it  is  desirable  to  be  well  descended, 
he  knew  that  the  glory  belongs  to  our  ancestors 
and  is  not  ours.  We  are  only  what  we  make  of 
ourselves.  Their  son,  who  so  distinguished  him- 
self in  after  life,  was  educated  at  what  was  then 
known  as  Caldwell  Institute,  presided  over  by  that 
famous  teacher,  Dr.  Alexander  Wilson,  the  pre- 
ceptor of  so  many  our  noted  men.  After  fin- 
ishing his  academic  course  he  was  sent  to  David- 
son College,  where  he  was  a  model  student  and 
scholar,  graduating  therefrom  with  the  highest  hon- 
ors of  his  class  in  1860,  and  delivering  the  Latin 
or  salutatory  address.  He  then  decided  to  make 
his  home  in  the  West,  and  settled  in  Washington, 
Arkansas.  While  there  teaching  school  and  in  the 
diligent  pursuit  of  his  law  studies,  the  tocsin  of 
war  sounded  and  he  promptly  answered  its  call  to 
arms,  joining  a  company  of  cavalry  in  the  Third 
Arkansas  Regiment,  which  was  in  the  brigade  com- 
manded by  General  Armstrong,  and  being  his 
assistant  adjutant  general.  He  also  served  under 
Generals  Bedford  Forrest  and  Joseph  Wheeler. 
Those  who  know  of  his  military  career  speak  of 
him  as  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier,  intelligent, 
faithful  and  fearless  in  the  discharge  of  every  trust, 
obedient  to  superior  authority,  no  matter  how 
severe  the  discipline,  and  possessing  in  a  marked 
degree  the  entire  confidence  of  his  associates,  who 
admired  him  for  his  great  courage  and  daring,  his 
absolute  devotion  to  duty  and  his  other  fine  sol- 
dierly qualities.  I  knew  him  well,  and  thus  know- 
ing him,  I  am  sure  that  he  was  among  the  bravest 


and  best  of  those  who  followed  the  victorious 
standard  of  the-  heroic  Forrest — the  great  com- 
mander of  the  West.  His  rank  was  that  of  cap- 
tain until  just  before  the  close  of  the  Civil  war, 
when  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  major, 
and  held  a  commission  for  the  higher  rank  when 
the  war  closed.  He  was  severely  wounded  in  the 
battle  before  Atlanta,  while  performing  a  most 
dangerous  duty  in  the  execution  of  a  command 
which  required  the  display  of  courage  and  dash  of 
the  highest  order.  His  condition  was  so  desperate 
that  his  young  and  noble  life  was  almost  despaired 
of,  but  he  feared  not,  nor  did  he  repine,  for,  brave 
man  and  splendid  soldier  as  he  was,  his  life  was 
at  the  service  of  his  country,  and  willingly  would 
he  have  yielded  it  up  for  the  cause  which  he  had 
espoused  and  firmly  believed  to  be  just,  and  to 
which  it  had  been  dedicated.  By  the  use  of  heroic 
and  painful  remedies,  his  wound  was  healed  and 
his  life  was  saved,  but  he  was  left  with  the  use  of 
one  arm  greatly  impaired.  After  his  recovery, 
when  the  actual  strife  was  over,  he  returned  to 
Charlotte,  to  which  place  his  parents  had  removed, 
and  there  taught  school  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Griffith, 
and  at  the  same  time  studied  law,  receiving  his 
license  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  this  state  soon 
thereafter.  He  located  in  Charlotte,  and  became, 
first,  the  partner  of  Calvin  E.  Grier,  as  gallant  a 
soldier  as  ever  drew  sword  and  as  genial  and  fine 
a  gentleman  as  you  will  meet  with  in  more  than  a 
day's  journey.  Of  course  they  prospered,  for  two 
such  men  could  not  have  failed.  After  the  law 
firm  of  Vance,  Dowd  &  Johnston  had  been  dis- 
solved, Captain  Burwell,  as  our  people  loved  to  call 
him,  became  the  partner  of  Governor  Zebulon  B. 
Vance — the  great  and  only  and  incomparable 
Vance.  This  firm  continued  to  do  a  large,  lucra- 
tive practice  until  its  senior  member  was  elected 
in  1876,  and,  for  a  third  time,  governor  of  the 
state.  It  was  a  strong,  yes,  almost  an  impreg- 
nable combination  of  intellect,  learning,  and  elo-" 
quence.  There  was  no  better  lawyer  than  Captain 
Burwell  as  he  was  at  this  time,  and  there  was  no 
greater  or  more  brilliant  advocate  than  Vance.  I 
had  the  honor  of  being  a  member  of  the  Mecklen- 
burg bar  while  the  latter  was  still  a  practitioner 
there,  and  it  disparages  no  man  for  me  to  say, 
if  he  had  an  equal  I  have  never  seen  him — and  so 
thought  Captain  Burwell,  his  intimate  friend  and 
professional  associate,  whose  daily  companionship 
with  him  afforded  peculiar  opportunity  to  measure 
and  gauge  his  professional  ability  and  attainments, 
and  his  estimate  of  him,  both  as  lawyer  and  advo- 
cate, was  very  high.  He  was  devoted  to  Governor 
Vance  and  the  latter  to  him.  The  governor  once 
said  to  me,  many  years  ago,  just  after  his  first 
election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  when  return- 
ing to  Charlotte  from  Gaston  Cut:  "If  every  man 
in  the  state  was  like  Armistead  Burwell,  what  a 
great  commonwealth  we  would  have.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  he  is  the  purest  and  best  man 
I  ever  knew,  and  it  reflects  on  no  one  to  say  it. ' ' 
I  almost  recall  his  very  words,  and  at  least  suffi- 
ciently so  to  be  entirely  accurate.  Governor  Vance 
also  paid  generous  tribute  to  his  great  mental 
powers,  to  his  intuitive  business  preceptions  and 
his  almost  infallible  judgment. 

Captain  Burwell  once  told  me  of  an  incident 
in  his  court  house  experience,  and  the  judge  who 
presided  at  the  time  afterward  repeated  the  story 
to  me.  There  was  a  long  special  term  of  the  Su- 
perior Court  of  Mecklenburg  County,  held  by  one 
of  our  ablest  judges.  The  firm  of  Vance  &  Bur- 
well had  many  appearances  on  the  docket,  and  at 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


363 


the  end  of  the  term  it  was  found  that  they  had  won 
nearly  all,  it  not  quite  all,  of  their  cases.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  bar,  himself  a  great  lawyer  and  suc- 
cessful advocate,  one  of  the  best  trial  lawyers  1 
have  ever  known,  moved  for  a  new  trial  in  one 
of  the  cases  he  had  lost  to  Vance  and  Burwell, 
when  the  judge,  who  could  discover  no  error  in 
the  record,  asked  him  upon  what  ground  the  motion 
was  based.  He  replied  that  he  had  but  one,  which 
was  that  no  cause,  however  strong  and  just,  could 
be  won  if  Vance  had  the  last  speech  against  it 
for  he  is  simply  invincible,  and  for  this  reason 
there  has  been,  in  this  particular  ease,  a  mis- 
carriage of  justice.  The  judge,  though  admitting 
the  correctness  of  the  statement,  was  compelled 
in  law  to  deny  the  motion. 

After  the  dissolution  of  his  partnership  with 
Governor  Vance,  Captain  Burwell  practiced  law 
alone  for  several  years,  and  until  the  fall  of  1880, 
when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  writer  of 
this  sketch,  which  continued  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  broken  only  by  the  short  period  when  he  was 
on  the  beneh.  During  my  association  with  him  I 
recognized  at  all  times  his  great  ability  and  learn- 
ing as  a  lawyer,  and  received  from  him,  without 
a  single  exception,  the  most  uniform  courtesy  and 
kindness.  In  1880  he  was  elected  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  state,  as  senator  from  Mecklen- 
burg County,  and  served  one  term,  declining  a  re- 
election. He  served  in  the  Senate  with  W.  T. 
Dortch,  Theo.  F.  Davidson,  James  A.  Lockhart, 
William  B.  Glenn,  Hugh  R.  Scott,  and  other  distin- 
guished men  of  this  state,  who  bore  willing  tribute 
to  his  ability  and  lofty  ideals  as  a  public  man  and 
to  his  great  efficiency  and  usefulness  as  a  legis- 
lator. He  was  a  leader  in  that  body,  possessing 
all  the  traits  of  character  and  habits  of  thought 
that  go  to  make  the  great  statesman — courage, 
fidelity,  truth  and  patriotism  and  an  almost  un- 
erring judgment,  but  preferring  the  walks  of  pro- 
fessional life  and  the  honors  of  the  private  station. 
he  steadily  refused  all  political  preferment,  though 
he  always  actively  espoused  the  cause  of  the  party 
to  which  he  belonged,  and  had  perfect  faith  in  his 
political  creed.  He  was  not  controlled  by  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  public  opinion,  being  a  leader  rather 
than  a  blind  follower  of  men.  He  had  just  con- 
tempt for  the  demagogue,  appreciating  the  truth 
in  the  philosophy  of  Bacon,  that  "nothing  doth 
more  hurt  in  a  state  than  that  cunning  men  some- 
times pass  for  wise." 

In  1879  Judge  Burwell  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Vance  a  director  on  the  part  of  the  state  of 
the  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company,  and  served 
in  that  capacity  a  number  of  years,  with  such  able 
men  as  Governor  Thos.  M.  Holt,  Gen.  R.  F.  Hoke, 
and  others,  and  was  considered  by  them  to  be,  as 
I  happen  to  know,  one  of  the  most  valuable  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  and  was  especially  noted  for 
his  clear-sightedness,  his  fine  business  capacity  and 
judgment,  his  saving  common  sense,  and  his  won- 
derful knowledge  of  the  practical  affairs  of  life. 
His  great  influence  in  that  body  was  conceded  from 
the  beginning,  and  continued  throughout  his  long 
service.  He  resigned  this  position  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Novem- 
ber, 1892,  by  his  warm  friend  and  admirer,  Gov- 
ernor Holt.  He  served  in  the  latter  position  for  a 
little  more  than  two  years,  and  would  certainly 
have  remained  there  until  his  death,  had  not  the 
fortunes,  or  in  this  case,  the  misfortunes,  of  politics 
swept  his  party  to  defeat,  when  all  of  its  nominees, 
with  a  single  exception,  I  believe,  were  obliged  to 
succumb  to  the'  inevitable,  if  untoward,  mischance 


of  a  popular  election,  generally  uncertain  and  some- 
times apparently  perverse.  But  the  misfortune  was 
not  his  so  much  as  that  of  the  people  of  the  state, 
for  they  both  lost  as  true  and  loyal  a  public  serv- 
ant and  as  able,  learned  and  upright  a  judge  as 
ever  sat  in  that  court.  His  career  on  the  bench  was 
one  to  be  envied.  He  had  every  quality  of  mind 
and  heart,  body  and  temperament,  to  fit  him  for 
a  great  judge,  and  so  he  was.  He  was  indeed  a 
superb  judge,  simply  because  he  could  not  help 
being  so,  for  he  was  born  to  that  position,  and 
to  his  natural  gifts  were  added  those  excellent 
judicial  qualities  which  only  study  and  experience 
can  bring  to  any  man.  He  was  not  of  those  who 
believed  that  genius  or  exceptional  talent  or  even 
extraordinary  natural  endowment  can  fully  take 
the  place  of  industry  and  achieve  the  same  results, 
but  he  carefully  saved  all  his  talents  and  improved 
them  by  labor  and  diligent  study.  In  all  my  expe- 
rience at  the  bar  or  on  the  bench,  I  have  seen 
none  who  had  a  stronger  or  better  regulated  mind, 
a  clearer  or  more  incisive  judgment,  or  a  more 
attractive  manner.  He  viewed  things  from  a  prac- 
tical standpoint.  He  could  see  through  a  case  from 
its  beginning  to  its  end  with  admirable  foresight 
and  separated  the  false  from  the  true  with  almost 
unerring  discrimination.  In  his  personal  life,  he 
drew  men  to  him  by  the  very  strength  of  his  spot- 
less character  and.  by  the  gentleness  and  kindness 
of  his  nature.  He  sternly  insisted  upon  the  right 
at  all  times,  but  behind  it  all  there  was  a  warm, 
sympathetic  and  genial  heart,  which,  with  his  hand, 
was  always  outstretched  to  the  poor  and  humble, 
the  desolate  and  the  oppressed.  His  soul  was  so 
pure  and  immaculate  that  no  blemish  could  ever 
touch  it,  and  not  more  spotless  was  the  ermine 
which  he  wore  so  splendidly  and  so  honorably  when 
called  to  a  seat  in  the  council  of  the  judges. 

I  cannot  well  separate  his  professional  from  his 
judicial  life,  as  they  merge  into  each  other  so 
naturally.  In  his  practice,  as  on  the  bench,  his 
great  judicial  qualities  were  always  preeminent. 
Clients  sought  his  counsel  and  his  leadership  be- 
cause they  knew  intuitively,  as  people  generally 
perceive  in  such  cases,  that  it  was  always  the  safest 
and  the  best.  He  would  have  attracted  them  no 
matter  where  he  lived,  because  he  had,  in  rare 
measure,  that  mysterious  something  which  gave 
him  the  magnetic  power  to  draw  them  irresistibly 
towards  him.  He  would  have  succeeded  anywhere. 
It  was  Emerson,  I  believe,  who  once  said,  and  he 
was  right  when  he  said  so,  that,  "if  a  man  can 
write  a  better  book,  preach  a  better  sermon,  or 
even  make  a  better  mouse-trap  than  his  neighbor, 
though  he  build  his  house  in  the  woods,  the  world 
will  make  a  beaten  path  to  his  door."  And  the 
sentiment,  thus  so  pungently  expressed  by  the  great 
philosopher  and  writer,  may  fittingly  be  applied  to 
the  subject  of  this  memorial.  Somehow  he  just 
knew  how  to  do  things  better  than  most  other 
people.  In  all  that  he  did  he  had  a  rare  perfection. 
If  I  may  be  permitted  to  paraphrase,  with  a  slight 
change,  "what  has  been  so  well  spoken  of  another, 
it  may  be  said  of  him  that  he  was  planetary  rather 
than  irregular,  and  this  tendency  of  his  nature 
made  the  orbit  of  his  life  steady  and  uniform,  in- 
stead of  changeable  and  erratic.  "His  advocacy 
of  any  cause  was  fearless  to  the  verge  of  temerity, 
and  he  appeared  indifferent  to  applause  or  censure 
for  their  own  sake.  He  accepted  intrepidly  any 
conclusions  that  he  reached,  without  inquiring 
whether  they  were  politic  or  expedient."  His  pre- 
dominant traits  were  his  rugged  honesty  and  un- 
spotted integrity.     He  adjusted  his  life,  every  act 


364 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  it,  and  all  his  conduct,  to  the  highest  moral 
standards  and  the  loftiest  ideals.  There  was  no 
dissimulation  about  him,  for  he  had  nothing  to 
conceal  from  the  world.  His  life  was  as  an  open 
book,  to  be  seen  and  read  of  all  men.  He  dealt 
fairly  and  honestly  with  everyone,  and  exacted  the 
same  treatment  in  return  for  himself.  He  was  al- 
ways ready  to  forgive  a  wrong  and  sometimes  to 
forget  it,  but  in  all  his  social  and  business  rela- 
tions he  expected  and  required  of  every  man  with 
whom  he  dealt  that  he  be  a  gentleman.  With 
him,  this  comprehended  everything  essential  to 
virtuous  conduct.  He  never  was  a  blind  follower 
of  any  man  or  set  of  men,  but,  by  his  very  nature 
was  so  constituted  as  always  to  be  a  molder  of 
public,  thought  and  an  acknowledged  leader  in  his 
community.  His  people  followed  him  and  trusted 
to  his  leadership  because  of  their  implicit  faith 
in  his  wisdom  and  courage,  and  their  unhesitating- 
confidence  in  the  strict  integrity  of  his  purpose. 

As  a  lawyer  he  approached  every  trial  and  dis- 
cussion in  which  he  appeared  after  full  and  com- 
plete preparation  and  patient  investigation  of  the 
facts.  Believing  in  precedents  of  the  law,  as  safe 
and  sure  guides  and  as  containing  the  concentrated 
wisdom  of  its  sages,  applied  to  the  practical  affairs 
of  men,  he  yet  would  not  forsake  the  eternal  prin- 
ciples of  justice  for  a  mere  dictum  of  the  judge 
While  he  studied  his  cases  thoroughly  and  ex- 
haustively, his  arguments  did  not  have  the  odor 
of  the  lamp.  They  were  advanced  to  enforce  the 
right,  and  not  for  any  insidious  purpose  of  merely 
winning  a  bad  or  unrighteous  cause,  and  he  paid 
little  or  no  attention  to  the  ' '  nice,  sharp  quillets  of 
the  law,"  for  he  was  too  honest  and  frank  to 
engage  in  the  low  arts  and  tricks  of  the  petti- 
fogger, which  he  held  in  merited  contempt.  He 
believed  that  there  were  defeats  more  honorable 
and  triumphant  than  some  victories.  Nor  did  he 
try  to  embellish  his  discourses  with  the  flimsy 
drapery  of  a  florid  rhetoric,  but  rather  clothed  his 
strong  and  vigorous  arguments  in  the  clear  and 
sinewy,  though  polished,  diction  of  the  genuine 
scholar  that  he  was,  having  liberal  education,  po- 
lite learning  and  broad  culture. 

When  things  have  taken  thorough  possession  of 
the  mind,  apt  and  expressive  words  are  always 
plentiful.  He  always  commanded  the  unlimited 
respect  and  deference  of  his  associates  at  the  bar 
and  of  all  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact 
who  easily  knew  him  as  he  really  was,  for  no  man 
could  be  with  him  long  without  being  deeply  im- 
pressed with  his  noble  qualities.  By  the  very  force 
of  his  character  and  his  manly  virtues,  coupled 
wath  mental  faculties  of  the  highest  order,  he 
easily  took  first  rank  among  his  peers.  Such  a 
man,  of  course,  condemned  cant  and  hypocrisy  in 
any  and  every  form — the  charlatan  and  the  dema- 
gogue. There  was  no  room  for  hypocrisy  in  his 
nature.  It  could  not  for  a  moment  survive  eon- 
tact  with  qualities  so  pure  and  free  from  dis- 
honesty of  any  kind.  He  could  deceive  no  man, 
and,  for  this  reason,  there  was  none  who  was  more 
confidingly  trusted  by  his  people  than  he ;  nor  did 
he  worship  any  man  for  his  wealth  or  influence, 
however  great  or  potential,  but  he  believed  that 
such  a  man  should  be  praised  only  in  proportion 
as  he  used  his  good  fortune,  or  any  power  thus 
acquired  for  the  betterment  of  "his  kind  and  the 
advancement  of  the  human  race.  He  thought,  with 
Aiiareharsis,  that  a  man 's  felicity  consists  not  in 
the  outward  and  visible  favors  and  blessings  of 
fortune,  but  in  the  inward  and  unseen  perfections 
and  riches  of  the  mind,  and  as  Solon  is  reputed 


to  have  said  for  himself,  he  would  not  have  ex- 
changed his  virtue  for  all  the  wealth  and  power  of 
the.  world. 

Judge  Burwell,  in  his  public  and  private  life, 
was  animated  by  a  profound  sense  of  justice  and 
thought  that  its  great  virtue  consists  in  modera- 
tion as  regulated  by  wisdom.  I  have  already  said 
that  his  leading  quality  was  his  rugged  and  un- 
assailable honesty.  Nothing  could  tempt  him  to- 
do  wrong,  or  to  swerve  by  even  a  hair's  breadth 
from  the  path  of  the  strictest  rectitude.  He  was- 
for  the  right  always,  and  so  it  naturally  was  his 
belief,  following  the  teaching  of  the  ancient  prov- 
erb, that  ' '  there  is  no  debt,  with  so  much  ease  and 
prejudice  put  off,  as  that  of  justice."  While  his 
sympathies  were  broad  and  deep,  and  as  gentle 
and  tender  as  a  woman 's  love,  yet  without  variable- 
ness or  shadow  of  turning  he  steadily  and  con- 
sistently pleaded  for  justice,  however  much  he 
might  weep  with  the  unfortunate,  and  though 
always  ready  to  extend  pardon  or  to  temper  his 
judgment  with  mercy.  There  never  was  a  kindlier 
man,  but  one  of  the  dominant  ideas  of  his  being 
was  that  justice  and  right  should  finally  prevail. 
With  his  natural  gifts  of  mind  and  body,  his 
habit  of  study  and  of  thought,  his  true  and  abiding 
sense  of  right,  his  superb  character  and  his  store 
of  knowledge  and  learning,  which  he  had  gathered 
by  arduous  labor  and  in  the  hard  school  of  expe- 
rience, we  cannot  imagine  how  any  man  could  have 
been  better  equipped  or  more  exactly  fitted  for 
the  highest  judicial  station.  And  so  did  his 
people  think,  for  through  their  governor  they 
chose  him  among  many  eminent  and  worthy  men, 
and  raised  him  to  the  highest  honor  within  their 
gift,  as  a  judge  over  them,  to  decide  issues  of  life 
and  death.  His  career  on  the  bench,  all  too  short, 
unfortunately,  was  fully  up  to  the  high  standard 
fixed  by  his  friends  at  the  beginning,  and  he  fully 
redeemed  every  pledge  and  promise  they  made  in. 
his  behalf.  I  have  been  told  by  his  associates  on 
the  bench  that  he  was  greatly  beloved  and  honored 
by  them  as  he  had  before  been  by  his  professional 
brethren  and  his  people  at  home,  and  his  judicial 
labors,  as  we  know,  were  crowned  with  preeminent 
success.  How  could  it  have  been  otherwise,  with 
such  a  brain  and  such  a  character  to  guide  and 
direct  it?  "For  Justice,  all  place  a  temple  and  all 
seasons  summer,"  can  well  be  said  of  him,  and  he 
dispensed  it,  as  he  should  have  done,  with  the 
cold  neutrality  of  the  impartial  judge.  He  was 
true  always  to  the  obligations  he  assumed  when 
he  took  the  official  oath  that  lie  would  administer 
the  right  without  respect  to  persons,  and  do  equal 
justice  to  the  poor  and  rich,  to  the  state  and  to 
individuals,  and  in  all  things  faithfully  and  im- 
partially perform  the  duties  and  functions  of  his 
high  office.  His  opinions  were  always  character- 
ized by  clearness,  force  and  vigor,  couched  in  the 
best  and  most  elegant  English,  and  devoid  of  all 
attempt  at  display  or  affectation  of  style.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  of  classical  scholars,  but  his  lan- 
guage was  always  plain,  simple,  direct  and  force- 
ful. He  had  no  fads,  nor  did  he  insist  that  his 
views  be  adopted  merely  because  he  entertained 
them,  but  always  thought  only  of  the  right,  with- 
out the  slightest  regard  to  any  effect  upon  his 
own  personal  fortunes.  He  had  the  greatest  re- 
spect for  the  serious  arguments  of  others,  and 
always  gave  them  proper  heed  and  consideration. 
This  was  his  habit  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench. 
As  a  judge  he  sought  to  bring  the  court  into  har- 
mony, rather  than  to  give  its  opinion  color  of  direc- 
tion in  favor  of  his  personal  views.     It  is  a  trite 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


365 


saving  that  in  union  there  is  strength,  and  so  he 
believed  that  agreement  and  unanimity  imparted 
great  force  and  weight  to  the  decisions  of  any 
eourt;  not  that  he  would  compromise  about  a  mat- 
ter of  principle,  but  he  would  sometimes  yield  his 
own  views  rather  than  weaken  its  opinion  by  dis- 
sent, and  especially  to  when  no  great  right  was 
sacrificed. 

His  best  deliverance,  perhaps,  was  in  the  case 
of  Haynes  vs.  the  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  re- 
ported in  114  X.  C.j  at  page  205,  that  is,  it  has 
been  cited  more  than  any  other  of  his  opinions, 
and  is  a  settled  precedent  in  our  courts  for  the 
great  principle  in  the  law  of  negligence  it  in- 
volved, and  was  the  pioneer  of  all  cases  upon  that 
subject.  It  is  difficult,  though,  to  select  any  one 
opinion  as  his  best  among  the  many  of  the  highest 
merit  which  emanated  from  his  pen.  As  it  was,  he 
ranked  easily  with  the  ablest  and  most  learned 
jurists  who  have  sat  in  that  court,  and  by  longer 
service  and  greater  experience  he  would,  of  course, 
have  raised  still  higher  his  standard  of  judicial 
excellence. 

He  was  not  a  man  of  any  vanity  or  conceit,  and 
while  brave,  courageous  and  reasonably  aggressive, 
he  always  practiced  a  becoming  humility.  Like  the 
noble  Duncan,  as  a  judge,  "he  bore  his  faculties 
meek,  and  was  always  clear  in  his  great  office. ' '  He 
regulated  his  judicial  conduct,  not  by  the  example, 
but  according  to  the  precept  of  Lord  Bacon,  who 
thought  that  judges  ought  to  interpret  law,  and 
not  to  make  law  or  to  give  law ;  else  will  it  be  like 
the  authority  claimed  by  some  who  do  not  stick 
to  add  and  alter,  and  to  pronounce  that  which  they 
do  not  find,  and  by  show  of  antiquity  to  introduce 
novelty.  Judges,  he  thought,  ought  to  be  more 
learned  than  witty,  and  more  advised  than  confi- 
dent. And  to  use  more  closely  some  of  the  words 
of  this  great  thinker :  ' '  Above  all  things,  integ- 
rity is  their  portion  and  proper  virtue.  Cursed 
(saith  the  law)  is  he  that  removeth  the  landman;. 
The  mislayer  of  a  mere  stone  is  to  blame;  but  it 
is  the  unjust  judge  that  is  the  capital  remover  of 
landmarks,  when  he  defineth  amiss  of  lands  arid 
property.  One  foul  sentence  doth  more  hurt  than 
any  foul  example :  for  these  do  but  corrupt  the 
stream ;   the  other  corrupteth  the  fountain. ' ' 

Let  me  pursue  the  thread  of  my  narrative  just 
a  few  moments  longer.  When  Judge  Burwell  re- 
tired from  the  bench  he  returned  to  the  practice 
of  the  law  at  Charlotte,  taking  his  place  at  the  head 
of  the  firm  composed  of  Mr.  E.  T.  Cansler  and 
your  speaker,  under  the  name  of  Burwell,  Walker 
&  Cansler,  which  lasted  until  1902,  when  one  of  its 
members  withdrew  to  take  a  seat  on  the  bench, 
to  which  he  had  been  chosen  in  that  year,  and  the 
judge  and  Mr.  Cansler  continued  to  practice  to- 
gether during  the  remainder  of  the  former 's  life 
as  Burwell  &  Cansler.  There  was  no  stronger  firm 
in  the  state,  as  I  believe  you  will  readily  admit, 
and  none  more  entitled  to  the  large  and  lucrative 
practice  which  these  two  able  lawyers  enjoyed. 

I  have  referred  to  Judge  Burwell 's  first  part- 
ners, Governor  Vance  and  Captain  Grier,  because 
I  am  now  speaking  of  the  dead.  I  only  wish  it 
were  proper  and  seemly,  in  this  presence  and  in 
this  hour,  to  speak  of  the  living  that  I  might 
pay  merited  tribute  to  the  last  surviving  one. 

I  come  now  to  another  phase  of  Judge  Burwell 's 
life.  In  his  religious  faith  he  was  a  Presbyterian, 
and  his  conduct  and  character,  of  which  I  have 
already  spoken,  were  largely  molded  and  influenced 
by  a  strict  observance  of  the  tenets  and  doctrines 
of  his  church.     'While  he  was  its  loyal  adherent 


always,  he  accorded  to  every  man  the  freedom  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  which  he  held  to  be  his  moral  as  well 
as  his  constitutional  right.  He,  therefore,  reso- 
lutely opposed  religious  persecution  or  bigotry  in 
any  form.  With  many  others,  he  agreed  that  re- 
ligious freedom  was  laid  as  one  of  the  first  stones 
in  the  corner  of  our  temple,  and  he  would  caution 
any  man  who  attempted  to  remove  it,  that  he  had 
better  beware,  lest  the  great  superstructure  raised 
on  the  foundation  of  the  fathers  should  totter  and 
fall.  Like  all  true  patriots,  he  knew  that  religious 
intolerance  and  oppression  had  flourished  only  in 
the  monarchies  of  the  Old  World,  and  he  would  not 
have  them  engrafted  upon  our  system  or  take  root 
in  the  soil  of  this  new  and  progressive  republic. 
He  was,  therefore,  always  true,  loyal  and  devoted 
to  his  own  church,  but  liberal  towards  those  of 
other  creeds. 

In  early  life  Judge  Burwell  was  married  to  Miss 
Ella  M.  Jenkins,  of  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  a 
woman  of  rare  charm  and  beauty,  of  gentle  man- 
ners and  elegant  culture,  and  by  this  union  there 
were  five  children.  Mrs.  Prank  H.  Wood,  Charlotte 
Cowan  and  James  Burkley  are  dead.  The  surviv- 
ing children  are  Mrs.  B.  C.  Carson  of  Whiteville, 
North  Carolina,  and  Armistead  Burwell,  of 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  Blessed  with  such  a 
father  and  mother  at  the  head  of  the  household, 
there  never  was  a  happier  home  or  a  more  beauti- 
ful home  life.  His  own  life,  as  nearly  all  lives 
are,  was  often  saddened  and  clouded  by  sorrow, 
when  ' '  the  pallid  messenger  with  the  inverted 
torch ' '  would  enter  the  precincts  of  his  home  and 
beckon  some  loved  one  to  depart,  but  he  always 
bore  his  burden  in  silence  and  with  a  strong  man  's 
fortitude.  ' '  Short  is  life  and  narrow  the  corner 
in  which  we  dwell. ' '  The  final  summons  came  to 
him  when  he  apparently  gave  every  promise  of 
many  more  years  of  life  and  happiness.  Suddenly 
stricken  by  what  was  not  thought,  at  first,  to  be 
a  fatal  malady,  and  though  ill  but  a  short  while, 
he  yet  had  a  clear  premonition  that  he  was  near 
the  limit  of  his  journey.  With  perfect  submis- 
sion, with  a  Christian 's  faith  and  hope,  and  more 
than  a  hero 's  courage,  he  bravely,  calmly  and 
placidly  awaited  the  end.  He  had  lived  a  perfeet 
life,  and  death  had  no  terror  for  him.  So  close 
is  the  analogy  that  I  am  tempted  here  to  borrow 
the  words  of  a  great  eulogist,  uttered  in  a  pane- 
gyric of  surpassing  beauty,  one  of  the  best  since 
Bossuet  was  suddenly  summoned  by  Louis  XIV  to 
pronounc*  his  great  oration  upon  the  life  and 
military  achievements  of  Louis  de  Bourbon,  the 
Prince  of  Conde :  ' '  He  was  thrust  from  the  full 
tide  of  this  world's  interest,  its  hopes,  aspirations 
and  victories,  into  the  visible  presence  of  death — 
and  he   quailed  not.     *  *     Let  us  hope  that, 

in  the  silence  of  the  receding  world,  he  heard  the 
great  waves  breaking  on  a  farther  shore  and  felt 
already  upon  his  wasted  brow  the  breath  of  the 
eternal  morning. ' ' 

To  speak  of  some  of  his  personal  traits,  his 
mind  was  tranquil,  well-ordered  and  rigidly  up- 
right, and  there  was  always  proper  dignity  and 
proportion  in  all  that  he  said  or  did.  His  heart 
was  kind,  loyal  and  true.  In  form,  he  possessed 
manly  beauty  and  graceful  bearing;  in  manner,  he 
was  frank  but  cordial,  genial,  and  sympathetic,  and 
in  general  appearance  he  was  most  impressive.  I 
am  here  reminded  of  the  words  of  Marcus  Aure- 
lius,  who  said :  ' '  How  few  be  the  things,  the 
which  if  a  man  has  at  his  command,  his  life  flows 
gently  on  and  is  divine."     This  was  perfectly  true 


366 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


to  him,  though  he  possessed  in  abundance  all  things 
essential  to  the  simple  and  noble  life.  He  had  a 
peculiar  and  almost  unique  grace  and  charm  or 
manner.  While  always  dignified  and  selt'-poised, 
he  was  not  austere,  but  amiable,  gentle  and  often 
merry  in  his  disposition  and  his  intercourse  with 
others,  but  he  was  never  frivolous.  He  made  no 
empty  promises  nor  did  he  affect  any  excessive 
interest,  which  is  one  form  of  hypocrisy,  but  was 
always   absolutely  dependable    and  trustworthy. 

He  was  not  easily  disheartened  by  temporary 
reverses,  but  always  set  his  face  steadily  toward 
the  rising  and  not  the  setting  sun.  If  repulsed,  he 
did  not  repine,  but  gathering  new  hope  and  fresh 
courage,  he  fought  still  more  bravely  for  the  final 
victory,  well  knowing  that  ' '  a  single  breaker  may 
recede  when  the  tide  is  evidently  coming  in."  He 
kept  before  him,  as  his  inspiration  to  stronger 
and  nobler  effort,  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  motto: 
' '  I  excel  and  persevere. ' '  By  far  too  big  a  man, 
and  made  in  too  large  a  mold  to  live  in  any  pent- 
up  Utica,  he  was  a  citizen  of  the  world,  with 
broad  and  deep  sympathies  for  all  mankind — ever 
gracious  and  courteous  to  strangers  and  a  good 
Samaritan  to  the  unfortunate  wayfarer.  His  heart 
was  filled  with  sweet  benevolence,  and  he  con- 
stantly exemplified  in  his  life  and  work  that  uni- 
versal love  and  charity  which  we  find  so  touch- 
ingly  expressed  in  the  pathetic  words  of  the  poor 
little  cripple,  Tiny  Tim :  ' '  God  bless  us,  every- 
one. ' '  He  led  a  most  blameless  life,  and  when 
the  twilight  gathered  thick  around  him,  he  could 
review  it  without  any  shame  or  anguish,  but  with 
just  and  honest  pride.  We  have  heard  that  a  good 
man  prolongs  his  own  life,  for  to  be  able  to  enjoy 
one's  past  is  to  live  again. 

' '  He  lives  twice,  who  can  at  once  employ 
The  present  well  and  e'en  the  past  enjoy." 

He  loved  to  live,  but  did  not  fear  to  die ;  be- 
lieving that,  under  Providence,  whatever  is,  is 
right;  he  submitted  with  perfect  resignation  to 
the  Divine  will. 

I  would  commend  this  perfect  model  to  the 
young  men  of  the  bar  of  my  state  for  their  imita- 
tion. The  mantle  of  honor  which  he  wore  so 
gracefully  and  which  has  fallen  so  silently  and 
suddenly  from  his  shoulders  may  soon  rest  upon 
yours,  if  you  will  receive  it.  Will  you  wear  it 
as  he  did,  without  spot  or  blemish?  I  hope  so; 
but  whether  so  or  not,  let  me  warn  you,  after 
an  experience  of  many  years  the  benefit  of  which 
I  freely  give  you,  that  never  will  you  achieve 
success  honorably  in  your  profession  if  you  dis- 
card the  virtues  of  this  noble  example  so  worthy 
of  your  emulation. 

fie  would  be  numbered  among  the  best  even  if 
the  words  of  the  great  satirist,  Juvenal,  be  true, 
that  ' '  rare  indeed  are  good  men ;  in  number  they 
are  scarcely  as  many  as  the  gates  of  Thebes,  or 
the  mouths  of  the  wealthy  Nile. ' ' 

An  intimate  association  with  him  for  many 
years  leads  me  to  say  that  I  never  saw  a  more 
attractive  or  well-rounded  personality,  and  if  the 
world  had  known  him  as  I  did  the  universal  ver- 
dict would  be  that  there  never  lived  a  stronger, 
nobler,  manlier  or  courtlier  man,  or  a  more  chival- 
rous and  knightlier  gentleman.  As  a  boy  or  man, 
soldier,  lawyer,  legislator  or  judge,  plain  citizen 
or  patriot,  he  gained  easily  and  always  held  the 
highest  mark  attainable  by  human  effort,  quick- 
ened by  noble  aspiration.  His  life  was  not  free 
from  mistakes,  for  no  man  's  is.     It  has  been  said 


that  ' '  to  conduct  great  matters  and  never  com- 
mit a  fault  is  above  the  force  of  human  nature," 
but  his  errors  were  few  and  sprang  from  our  in- 
herent weakness  and  fallibility.  If  it  be  true  that 
the  measure  of  a  man's  life  is  not  its  length, 
but  the  well  spending  of  it,  his  was  as  perfect  as 
human  life  can  be,  and  will  compare  with  any, 
even  the  longest,  for  it  was  full  of  good  works 
and  was  conformed  to  the  highest  type  of  just  and 
perfect  living. 

Such  is  my  tribute  to  the  life  and  character  of 
this  great  and  good  man,  though  I  am  painfully 
conscious  that  the  portrayal  is  much  too  inade- 
quate, for  he  was  far  better  than  any  mere  words 
of  mine  can  make  him  appear  to  you. 

He  died  on  the  13th  day  of  May,  1913,  and  his 
last  message  to  his  people  was  a  plea  for  justice 
and  charity  toward  all  men,  and  that  vengeance 
should  have  no  place  in  our  hearts.  He  had 
gathered  a  full  and  rich  harvest  in  this  world, 
and  was,  himself,  ripe  for  the  sickle  and  ready  for 
the  reaper  at  his  coming.  He  needs  no  monument, 
nor  would  he  have  desired  any  save  the  good 
name  which  will  perpetuate  him  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people,  and  there  his  memory  will  forever  be 
safe.  Cato  once  said,  ' '  I  had  rather  men  should 
ask  why  my  statue  is  not  set  up,  than  why  it  is." 
The  marble  column  adds  nothing  to  the  lasting 
example  of  a  well-ordered  and  well-spent  life  which 
has  fully   answered  life's  great  end. 

' '  Pigmies  are  pigmies  still,  though  perched 

on  Alps; 
And  pyramids  are  pyramids  in  vales. 
Each    man    makes    his    own    statue,    builds 

himself ; 
Virtue  alone  outbuilds  the  pyramids; 
Her    monuments    shall    last   when    Egypt 's 

fall." 

We  laid  him  to  rest  on  a  tranquil  and  beautiful 
evening  in  the  late  springtide,  where  his  friends 
had  gathered  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  love 
and  honor  to  his  memory,  and  there  we  made  his 
mound.  How  aptly  do  the  touching  words  of 
the  eloquent  infidel  apply  to  him:  "If  everyone 
for  whom  he  had  performed  some  kind  of  loving 
service  should  this  day  bring  a  blossom  to  his 
grave,  he  would  sleep  tonight  beneath  a  wilder- 
ness of  flowers. ' '  After  life 's  fitful  fever  may 
he  rest  well,  until  the  promise  given  unto  us  in 
the  tempestuous  evening  of  the  Calvaxy  shall  have 
been  fulfilled,  when  he  will  rise  triumphant  to  the 
life  eternal.  Shall  we  see  him  again  as  he  walked 
among  us,  with  his  distinguished  mien,  his  grace- 
ful dignity  and  his  cordial  greeting?  Will  his 
noble  spirit  be  again  embodied  in  its  earthly  tene- 
ment, or,  though  disembodied,  shall  we  yet  see  and 
know  it  as  we  knew  him?  Let  each  one  of  us 
answer  this  fateful  question  for  himself,  but  how- 
ever it  may  be,  we  have  the  promise,  which  surely 
will  be  kept,  that  if  we  are  faithful,  we  shall  see 
him  again. 

"Nothing  can  cover  his  high  fame  but  heaven, 
No  pyramids  set  off  his  memories, 
But  the  eternal  substance  of  his  greatness — 
To  which  I  leave  him." 

Written  by  P.  D.  Walker. 

Oouncil  Simmons  Wooten.  A  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession, a  planter  and  business  man,  Council  Sim- 
mons Wooten  is  doubtless  best  known  to  the  people 
of  the  State  of  North   Carolina  by  his  contribu- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


367 


tions  to  literature.  He  is  a  recognized  authority 
on  the  history  of  many  phases  of  North  Carolina 
life,  and  has  done  a  noble  and  much  appreciated 
work  in  preserving  and  interpreting  the  lives  of 
many  men  eminent  in  North  Carolina  history.  He 
has  also  done  much  to  improve  public  opinion  by 
his  contributions  to  the  newspapers  and  general 
press. 

Mr.  Wooten  was  born  in  Lenoir  County,  North 
Carolina,  November  12,  1840.  His  parents  were 
Council  and  Eliza  (Isler)  Wooten.  The  Wooten 
stock  came  originally  from  Wales,  being  colonists 
in  about  the  year  1650.  The  Isler  family  came 
about  the  same  time  from  Germany.  Mr.  Wooten 's 
great-grandfather,  Shadrach  Wooten,  served  as  an 
ensign  in  the  Revolutionary  army  and  took  part 
among  other  engagements  in  the  battle  of  Moore  'a 
Creek,  North  Carolina.  This  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier served  as  a  member  of  the  State  House  of 
Commons  from  Lenoir  County  in  1796  and  again 
in  1801.  His  oldest  son,  John  Wooten,  was  a 
member  of  the  State  House  of  Commons  in  1808- 
09.  Council  Wooten,  youngest  son  of  .John,  was 
a  member  of  the  State  House  of  Commons  in 
1829-30-31-32-35  and  1848,  and  was  also  a  con- 
structive worker  in  the  constitutional  convention 
of  1835.  The  youngest  son  of  this  Council, 
Shadrach  Isler  Wooten,  was  a  state  representa- 
tive in  1888,  and  another  son.  Council  S.,  saw  ser- 
vice in  the  Legislature  in  1894.  Thus  members  of 
four  successive  generations  of  the  family  were 
participants  in  North  Carolina  legislative  affairs 
m  the  House  of  Commons  during  the  period  of 
almost  a  century,  from  1796  to  1894. 

Mr.  Wooten 's  maternal  grandfather,  Williams 
Isler,  married  a  Miss  Williams,  sister  of  Benjamin 
Williams,  who  was  governor  of  North  Carolina 
from  1799  to  1807,  .and  also  a  sister  of  Colonel 
John  P.  Williams,  who  fought  with  the  rank  of 
colonel   in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Council  S.  Wooten  was  one  of  a  family  of 
twelve  children.  His  father  provided  tutors  for 
their  instruction  and  his  early  education  was 
therefore  acquired  at  home.  In  1858  he  entered 
Wake  Forest  College,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
June,  1861.  During  the  war  Mr.  Wooten  held  a 
position  in  the  civil  department  of  the  Con- 
federate Government.  At  the  same  time  he  studied 
law  under  Judge  Battle  and  Judge  Pearson,  and 
was  given  a  license  to  practice  in  1862  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Superior  Court  in  1866.  In  1867 
Mr.  Wooten  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Golds- 
boro  and  continued  active  in  the  profession  for 
three  years.  In  1870  he  moved  to  his  plantation, 
and  since  that  year  has  given  more  or  less  active 
supervision  to  his  varied  farming  interests.  How- 
ever, the  chief  emphasis  of  his  energy  since  1870 
has  fallen  upon  literature.  In  that  time  he  has 
prepared  175  scholarly  articles  on  matters  of 
interest  and  has  also  written  the  biographies  of  a 
hundred  leading  men  in  North  Carolina  affairs  and 
also  of  other  states.  These  biographies  for  the 
most  part  represent  the  final  judgment  upon  the 
subjects  concerned,  and  are  characterized  by  a 
deep  insight  into  the  life  and  times  and  also  by 
a  very  solicious  and  interesting  style  of  portrait- 
ure. Since  1901  Mr.  Wooten  has  been  a  regular 
correspondent  for  the  Charlotte  Observer  and  many 
of  his  articles  have  been  widely  copied  and  quoted. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  and  is  a 
deacon  in  the  Baptist  church  and  teacher  of  the 
Bible  class. 

On  September  2,  1879,  Mr.  Wooten  married  Miss 
Cora  Wooten,  of  Wayne  County.    Mrs.  Wooten  died 


January  7,  1884.  She  is  survived  by  one  child, 
Eliza,  wife  of  Robert  J.  Southerland  a  merchant 
at  Mount  Olive,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Southerland  have  four  children,  Anna,  Robert 
J.   Jr.,   Cora  and   Council   Wooten   Southerland. 

Hugh  Miller  Humphrey  began  life  as  a  tele- 
graph operator,  was  in  the  railroad  service  in 
different  capacities  but  f.om  that  work  tui.»ed 
to  the  field  of  insurance,  in  which  he  has  made  his 
most  noteworthy  success.  Mr.  Humphrey  is  a 
resident  of  Goldsboro  and  from  that  point  man- 
ages  all  the  business  in  the  state  for  the  National 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Montpelier,  Vermont, 

Mr.  Humphrey  was  born  in  Wayne  County, 
North  Carolina,  July  15,  1876,  a  son  of  Hugh 
and  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Lane)  Humphrey.  His 
people  were  identified  with  the  very  early  colonial 
days  in  North  Carolina.  Both  the  Humphreys 
and  Lanes  were  English.  Mr.  Humphrey  is  a 
grandson  of  William  K.  Lane,  a  prominent  North 
Carolina  citizen  elsewLere  mentioned.  The  Lane 
ancestry  goes  back  to  Sft-  Ralph  Lane.  Mr. 
Humphrey 's  father  -vas  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  a  United  States   Commissioner. 

After  an  education  in  the  publie  schools  Hugh 
M.  Humphrey  learned  telegraphy,  was  employed 
as  an  operator  at  different  points,  also  combined 
with  those  duties  the  responsibilities  of  railroad 
agent  and  for  a  time  was  employed  in  general 
offices. 

On  June  1,  1902,  he  took  up  life  insurance,  and 
for  four  months  was  special  agent  at  Wilming- 
ton and  then  became  superintendent  of  agencies 
for  North  Carolina,  representing  the  Home  Life 
Insurance  Company  of  New  York.  On  June  1, 
1904,  Mr.  Humphrey  became  general  agent  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina  for  the  National  Life  of 
Montpelier,  Vermont.  In  insurance  he  found 
himself  in  a  congenial  field  of  work,  and  has  ap- 
plied his  time  and  efforts  to  such  advantage  that 
he  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  insur- 
ance men  of  the  state.  In  1910  he  was  made 
state  manager  for  the  National  Life  at  Mont- 
pelier. He  has  given  his  company  a  premier 
position  in  North  Carolina  among  all  the  New 
England  companies  in  the  production  of  busi- 
ness. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  North  Carolina  Life  Underwriters' 
Association  since  it  was  formed,  and  is  also  a 
former  vice  president  of  that  association.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Algonquin  Club  of  Goldsboro 
and  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  Order,  the 
Knights  Templar  and  Shrine,  and  the  Independ- 
ent   Order   of    Odd    Fellows. 

On  February  5,  1908,  Mr.  Humphrey  married 
Miss  India  Bumgardner.  Her  father,  Col.  William 
L.  Bumgardner,  was  a  very  prominent  citizen  of 
Stanton,  Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Humphrey  are 
affiliated   with    St.    Stephen 's   Episcopal   Chureh. 

Hon.  Hector  MacLean.  The  successful  man- 
agement of  vast  property  interests  and  simultan- 
eous service  in  public  positions  of  high  trust  and 
responsibility  call  for  more  than  ordinary  ability. 
Many  men  achieve  business  prosperity;  others  rise 
to  high  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  but  all 
do  not  prove  equally  efficient  along  both  lines. 
When  an  individual  is  found,  therefore,  who  has 
demonstrated  his  capacity  as  a  sound,  reliable  and 
stable  business  man,  and  who  is  willing  to  give  of 
his  judgment  and  efforts  towards  a  betterment  of 
civic  conditions,   the  offices   which  he  accepts  are 


368 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


likely  to  benefit  through  his  services.  At  any  rate, 
this  has  been  true  in  the  ease  of  Hon.  Hector  Mac- 
Lean,  of  Laurinburg,  an  extensive  farmer  of  Scot- 
land County  who  has  succeeded  both  as  an  agri- 
culturist and  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  and 
State  Senate.  He  is  a  native  of  Robeson  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  was  born  in  1854,  being  a  son 
of  Dr.  Angus  D.  and  Mary  Jane  (MaeEaehin) 
MacLean. 

The  MacLeans  form  one  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ed of  the  notable  Scotch  families  that  settled  in 
the  lower  part  of  North  Carolina.  Dr.  Angus  D. 
MacLean  was  born  in  Robeson  County,  and  was 
one  of  the  great  physicians  of  his  day,  ranking 
with  the  highest  in  his  profession.  He  was  a  son 
of  John  MacLean,  who  immigrated  to  America 
from  the  Isle  of  Mull,  Scotland,  in  1793,  and  set- 
tled in  what  was  then  the  upper  end  of  Robeson, 
now  Hoke  County  in  North  Carolina. 

The  mother  of  Hector  MacLean  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  Archibald  MaeEaehin,  who  was  the 
son  of  Patrick  Mae-Eachin,  who  was  one  of  the 
first  Scotch  settlers  fn  the  Cape  Pear  section  of 
North  Carolina  of  which  there  is  any  record.  He 
came  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  settled 
in  what  is  now  Scotland  County,  North  Carolina, 
on  the  west  side  of  Lumber  River,  near  the  pres- 
ent village  of  Riverton,  in  1765.  Later  he  settled 
on  the  east  side  of  the  same  river  in  Robeson 
County,  on  what  is  known  in  the  old  land  titles  as 
Patrick  Mac-Eachin's  Bluff.  Colonel  Archibald 
MaeEaehin  'a  wife  was  Sallie  MacQueen,  daughter 
of  Colonel  James  MacQueen,  who  was  the  founder 
of  the  famous  MacQueen  family  in  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Hector  MacLean  was  born  and  reared  on  his 
father's  plantation  and  was  educated  in  some  of 
the  best  schools  of  the  state.  In  1877  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Eliza  Patterson  and  in  that  year  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Scotland  County,  but  which  at 
that  time  was  a  part  of  Richmond  County,  the  place 
of  his  location  being  about  four  miles  west  of 
Laurinburg.  He  engaged  in  farming  on  a  large 
scale  there  and  became,  as  he  is  now,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  successful  farmers  in  North  Caro- 
lina. His  farms  lie  adjacent  to  Elmore  Station  on 
the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railroad,  and  are  from 
three  to  five  miles  west  of  Laurinburg.  He  has 
several  fine  farms  in  cultivation,  aggregating  near- 
ly 1,000  acres.  One  of  the  best  of  these  is  what 
is  known  as  the  Stalkins  place,  comprising  over 
500  acres.  The  property  on  which  is  situated  his 
home,  at  Elmore,  is  a  sixteen-horse  farm  and  is 
also  a  very  fine  tract.  On  these  farms  are  carried 
on  general  farming  and  cotton  and  corn  raising, 
and  of  late  years  Mr.  MacLean  has  gone  exten- 
sively into  the  growing  of  canteloupes  and  water- 
melons, in  which  industry  he  was  a  pioneer.  His 
activities  in  this  direction  may  be  deduced  from 
the  fact  that  in  1916  he  had  400  acres  in  water- 
melons and  150  acres  in  canteloupes,  his  farms  be- 
ing among  the  largest  shippers  of  this  product. 

Mr.  MacLean 's  partner  in  his  farming  and  other 
business  enterprises  at  Elmore  is  Mr.  Arch  P.  Gib- 
son, a  man  of  the  highest  business  capacity  and 
integrity,  who  has  made  a  notable  success  in  life. 
The  firm  name  is  MacLean  &  Gibson,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  the  farming  industries  referred  to  this 
concern  carries  on  a  mercantile  and  ginning  busi- 
ness at  Elmore,  as  well  as  an  extensive  fertilizer 
business,  being  very  large  buyers  and  mixers  of 
guano  and  fertilizer  ingredients. 

Mr.  MacLean  has  enjoyed  a  most  satisfactory 
career  in  public  and  political  life.    He  was  elected 


and  served  during  several  sessions  as  a  member  of 
both  the  Lower  House  and  the  Senate,  his  most 
notable  act,  perhaps,  being  the  fathering  of  the 
bill  under  which  his  home  county,  Scotland,  was 
created  in  1900,  it  being  formed  from  a  part  of 
Richmond  County. 

In  1877  Mr.  MacLean  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza 
Patterson,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Archibald  Pat- 
terson and  his  wife,  Mary  Ann  (Pairley)  Patter- 
son. The  Patterson  country  home,  where  Mrs. 
MacLean  was  born,  was  "Oakland,"  one  of  the 
fine  old  plantations  of  the  earlier  years,  situated 
within  three  miles  of  the  town  of  Laurinburg. 
Doctor  Patterson  was  ' '  the ' '  physician  of  all  the 
surrounding  country  for  a  long  number  of  years, 
was  a  notable  man  in  his  profession,  of  the  finest 
talents,  and  a  man  of  the  loftiest  character.  He 
was  of  Scotch  parentage.  Mrs.  MacLean  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Burwell  School  at  Charlotte  and  at 
Peace  Institute,  its  successor,  now  located  at 
Raleigh.  She  has  been  of  great  assistance  to  her 
husband  in  his  business  career,  and  is  intensely 
devoted  to  her  church  work  and  to  welfare  work 
in  the  community,  having  taken  in  particular  a 
great  interest  in  the  labor  of  providing  adequate 
religious  and  educational  facilities  for  the  mill 
workers  in  the  vicinity  of  Elmore  and  Laurel  Hill. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  MacLean  are  the  parents  of  three 
children:  Dr.  Peter,  a  prominent  young  practicing 
physician  of  Laurinburg;  and  the  Misses  Katie  and 
Lila  MacLean. 

James  Edward  Kirkman.  It  is  a  notable  group 
of  men  who  have  been  the  responsible  factors  in 
giving  High  Point  its  position  as  the  second  larg- 
est furniture  manufacturing  center  in  America. 
Almost  from  the  time  the  hum  of  machinery  in 
that  town  began  attracting  notice  all  over  the 
state  and  the  South  one  of  the  interesting  figures 
in  the  city 's  manufacturing  as  well  as  in  its  civic 
affairs  has  been  James  Edward  Kirkman. 

Mr.  Kirkman  was  born  at  Pomona,  in  Guilford 
County,  North  Carolina,  in  1862.  He  is  a  stalwart 
American  and  his  Americanism  is  deeply  rooted 
not  only  in  the  present  but  in  the  past.  His  an- 
cestral history  is  briefly  stated  as  follows:  In 
colonial  times  four  brothers  of  Scotch-Irish  stock 
came  to  America.  One  of  these  brothers  settled 
in  Tennessee,  another  in  Missouri,  and  a  third  in 
Kentucky.  The  fourth,  William  Kirkman,  located 
in  the  vicinity  of  old  Alamance  Church,  in  what 
is  now  Guilford  County.  His  son  William,  Jr., 
was  born  near  old  Alamance  Church  and  for  a 
number  of  years  lived  at  Ryan's  Cross  Roads. 
After  his  second  marriage  he  moved  to  Mount 
Airey  and  died  there.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
first  wife  was  Elizabeth  Poor.  She  was  born  about 
nine  miles  south  of  Greensboro,  a  daughter  of 
Jerry  and  Betsy  Poor.  She  died  leaving  five  chil- 
dren, named  Maria,  Rhoda,  James  Larkm,  Robert 
and  Elizabeth.  Elizabeth  is  still  living,  about 
ninety  years  of  age,  the  widow  of  James  N.  Irwin. 
She  has  sixty-two  grandchildren,  more  great-grand- 
children than  she  ean  count,  and  six  great-great- 
grandchildren. 

James  Larkin  Kirkman,  father  of  James  Ed- 
ward, was  born  at  Ryan's  Cross  Roads  five  miles 
south  of  Pomona  in  1826.  Left  motherless  when 
a  child,  he  was  reared  by  Nathan  Hiatt.  Hiatt 
owned  land  now  included  in  the  Van  Lindley 
Nursery,  and  was  also  a  saddle  maker,  a  trade  he 
taught  James  L.  Kirkman.  At  that  time  there 
was  scarcely  a  carriage  in  Guilford  County.  Men, 
women    and    children    went   to    church    and   made 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


369 


other  journeys  on  horseback,  and  there  was  con- 
sequently a  demand  for  saddles  that  taxed  the 
capacity  of  all  the  local  shops.  From  saddle 
making  James  L.  Kirkman  in  1861  entered  the 
service  of  a  railroad  with  home  at  Pomona,  and 
in  1879  moved  to  High  Point,  living  there  until 
!■  ir-  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-sis.  He  married 
Timersia  Bevill.  She  was  born  in  the  northern 
part  of  Guilford  County  and  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-live.  They  reared  eight  children,  named  Eliz- 
abeth, Julia,  William  T.,  Nathan  G.,  Jennie,  James 
Edward,  Charles  W.  and  Joseph  L. 

The  first  school  James  Edward  Kirkman  at- 
tended was  kept  in  a  log  cabin.  There  were  no 
glass  windows  and  the  openings  were  covered  with 
wooden  shutters.  The  seats  were  of  slab  timbers, 
set  up  from  the  floor  with  wooden  pins,  and  of 
course,  had  no  desks  in  front  of  them.  A  broad 
pine  board  against  the  wall  served  as  a  desk  for 
the  larger  scholars  to  write  upon.  Later  Mr.  Kirk- 
man attended  a  brick  sehoolhouse  on  the  present 
site  of  the  Guilford  County  Fair  Grounds.  After 
his  parents  removed  to  High  Point  he  attended  a 
public  school,  the  teacher  being  Major  Lynch,  a 
former  instructor  in  Horner  's  Institute. 

While  still  a  boy  Mr.  Kirkman  went  to  work 
for  Capt.  William  H.  Snow,  who  was  then  in 
partnership  with  Seabury  Perry.  Later  when  the 
plant  was  burned  and  the  partnership  dissolved 
Mr.  Kirkman  continued  with  Captain  Snow  in  a 
newly  erected  plant.  Eventually  he  devoted  his 
entire  energies  to  the  sash  and  blind  factory  of 
Captain  Snow.  When  this  plant  was  leased  by 
E.  A.  Snow,  son  of  Captain  Snow,  Mr.  Kirkman 
continued  in  the  business  and  eventually  became 
financially  interested. 

Thus  step  by  step  he  entered  into  the  business 
and  industry  which  has  made  High  Point  notable 
among  the  cities  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Kirk- 
man is  now  one  of  the  directors  and  is  manager 
of  the  Snow  Lumber  Company,  has  many  other 
corporation  interests  and  is  the  principal  stock- 
holder, president  and  treasurer  of  the  Giant  Fur- 
niture Company,  a  stockholder  in  the  Tomhnson 
Chair  Company,  Southern  Chair  Company,  North 
Carolina  Wheel  Company,  the  Rankin  Coffin  and 
Casket  Company,  the  High  Point  Milling  Company. 
and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Commercial  National 
Bank,  the  Alamance  Bank  at  Graham,  the  Ash- 
boro  Bank  at  Ashboro,  the  Madison  Bank  at  Mad- 
ison, and  the  High  Point  Savings  and  Trust  Com- 
pany. 

In  1692  he  married  Miss  Bettie  Hunt  Sapp. 
She  was  born  at  High  Point,  daughter  of  Dr.  An- 
drew J.  and  Mrs.  (Hunt)  Sapp.  They  have  two 
daughters,  Avery  Irma  and  Maud  Marguerite. 
Mr.  Kirkman  is  affiliated  with  Numa  F.  Eeid 
Lodge  No.  344,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.;  with  the  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  and  Knight  Templar  Commandery, 
with  Repeton  Lodge  No.  6?..  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows;  Piedmont  Camp  No.  92,  Wood- 
men of  the  World;  Guilford  Council  No.  23, 
Junior  Order  United  American  Mechanics,  and 
with  Lodge  No.  115.3  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks. 

As  the  foregoing  indicates,  Mr.  Kirkman  is  a 
man  of  many  interests  and  has  shown  a  great 
capacity  in  handling  well  every  responsibility  con- 
ferred "upon  him.  This  article  would  not  be  com- 
plete without  reference  to  his  political  activities, 
which  have  made  him  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
democratic  party  in  his  part  of  the  state.  Twice 
he  has  served  his  home  town  in  the  capacity  of 
alderman.     In  1910  he  was  elected  a  member  of 

Vol.  V— 24 


the  General  Assembly  by  a  large  majority  over 
his  opponent.  In  1908  he  served  as  a  delegate 
from  the  Fifth  District  to  the  National  Demo- 
cratic Convention  at  Denver,  where  William  Jen- 
nings Bryan  was  renominated.  Mr.  Kirkman,  like 
man)"  other  whole-souled  and  busy  Americans,  is 
now  giving  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  the  varied 
activities  that  are  promoting  the  war  and  the 
rebuilding  of  an  intense  Americanism  and  a  new 
unity  in  American  life. 

Andrew  Jackson  Sapp,  M.  D.  While  the  chief 
business  and  interest  of  his  life  consisted  in  utmost 
devotion  to  and  fulfillment  of  his  responsibilities 
as  a  physician,  Doctor  Sapp  was  also  identified  in 
a  business  way  with  the  City  of  High  Point,  and 
must  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  factors  in  its 
early  history  and  development.  As  a  pioneer  resi- 
dent of  High  Point  he  helped  to  lay  out  the  town, 
and  the  broad  streets  of  this  city  are  a  monument 
to  his  keen  foresight,  as  the  other  members  of  the 
board  were  opposed  to  them.  In  surveying  the 
hundred  foot  Main  Street  the  present  generation 
might  well  feel  proud  and  thankful  to  him  for  his 
wisdom  and  foresight  in  looking  into  the  future 
when  the  town  might  grow  to  need  the  broad 
streets  which  seemed  so  useless  then. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Winston-Salem  in. 
1815,  a  son  of  Newell  and  Sarah  Sapp.  During 
his  youth  he  acquired  a  good  education  in  the 
schools  of  the  time,  and  completed  his  medical 
training  in  Illinois.  For  a  long  period  of  years 
he  practiced  his  profession,  and  was  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  competent  physicians  and  surgeons 
in  his  locality.  A  host  of  people  looked  upon  his 
skill  and  advice  as  invaluable,  and  this  advice  was 
frequently  sought  by  his  professional  brethren. 
As  a  resident  of  High  Point  he  helped  organize  the 
First  National  Bank,  and  was  its  first  vice  presi- 
dent and  held  that  office  until  his  death.  Though 
a.  democrat,  he  never  found  time  amid  the  range 
of  his  professional  work  to  take  much  part  in 
politics. 

Doctor  Sapp  married  Mary  Ann  Hunt,  daughter 
of  Ithamar  Hunt,  of  Friendship,  North  Carolina. 
To  their  marriage  were  born  three  children.  The 
only  son,  Avery  B.  Sapp,  is  now  deceased.  The 
two  living  daughters  are  Mrs.  J.  A.  Lindsay  and 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Kirkman. 

William  Thorogood  Pate,  M.  D.  In  a  con- 
spicuous place  on  the  roll  of  Scotland  county's 
eminent  members  of  the  medical  profession  is 
found  the  name  of  Dr.  William  Thorogood  Pate, 
a  native  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  always 
made  his  home,  and  a  splendid  type  of  the  learned 
and  skilled  practioner  whose  record  is  an  indica- 
tion that  success  is  ambition 's  answer.  For 
thirty-two  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  practice 
at  Gibson,  where  he  has  not  only  arisen  to  a  high 
place  in  his  profession,  but  is  also  widely  known 
in  financial  and  business  circles,  and  in  the  vari- 
ous affairs  which  combine  to  make  for  progress 
and  good  government.  He  was  born  at  the  old 
Pate  home,  within  a  mile  of  the  present  Town  of 
Gibson,  in  what  was  then  Richmond  and  is  now 
Scotland  County,  in  1860,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
Thorogood  and  Mary   (Adams)   Pate. 

Historians  and  genealogists  assert  that  the 
name  of  Pate,  when  the  ancestors  of  this  family 
lived  in  Scotland,  was  Patterson,  but  that  through 
residence. of  a  generation  or  so  in  Wales  the  name 
became  changed  to  Pate  on  account  of  the  peculi- 
arities  of   Welsh   vowelization.     The    given   name 


370 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Thorogood  is  an  historic  one  in  the  family,  it 
having  been  borne  by  Doctor  Pate  's  great-grand- 
father, his  grandfather,  his  father,  himself  and  by 
his  eldest  son.  The  home  place  of  the  Pate  family 
in  Scotland  County  is  where  the  great-grandfather 
of  Doctor  Pate,  Thorogood  Pate,  a  Scotch-Irish- 
man from  Wales,  settled  in  1764,  and  his  descend- 
ants have  lived  on  this  property  ever  since,  some- 
thing quite  unusual  in  American  families.  When 
the  original  ancestor  settled  here  it  was  Anson 
County,  there  being  at  that  time  but  three  coun- 
ties in  the  state.  By  subsequent  division  of 
Anson  County  the  Pate  home  became  a  part  of 
Richmond  County,  and  still  later,  by  another 
division,  of  Scotland  County.  The  town  of  Gibson, 
which  is  of  modern  growth,  adjoins  the  old  Pate 
home  lands.  Thorogood  Pate  had  four  sons,  the 
youngest  of  whom  was  Thorogood  Pate  (II),  who 
was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  early  history  of 
North  Carolina,  being  a  delegate  to  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  and  several  times  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  as  well  as  a  large  planter  and 
prosperous  merchant. 

George  Thorogood  Pate,  the  father  of  Doctor 
Pate,  was  born  on  the  family  homestead  in  1836 
and  has  passed  his  entire  life  there,  having  de- 
voted his  energies  to  farming  and  planting.  Dur- 
ing the  war  between  the  states  he  served  as  a 
captain  in  the  Home  Militia,  and  he  has  always 
been  one  of  his  community's  most  highly  esteemed 
and  most  public-spirited  citizens.  He  is  widely 
known  as  an  authority  on  local  history  and  his 
interesting  reminiscences  of  earlier  years  are 
always  attentively  listened  to.  Mrs.  Pate,  who 
also  survives,  was  born  in  Marlboro  County,  South 
Carolina.  A  younger  brother  of  Doctor  Pate,  Zeb 
V.  Pate,  is  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the 
Carolinas  and  has  had  a  remarkably  successful 
career  as  a  business  man.  His  establishment  at 
Gibson  is  said  to  be  the  largest  of  any  country 
store  under  one  roof  in  the  South,  while  his  store 
at  Laurel  Hill,  although  not  housed  in  so  large 
and  fine  a  building,  does  a  still  larger  business. 
He  also  has  mercantile  and  commercial  interests 
at  other  points  in  North  and  South  Carolina. 

William  Thorogood  Pate  was  educated  primarily 
at  old  Trinity  College  in  Randolph  County,  under 
that  greatest  of  all  North  Carolina  educators, 
Dr.  B.  Craven,  and  was  graduated  from  that  fa- 
mous institution  with  the  class  of  1883.  Following 
this  he  enrolled  as  a  student  at  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  at  Baltimore,  where  he 
secured  his  medical  training  and  was  graduated  in 
1885  with  his  degree,  and  then  took  various  post- 
graduate courses  at  Baltimore,  particularly  in  the 
diseases  of  women,  a  field  in  which  he  has 'won  far 
greater  than  local  reputation.  Following  his 
graduation  in  1885  he  began  his  professional  labors 
at  Gibson,  where  he  has  since  been  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  practice  that  has  grown  steadily  in  size 
and  importance  and  which  has  led  him  to  a  position 
where  he  is  ranked  among  the  leading  practitioners 
of  this  part  of  the  state.  Doctor  Pate  belongs 
to  the  Scotland  County  Medical  Society,  the 
North  Carolina  Medical  Society  and  the  South- 
ern Medical  Association.  He  has  had  the  honor 
of  having  been  for  seven  years  state  bacteriolo- 
gist for  North  Carolina,  with  his  laboratory  at 
Gibson,  and  after  being  selected  for  this  im- 
portant post  was  sent  to  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  where  he  received  special  in- 
struction and  training  in  preparation  for  this 
work  under  the  Government.  While  the  duties 
of  his   profession   occupy   the  major  part  of  the 


in  other  directions,  being  a  farmer  on  a  large 
scale  with  several  valuable,  properties  in  this 
section,  president  of  the  Bank  of  Gibson,  and 
interested  generally  in  the  various  business  life 
of  the  section.  Like  other  intelligent  and  public- 
spirited  men  he  takes  an  interest  in  the  civic 
and  public  affairs  of  Gibson  and  Scotland  County 
and  has  given  of  his  best  talents  in  the  promotion 
of  beneficial  movements. 

Doctor  Pate  married  Miss  Mattie  Gibson,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  very  prominent  family  of  this  section  of 
the  state,  for  which  the  town  of  Gibson  was  named, 
and  their  sons  are  Dr.  James,  Thomas  and  William 
T.,  Jr.  Dr.  James  Pate  is  a  young  physician  of 
fine  abilities  and  comprehensive  education  and  a 
graduate  of  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  class  of  1916.  He  is  now 
associated  witli  his  father  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  and  gives  promise  of  upholding  the 
elder  man 's  reputation. 

Leon  Watson,  M.  D.  The  Village  of  Broad- 
way in  Lee  County  has  been  the  scene  of  activ- 
ities of  members  of  the  Watsou  family  for  a 
great  many  years,  where  they  have  figured  as 
farmers,  manufacturers,  merchants  and  prjfes- 
sional  men.  The  Watsons  are  of  stanch  Scotch 
Presbyterian  stock,  and  were  among  the  pioneer 
Scotch  families  in  that  part  of  Moore  County 
which  is  now   Lee  County. 

The  late  M.  McFarland  Watson,  father  of 
Doctor  Watson,  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in 
that  section  of  country  and  is  properly  credited 
with  doing  much  to  make  Broadway  a  town  of 
importance.  In  his  young  manhood  he  served  in 
Company  F  of  the  50th  North  Carolina  Infantry 
during  the  war  between  the  states.  Following  that 
struggle  he  sought  new  fields  in  the  far  South- 
west and  lived  for  about  nine  years  in  and  around 
Fort  Worth,  Texas.  On  his  return  to  his  native 
county  he  engaged  in  the  turpentine  distilling 
industry  at  Broadway,  then  only  a  postoffice,  and 
without  any  business  activities  of  any  importance 
whatever.  M.  McFarland  Watson  was  iu  fact 
the  pioneer  business  man  of  what  is  now  the 
rich  and  growing  Town  of  Broadway,  situated  in 
th3  center  of  an  agricultural  section  that  has  be- 
come famous  for  its  productive  wealth.  He  con- 
tinued as  a  turpentine  manufacturer  until  the 
turpentine  resources  were  worked  out  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state.  He  had  also  steadily  pursued 
his  primary  vocation  as  a  farmer  and  really  fol- 
lowed farming  all  the  active  years  of  his  life 
until  his  death  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 
He  was  a  quiet  and  unassuming  man,  enjoyed 
the  highest  esteem  of  all,  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  was  well  worthy  of  the 
character  of  a  solid  and  substantial  citizen.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Lassiter,  and  she  died  in  1915, 

Dr.  Leon  Watson  was  born  at  the  home  of  his 
parents  at  Broadway  in  1878,  was  educated  there 
in  the  public  schools,  and  studied  medicine  in 
the  medical  department  of  Davidson  College  at 
Davidson.  He  graduated  M.  D.  with  the  class  of 
1900,  and  for  a  time  practiced  at  Hope  Mills 
in  Cumberland  County,  then  a  busy  cotton  mill 
center.  Returning  to  his  old  home  at  Broad- 
way, he  resumed  his  practice  and  such  are  his 
character  and  abilities  that  his  services  are  now 
in  great  demand  over  a  large  scope  of  territory 
in  the  eastern  part  of  Lee  County  and  the  west- 
ern part  of  Harnett  County.  His  profession  does 
not  represent  his  only  interest  in  the  community. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


371 


He  is  a  retail  druggist  and  has  the  only  drug 
>tore  at  Broadway,  and  spends  much  of  his  time 
supervising  his  farm  within  and  adjoining  the 
town.  With  his  sister,  Miss  Alberta,  he  occupies 
the  old  Watson  home  at  Broadway,  where  the 
family  have  lived  for  many  years. 

Doctor  Watson  is  q  member  of  the  County  and 
State  Medical  societies,  belongs  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  and  is  an  active  and  public  spirited 
citizen  in  the  rapidly  expanding  activities  and 
importance  of  the  country  of  which  Broadway  is 
the  center. 

Robert  L.  Burns.  Thoroughly  equipped  in 
every  way  for  a  successful  lawyer,  not  only  by 
reason  of  a  thorough  and  comprehensive  legal 
training  but  also  through  the  possession  of  natural 
abilities  of  a  very  high  order,  Robert  L.  Burns  has 
established  an  enviable  reputation  in  legal  circles 
of  Moore  County  and  at  the  present  time  is  one 
of  the  leading  members  of  the  Carthage  bar.  Mr. 
Burns  has  worked  out  his  own  success,  as  he  started 
life  with  few  advantages  and  was  forced  to  make 
his  own  opportunities,  and  thus  his  present  pros- 
perity and  position  are  the  more  creditable  and 
satisfying.  He  is  a  true  product  of  this  part  of 
North  Carolina,  for  here  he  was  born  and  reared, 
here  he  received  his  literary  training  aud  his  law 
education,  and  here,  with  the  exception  of  two 
years,  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  and  his  des- 
tiny worked  out. 

Mr.  Burns  was  born  on  his  father 's  farm  in 
Moore  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1867,  and  is  a 
son  of  J.  F.  and  Ann  (Brown)  Burns.  As  his 
name  would  indicate,  he  is  of  pure  Scotch  aneestry, 
but  the  family  has  resided  in  America  for  a  num- 
ber of  generations.  His  father,  J.  F.  Burns,  was 
born  in  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina,  but 
several  years  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
between  the  states  changed  his  place  of  residence 
to  Moore  County.  He  was  one  of  the  old-time 
gold  miners  of  North  Carolina,  a  business  which  he 
followed  off  and  on  from  1853  until  1903,  a  great 
deal  of  this  time  being  spent  in  the  western  part 
of  Moore  County,  chiefly  about  fifteen  miles  west 
of  Carthage.  He  said  in  later  years,  in  answer 
to  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  subject,  that  during 
his  lifetime  he  had  probably  taken  about  three 
times  his  own  weight  in  gold  out  of  the  soil  of  his 
native  state.  In  addition  to  his  gold  mining  oper- 
ations Mr.  Burns  followed  the  vocation  of  farm-' 
ing,  and  at  times  owned  several  different  farms 
in  Moore  County.  He  was  accounted  as  being  a 
skilled  miner  and  an  able  farmer,  was  a  good, 
quiet  citizen  and  a  substantial  man  who  had  many 
friends  in  the  communitv.  His  death  occurred  in 
1906. 

Robert  L.  Burns  secured  his  early  educational 
training  in  the  public  schools  of  the  country  dis- 
tricts of  Moore  County,  principally  under  Profes- 
sor Street  Brewers,  one  of  the  ablest  teachers  the 
state  has  produced.  Following  this  he  enrolled  as 
a  student  at  Tom  Robinson's  school  at  Liberty. 
T'nder  these  preceptors  Mr.  Burns,  who  was  a 
bright  and  energetic  youth,  with  ready  adaptation 
and  a  keen  and  retentive  mind,  made  rapid  prog- 
ress. He  attended  Wake  Forest  College  for 
four  years,  graduating  from  this  college  in  1891, 
and  while  there  he  was  prominent  in  athletics, 
being  a  member  of  the  foot  ball  team  for  four 
years.  He  had  decided  upon  the  law  as  the  pro- 
fession in  which  to  test  his  abilities,  and  after 
spending  two  years  as  a  teacher  in  the  City  Schools 
of  Palestine,  Texas,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law 


at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  finished 
the  law  course  under  Dr.  Maurice  and  Judge  Shep- 
herd in  the  fall  of  1894,  and  received  license  to 
practice  law  in  September,  1894.  Since  receiving 
his  license,  he  has  practiced  law  in  Moore  County, 
the  county  of  his  birth,  and  he  has  resided  at 
Carthage.  He  opened  an  office  for  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  the  study  of  which  he  had  never 
given  up,  and  after  passing  through  the  probation 
period  that  must  be  bridged  by  all  young  lawyers, 
finally  got  a  foothold  upon  the  ladder.  From  that 
day  he  has  been  steadily  climbing  toward  a  higher 
and  better  success.  During  the  twenty-four  years 
of  his  practice  he  has  become  one  of  the  successful 
lawyers  of  this  section  of  North  Carolina,  enjoy- 
ing a  large  and  general  practice  in  the  various 
state  and  federal  courts  and  representing  a  num- 
ber of  important  interests,  private  and  corporate, 
in  court  actions  of  a  complicated  and  important 
character.  Mr.  Burns  is  the  unopposed  candidate 
for  the  State  Senate  in  the  Twenty-first  District, 
being  nominated  in  the  democratic  primary  in 
June,  1918. 

He  takes  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  the 
varied  business  and  social  activities  of  the  beau- 
tiful little  City  of  Carthage,  and,  quite  naturally, 
has  a  particular  interest  in  the  betterment  of  the 
schools  and  the  elevation  and  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  education.  It  was  he  who  drew  up  the 
bill  which  was  passed  by  the  North  Carolina  Legis- 
lature under  which  was  established  the  Sand  Hills 
Farm  Life  School,  a  most  excellent  institution, 
which  is  located  near  Carthage  in  Moore  County. 

Mr.  Burns  married  Miss  Emma  L.  Muse,  a  mem- 
ber of  an  old,  prominent  and  highly  respected  fam- 
ily of  North  Carolina  which  has  lived  for  several 
generations  in  Moore  County.  They  are  the  parents 
of  five  interesting  and  talented  children:  Howard 
F.,  Robert  L.,  Jr.,  Edward  J.,  Sarah  A.  and  Paul. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burns  and  their  children  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church.  Their  home,  ' '  Moss- 
giel, "  at  Carthage  is  a  beautiful  structure  of 
Colonial  architecture,  a  center  of  warm  Southern 
hospitality,  and  one  of  the  show  places  in  a  beau- 
tiful little  city  that  is  noted  for  its  handsome 
homes. 

J.  Frazier  Glenn.  By  environment  and  expe- 
rience Judge  J.  Frazier  Glenn  is  well  fitted  for 
public  service.  Born  and  reared  on  a  farm,  and  even 
now  an  extensive  crop  producer  at  his  country 
place,  ' '  Glenwood, '  ■'  near  Asheville,  and  so  incul- 
cated with  the  ideals  of  simple  and  normal  life, 
trained  and  experienced  as  a  lawyer  for  fifteen 
years,  well  informed  in  business  affairs  through 
his  management  of  a  successful  mining  and  manu- 
facturing enterprise;  brought  in  touch  with  public 
needs  through  four  years'  service  as  an  alderman 
of  Asheville  and  two  years  as  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Legislature  from  Buncombe 
County,  Judge  Glenn  was  equipped  to  assume  the 
responsible  duties  of  judge  of  the  Asheville  Police 
Court,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  May,  1915,  when 
the  city  changed  to  the  non-partisan  form  of  gov- 
ernment. Prior  to  this  time  Judge  Glenn  was  for 
two  years  city  corporation  counsel,  and  before  that 
had  served  as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Police  Court. 

As  judge  of  the  Police  Court  Judge  Glenn  has 
proved  a  practical  idealist,  no  less  sympathetic 
than  just,  but  not  swerved  from  the  path  of  duty 
by  any  maudlin  sentiment  which  defeats  the  pur- 
poses of  real  reformation  sought.  As  police  judge 
he  is  also  judge  of  the  Asheville  Juvenile  Court, 
which  has  jurisdiction  of  youthful  delinquents,  and 


372 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


he  is  unceasingly  persistent  in  his  efforts  for  good, 
observing  no  office  hours  in  the  public  service  but 
taking  its  problems  home  with  him  for  consider- 
ation. 

In  carrying  out  his  ideas  of  reform,  of  saving 
the  young  delinquents  and  making  them  good  cit- 
izens, Judge  Glenn  organized  the  Juvenile  Pro- 
tective Association,  of  which  all  the  public  school 
teachers  are  members,  and  the  Buncombe  County 
Welfare  Association,  composed  largely  of  minis- 
ters and  women  welfare  workers  of  the  city. 
Through  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  1917, 
this  latter  organization  was  given  power  to  care 
for  fallen  women,  and  became  the  first  organiza- 
tion of  its  kind  in  the  South. 

Judge  Glenn  makes  use  of  every  available  re- ' 
source  for  helping  delinquents.  He  has  utilized 
the  "Big  Brother"  movement,  and  has  instituted 
a  system  of  paroles  which  require  report  to  him 
at  frequent  intervals.  A  Sunday  school  for  delin- 
quent colored  children  is  held  in  the  Police  Court 
room.  Practical  results  indicate  the  fact  that  since 
Judge  Glenn  went  on  the  bench  records  of  crime 
show  a  reduction  of  fifty  per  cent. 

A  record  of  Judge  Glenn's  activities  in  the  way 
of  reformation  would  not  be  complete  without 
mention  of  the  establishment  through  his  instru- 
mentality by  the  county  commissioners  of  a  public 
farm  where  boys  are  taught  farming  and  other 
industrial  occupations. 

J.  Frazier  Glenn  was  born  in  Buncombe  County, 
North  Carolina,  February  '6,  1875,  the  son  of 
Marian  S.  and  Martha  Ann  (Curtis)  Glenn.  His 
father  was  a  farmer  and  for  many  years  served  as 
county  commissioner.  Judge  Glenn  attended  the 
public  schools  and  high  school,  and  later  the  noted 
Bingham  Military  School  near  Asheville,  and  in 
1902  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Before  enter- 
ing on  the  practice  of  law  in  Asheville  in  May, 
1903,  he  completed  a  business  college  course. 

This  business  course  was  not  without  immediate 
practical  use,  since  Judge  Glenn  beeame  interested 
in  the  mining  and  manufacturing  of  talc,  being 
secretary  and  treasurer  and  general  manager  of 
the  Georgia  Tale  Company,  whose  offices  are  in 
Asheville  and  whose  plants  are  located  at  Chats- 
worth,  Georgia,  Marshall,  North  Carolina,  and 
at  Candler,  North  Carolina.  Business  duties,  gen- 
eral law  practice  and  public  service  all  receive  full 
and  careful  attention  by  Judge  Glenn  because  a 
strong  constitution  and  unremitting  energy  are 
at  his  command,  it  being  a  local  saying  that  work 
is  his  favorite  occupation. 

Judge  Glenn  was  married  on  December  19,  1905, 
to  Miss  Eunice  Woodard  Farmer,  daughter  of 
Woodard  E.  and  Frances  T.  (Greenwood)  Farmer, 
of  Wilson,  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Glenn's  father 
was  officially  connected  with  the  Atlantic  Coast 
Line  Railway  at  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  for  many 
years.  Mrs.  Glenn  was  educated  at  the  Wilson 
High  School  and  the  State  Normal  for  Women  at 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  Judge  and  Mrs.  Glenn 
have  a  family  of  four  children :  John  Frazier,  Jr., 
Eunice  Farmer,  Marion  Woodard  and  Francis 
Thornton  Glenn. 

William  Preston  Rose.  Goldsboro  has  much 
reason  back  of  its  claim  to  be  a  modern,  beautiful 
city,  with  advantages  of  every  kind  to  attract 
capital  for  business  investment,  as  well  as  for  the 
establishing  of  permanent  homes.  It  is  exceeingly 
attractive  to  the  eye  because  of  its  beautiful  style 
of  architecture  as  well  as  its  appearance  of  sta- 


bility of  construction  and  to  no  one  in  this  con- 
nection is  greater  credit  due  than  to  William 
Preston  Rose,  the  leading  contractor  and  builder 
here. 

William  Preston  Rose  was  born  in  Wayne 
County,  North  Carolina,  June  6,  1870,  and  belongs 
to  one  of  the  old  settled  families  of  this  section, 
the  first  of  the  name  having  come  here  from  Vir- 
ginia three  generations  ago.  His  parents  were 
George  Pinekney  and  Nancy  (Brunt)  Rose.  His 
father,  a  millwright  by  trade,  was  also  engaged  in 
agricultural  operations. 

After  his  public  school  course  Mr.  Rose  be- 
came a  student  for  a  time  in  Turlington  Institute. 
He  then  learned  the  carpenter  trade  and  in  the 
course  of  time  became  a  contractor  and  still  later, 
through  diligent  study  of  architecture,  became  able 
not  only  to  erect  buildings  but  also  design  them. 
This  led  into  general  contracting  and  this  has 
been  Mr.  Rose 's  business  for  a  number  of  years, 
each  year  finding  his  reputation  more  widely  ex- 
tended and  his  contracts  of  greater  and  still 
greater  importance  and  volume.  He  has  done  a 
large  part  of  the  modern  building  at  Goldsboro 
and  all  through  Wayne  County  and  has  many  fine 
structures  to  his  credit  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

In  1914  Mr.  Rose  built  the  handsome  Wayne 
County  courthouse  and  recently  has  completed  the 
spacious  Borden  office  building,  one  of  the  fine 
modern  structures  at  Goldsboro.  He  secured  the 
contract  and  satisfactorily  completed  the  fine 
Elks'  Temple  at  Newbern,  North  Carolina.  The 
magnificent  courthouse  at  Whiteville,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  the  Hemingway  school  at  Wilmington  are 
his  work,  as  are  also  three  public  school  buildings 
at  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina.  He  also  was  the 
general  contractor  that  built  Mercy  Hospital  at 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  and  the  stadium  at 
Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Rose  was  the 
contractor  and  builder  of  the  J.  &  D.  Tire  & 
Rubber  Company  plant  at  Charlotte,  North  Caro- 
lina. His  work  is  characterized  by  thoroughness 
in  every  detail  and  integrity  in  every  supply  and 
in  his  field  of  endeavor  his  name  is  a  synonym  for 
reliability. 

Mr.  Rose  was  married  first  to  Miss  Fannie  Gran- 
tham, who  was  born  also  in  Wayne  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  they  had  three  children:  Ruth, 
Robert  Barton  and  William  Preston.  Mr.  Rose's 
second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Jennie  Pollok,  who 
was  born  in  Virginia. 

Mr.  Rose  is  a  member  of  the  Goldsboro  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce.  He  is  a  director  of  the  People 's 
Bank  and  Trust  Company  and  is  extensively 
interested  in  farming.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  famous  Algonquin  Club.  He  is  public 
spirited  as  a  citizen  but  not  active  politically. 

Henry  Burwell  Marrow,  a  North  Carolina 
educator,  also  qualified  as  a  lawyer,  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  public  schools  of  Smithfield.  and 
during  the  past  eight  or  nine  years  has  enjoyed 
several  of  the  larger  positions  and  more  im- 
portant responsibilities  in  connection  with  the 
administration  of  the  public  schools  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Marrow  was  born  at  Williamsboro,  North 
Carolina,  May  4,  1887,  a  son  of  Thomas  T.  and 
Carrie  (Burwell)  Marrow.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  rural  environ- 
ment, attended  the  Henderson  High  School,  and 
for  two  years  taught  the  eleventh  grade  of  the 
Henderson  public  schools.  During  this  period  of 
his  teaching  he  also  attended  a  business  college. 
In     1008,     entering     the     University     of     North 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


373 


Carolina,  he  pursued  the  classical  course  and 
graduated  A.  B.  in  1912.  The  following  two 
years  he  remained  at  Chapel  Hill  as  principal  of 
the  City  High  School  and  at  the  same  time 
carried  work  in  the  law  department  of  tne  State 
University.  In  1915  he  was  admitted  to  the 
North  Carolina  bar,  but  so  far  has  found  the 
attractions  and  duties  of  educational  work  too 
strong  for  him  to  resist.  From  1915  to  1917  he 
was  principal  of  the  Brattleboro  High  School,  and 
in  May,  1917,  was  elected  superintendent  of  City 
Schools  of  Smithfield,  where  he  has  one  of  the 
better  school  systems  of  the  state  under  his  ad- 
ministration and  supervision.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly.  On 
December  27,  1917,  Mr.  Marrow  married  Miss 
Pearl  Hildebrand,  daughter  of  Miles  Pinckney 
Hildebrand,  a  merchant  at  Morgantown,  North 
Carolina,  and  Delia   (Smith)   Hildebrand. 

Hon.  Union  L.  Spence.  The  career  of  Hon. 
Union  L.  Spence,  of  Carthage,  is  an  illustration  of 
the  rewards  attainable  in  a  life  of  industry  and 
probity,  and  in  its  range  has  invaded  a  number  of 
fields  of  endeavor.  His  earliest  vocation  was  that 
of  school  teaching,  which  he  followed  in  order  to 
further  his  own  education,  subsequently  he  entered 
the  law,  in  which  he  has  risen  to  a  high  place 
among  the  professional  men  of  Moore  County, 
later  he  became  interested  in  finance,  in  which  he 
still  continues  as  president  of  the  Bank  of  Moore, 
and  at  all  times  he  has  been  a  public-spirited  citi- 
zen and  an  active  factor  in  the  affairs  of  the  beau- 
tiful and  thriving  little  City  of  Carthage,  of  which 
he  has  been  for  two  or  three  terms  and  now  is 
mayor. 

Union  L.  Spence  was  born  August  20,  1867,  in 
Stanley  County,  North  Carolina,  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Margaret  Ann  (Beeves)  Spence.  His  father 
was  born  in  Pasquotank  County,  North  Carolina, 
and  when  a  small  boy  moved  with  his  parents  to 
Randolph  County,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  af- 
terward living  in  Davidson  County  and  finally  lo- 
cating in  Stanley  County.  He  died  there  in  1877. 
The  home  of  Union  L.  Spence,  where  he  was  born, 
was  about  six  miles  from  Albemarle,  the  county 
seat,  and  about  two  miles  form  the  present  Town 
of  Badin,  where  is  being  built  the  great  power  in- 
dustry of  the  Southern  Aluminum  Company,  op- 
erated by  water  power  from  the  Yadkin  River. 
He  was  reared  on  the  farm,  his  father  being  an 
agriculturist,  and  his  boyhood  surroundings  were 
rural  in  character,  his  task  being  that  of  dis- 
charging the  duties  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  most 
farmers'  sons  of  his  day  and  locality.  His  pre- 
liminary educational  training  was  secured  in  the 
school  at  Palmersville,  which  was  taught  by  Oliver 
C.  Hamilton,  and  later  he  attended  Oak  Ridge  In- 
stitute in  Guilford  County.  Desiring  further  train- 
ing and  having  decided  upon  a  professional  career, 
he  began  teaching  school  in  order  to  earn  the 
means  for  his  further  education,  and  after  several 
years  as  a  teacher  in  smaller  schools  became  prin- 
cipal of  Bain  Academy  in  Mecklenburg  County,  a 
post  which  he  retained  for  two  years.  Later  he 
also  taught  at  other  places,  and  gained  such  an 
excellent  reputation  as  an  educator  that  he  would 
no  doubt  have  risen  to  a  high  place  in  that  pro- 
fession, but  his  intentions  and  inclinations  were 
toward  the  law  and  all  his  spare  time  was  devoted 
to  its  study,  even  while  his  duties  as  instructor 
were  heavy  and  exacting.  Eventually  he  enrolled 
as  a  student  in  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  which  he  attended  in  1892 


and  1893.  Graduating  with  his  degree  in  the  latter 
year,  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession 
at  Troy,  the  county  seat  of  Montgomery  County, 
but  in  1894  located  permanently  at  his  present 
home,  Carthage,  the  county  seat  of  Moore  County. 
Here  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  successful  law- 
practice  in  all  the  courts,  being  the  representative 
of  numerous  important  interests.  He  is  justly  ac- 
counted one  of  the  thorough  and  highly  skilled 
legists  of  Moore  County  and  his  connection  with 
numerous  prominent  cases  of  complicated  litigation 
has  shown  the  confidence  which  is  placed  in  his 
abilities  and  fidelity.  As  president  of  the  Bank 
of  Moore  he  has  made  this  institution  one  of  the 
most  substantial  and  successful  in  this  part  of  the 
state,  and  in  addition  he  has  been  a  potent  factor 
in  business  affairs.  No  enterprise  calculated  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  community  is  consid- 
ered complete  unless  it  has  his  support,  and  few 
men  have  done  more  for  the  community  of  their 
residence.  It  is  to  the  efforts  of  such  men  as  Sen- 
ator Spence  that  the  credit  for  the  civic  beauty  and 
prosperity  of  Carthage  are  due. 

It  is  but  natural  for  a  man  of  Senator  Spence  "s 
attainments  to  take  a  leading  part  in  public  life. 
He  early  aligned  himself  with  the  forces  of  the 
democratic  party,  and  after  holding  several  offices 
of  minor  importance,  in  1903  was  elected  to  the 
North  Carolina  State  Senate,  representing  the  dis- 
trict comprising  the  counties  of  Moore,  Chatham, 
Richmond  and  Scotland.  In  the  deliberations  and 
labors  of  that  distinguished  body  he  gave  an  excel- 
lent account  of  himself.  After  his  return  to  Car- 
thage he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city,  a  position 
which  he  still 'retains.  In  this  capacity  he  has  done 
much  to  attain  civic  improvements  for  the  place 
of  his  adoption,  and  the  finances  of  Carthage  have 
been  handled  in  a  businesslike  manner  decidedly 
gratifying  to  the  taxpayers.  In  1916  Senator 
Spence  was  a  candidate  before  the  primaries  for 
the  democratic  nomination  for  Congress,  but  was 
defeated  in  a  race  in  which  there  were  a  number 
of  candidates,  and  in  which  he  received  the  next 
to  the  largest  vote.  Mr.  Spence  is  chairman  of  the 
local  Exemption  Board.  He  and  the  members  of 
his  family  belong  to  the  Methodist  Church. 

Senator  Spence  married  Miss  Mary  Worthy, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Worthy,  granddaughter  of 
Sheriff  Worthy  of  Moore  County,  and  a  member 
of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  this  part  of  the 
state.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  son :  Union  L., 
Jr. 

J.  Hampton  Adams.  Without  the  live  and 
quickening  energy  of  Mr.  Adams  the  prosperous 
industrial  history  of  High  Point  would  doubtless 
be  very  different  from  what  it  is.  Mr.  Adams  has 
been  a  real  constructive  factor  in  the  life  and 
affairs  of  that  community  for  many  years.  If  a 
list  were  compiled  of  twenty  of  the  institutions 
that  have  most  to  do  with  the  growth  and  devel- 
opment of  the  city,  Mr.  Adams'  name  would  be 
found  as  an  organizer  or  executive  official  in  at 
least  a  third  of  them.  It  is  an  interesting  testi- 
mony to  his  personal  ability  that  when  he  came 
to  High  Point  he  was  content  to  fit  himself  into 
the  community  in  the  humble  sphere  of  a  book- 
keeper. He  is  in  fact  a  self-made  man,  having 
earned  his  education  and  every  step  of  advance- 
ment to  his  present  prominence. 

He  represents  an  old  colonial  family  of  South 
Carolina.  His  birth  occurred  on  a  plantation  near 
the  Town  of  Adamsville,  in  Marlboro  County  of  that 
state.     His  first  American  ancestor  was  .Jonathan 


374 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Adams,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  of  Scotch  an- 
cestry. As  a  young  man  he  came  to  America  and 
sought  a  home  in  the  wilds  of  what  is  now  Marl- 
boro County,  South  Carolina.  He  secured  land 
near  the  present  site  of  Adamsville,  and  he  and 
his  wife,  Mary,  were  living  there  when  the  war 
broke  out  with  Great  Britain.  He  entered  the 
Colonial  Army  and  fought  throughout  that  entire 
struggle.  He  and  his  wife  reared  three  sons : 
William,  Shbckley  and  John. 

It  is  through  the  son  William  that  the  present 
line  of  lineage  extends.  William  was  a  boy  when 
the  Revolution  was  fought.  While  his  father  was 
away  in  the  army  a  band  of  tories  raided  Marl- 
boro County.  They  made  a  prisoner  of  the  boy, 
and  tried  every  means  in  their  power  to  induce 
him  to  tell  the  whereabouts  of  certain  individuals 
and  of  certain  buried  treasure.  He  refused.  When 
the  tories  found  they  could  not  bribe  him  they 
began  threatening  him  with  personal  violence.  He 
was  made  of  the  stuff  of  real  patriots,  and  though 
quite  young  his  sense  of  responsibility  was  strong 
and  he  refused  to  endanger  the  life  of  friends  by- 
divulging  any  facts.  His  assailants  put  a  rope 
around  his  neck,  threw  it  over  a  limb  and  drew 
him  up  twice,  letting  him  down  in  the  expectation 
that  he  would  relent.  Before  pulling  him  up  the 
third  time  they  said  they  would  let  him  hang,  and 
when  this  threat  failed  to  move  him  they  carried 
out  their  promise.  Fortunately  the  mother  of  the 
boy  happened  along  before  life  was  extinct,  let 
him  down  and  revived  him.  He  lived  many  years, 
and  was  a  successful  planter  and  lifelong  resident 
of  Marlboro  County.  He  married  Mary  Marine. 
Their  son  William,  better  known  in  the  community 
as  Branch  Billy,  was  also  a  Marlboro  County 
planter,  and  married  Sally  Fletcher. 

These  were  the  three  generations  of  the  family 
preceding  the  father  of  J.  Hampton  Adams.  He 
was  Jonathan  Adams,  who  in  ante-bellum  days 
operated  the  plantation  in  Marlboro  County  and 
employed  a  number  of  slaves.  When  the  war  came 
on  he  donned  a  Confederate  uniform  and  was  in 
the  struggle  to  the  end.  Later  he  superintended 
his  plantation  with  free  labor  and  lived  there  until 
his  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Jonathan 
Adams  married  Martha  Jane  Newton,  who  is  now 
living  at  MeColl,  in  Marlboro  county.  She  was 
the  mother  of  ten  children,  nine  daughters  and 
one  son. 

J.  Hampton  Adams  had  a  high  school  education 
in  his  native  county.  His  instincts  and  inclina- 
tions were  all  toward  a  business  career,  and  while 
he  had  no  capital  he  was  willing  to  work  and  con- 
tent to  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  world  as  to 
his  ability  and  usefulness.  For  a  time  he  served 
as  bookkeeper  with  W.  B.  Adams  &  Company. 
After  a  year  and  a  half  he  gave  up  this  work  to 
improve  his  educational  opportunities  by  attending 
Oak  Ridge  Institute.  After  that  for  two  and  a 
half  years  he  was  bookkeeper  for  F.  P.  Tatum  at 
MeColl,  South  Carolina,  and  in  January,  1899, 
came  to  High  Point. 

His  first  experience  at  High  Point  was  as  book- 
keeper for  the  Eagle  Furniture  Company.  But 
he  was  too  resourceful  a  man  to  be  kept  down  and 
at  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half  he  organized  the 
High  Point  Overall  Company,  and  was  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  that  prosperous  concern  for  five 
years.  In  the  meantime  his  interests  rapidly  ex- 
panded. He  organized  and  became  secretary  and 
treasurer  and  is  now  president  and  manager  of 
the  High  Point  Hosiery  Company.  He  also  organ- 
ized and   is  president  and  manager  of  the  Pied- 


mont Mills,  is  organizer,  president  and  manager 
of  the  Highland  Cotton  Mills  No.  1  and  No.  2;  is 
organizer  and  president  of  the  Kernersville  Knit- 
ting Company  at  Kernersville,  is  president  of  the 
Ragan  Knitting  Mills  Company  of  Thomasville, 
which  was  established  in  1918;  is  vice  president 
of  the  Bank  of  Commerce  at  High  Point,  and  is 
president  of  the  Consolidated  Mill  Company,  a  firm 
of  commission  merchants  which  was  organized  in 
1906.  With  all  these  connections  to  his  credit  it 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  what  his  associates 
say  of  him  that  he  has  done  as  much  as  any  other 
one  man  to  make  High  Point  what  it  is. 

In  1906  Mr.  Adams  married  Elizabeth  Barnes. 
She  was  born  in  Marlboro  County,  South  Carolina, 
daughter  of  James  and  Ellen  (Leggett)  Barnes. 
They  have  two  daughters,  Nell  and  Elizabeth.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Adams  are  active  members  of  the  Wesley 
Memorial  Church,  and  he  is  serving  on  its  Board 
of  Stewards.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with 
Numa  F.  Reid  Lodge  No.  344,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  High  Point  Chapter  No.  70, 
Royal  Arch  Masons. ;  High  Point  Commandery  No. 
24  Knights  Templar,  and  Oasis  Temple  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine  at  Charlotte. 

James  M.  Vaughn,  of  Madison,  has  had  a  busy 
career  as  a  farmer,  merchant  and  banker  and  is 
member  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting 
families  in  that  part  of  Rockingham  County. 

His  grandfather  was  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  a 
native  of  Virginia.  Considering  the  time  of  his 
youth  he  acquired  a  very  good  education.  When 
a.  young  man  he  came  to  Rockingham  County  and 
for  a  number  of  years  earned  his  living  by  teach- 
ing country  schools.  He  married  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Theophilus  and  Diana  (Mallory)  Carter.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  served  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Joseph  Mitchell  Vaughn,  father  of  James  M., 
was  born  in  his  parents'  log  house  near  Rocky 
Springs  in  Rockingham  County  in  1834.  There 
were  few  schools  which  he  could  attend,  and  from 
an  early  age  he  was  self  supporting.  He  began  his 
business  career  working  in  a  tobacco  factory,  and 
later  traveled  over  the  South  as  a  tobacco  sales- 
man. It  was  from  a  number  of  years  of  hard 
work  in  this  line  that  he  accumulated  the  modest 
capital  with  which  he  embarked  in  a  mercantile 
business  for  himself.  His  success  as  a  merchant 
was  pronounced  and  he  enlisted  his  profits  in  farm 
property.  In  1874  he  bought  the  estate  long 
known  as  Rural  Retreat,  a  part  of  which  is  in  the 
village  of  Madison.  Its  lands  extend  across  the 
Dan  River  and  comprise  several  hundred  acres  of 
fertile  valley  soil.  It  is  a  picturesque  as  well  as 
valuable  property.  The  commodious  brick  house 
in  colonial  style  was  constructed  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago  and  has  always  been  kept  in 
the  best  of  repair,  and  is  one  of  the  fine  homes 
of  that  locality.  It  is  surrounded  by  ample 
grounds,  covered  with  various  shade  trees  and 
fruit  and  shrubs,  and  the  view  from  the  grounds 
is  an  impressive  one  stretching  across  the  Dan 
River  Valley  to  the  hills  beyond.  Joseph  Mitchell 
Vaughn  lived  there  in  honorable  retirement  and 
with  all  the  comforts  of  life  until  his  death  June 
21,  1916.  He  married  Cassandra  Black,  who  is 
still  living  in  Rural  Retreat.  She  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  while  her  husband  was 
a  Methodist.  She  was  born  in  Madison  and  her 
father,  Pleasant  Black,  was  born  in  Virginia.  Left 
an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  he  had  to  depend  upon 
his  own  resources  aud  was  earning  his  living  when 


0ht«. 


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HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


375 


a  boy.  "When  a  young  man  he  came  to  Rocking- 
ham County  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Madison.  That  was  long  before  any  railroads 
were  built.  He  kept  a  hotel  and  stage  station  on 
one  of  the  main  traveled  roads,  and  provided  large 
pens  and  yards  in  which  horses,  cattle  and  hogs 
could  be  corraled  over  night.  Such  local  stock 
stations  were  necessary  at  a  time  when  all  stock 
was  driven  overland,  and  large  numbers  of  cattle 
and  other  livestock  from  northern  markets  were 
at  that  time  driven  south  into  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  He  also  had  a  store  and  usually  hauled 
his  merchandise  from  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
with  a  four-horse  team.  Occasionally  a  load  of 
merchandise  was  brought  up  the  Dan  River  by 
boats  manned  by  a  crew  of  his  slaves.  Pleasant 
Black  lived  in  that  locality  until  his  death  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four.  He  was  three  times  married 
and  the  mother  of  Cassandra  was  Matilda  Dalton, 
a  native  of  Rockingham  County  who  lived  to  be 
eighty  years  of  age.  Joseph  M.  Vaughn  and  wife 
had  four  children:  Edgar,  James  M.,  Robert  G. 
and  Luola,  wife  of  Harry  J.  Penn. 

James  M.  Vaughn  was  reared  in  Madison,  at- 
tended the  local  schools  there,  and  later  was  a 
student  in  Oak  Ridge  Institute  and  the  Bingham 
School  at  Mebane.  His  business  career  began  as 
clerk  in  his  father's  general  store  at  Madison. 
Later  he  used  his  own  capital  to  establish  and 
manage  a  store  and  was  in  the  mercantile  business 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
bought  some  farm  lands  and  has  continued  the 
oversight  of  his  fields  and  crops.  In  1917  Mr. 
Vaughn  organized  and  has  since  been  president  of 
the  Farmers  Bank   at  Madison. 

In  his  twenty-fourth  year  he  married  Florence 
Payne.  She  was  born  six  miles  south  of  Madison, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Fay)  Payne. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vaughn  have  one  son,  Thomas 
Payne,  who  is  the  soldier  of  the  family  in  the 
great  war  and  now  at  the  front  in  France.  He 
graduated  from  the  Madison  High  School  and  is 
now  serving  with  the  American  Expeditionary 
Forces  in  Company  L  of  the  Eleventh  Infantry. 

J.  Frank  Wilkes.  In  the  large  manufac- 
turing interests  of  a  country  are  undoubtedly 
found  the  stable  foundations  upon  which  indus- 
rial  prosperity  rests,  and  the  successful  devel- 
opment of  enterprises  in  the  manufacturing  field 
determines  a  country 's  importance  both  at  home 
and  in  foreign  lands.  Opportunities  may  lie  on 
every  hand  and  the  time  may  seem  ripe  for  the 
launching  of  concerns  in  many  directions,  but 
without  men  of  power,  foresight  and  business 
acumen  to  take  advantage  of  conditions,  nothing 
is  done  and  naught  accomplished.  It  is  through 
the  efforts  of  individuals  who  seem  naturally 
equipped  with  the  talents  making  for  leadership 
that  enterprises  are  developed  from  small  begin- 
nings into  vast  aggregations  of  capital  and 
efficiency,  and  in  this  latter  class  is  found  J. 
Frank  Wilkes,  manager  of  the  Mecklenburg  Iron 
Works  of  Charlotte,  and  one  of  the  city 's  lead- 
ing public   officials. 

Mr.  Wilkes  was  born  at  Charlotte,  in  1864,  a 
member  of  a  famous  family  the  name  of  which 
is  inseparably  linked  with  the  history  of  the 
United  States  Navy  and  its  splendid  achieve- 
ments. The  family  is  of  the  same  stock  as  the 
historic  John  Wilkes  of  England,  who  flourished 
in  the  eighteenth  century  and  was  a  notable 
political  character  of  his  day.  On  account  of 
his    relentless    agitation    in    England    on    behalf 


of  liberty  for  the  American  colonies  he  became 
known  as  ' '  Liberty  John, ' '  although  he  never 
came  to  America  himself.  In  every  generation 
of  the  Wilkes  family  since  its  first  establishment 
in  America  there  have  been  members  of  it  who 
have  been  lighters  on  the  sea.  When  J.  Frank 
Wilkes  recently  attended  the  graduation  of  nis 
son  at  Annapolis,  there  were  a  total  of  thirteen 
members  of  the  Wilkes  and  closely-related  fam- 
ilies who   were  in  the  academy. 

Captain  (afterward  Admiral)  Charles  Wilkes, 
the  paternal  grandfather  of  J.  Frank  Wilkes,  was 
commander  of  the  United  States  cruiser  that 
captured,  during  the  war  between  the  states,  the 
English  boat  Trent  and  removed  therefrom  the 
two  Confederate  commissioners,  Mason  and  Sli- 
dell,  who  were  on  their  way  to  England,  an 
exploit  that  at  the  time  threatened  serious  com- 
plication between  this  country  and  England, 
but  which  was  settled  in  a  manner  that  reflected 
only  the  highest  credit  upon  Captain  Wilkes, 
who  received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  He  was 
born  in  New  York  City,  April  3,  1798,  entered 
the  navy  in  1816,  and  became  a  lieutenant  in 
1826.  In  1838  he  commanded  an  exploring  ex- 
pedition sent  by  the  United  States  Government 
to  the  Antarctic  regions.  He  visited  South  Amer- 
ica, Samoa,  the  Fiji,  Hawaiian  and  other  islands 
in  the  Pacific;  and  made  a  voyage  around  the 
world,  returning  in  1842.  About  tnat  time,  with 
his  cousin,  Edward  Renwick,  he  came  to  North 
Carolina,  after  securing  a  leave  of  absence,  to 
investigate  certain  gold  discoveries.  They  came 
to  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  County,  and  began 
the  work  of  developing  what  became  known  as 
the  Saint  Catherine  mine,  a  short  distance  south 
of  Charlotte  (now  within  the  city  limits),  and 
another  discovery  known  as  the  Capps  mine, 
about  six  miles  west  of  town;  later  they  took 
up  another  prospect.  The  two  young  men  worked 
these  three  properties  with  success,  but  lost  con- 
siderably through  the  speculations  of  one  Cheva- 
lier de  Rivefrinola,  an  Italian,  who  had  been 
employed  by  them.  However,  Captain  Wilkes 
did  well  with  his  gold  mining  operations,  both 
individually  and  as  manager  for  a  large  concern 
that  had  gold  mining  interests  in  this  vicinity. 
In  1843  Captain  Wilkes  was  made  commander, 
and  in  1855  was  promoted  captain,  and  it  was 
while  serving  in  this  capacity  on  the  San  Jacinto 
that  he  became  involved  in  the  Trent  affair.  In 
1862  he  was  promoted  commodore,  after  which 
he  commanded  several  fleets  during  the  war,  in- 
cluding that  on  the  James  River,  and  a  squadron 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  in  July,  1866,  was  made 
a  rear-admiral.  Not  long  thereafter  he  retired 
from  the  navy  and  for  a  time  lived  at  High 
Shoals  in  Gaston  County,  North  Carolina,  where 
he  engaged  in  iron  mining  and  iron  manufactur- 
ing. Later  he  again  came  to  Charlotte,  but  in 
1875  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  there  passed 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  February  8, 
1877.  He  wrote  a  "Narrative"  of  his  expedi- 
tion (6  vols.  1845),  "Western  America,"  etc., 
(1849),   "Theory   of   the   Winds"    (1846);    etc. 

John  Wilkes,  the  son  of  Captain  Wilkes,  and 
father  of  J.  Frank  Wilkes,  was  born  in  New 
York,  was  a  graduate  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Academy,  and  was  in  the  service  of  the  navy 
some  time  before  the  war.  In  1854  he  resigned 
from  the  navy  and  came  to  Charlotte  to  become 
connected  with  his  father's  gold  mining  and 
other  interests,  and  never  rejoined  the  navy,  con- 
tinuing   to    make    his    home    at    Charlotte    during 


376 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


the  remainder  of  his  life  and  dying  in  this  city 
in  1908.  He  was  one  of  the  representative  and 
substantial  citizens  of  Charlotte,  and  one  of  the 
first  to  promote  its  industrial  life.  He  estab- 
lished a  flour  mill,  which  he  operated  in  connec- 
tion with  his  gold  mining  business,  and  this  mill 
was  later  ueveloped  into  the  old  Rock  Island 
Woolen  Mills.  He  organized  and  was  the  first 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Char- 
lotte, and,  with  his  father,  established  the  Meck- 
lenburg Iron  Works  shortly  after  the  close  of 
the  Civil  war,  the  first  location  being  on  East 
Trade  Street,  the  site  of  the  old  "Confederate 
States  Navy."  During  the  past  forty  years 
the  shops  have  been  located  at  the  present  loco- 
tion,  West  Trade  Street,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Southern  Railway. 

J.  Frank  Wilkes  was  reared  at  Charlotte,  where 
he  secured  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools,  subsequently  attending  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  and  Stevens  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology at  Hoboken,  New  Jersey,  from  which 
latter  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1885  with 
the  degree  of  Mechanical  Engineer.  He  has,  in 
addition,  other  degrees.  On  returning  from  col- 
lege Mr.  Wilkes  became  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  Mecklenburg  Iron  Works  and  has 
continued  the  operation  of  this  important  industry 
since  his  father's  death.  This  plant  manufac- 
tures mining  and  mill  machinery  of  various  kinds, 
hydraulic  machinery,  structural  iron,  etc.  Mr. 
Wilkes  is  a  highly  specialized  and  expert  me- 
chanical engineer,  and  has  what  is  known  as  the 
business  "sense,"  that  combination  of  qualities 
which  is  found  in  all  men  who,  through  their  own 
efforts  and  individuality,  win  in  any  field  of  com- 
mercial or  industrial  endeavor.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  other  civic 
organizations.  As  a  public-spirited  citizen  he  has 
always  been  ready  to  give  of  his  services  in  be- 
half of  the  community's  welfare,  and  was  for  six 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of 
Charlotte  and  chairman  of  the  finance  committee 
of  that  body. 

Mr.  Wilkes  was  married  in  1898  to  Miss  Frances 
Lucas,  of  Darlington  District,  South  Carolina,  and 
they  have  two  children:  John  and  Miss  Carrie 
Mclver.  John  Wilkes  is  a  graduate  of  the  United 
States  Naval  Academy,  class  of  1916,  and  is  now 
a  lieutenant.  It  is  rather  interesting  to  note 
that  he  is  now  in  service  on  the  battleship  Mary- 
land, on  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  and  that  his 
great-grandfather  and  grandfather,  in  1847,  were, 
in  service  on  the  east  coast  of  that  country. 

Louis  Cotton  Skinnee,  M.  D.  Recognized  as 
one  of  the  ablest  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Pitt 
County,  Doctor  Skinner  has  well  deserved  success. 
He  has  given  years  to  study  and  preparation,  has 
worked  indefatigably  since  leaving  college,  and  in 
addition  to  industry  and  conscientious  fidelity 
possesses  more  than  an  ordinary  degree  of  those 
natural  talents  which  make  the  abler  practitioner. 

Doctor  Skinner  was  born  in  Bertie  County,  North 
Carolina,  May  15,  1880,  a  son  of  Charles  and  Har- 
riet (Cotton)  Skinner.  His  father  was  a  general 
merchant  and  also  a  hotel  proprietor.  The  family 
moved  to  Greenville  in  1882,  and  here  Doctor  Skin- 
ner attended  the  graded  schools.  He  also  spent 
some  time  in  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
College  at  R-aleigh  and  studied  medicine  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Maryland,  where  he  finished  his  course 
in  1901.  The  following  year  he  had  the  experience 
of  one  year  as  an  interne  in  the  University  Hos- 


pital at  Baltimore.  He  began  practice  at  Ayden, 
North  Carolina,  but  after  five  years  sought  a  larger 
field  and  after  another  post-graduate  course  in  the 
New  York  Polyclinic  located  in  1908  at  Green- 
ville. Doctor  Skinner  is  a  member  in  good  standing 
of  the  Pitt  County  and  North  Carolina  State  Medi- 
cal societies,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Home  Build- 
ing and  Loan  Association.  He  belongs  to  St. 
Paul's  Episcopal  Church  and  is  affiliated  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  December  29,  1909,  he  married  Miss 
Daisy  Minor,  of  Oxford,  North  Carolina.  They 
have  four  children:  Elizabeth  Minor,  Harriet  Cot- 
ton, Louis  Cotton,  Jr.,  and  Edward  Ficklen,  the 
last  two  being  twins. 

Heney  Winfield  Feaser.  Henry  Winfield 
Fraser,  who  for  upwards  of  forty  years  has  been 
identified  with  different  manufacturing  concerns 
in  North  Carolina,  was  responsible  for  the  found- 
ing of  the  Myrtle  Desk  Company  at  High  Point, 
a  corporation  of  which  he  is  president.  This  is 
one  of  the  notable  manufacturing  concerns  of  this 
city  and  has  contributed  much  to  the  fame  by 
which  that  town  is  known  throughout  the  United 
States  and  even  abroad. 

Mr.  Fraser  was  born  on  a  farm  a  mile  from 
Mount  Gilead,  in  Montgomery  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. He  comes  of  Colonial  and  Revolutionary 
stock.  His  great-grandfather  was  born  in  Scot- 
land and  his  people  were  members  of  the  famous 
Fraser  Clan.  From  Scotland  he  removed  to  Eng- 
land and  from  there  came  to  America  in  colonial 
days.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war 
he  joined  the  colonies  in  their  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence and  was  a  member  of  Washington 's  army, 
serving  the  entire  seven  years  without  an  injury. 
He  was  noted  for  his  bravery  under  fire. 

Thomas  Fraser,  grandfather  of  Henry  W.,  was 
probably  born  in  Virginia.  He  served  in  the  War 
of  1812,  and  one  of  his  sons  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Mexican  war.  He  was  an  early  settler  near  Mount 
Gilead  in  Montgomery  County.  By  trade  he  was 
a  silversmith  and  gunmaker.  He  lived  in  Mont- 
gomery County  the  rest  of  his  days. 

William  Fraser,  father  of  Henry  W.,  was  born 
in  Montgomery  County,  and  inherited  the  natural 
mechanical  skill  of  his  father.  He  learned  the  arts 
of  silversmith,  blacksmith,  wagon  and  buggy 
maker,  and  was  in  that  line  of  business  at  Mount 
Gilead  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His  home  was 
on  a  farm  a  mile  from  town,  and  there  he  died  in 
1851,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven.  He  married 
Harriet  Williams,  also  born  near  Mount  Gilead, 
daughter  of  Merrett  and  Mrs.  (Smith)  Williams. 
Merrett  Williams  was  a  planter  in  Montgomery 
County.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  and 
one  of  his  sons,  William  Henry  Williams,  was  in 
the  Mexican  war.  It  was  he  who  named  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  giving  him  the  name  of  Henry 
Winfield,  in  honor  of  General  Winfield  Scott,  under 
whom  he  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  Mrs., Har- 
riet Fraser  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  the  mother 
of  two  children,  a  daughter  named  Mary  Frances, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  Henry  Win- 
field, who  now  survives. 

Henry  Winfield  Fraser  was  so  young  when  his 
father  died  that  he  does  not  remember  him.  He 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Montgomery  County 
and  also  at  Franklinville  in  Randolph  County.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  teaching  at  Frank- 
linville, but  when  nineteen  years  old  entered  the 
service  of  the  Randolph  Manufacturing  Company 
at  Franklinville  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper.    He  held 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


377 


that  position  eight  years  and  in  1876  gave  up  his 
employment  and  visited  in  Texas.  On  returning 
to  Franklinviile  he  became  clerk  and  bookkeeper 
with  Hugh  Parks,  proprietor  of  the  Franklinviile 
Manufacturing  Company.  He  was  with  that  in- 
dustry for  nineteen  consecutive  years. 

On  resigning  he  came  to  High  Point  and  organ- 
ized here  the  Alma  Furniture  Company,  of  which 
he  was  secretary  and  treasurer.  Two  years  later 
he  sold  this,  and  removing  to  Marion,  North  Caro- 
lina, became  associated  with  T.  F.  Wren  in  estab- 
lishing the  Catawba  Furniture  Company.  From 
this  he  also  retired  eighteen  months  later,  and 
resuming  his  residence  at  High  Point,  acquired  an 
interest  in  the  High  Point  Furniture  Company  and 
was  its  secretary  and  treasurer  for  six  months.  He 
sold  out  to  M.  J.  Wren  and  then  established  the 
Myrtle  Desk  Company,  naming  the  company  in 
honor  of  his  only  daughter,  Myrtle  being  her  mid- 
dle name.  Manufacturing  a  high  quality  of  desks 
of  different  types  and  styles,  Mr.  Fraser  built  up 
an  extensive  trade. 

In  1907  he  took  his  son-in-law,  L.  C.  Sinclair, 
and  his  daughter,  Isla  Myrtle,  in  the  business 
as  his  partners,  at  which  time  the  business  was 
incorporated.  The  products  of  this  factory  have 
gone  all  over  the  United  States  and  to  foreign 
lands,  including  Australia,  England,  Egypt  and 
the  various  South  American  Republics. 

As  indicative  of  the  quality  of  the  goods  turned 
out  by  the  Myrtle  Desk  Company,  a  news  dispatch 
reported  the  fact  that  a  deal  had  been  closed 
whereby  the  Myrtle  Desk  Company  was  given  an 
order  for  a  number  of  desks  to  be  placed  in  the 
White  House  at  Washington. 

Mr.  Fraser  is  a  director  of  the  Commercial  Na- 
tional Bank  of  High  Point  and  the  High  Point 
Savings  &  Trust  Company.  He  is  a  member  of 
Numa  F.  Reid  Lodge  No.  344,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  with  his  wife  is  an  active 
member  and  is  on  the  Board  of  Stewards  of  the 
Wesley  Memorial  Church. 

In  June,  1881,  he  married  Pandora  Hayworth. 
She  was  born  at  Springfield,  in  Guilford  County, 
daughter  of  Dr.  M.  M.  and  Mary  (McMasters) 
Hayworth.  The  only  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fraser  is  Isla  Myrtle,  now  the  wife  of  Major 
L.  C.  Sinclair.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  have  three 
children,  Carson  Fraser,  Henry  McLean  and  Ira 
Hayworth. 

Geokge  H.  Humber.  One  of  the  successful  mem- 
bers of  the  Moore  County  legal  fraternity  who 
by  industry  and  perseverance,  united  with  pro- 
fessional skill  and  ability,  has  obtained  a  high 
standing  in  his  vocation  and  at  the  same  time 
has  gained  the  respect  and  esteem  of  those  with 
whom  he  has  come  into  contact  either  in  a  pro- 
fessional or  social  way  is  George  H.  Humber,  of 
Carthage.  Mr.  Humber  was  born  at  Carthage  and 
here  his  entire  career  as  a  lawyer  has  been  passed, 
and  the  city  has  in  the  meanwhile  profited  by  his 
stable,  public-spirited  citizenship  and  by  the 
abilities  he  has  directed  toward  its  betterment  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  official  position. 

George  H.  Humber  belongs  to  a  family  of  Ger- 
man-English origin,  is  a  son  of  S.  W.  and  Rosanna 
(Cole)  Humber,  and  was  born  in  1S77,  at  Car- 
thage, Moore  County,  North  Carolina.  S.  W.  Hum- 
ber was  born  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  there 
gained  his  education  and  as  a  youth  learned  the 
trade  of  carriage  trimming.  As  a  journeyman  he 
went  to  Fayetteville,  Cumberland  County,  North 
Carolina,    where    he    met   and    became    in    a   way 


associated  with  W.  T.  Jones,  a  carriage  painter 
who  was  at  that  time  working  in  one  of  the 
larger  shops  of  that  city.  In  the  year  1857  the 
elder  Thomas  Bethune  Tyson,  on  one  of  his  regu- 
lar business  trips  from  Carthage  to  Fayetteville, 
became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Jones  and  induced 
him  to  locate  at  Carthage  to  take  charge  of  the 
little  paint  shop  connected  with  the  infant  con- 
cern which  has  since  developed  into  the  great 
manufacturing  enterprise  of  Tyson  &  Jones 
Buggy  Company.  In  accepting  this  position  Mr. 
Jones  took  with  him  to  Carthage  S.  W.  Humber, 
and  placed  him  in  charge  of  the  trimming  work 
in  the  paint  shop.  From  that  time  to  the  present 
Mr.  Humber  has  been  connected  with  this  enter- 
prise and  has  assisted  in  the  work  which  has 
developed  it  into  one  of  the  large  and  important 
concerns  of  this  kind  in  the  South.  His  service, 
covering  a  period  of  fifty-nine  years,  is  one  that 
has  seldom  been  equaled  for  continuity,  for  faith- 
fulness and  for  ability.  When  the  Civil  war 
came  on  Mr.  Humber,  with  several  of  his  asso- 
ciates, including  Mr.  Jones,  enlisted  for  service 
in  the  Confederate  army,  becoming  a  private  in 
the  Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  an  organization  with  which  he 
served  until  peace  was  declared.  With  a  splendid 
record  as  a  soldier  and  the  added  self-confidence 
and  discipline  that  army  life  gives,  he  returned 
to  the  duties  of  his  position  and  once  again 
started  to  help  the  company  in  its  development. 
In  1876  he  was  foreman  trimmer  for  the  greatly 
increased  enterprise,  a  position  he  continued  to 
hold,  and  when  the  business  was  incorporated  in 
1S89  as  the  Tyson  &  Jones  Buggy  Company,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $30,000,  he  became  one  of  the 
original  stockholders  by  purchasing  four  shares 
at  fifty  dollars  per  share.  Also,  at  that  time,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  directors. 
Mr.  Humber  is  the  oldest  man,  in  point  of  serviee, 
now  connected  with  this  business  and  is  one  of 
the  most  highly  esteemed  men  connected  with  the 
company,  being  popular  alike  with  officials  and 
employes.  His  whole  attention  has  been  devoted 
to  the  success  of  the  company  and  he  has  there- 
fore had  no  time  to  engage  in  outside  affairs,  either 
political  or  fraternal,  except  as  a  good  citizen  and 
as  a  man  who  has  always  found  pleasure  in  the 
companionship  of  his  fellowmen.  Mrs.  Rosanna 
(Cole)  Humber  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Cole,  who  was  a  well  known  Moore  County 
physician,  and  is  descended  in  a  direct  line  from 
Esther  Ball,  whose  sister  was  the  mother  of  George 
Washington.  Her  great-grandfather  was  George 
Glascock,  M.  D.,  a  grandson  of  Esther  Ball,  and 
who  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Continental  Army  during 
the  War  of  the  Revolution,  in  addition  to  being 
a.  prominent  figure  in  the.  life  of  North  Carolina 
during  that  day. 

■George  H.  Humber  received  his  early  training 
in  the  local  public  schools,  following  which  he  en- 
rolled as  a  student  at  Trinity  College,  being  grad- 
uated therefrom  in  the  class  of  1898.  His  legal 
studies  were  pursued  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1900  with  his  degree,  and  in  that  same 
year  he  opened  an  office  and  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Carthage.  To  lead  in  the 
profession  chosen  for  his  life  work  is  the  laudable 
ambition  of  every  man  possessed  of  the  ability  to 
understand  what  worldly  success  means,  and  it  is 
the  closeness  with  which  such  desires  are  realized 
that  constitutes  eminence  and  prosperity.  Such 
being   the   case,   Mr.   Humber   may  be   justly   ae- 


378 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


counted  one  of  the  leading  as  he  is  certainly  one 
of  the  best  known  members  of  the  Moore  County 
bar.  He  has  always  been  a  public-spirited,  active 
participant  in  the  varied  affairs  of  the  city  and 
county,  and  for  six  years  served  as  mayor  of 
Carthage,  a  position  in  which  he  comported  him- 
self with  dignity,  energy  and  ability,  his  adminis- 
tration doing  much  to  advance  the  city  in  a  num- 
ber of  ways. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Humber  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  namely:  Ruth  Virginia  and  Sam  W.,  Jr. 

Kenneth  Alexandria  Pittman  is  a  young  and 
rising  attorney  at  Ayden,  and  has  already  received 
one  favorable  mark  of  public  esteem  by  his  elec- 
tion as  mayor  of  that  town. 

Mr.  Pittman  was  born  in  Pranklin  County, 
North  Carolina,  November  22,  1892,  a  son  of  John 
and  Pattie  S.  (Horton)  Pittman.  His  father  was 
a  farmer,  and  the  son  grew  up  in  a  rural  at- 
mosphere. He  attended  the  district  schools,  the 
high  school  at  Delway,  North  Carolina,  and  took 
both  the  literary  and  law  courses  of  Wake  Forest 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1916.  He  at  onee 
came  to  Ayden  and  entered  upon  a  general  prac- 
tice, in  which  he  has  made  very  favorable  progress. 
He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  mayor  in  1917.  Mr. 
Pittman  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Bar 
Association. 

Alexander  McNeill  Blue,  M.  D.  After  gradu- 
ating in  medicine  from  Tulane  University,  New 
Orleans,  in  1915,  Doctor  Blue  located  in  Ms  old 
home  town  of  Carthage,  and  has  become  one  of  the 
prominent  physicians  and  surgeons  of  that  town 
and  Moore  County.  He  is  assistant  in  surgery  on 
the  staff  of  the  James  McConnell  Memorial  Hos- 
pital at  Eureka,  and  is  one  of  the  high  minded  and 
progressive  men  of  his  profession  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  He  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
County  and  State  Medical  societies,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association. 

Doctor  Blue  represents  a  family  of  prominence 
in  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  at  Carthage  in 
1887,  son  of  Dr.  J.  C.  and  Evelyn  (McNeill)  Blue. 
His  mother,  who  is  still  living,  is  a  daughter  of  the 
late  A.  H.  McNeill  of  Carthage,  the  McNeills  rep- 
resenting some  of  the  fine  old  stock  in  the  Upper 
Cape  Fear  section.  The  father  Dr.  J.  C.  Blue,  who 
died  in  1892,  was  born  in  Moore  County  in  1846, 
and  though  only  a  boy  he  served  as  a  courier  in 
the  Confederate  army.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Jefferson  Medical  College,  and  was  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century  in  active  practice  at  Carthage 
and  Moore  County. 

Of  Scotch  origin,  the  Blue  family  has  lived  for 
several  generations  in  Moore,  Richmond  and  Scot- 
land counties  of  this  state  and  also  in  the  adjoin- 
ing counties  of  upper  South  Carolina.  The  two 
best  known  members  of  the  family  from  the  South 
Carolina  branch  are  Dr.  Rupert  Blue,  for  many 
years  sanitarian  in  the  United  States  Public  Health 
Service,  and  now  chief  medical  officer  in  the  United 
States  Navy,  and  Victor  Blue,  an  officer  in  the 
United  States  Navy  for  thirty  years,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  member  of  the  General  Naval 
Board.  Both  these  men  were  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina, but  were  reared  in  South  Carolina. 

Archie  Nixon  Bulla.  It  is  not  so  much  geo- 
graphical position  and  natural  resources  as  the 
quality  of  individual  enterprise  which  gives  dis- 
tinction to  any  community.  An  example  of  this 
fact  is  found  in  the  Town  of  Randleman,  in  Ran- 


dolph County,  where  much  of  the  industrial  activi- 
ties and  business  and  civic  life  center  around  the 
figure  of  Archie  Nixon  Bulla.  Mr.  Bulla  is  a 
manufacturer,  has  been  prominent  in  public  af- 
fairs many  years,  and  is  the  present  postmaster  of 
the  town. 

He  was  born  in  Back  Creek  Township  of  Ran- 
dolph County,  a  son  of  Joseph  Chapman  and  Lydia 
(Henley)  Bulla  and  a  grandson  of  Archie  and 
Millicent  (Rush)  Bulla.  His  maternal  grandfather 
was  Nixon  Henley.  The  Bulla  family  was  estab- 
lished in  Randolph  County  by  Thomas  Bulla,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  He  came  to  the  state 
in  colonial  days,  acquiring  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Back  Creek  Township,  and  was  one  of  the  first 
to  make  a  permanent  home  in  that  region.  Before 
his  death  he  had  cleared  and  improved  quite  a 
tract  of  land,  and  some  of  that  property  is  still 
owned  by  his  descendants.  Archie  Bulla,  grand- 
father of  Archie  Nixon  Bulla,  was  an  old-time 
country  physician,  spent  his  life  in  Back  Creek 
Townsliip,  and  in  the  days  of  horseback  riding  and 
saddle  bags  carried  his  services  to  patients  over 
a  district  many  miles  in  extent.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  attained  a  good  old  age.  They  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Joseph  C,  Flora,  Margaret,  Al- 
fred, Jefferson,  Sarah,  Hattie,  Amanda  and  Cora. 
Joseph  Chapman  Bulla  grew  up  on  a  farm,  and 
made  farming  his  chief  pursuit.  He  still  owns 
and  occupies  a  farm  in  Back  Creek  * about  two 
miles  from  his  birthplace.  He  and  his  wife  reared 
eight  children:  Nora,  Archie  Nixon,  Minnie, 
Sadie,  Thomas,  Nellie,  Minty  and  Mary. 

Archie  Nixon  Bulla  acquired  a  good  education 
as  a  preparation  for  the  serious  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  life.  From  the  district  schools  he 
entered  the  old  New  Garden  Boarding  School.  He 
was  a  student  there  the  last  term  it  was  known 
under  that  name,  and  also  attended  at  the  opening 
of  Guilford  College.  When  he  left  school  he 
located  at  Randleman  and  soon  established  the 
Randleman  Hosiery  Mills.  With  this  important 
local  institution  his  name  has  ever  since  been  iden- 
tified, and  he  is  secretary,  treasurer  and  general 
manager  of  the  company.  He  has  also  given  much 
of  his  time  to  public  affairs.  Besides  his  present 
office  he  served  five  years  as  mayor  of  Randleman, 
seventeen  years  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, and  five  years  as  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  County  Commissioners.  Mr.  Bulla  is  affiliated 
with  Randleman  Lodge  No.  209,  F.  and  A.  M.  He 
was  reared  a  Quaker  and  his  wife  with  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church,  and  both  are  now^  affil- 
iated with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

Mr.  Bulla  married  in  1892  Miss  Dora  Julian. 
She  was  born  in  Providence  Township  of  Randolph 
County,  a  daughter  of  Wesley  and  Mary  Julian. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children:  Mary  Allen, 
Robert  Chapman,  Frances  Willard,  John  C.  and 
Eugene  A. 

Robert  L.  Gash.  Not  a  few  of  the  important 
successes  of  the  able  lawyer  have  come  to  Robert 
L.  Gash  during  his  practice  at  Brevard.  Mr. 
Gash  has  had  a  wide  experience  in  the  world  and 
was  a  business  man  before  he  took  up  the  law. 

He  represents  an  old  family  of  this  section  of 
North  Carolina  and  was  born  at  Brevard,  October 
6,  1877,  son  of  Thomas  Lenoir  and  Dovey  (Deaver) 
Gash.  His  father  was  both  a  merchant  and  farmer 
and  also  had  an  important  public  record,  serving 
as  clerk  of  courts  and  master  in  equity  and  also 
as  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  Robert  L.  Gash 
was  educated  in  public  schools  and  in  the  famous 


,?l^/2J*Z^r 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


379 


Bingham  Military  School.  He  graduated  from 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  February,  1906.  In  the  meantime, 
from  1895  to  1904,  he  accumulated  much  business 
experience  and  knowledge  of  the  world  as  a  travel- 
ing salesman  and  bookkeeper.  Since  his  admission 
to  the  bar  he  has  been  in  general  practice  at 
Brevard  and  during  that  time  gave  valuable  pub- 
lic service  by  his  ten  years  incumbency  of  the 
office  of  county  attorney.  Mr.  Gash  is  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  Shriner 
and  is  a  past  noble  grand  and  past  chief  patri- 
arch of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
He  belongs  to  the  Brevard  Club,  the  Asheville 
Club  and  is  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Marvin  Lee  Bitch.  The  combination  of  super- 
lative skill  in  athletics  and  eminent  abilities  in 
the  law  is  perhaps  an  unusual  one,  and  it  is  still 
more  unusual  to  find  the  possessor  of  these  at- 
tainments actively  engaged  in  the  widely  diverg- 
ing fields  of  endeavor.  That  an  individual  can 
make  a  success  of  both  these  vocations  at  the 
same  time,  however,  is  being  displayed  in  the  ac- 
tivities of  Marvin  Lee  Bitch,  of  Charlotte,  city 
attorney,  one  of  the  leading  and  brilliant  young 
legists  of  the  city,  and  a  famous  football  coach. 

Mr.  Bitch  was  born  March  7,  1889,  in  Union 
County,  North  Carolina,  being  a  son  of  W.  C.  and 
Martha  (Lee)  Bitch,  the  former  now  deceased 
and  the  latter  still  surviving.  His  father  was  a 
farmer,  and  Marvin  L.  Bitch  was  reared  amid 
rural  surroundings,  but  very  early  in  life  began 
to  work  seriously  in  the  way  of  obtaining  an  ad- 
vanced education,  something  more  than  could  be 
obtained  in  the  country  districts.  Eventually  he 
spent  three  years  in  attendance  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  where  he  did  thorough 
work  in  the  academic  department,  and  then  re- 
ceived an  appointment  to  the  position  of  pri- 
vate secretary  to  Congressman  Yates  Webb,  of 
North  Carolina,  and  went  to  Washington,  D.  C. 
After  two  years  of  association  with  that  gentle- 
man he  became  private  secretary  to  United  States 
Senator  Hollis  Bankhead,  of  Alabama,  with  whom 
he  remained  for  one  year,  and  during  the  en- 
tire three  years  studied  law  at  Georgetown 
University,  from  which  institution  he  was  duly 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in 
1914.  He  crowded  work  into  every  day  and  es- 
tablished a  most  creditable  record  as  a  student, 
but  as  the  duties  of  his  office  were  so  exacting 
he  was  compelled  to  do  a  great  deal  of  his  study- 
ing at  night.  Beside  the  fine  facilities  for  ac- 
quiring law  which  Mr.  Bitch  enjoyed,  he  also  ob- 
tained a  knowledge  of  and  experience  in  politics 
and  public  affairs  which  Washington  affords,, 
through  his  association  with  the  two  distinguished 
statesmen  mentioned  above,  and  which  are  rarely 
possessed  by  so  young  a  man.  Instead  of  yield- 
ing to  the  temptation,  as  so  many  young  men 
have  done  in  similar  position,  to  remain  in  Wash- 
ington in  easy  circumstances,  after  he  had  com- 
pleted his  law  course  there  he  decided  to  return 
to  North  Carolina,  get  married,  and  settle  down  to 
the  earnest  business  of  life.  He  has  been  re- 
markably successful,  for,  besides  his  brilliant  tal- 
ents, fortune  seems  to  have  smiled  upon  him.  On 
leaving  the  law  school  he  came  directly  to  Char- 
lotte in  June,  1914,  and  in  May  of  the  following 
year  was  elected  city  attorney,  a  position  which 
he  has  since  filled  with  particular  fitness  and  pro- 
ficiency.     He   enjoys,   in   addition,   a   fine   profes- 


sional business  in  the  general  practice  of  law  in 
all  the  courts. 

Mr.  Bitch  became  famous  as  a  football  player 
on  the  team  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  especially  distinguishing  himself  in  the  games 
played  between  his  university  and  the  University 
of  Virginia,  Georgetown  University,  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  soon  after  coming  to  Charlotte  inter- 
ested himself  enthusiastically  in  local  foot  ball  and 
became  the  coach  of  the  Charlotte  High  School 
Team.  On  this  team  he  has  developed  a  number 
of  brilliant  young  players  and  has  placed  the 
team  in  a  high  rank  with  schools  of  this  class. 
His  success  and  brilliant  achievements  as  a  coach 
are  naturally  a  source  of  great  pride  to  Mr.  Bitch, 
as  they  have  demonstrated  that  North  Carolina 
and  the  other  universities  and  colleges  of  the  state 
can  develop  coaches  that  are  equal  to  if  not  su- 
perior to  those  of  the  northern  universities,  and 
that  it  is  not  necessary  therefore  to  send  to  the 
North  for  coaches  for  North  Carolina  teams.  All 
the  way  through  he  is  an  enthusiastic  and  profi- 
cient athlete. 

Mr.  Bitch  married  Miss  Hazel  Morris  Bobinson, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Gaston  County,  North 
Carolina.  They  are  faithful  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  and  Mr.  Bitch  belongs  to  the  local 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  in  which 
he  has  been  an  active  worker. 

Gilbert  McLeod,  M.  D.  Work  as  a  skillful  phy- 
sician and  surgeon  for  over  thirty  years  at  Car- 
thage in  Moore  County  has  brought  Dr.  Gilbert 
McLeod  a  vast  esteem  and  respect  as  a  citizen, 
while  in  his  profession  he  is  universally  regarded 
as  the  best  type  of  medical  man.  Besides  his  large 
general  practice  his  career  is  of  public  interest  be- 
cause of  his  position  as  head  of  the  general  medical 
work  connected  with  the  James  McConnell  Memo- 
rial Hospital  at  Eureka  in  Moore  County. 

The  object  and  work  of  this  institution  deserve 
something  more  than  passing  mention.  The  hos- 
pital was  established  in  April,  1917,  as  a  result  of 
the  benefactions  of  a  number  of  wealthy  citizens  of 
the  county  who  had  already  become  interested  in 
the  Farm  Life  School  at  Eureka.  The  hospital  is 
in  realty  an  outgrowth  of  the  latter  institution,  and 
is  conducted  largely  as  an  adjunct  to  the  school. 
It  is  therefore  in  the  nature  of  a  gift  to  all  of 
Moore  County.  The  hospital  is  carried  on  under 
the  direction  of  a  number  of  leading  physicians 
and  surgeons  of  the  county  and  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Doctor  McLeod.  Doctor  McLeod  has 
been  enthusiastically  devoted  to  this  enterprise 
from  the  beginning.  It  is  a  unique  and  in  many 
respects  a  remarkable  institution.  Located  in  the 
midst  of  the  quiet  and  healthful  section  of  the 
famous  Sand  Hills  country,  away  from  railroads 
and  other  distractions,  surrounded  by  pine  clad 
hills,  there  is  every  inducement  for  the  cure  and 
quick  recovery  of  patients.  The  hospital,  which 
cost  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  was  designed 
and  built  in  a  way  to  take  every  advantage  of  the 
situation,  combining  scientific  equipment  with  the 
co-operation  of  nature  in  outdoor  life.  There  are 
four  private  rooms  and  two  wards,  one  for  male 
and  one  for  female  patients,  with  fifteen  beds  in 
each.  The  hospital  is  equipped  with  an  operating 
room  that  in  its  facilities  for  successful  surgery  is 
said  to  be  equal  to  anything  of  its  kind  in  the 
country.  Many  visiting  surgeons  have  pronounced 
this  feature  of  the  institution  ideal.  There  is  also 
a  complete  arrangement  of  baths,  heating,  electric 


380 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


light,  sanitary  sewerage  and  other  modern  con- 
veniences. The  local  staff  consists  of  a  resident 
physician  and  a  corps  of  graduate  nurses. 

The  institution  has  become  a  factor  in  promot- 
ing the  child  conservation  movement.  Members  of 
the  staff  undertake  examination  and  treatment  of 
the  children  of  the  county  which  follows  a  survey 
that  is  regularly  made  of  this  district.  The  hos- 
pital is  supplied  with  vegetables  and  fruit  from 
the  Farm  Life  School,  and  also  has  pure  milk  from 
a  herd  of  dairy  cattle.  During  the  winter  season 
the  hospital  is  patronized  by  many  of  the  wealthy 
tourists  from  the  North  who  spend  the  winter  at 
the  neighboring  Pinehurst,  and  who  have  made 
many  substantial  gifts  to  the  hospital..  Most  of 
the  work  of  the  hospital,  however,  is  carried  on 
along  the  lines  for  which  it  was  primarily  intended. 
Doctor  McLeod  represents  one  of  the  old  High- 
land Scotch  families  that  have  been  identified  with 
the  Upper  Cape  Fear  region  of  North  Carolina 
■for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half.  His  grandfather, 
John  McLeod,  was  a  small  boy  when  brought  from 
Scotland  by  his  parents,  who  located  a  few  miles 
south  of  Deep  River  in  the  northern  part  of  what 
is  now  Moore  County.  They  settled  there  about  a 
year  before  the  Revolution. 

Doctor  McLeod  was  born  near  Carbonton  in 
Deep  River  Township  of  Moore  County  in  1857,  son 
of  Angus  and  Catherine  (McRae)  McLeod.  His 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Gilbert  McRae,  a  native 
of  Scotland.  Her  mother  was  a  Murchison.  All 
these  names  represent  the  best  blood  of  the  Scotch 
race  in  this  part  of  North  Carolina. 

Doctor  McLeod  grew  up  on  his  father's  planta- 
tion, attended  country  schools,  and  for  three  years 
was  a  student  of  Professor  John  E.  Kelly  at  the 
famous  Union  Home  School  of  Moore  County.  From 
this  preparatory  school  he  entered  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  was  a  student  there  three  years, 
the  last  year  being  devoted  to  medical  studies.  His 
medical  education  was  finished  in  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  the  University  of  Maryland  at  Balti- 
more, where  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1882.  His  first  work  as  a  practicing  physician  was 
done  at  Morven  in  the  southern  part  of  Anson 
County,  where  he  remained  four  years,  but  in  1887 
established  his  home  and  office  at  Carthage,  county 
seat  of  his  home  county.  Dr.  McLeod  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  County  and  State  Medical  societies  and 
the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is  a  Pres- 
byterian, as  have  been  his  ancestors.  In  1886  he 
married  Miss  Sarah  Catherine  Cole,  daughter  of 
the  late  Thomas  Cole  of  Cole's  Mills  in  Moore 
County.  Their  four  children  are:  Miss  Katie  Lee, 
Miss  Bessie,  Thomas  Cole  and  William  Gilbert 
McLeod. 

Alex  H.  McLeod,  M.  D.  For  at  least  a  century 
the  name  McLeod  has  represented  some  of  the  fin- 
est Scotch  stock  of  Moore  County,  and  many  of  the 
name  have  played  useful  and  honorable  parts  in 
local  activities,  as  farmers,  soldiers,  public  of- 
ficials and  in  the  professions.  One  of  the  most 
skillful  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  county 
is  Dr.  Alex  H.  McLeod,  who  for  nearly  twenty 
years  has  practiced  at  Aberdeen. 

Doctor  McLeod  was  born  in  the  lower  part  of 
Moore  County,  six  miles  from  Aberdeen,  in  1871,  a 
son  of  Alex  and  Maggie  (Warner)  McLeod.  His 
grandfather,  John  McLeod,  was  born  in  Scotland, 
and  when  four  years  of  age,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  was  brought  to  North  Caro- 
lina by  his  parents.  A  number  of  the  McLeods  and 
their  connections  located  in  the  lower  part  of  the 


county.  John  McLeod  reared  a  family  of  seven 
sons  and  five  daughters,  and  all  of  them  were  un- 
usually strong  and  vigorous  and  exemplified  the 
best  characteristics  of  lineage.  One  of  the  sons 
of  John  McLeod  was  the  late  Evander  McLeod, 
who  died  in  April,  1917,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven.  He  was  the  historian  of  the  family  and  of 
almost  the  entire  group  of  Scotch  people  found  in 
Moore,  Cumberland  and  adjoining  counties.  He 
possessed  great  intelligence  and  a  remarkable  mem- 
ory for  names,  dates  and  incidents.  John  McLeod 's 
wife  was  a  Johnson,  and  her  brother  attained  dis- 
tinction by  his  long  service  of  twenty-five  years 
as  sheriff  of  Cumberland  County. 

Alex  McLeod,  Sr.,  father  of  Doctor  McLeod,  was 
born  at  the  ancestral  home,  about  a  half  mile  from 
the  Doctor's  birthplace.  During  the  war  between 
the  states  he  served  as  a  special  courier  on  the 
staff  of  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  in  Virginia.  He  was 
selected  for  this  position  on  account  of  his  skill- 
ful horsemanship  and  his  unusual  talent  and  apti- 
tude for  scout  duty.  He  was  a  great  lover  of 
horses,  always  had  a  number  of  fine  animals,  was 
a  keen  sportsman,  fond  of  hunting,  and  in  the 
early  days  usually  killed  from  fifty  to  sixty  deer 
in  a  season,  besides  great  numbers  of  wild  tur- 
keys and  other  minor  game.  By  occupation  he  was 
a  turpentine  operator  and  a  farmer. 

Doctor  MeLeod's  mother,  Maggie  (Warner)  Mc- 
Leod, who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-four, 
was  born  in  Moore  County,  near  Carthage,  of 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Her  mother  was  a  Living- 
stone, a  Scotch  name. 

Doctor  McLeod  spent  his  early  life  on  his  fath- 
er 's  farm.  He  prepared  for  college  in  addition  to 
the  advantages  of  the  local  schools  by  one  year 
at  Thompson's  Military  School  at  Siler  City,  and 
2  years  under  the  special  tutelage  of  Maj.  Jesse 
McLean  at  Red  Springs.  From  there  he  entered 
Baltimore  Medical  College,  and  some  time  before 
he  was  graduated  with  his  Doctor  of  Medicine  de- 
gree in  1896  this  institution  was  amalgamated  with 
the  University  of  Maryland.  Doctor  McLeod  be- 
gan practice  at  Hoffman  in  Richmond  County,  but 
twenty-two  months  later,  on  March  25,  1898,  es- 
tablished his  home  at  Aberdeen  and  now  for  a 
number  of  years  has  enjoyed  a  large  general  prac- 
tice in  both  medicine  and  surgery.  He  is  a  very 
active  and  progressive  man,  both  in  professional 
affairs  and  civic  life,  and  one  of  the  leading  men 
of  Aberdeen,  the  financial  and  railroad  center  of 
Moore  County  and  of  the  Sand  Hill  region.  Doc- 
tor McLeod  is  a  member  of  the  County  and  State 
Medical  Societies  and  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation. He  married  Miss  Carry  Broom,  of  Union 
County,  North  Carolina. 

William  G.  Munyan.  The  unexcelled  manufac- 
turing facilities  of  High  Point  and  the  great  hard- 
wood industry  in  this  section  of  the  state  has 
attracted  many  experienced  and  successful  men  to 
this  center,  and  one  of  them  is  William  G.  Mun- 
yan,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  for  many  years  engaged 
in  lumber  manufacture  in  that  and  other  north- 
ern states. 

Mr.  Munyan  came  to  High  Point  in  1910  and 
became  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Southern 
Veneer  and  Panel  Company.  In  1916,  with  the 
reorganization  and  amalgamation  of  several  sim- 
ilar industries,  there  was  organized  the  Consoli- 
dated Veneer  and  Panel  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
Munyan  has  since  been  secretary,  treasurer  and 
general  manager.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  cor- 
porations  manufacturing  lumber  products    in   the 


/#<£  74£~*p. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


3S1 


state.  Besides  a  large  plant  at  High  Point  they 
operate  another  at  Thomasville,  in  Davidson 
County;  one  at  West  End,  in  Moore  County,  and 
one  at  Taylorsville,  in  Alexander  County.  Mr. 
Munyan  is  prominent  among  his  business  asso- 
ciates, and  is  a  member  of  the  Southern  Furni- 
ture Manufacturers  Association. 

He  is  of  old  American  stock  and  one  branch  of 
lineage  goes  back  to  the  time  of  the  Mayflower. 
He  was  born  at  Ravenna,  county  seat  of  Portage 
County,  Ohio,  son  of  Augustus  and  Marietta  (Gib- 
son) Munyan,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Thirza 
(Knapp)  Munyan.  His  great-grandfather  was 
John  Munyan.  John  Munyan,  Jr.,  his  grandfather, 
spent  his  life  at  Thompson,  Connecticut.  He  was 
survived  by  his  wife,  who  followed  her  children  to 
the  wilds  of  Ohio,  where  she  died. 

Augustus  Munyan,  father  of  the  High  Point 
Tjusiness  man,  who  was  born  in  1799,  and  in  1817 
moved  to  the  new  State  of  Ohio.  This  journey 
was  accomplished  with  ox  teams  and  over  almost 
unbroken  trails  and  roads.  He  bought  a  tract  of 
timbered  land  in  Charlestown  Township  of  Port- 
age County,  erected  a  log  house  there,  and  was 
associated  with  the  early  pioneers  in  clearing  up 
and  establishing  homes.  Late  in  life  he  moved  to 
Ravenna  and  died  there  in  1876,  in  his  seventy- 
seventh  year.  His  wife  was  born  at  Warsaw,  New 
York,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  They 
had  four  children,  Celia,  Charles,  George  and 
William  G. 

William  G.  Munyan  spent  his  early  life  in  one 
of  the  typical  high  class  communities  of  old  Ohio 
Western  Reserve,  was  well  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  also  at  Oberlin  College.  At  the  age 
of  eighteen  he  began  teaching  and  taught  in  sev- 
eral localities  of  Ohio.  His  first  industrial  expe- 
ri?nce  was  as  a  cbeesernaker,  an  art  he  learned 
thoroughly,  and  for  a  time  he  operated  a  cheese 
factory. 

Mr. "  Munyan 's  experience  in  the  veneer  business 
covers  a  period  of  thirty-five  years.  He  estab- 
lished a  veneer  panel  factory  in  1882  in  Ashtabula 
County,  Ohio,  and  operated  it  successfully  for  sev- 
eral years.  Later  he  was  similarly  engaged  in 
different  states  and  also  in  Canada,  and  was  a 
man  of  high  standing  in  lumber  circles  when  he 
joined  forces  with  the  High  Point  community  in 
1910.  He  is  a  member  of  the  High  Point  Com- 
mercial Club  and  is  affiliated  with  High  Point 
Lodge  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

In  1880  he  married  Miss  Ida  Thankful  Wet- 
more,  who  was  born  at  Kelloggsville  in  Ashtabula 
County.  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Juliette 
Wetmore.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Munyan  have  had  two 
children,  John  and  Marietta.  John,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-four,  married  Lucy  0.  Downey 
and  is  survived  by  three  children,  Ida  C,  William 
D.  and  John  J. 

Herset  Batlies  Parker,  Jr.,  while  creating 
for  himself  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  lawyer 
and  enjoying  a  practice  at  Goldsboro  that  ranks 
him  among  the  leaders  of  the  bar  in  the  state, 
does  not  confine  all  his  interests  to  his  profession. 
He  is  a  leader  in  the  democratic  party,  has  been 
an  indefatigable  worker  in  behalf  of  church  and 
Sunday  school,  and  has  participated  in  many  civic 
movements  to  their  benefit. 

He  was  born  at  Como,  Hertford  County,  North 
Carolina.  March  14,  1870,  a  son  of  Rev.  Hersey 
Baylies  Parker.  Sr.,  and  Maria  Agnes  (Majette) 
Parker.     He  was  educated  at  Buckhorn  Academv 


at  Como  in  Hertford  County,  and  was  for  one  year 
in  the  academic  department  with  the  class  of  1893 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  also  read 
law  at  the  university,  and  obtained  a  license  to 
practice  law  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  North 
Carolina  in  February,  1892.  He  was  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  North  Wilkesboro  until 
January,  1895,  and  since  then  at  Goldsboro.  As 
attorney  he  represents  a  number  of  important  in- 
terests, though  he  has  held  no  office  in  any  corpo- 
ration except  as  president  of  the  Eord  Garage 
Company  of  Goldsboro.  He  is  legal  adviser  of 
the  Goldsboro  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  and  of 
the  Virginia  Lumber  and  Box  Company,  which 
maintains  a  large  manufacturing  plant  at  Peters- 
burg, Virginia,  and  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina. 
Eor  twenty-six  years  Mr.  Parker  has  been  local 
representative  for  R.  G.  Dun  &  Company.  He 
has  not  acquired  much  wealth,  only  sixty  or  sev- 
enty thousand  dollars  and  perhaps  has  no  strong 
ambition  in  that  direction,  but  while  he  has  made 
some  money  he  has  spent  his  years  chiefly  in 
laboring  for  others,  and  in  that  has  found  more 
pleasure  than  in  mere  money  making. 

In  1901  Mr.  Parker  joined  Company  D,  Second 
Regiment,  North  Carolina  State  Guard,  in  a  few 
months  was  elected  corporal,  then  sergeant,  then 
captain  in  September,  1901,  a  position  he  filled 
until  July,  1903,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of 
personal  injuries  received  in  a  railroad  wreck 
May  19,  1903.  He  was  appointed  assistant  in- 
spector-general of  North  Carolina  with  the  rank 
of  major  under  Governor  W.  W.  Kitchin  in  1908, 
and  served  through  his  term,  when  he  resigned! 
He^  took  a  very  vigorous  part  in  the  campaign  by 
which  Governor  Kitchin  was  elected. 

Mr.  Parker  was  the  first  elected  mayor  of 
North  Wilkesboro  in  1893  and  served  until  he 
moved  to  Goldsboro  in  January,  1895.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Legislature 
in  1903.  During  that  session  he  was  author  of 
the  clause  in  the  Revenue  Law  that  put  the  gam- 
bling musical  machines  out  of  business  in  North 
Carolina.  He  is  also  credited  with  being  author 
of  the  first  child  labor  law  ever  introduced  into 
a  North  Carolina  Legislature,  and  he  pushed  the 
passage  of  that  bill  to  a  successful  enactment. 
He  also  aided  in  passing  the  first  State  Audubon 
law,  and  prohibition  measure  known  as  the  Watts 
Act.  On  account  of  poor  health  Mr.  Parker  de- 
clined renomination.  He  has  served  as  secretary 
of  the  County  Democratic  Executive  Committee 
from  1900  to  the  present  time,  and  was  chairman 
of  the  County  Board  of  Elections  from  1903  until 
1916,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  press  of 
business. 

As  to  fundamental  politics  Mr.  Parker  is  a 
democrat  of  the  old  school  with  respect  to  eco- 
nomical administration  of  government,  and  at  the 
same  time  is  very  progressive  in  his  ideas.  He 
realizes  the  need  of  agricultural  development  of 
the  state,  and  to  quote  his  own  language  he  ' '  thinks 
the  state  which  honors  overalls  the  most  will 
lead  in  the  race  of  development. ' '  Fraternally 
Mr.  Parker  is  a  member,  though  not  active,  in  the 
local  branch  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Junior  Or- 
der of  United  American  Mechanics  and  the  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

He  became  a  member  of  Buckhorn  Missionary 
Baptist  Church  of  Como,  Hertford  Countv,  North 
Carolina  when  nine  years  of  age.  He"  is  now 
superintendent  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
Sunday    School    of    Goldsboro,    an    office    he    has 


382 


HISTORY  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA 


filled  fourteen  years.  He  was  secretary  and 
later  president  and  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Wayne  County  Sunday  School 
Association,  and  during  his  official  connection 
sought  to  make  it  the  best  in  the  state.  He 
served  a  number  of  years  as  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  State  Inter-Denomina- 
tional Sunday  School  Association  under  N.  B. 
Broughten  as  chairman.  He  is  deacon  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  at  Goldsboro.  He  was  sec- 
retary of  the  building  committee  during  the  erec- 
tion of  the  handsome  new  edifice  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church. 

On  February  16,  1905,  Mr.  Parker  married  Miss 
Helen  A.  Vann,  of  Como,  North  Carolina,  daugh- 
er  of  T.  E.  Vann,  a  planter  of  Hertford  County 
and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College.  T.  E.  Vann 
is  a  brother  of  Dr.  R.  T.  Vann,  former  president 
of  Meredith  College  and  now  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  the  Baptist  State  Conven- 
tion. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  have  two  children: 
Edward  Vann  Parker  and  Mary  Frances  Parker. 

Taken  with  such  an  individual  career  of  so 
much  solid  achievement  and  attainment,  there  is 
every  reason  why  Mr.  Parker  should  feel  honor- 
able pride  in  his  worthy  ancestors,  many  of  whom 
have  played  an  important  part  in  the  history  of 
North  Carolina  since  Colonial  days. 

His  ancestry  in  the  paternal  line  leads  back  to 
William  Parker,  who  was  born  about  1697  and 
died  in  1760.  He  was  a  brother  of  Joseph  and 
Jonathan  Parker,  and  came  over  from  England 
with  them  in  1717,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
first  Baptist  church  ever  established  in  North 
Carolina — Old  Bethel,  founded  in  1727  in  Perqui- 
mans County.  It  was  afterwards  in  1729,  named 
and  moved  to  Shilo,  a  few  miles  distance,  in  Cam- 
den County,  North  Carolina. 

William  Parker  also  founded  Meherin  Baptist 
Church,  the  second  Baptist  church  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  gave  the  land  on  which  the  site  of 
church  building  is  now  situated.  This  was  in 
1735.  The  church  is  within  one  mile  of  the  Town 
of  Murfreesboro.  The  old  building  was  torn  down 
about  1905  and  rebuilt  of  stone. 

The  will  of  Joseph  Parker,  a  brother  of  Wil- 
liam, is  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  at  Raleigh  and  was  probated  in  January 
court,  1749.  The  legatees  were  his  daughters, 
Mary  Cannon,  Ruth  and  Lenina,  and  his  sons  were 
Jacob,  Tobe,  Mathew  and  Joseph.  The  Coat  of 
Arms  of  the  Parkers  was  a  couchant  lion,  or  a 
sleeping  lion. 

John  or  Jonathan  Parker,  a  son  of  William, 
was  born  about  1745,  and  was  one  of  the  com- 
mittee who  laid  off  the  Town  of  Murfreesboro, 
North  Carolina,  in  1787.  His  fourth  and  last  wife 
was  Elizabeth  Banks  Parker.  Their  children  were : 
Br.  King  Parker,  Jacob  Parker,  who  was  born 
April  10,  1822,  and  died  June  10,  1901,  having 
lived  and  died  at  Warrenton;  and  Elizabeth  or 
Betsey,  who  married  Samuel  Moore  of  Maneys 
Neck  Township,  Herford  County.  Jonathan  Par- 
ker and  Elizabeth  Banks  were  married  in  Yonkers, 
New  York,  the  home  of  her  parents. 

Dr.  King  Parker,  who  was  a  doctor  of  dental 
surgery  and  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth 
Parker,  was  born  in  1815  and  died  at  Marion, 
Alabama,  in  1870.  He  married  at  Murfreesboro, 
North  Carolina,  in  1834,  Frances  Sackett  Ogden 
Rea.  She  was  born  October  30,  1819.  Her 
father,  William  Rea,  was  born  September  23, 
1792,    in   Boston,    Massachusetts,   and    died   about 


1860  in  Yonkers,  New  York.  His  parents  were 
Daniel  Rea  and  Rachel  Johnson.  William  Rea 
went  from  Boston  to  Yonkers,  New  York,  and 
then  to  Murfreesboro,  North  Carolina.'  He  was 
one  of  the  first  merchants  to  introduce  oil  lamps 
into  North  Carolina.  Daniel  Rea,  his  father,  a 
native  of  Boston,  died  February  13,  1803.  He 
married  in  1764  Rachel  Johnson.  William  Rea 
was  married  four  times.  His  first  wife  was  Mar- 
garet Wynn,  his  second  wife  was  her'  sister,  Mary 
Wynn,  both  of  Hertford  County,  North  Carolina,, 
his  third  wife  was  Mary  Peck,  and  his  fourth 
wife,  the  mother  of  Frances  Sackett  Ogden  Parker, 
was  Julia  A.  Blaekwell,  both  of  New  York  state, 
the  latter  of  whom  he  married  December  24,  1818. 
William  Rea  and  wife,  Julia  A.  (Blaekwell)  Rea, 
moved  back  to  New  York  and  lived  and  died  in 
the  Manor  House  in  Yonkers  which  was  used  by 
George  Washington  as  his  headquarters  while 
fighting  in  New  York.  Julia  A.  Blaekwell  was 
the  daughter  of  James  Blaekwell  and  Elizabeth 
Hallett.  James  Blaekwell  at  one  time  owned 
Blaekwell 's  Island  in  New  York  Harbor.  James 
Blaekwell  and  Elizabeth  Hallett  were  married 
June  23,  1779. 

The  late  Rev.  Hersey  Baylies  Parker,  Sr.,  a 
son  of  Dr.  King  Parker  and  Frances  Sackett  Og- 
den Rea  Parker,  was  born  at  Murfreesboro,  North 
Carolina,  February  22,  1838,  and  died  at  Aulander, 
North  Carolina,  November  12,  1916.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Buckhorn  Academy,  now  Como,  and  at. 
Princeton  College  in  New  Jersey.  He  graduated 
at  Princeton  with  the  class  of  1856.  Though  only 
eighteen  years  of  age,  he  stood  eighth  from  the 
head  of  a  class  of  ninety-six  members.  He  read 
law  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1856- 
1857.  Professing  religion  at  Chapel  Hill,  under 
the  preaching  of  Pierson,  the  Presbyterian  Evan- 
gelist, he  abandoned  his  law  course  in  1858  and 
began  to  preach.  He  later  joined  the  Buckhorn 
Missionary  Baptist  Church  at  Buekhorn,  now 
Como,  and  remained  with  that  denomination  until 
about  1890,  when  he  withdrew  because  he  objected 
to  the  methods  of  carrying  on  missions  by  the 
expensive  method  of  boards  and  to  the  authority 
which  the  Baptist  Association  and  Conventions 
seemed  to  be  taking  over  the  individual  churches. 
He  organized  a  number  of  churches  in  Hertford, 
Northampton,  Bertie  and  Perquimans  counties  and 
served  as  pastor  until  a  few  years  prior  to  his 
death,  when  he  gave  up  the  work  on  account  of 
failing  strength  and  health.  He  joined  the  Con- 
federate Army,  and  served  until  the  surrender,  and 
was  a  faithful  and  fearless  soldier.  He  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  ablest  Baptist  ministers  in 
the  state,  and  was  a  most  pious  and  devoted  man 
in  his  community. 

Rev.  H.  B.  Parker  and  Maria  Agnes  Majette 
were  married  at  her  father 's  home  in  Southamp- 
ton County,  Virginia,  December  12,  1858.  She 
was  born  February  20,  1836,  and  died  at  Como, 
North  Carolina,  January  9,  1907.  Her  parents 
were  James  and  Penelope  A.  (Darden")  Majette. 
Her  parents  were  married  July  29,  1824,  in  Hert- 
ford County,  North  Carolina.',  and  they  lived  a 
few  miles  distant,  in  Southampton  County,  Vir- 
ginia, all  their  lives. 

James  Majette  was  the  son  of  William  Maget 
(the  name  was  later  changed  by  the  Legislature 
to  Majette)  to  conform  to  the  French  pronuncia- 
tion. William  Majette  married  Sallie  Knight,  a 
widow.  William  Maget  came  over  from  France 
with  three  brothers.  James  Majette  was  born 
October   6,   1803,   and   died   June   19,   1862,   from 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


383 


heart  failure.  His  sudden  death  occurred  under 
a  large  hickory  tree  on  his  home  farm  which 
marked  the  line  between  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia, while  he  was  observing  his  slaves  at  work. 

Penelope  Ann  Majette  was  the  daughter  of 
Jethro  Darden,  whose  wife  was  a  Miss  Moore. 
Penelope  was  born  March  5,  1804,  and  died  No- 
vember 12,  1881.  She  was  a  sister  of  Dr.  Jet 
Darden  of  Hertford  County.  Jethro  Darden,  her 
father,  lived  in  Hertford  County,  North  Carolina, 
in  Maneys  Neck  Township.  Dr.  Jet  Darden  rep- 
resented his  county  in  the  State  Legislature  for 
sixteen  years,  resigning  on  account  of  blindness. 

Rev.  H.  B.  Parker  and  wife  had  the  following 
children :  James  Thomas  Parker,  who  was  born 
March  17,  1861,  and  died  November  28,  1915,  at 
Lynchburg,  Virginia,  leaving  a  wife,  Daisy  Cross 
Parker,  and  one  daughter,  Mary  Blackwell  Parker ; 
Walter  King  Parker,  born  November  27,  1864; 
John  Mitchell  Parker,  born  April  27,  1867;  H. 
B.  Parker,  Jr.,  born  March  14,  1870;  Julius  Agnes 
Parker,  bora  February  27,  1873,  and  died  October 
9,  1906;  Frederick  Pope  Parker,  born  November 
23,  1S75;  and  Dr.  Rea  Parker,  bom  October  27. 
1878. 

Abel  Quincy  Kale.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant industrial  enterprises  of  Gaston  County,  and 
one  that  affects  the  prosperity  of  a  wide  section 
is  the  great  cotton  mill  operated  at  High  Shoals 
by  the  High  Shoals  Company,  the  superintendent 
and  manager  of  which  is  Abel  Quincy  Kale,  who 
is  also  an  extensive  landowner,  farmer  and  breeder 
of  fine  cattle.  Mr.  Kale  was  born  at  Catawba, 
Catawba  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1872.  His 
parents  were  Lawson  Henderson  and  Catherine 
Elmira   (Odem)    Kale. 

The  pioneer  settlers  of  Cawtaba  and  Lincoln 
counties,  North  Carolina,  were  mainly  of  German 
extraction,  and  many  families,  as  did  the  Kales, 
moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  this  state  prior  to 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Lawson  Henderson  Kale 
was  born  in  Cawtaba  County,  August  27,  1816, 
and  died  at  Mount  Hollv  in  Gaston  County,'  North 
Carolina,  September  3,  1899.  He  was'  a  mill- 
wright by  trade  and  his  main  business  through- 
out the  active  years  of  his  life  was  the  building 
of  cotton  mills  in  the*  Catawba  Valley.  He  was 
twice  married,  the  mother  of  Abel  Quincy  being 
his  second  wife.  She  was  born  June  19,  1844  and 
died   February   2,    1893. 

Abel  Quincy  Kale  attended  school  and  passed 
his  boyhood  and  young  manhood  at  Mount  Holly, 
to  which  place  the  family  had  removed  in  his 
childhood,  and  under  his  father  he  learned  the 
millwright  trade  and  afterward  worked  at  the 
same  at  Mount  Holly  and  Charlotte,  North  Car- 
olin,  and  at  Greenville.  South  Carolina,  and  ever 
since  has  been  connected  with  the  building  and 
operation  of  cotton  mills. 

Owing  to  his  thorough  and  efficient  manner 
of  working  and  to  his  uprightness  in  business 
transactions,  Mr.  Kale  was  fortunate  enough  to 
come  under  the  attention  and  meet  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  late  D.  A.  Tompkins,  of  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina's  great  industrial  leader  and  con- 
structive citizen.  At  that  time  Mr.  Tompkins  was 
the  state's  leading  builder  of  cotton  mills  and 
other  industrial  plants  and  was  a  widely  quoted 
authority  on  cotton  mill  machinery,  equipment 
and  construction.  Mr.  Kale  entered  his  employ 
and  in  1899  Mr.  Tompkins  sent  him  to  Hi<r'h 
Shoals  in  Gaston  County  to  build  a  cotton  mill. 
Mr.  Kale  built  the  mill,  completing  it  in  1890,  and 


this  place  has  been  his  home  ever  since.  He 
was  made  superintendent  and  manager  and  has 
occupied  the  same  official  relations  ever  since, 
and  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  High  Shoals  Com- 
pany, owners  of  the  mill. 

A  few  words  of  description  may  be  given  to 
High  Shoals  Village,  because  it  is  an  ideal  place 
for  such  an  industry  as  this  great  cotton  mill. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  picturesque- 
ly located  mill  towns  in  the  entire  South.  It 
stands  on  the  South  Fork  River,  in  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  Gaston  County,  and  derives  its 
name  from  the  shoals  in  the  river  at  this  point. 
Along  the  banks  of  the  river  are  beautiful  groves, 
and  springs  of  purest  water  are  found.  It  is  in 
the  heart  of  the  Piedmont  region,  at  an  altitude 
of  about  1,000  feet,  nestling  among  the  pines, 
oaks  and  hickories  of  a  North  Carolina  forest, 
with  pure  mountain  air  and  charming  vistas  on 
every  side.  It  is  indeed  an  attractive  spot.  Hun- 
dreds of  the  mill  operatives  have  their  gardens 
around  their  pretty  homes.  Cleanliness  is  one  of 
the  requisites  of  village  life  and  sanitary  precau- 
tions and  rules  are  in  force,  the  result  being  the 
prevailing  good  health.  The  moral  atmosphere 
is  correspondingly  clean  and  wholesome,  this  fea- 
ture having  been  enforced  by  Mr.  Kale  from  the 
beginning.  Ample  church  and  school  facilties  are 
provided  for  all,  as  well  as  entertainment  features. 
The  Episcopal  Church,  with  its  accompanying 
school  and  social  work,  is  an  agent  of  great  good. 
It  grew  from  the  faithful  efforts  of  the  Misses 
Eliza  and  Jane  Wilkes,  who  were  daughter^  of 
the  late  Rear  Admiral  Charles  Wilkes  who  shortly 
after  the  Civil  war  came  to  North  Carolina.  He 
bought  the  old  High  Shoals  Iron  Works,  which 
has  been  established  here  many  years  before  but 
had  long  been  neglected.  Admiral  Wilkes  operated 
the  plant  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  High  Shoals  Company,  in  addition  to  the 
mill  enterprise,  owns  large  tracts  of  land  and  car- 
ries on  extensive  farming  operations.  Mr.  Kale 
from  time  to  time  has  invested  in  land,  both 
farming  and  timber,  although  he  does  not  give 
this  work  his  personal  attention.  He  takes  con- 
siderable pride  in  his  thoroughbred  horses  and 
cattle,  and  his  herd  of  Aberdeen  Angus  cattle  is 
said  to  be  the  finest  in>  the  state  and  is  headed 
by  two  registered  bulls. 

Mr.  Kale  was  married  to  Miss  Kate  Burgin,  who 
was  born  in  Lincoln  County,  North  Carolina.  Her 
parents  were  Samuel  and  Callie  (Quiekel)  Bur- 
gin,  and  her  maternal  grandfather  was  a  man  of 
note  in  Lincoln  County,  Cephas  Quiekel.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kale  have  two  sons,  Henderson  Burgin  and 
Abel  Augustus  Kale,  and  an  adopted  daughter, 
Ruby  Kale,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Western 
North  Carolina  State  Normal  School  at  Ashe- 
ville. 

As  manager  and  superintendent  of  the  High 
Shoals  Cotton  Mill,  Mr.  Kale  has  carried  heavy 
responsibilities  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
during  which  time  changes  and  improvements  have 
been  made  but  the  status  of  the  mill  has  always 
been  the  same,  one  of  the  leading  cotton  mills  in 
the  entire  South,  under  all  circumstances.  It  is 
capitalized  at  $362,000,  is  equipped  with  550 
looms,  and  16,224  spindles.  Sheetings  and  knit- 
ting yarns  are  manufactured,  and  at  no  time  in 
its  history  has  business  been  heavier.  Great  credit 
is  due  Mr.  Kale  for  the  harmony  that  has  pre- 
vailed at  High  Shoals  when  many  other  industrial 
sections  have  been  variously  disturbed.  He  is 
fortunate,    however,    in    the   possession    of   certain 


384 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


qualities  of  leadership  that  enable  him  to  exer- 
cise executive  powers  when  necessary,  and  at  the 
same  time,  through  justice  tempered  by  sincere 
good  will,  to  win  confidence,  obedience  and  re- 
spect from  his  army  of  employes. 

Rev.  Martin  McQueen  came  from  a  noted  fam- 
ily who  had  settled  in  Eobeson  County,  North 
Carolina,  about  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 
The  history  of  this  family  has  been  well  written  by 
Mrs.  Bettie  McElyea  in  her  book  ' '  The  MeQueens 
of  Queensdale. ' '  Mrs.  McQueen 's  paternal  grand- 
father was  a  native  of  Scotland  and  died  in  Eobe- 
son County,  North  Carolina.  Kate  Robeson  Mc- 
Queen was  a  descendant  of  Gen.  Thomas  Robe- 
son, of  Eevolutionary  fame,  for  whom  Robeson 
County  in  this  state  was  named. 

Rev.  Martin  McQueen  was  a  saintly  man  whose 
life  was  given  to  the  ministry,  and  from  1864  to 
1888  was  pastor  of  old  Union  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  history  of  this  branch  of  the  McQueen  family 
is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  Union  Church, 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  historic  churches  in 
this  section  of  the  state.  It  was  organized  in  1797 
by  Rev.  W.  D.  Paisley,  under  direction  of  the 
Orange  Presbytery.  This  church  is  still  a  flourish- 
ing congregation. 

The  tenth  pastor  of  the  church  was  Rev.  Mar- 
tin McQueen,  who  was  born  in  Eobeson  County, 
September  26,  1823.  He  graduated  with  honors  at 
Davidson  College  in  1851  and  from  Columbia 
Theological  Seminary  in  1854.  He  was  licensed 
by  the  Fayetteville  Presbytery  in  September,  1853, 
and  served  churches  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Presbytery  for  ten  years  before  taking  up  his  work 
at  Union.  He  entered  upon  the  pastorate  at  Union 
and  Carthage  in  September,  1864,  and  continued 
the  work  until  his  death,  March  24,  1888. 

The  historian  of  Union  Church  has  had  much  to 
say  of  the  life  work  of  this  mighty  man  of  God, 
who  consecrated  his  high  talents  and  tireless  en- 
ergy to  the  service  of  Him  he  loved  so  well.  A 
local  citizen  once  said:  "When  I  came  to  Car- 
thage in  1880  there  were  three  things  of  note  and 
public  conversation,  the  Moore  County  court  house, 
Union  Church  and  Father  McQueen. ' ' 

Union  Church  experienced  many  changes  during 
Mr.  McQueen's  ministry.  Many  of  its  former 
members  withdrew,  the  negroes  early  organizing 
a  church  to  themselves,  while  in  1879  the  Cameron 
Church  was  organized,  taking  most  of  its  members 
from  Union,  and  in  1881  other  members  constitut- 
ed a  church  at  White  Hill  and  in  1886  Union  gave 
still  others  to  the  new  church  at  Culdee.  Not- 
withstanding these  losses  Union  continued  to  grow 
in  membership.  It  became  crowded  for  room  and 
the  congregation  erected  the  present  commodious 
building  in  1880,  and  it  was  dedicated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  God  in  1882. 

Rev.  Mr.  McQueen  has  been  characterized  as  a 
specially  gifted  evangelist,  and  he  held  a  number 
of  successful  meetings  in  his  churches.  It  is  said 
that  he  received  300  members  into  churches  he 
served  before  he  came  to  Union  and  400  in  the 
Union  Church,  besides  500  in  the  Carthage,  Buf- 
falo, Bethesda,  Cameron  and  Culdee  churches.  In 
a  sermon  which  he  prepared  a  short  time  before 
his  death  but  never  delivered  he  wrote:  "Most  of 
those  who  were  here  when  I  came  twenty-four 
years  ago  have  gone  to  the  grave  and  soon  others 
must  follow  them.  We  baptize  now  the  children 
of  those  we  baptized  in  infancy.  We  have  grown 
into  one  large  family  bound  together  by  many 
ties    of    friendship    and    Christian    love.      With    a 


common  Rather  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ,  with  one 
common  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality,  surely 
we  share  many  reasons  for  fighting  together  this 
fight  of  faith.''' 

In  a  memorial  adopted  by  the  synod  are  these 
words :  ' '  Mr.  McQueen  was  a  man  possessed  of 
many  excellent  traits  of  character.  He  was  genial 
and  cordial  in  his  disposition,  warm  hearted  in  his 
friendship  and  constant  in  his  attachments.  As  a 
preacher  he  was  impassioned  and  eloquent.  He 
preached  Christ  and  his  gospel  as  the  power  of 
God  into  salvation.  He  might  properly  be  called 
an  evangelist.  His  preaching  was  with  power  and 
demonstration  of  the  spirit,  and  multitudes  were 
converted  under  his  ministry  who  shall  be  stars  in 
the  Redeemer 's  crown  for  ever  and  ever. ' ' 

Rev.  Mr.  McQueen  was  buried  by  the  side  of 
his  devoted  wife  in  the  cemetery  at  Union.  His 
biographer  says  that  though  the  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents during  the  day  of  his  burial  it  is  doubtful  if 
Union  Church  will  ever  again  see  as  large  a  con- 
course of  people  within  her  walls  as  gathered  there 
that  day  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  affection  to 
their  beloved  pastor.  Amid  the  tears  of  a  heart- 
broken people  was  laid  to  rest  one  who  had  waged 
a  noble  and  winning  fight  for  righteousness  during 
a  pastorate  of  twenty-four  years. 

Charles  I'.  Long  for  a  number  of  years  covered 
a  large  territory  as  a  traveling  salesman  for  fur- 
niture, and  for  the  past  five  years  has  been 
permanently  identified  with  the  manufacturing  in- 
terests of  High  Point.  He  has  helped  develop  the 
Southern  Mirror  Company  to  one  of  the  largest 
industries  of  its  kind  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Long  was  born  on  a  plantation  in  Bushy 
Pork  Township  of  Person  County,  North  Carolina, 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Nannie  Elizabeth  (Hurdle) 
Long.  His  grandfather,  William  Long,  had  an 
extensive  plantation  and  many  slaves  in  the  days 
before  the  war.  He  reared  ten  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  sons  were  named  Aleck,  George, 
William,  Joseph,  Eeuben,  Zachariah,  Daniel,  John, 
Elijah  and  David.  The  six  oldest  all  served  as 
Confederate  soldiers.  Reuben  was  severely  wounded 
in  one  battle  and  died  from  the  effects.  All  the 
others  married  and  reared,  families. 

Joseph  Long  was  in  the  Confederate  Army  four 
years,  and  when  the  struggle  ended  he  resumed 
civil  life  as  a  farmer  near  his  birthplace.  He  is 
still  living  on  the  old  farm,  and  he  and  his  wife 
have  reared  seven  children:  Charles  F.,  Oscar, 
Lillian,  James,  John,  Herbert  and  Alwyn. 

Charles  F.  Long  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm 
and  was  early  trained  to  habits  of  industry.  He 
attended  district  school,  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen left  the  farm  to  work  as  clerk  in  a.  general 
store  kept  by  William  H.  Long  at  Bushy  Fork. 
During  the  next  five  years,  which  might  be  called 
his  apprenticeship,  he  was  paid  $100.00.  a  year 
and  board.  Seeking  a  larger  field,  he  went 
to  Durham  and  was  clerk  for  W.  A..  Slater,  and 
during  that  year  was  paid  $400.00  and  boarded 
himself.  The  next  year  he  clerked  for  his  cousin, 
J.  A.  Long,  at  $400.00  a  year  and  board. 

This  gave  him  a  very  thorough  and  systematic 
training  as  a  merchant,  and  with  that  experience 
he  went  on  the  road  as  a  traveling  salesman  sell- 
ing notions,  and  five  years  later  took  up  a  furni- 
ture line.  As  a.  furniture  salesman  he  covered 
territory  all  the  way  from  New  York  to  San  An- 
tonio, Texas,  and  visited  the  retail  dealers  in  all 
the  important  cities  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
In  1913,  on  leaving  the  road,  Mr.  Long,  with  Frank 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


385 


Wineaki,  organized  the  Southern  Mirror  Company, 
and  is  now  president  of  the  corporation.  The 
company  has  two  factories,  one  at  High  Point  and 
the  other  at  Winston-Salem.  Mr.  Long  now  gives 
all  his  time  and  attention  to  the  growing  business 
of  this  company,  which  is  an  important  auxiliary 
line  of  manufacture  to  the  great  furniture  indus- 
try of  the  state. 

In  1901  Mr.  Long  married  Miss  Mina  Alexander, 
a  native  of  High  Point  and  daughter  of  Harrison 
and  Sarah  Alexander.  They  have  two  daughters, 
named  Helen  and  Mary  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Long  is 
a  member  of  the  Wesleyan  Memorial  Church  and 
he  is  on  its  board  of  stewards.  Fraternally  he  is 
affiliated  with  Numa  F.  Eeid  Lodge  No.  344,  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  High  Point, 
Chapter  No.  70,  Boyal  Arch  Masons,  Knight 
Templar  Commandery  No.  24,  and  Oasis  Temple 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  also  belongs  to  High 
Point  Lodge  No.  208,  Benevolent  arid  Protective 
Order  Elks,  and  High  Point  Commercial  Club. 

Thomas  Joseph  Robertson,  proprietor  and  ed- 
itor of  the  Madison  Messenger,  is  a  veteran  printer 
and  newspaper  man,  and  is  well  known  among  a 
number  of  communities  both  in  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia,  where  he  has  been  connected  with 
the  local  press. 

Mr.  Rokertson  was  born  at  Bachelor 's  Hall  in 
Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia.  His  grandfather, 
Joab  Robertson,  according  to  the  best  of  infor- 
mation, was  a  native  of  Caswell  County,  North 
Carolina.  He  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  after  that  war  bought  1,000  acres 
of  land  in  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia.  He 
was  an  extensive  operator  and  planter  with  the 
aid  of  slaves,  and  realized  his  ambitions  to  give 
each  of  his  six  sons  a  good  farm  besides  a  num- 
ber of  slaves.  He  lived  to  be  ninety-four  years 
of  age.  His  six  sons  all  fought  for  the  Southern 
cause  in  the  Confederate  Army. 

John  M.  Robertson,  father  of  Thomas  J.,  was 
born  in  Pittsylvania  County  and  prior  to  the 
war  had  taken  possession  of  the  farm  given  him 
by  his  father  and  was  busily  operating  it  with 
the  aid  of  his  slaves.  When  the  war  began  he 
entered  the  artillery  forces  of  the  Confederate 
Army  and  saw  much  active  service  until  the  close 
of  hostilities.  In  the  meantime  his  slaves  had 
been  freed,  his  stock  had  been  taken  away,  and 
he  resumed  civil  life  face  to  face  with  the  stern 
necessities  of  battling  for  existence.  He  continued 
to  live  in  Pittsylvania  County  until  1876,  when 
he  sold  his  property  and  removed  to  North  Caro- 
lina, locating  near  Kernersville  in  Forsyth  County. 
He  was  a  farmer  there  a  number  of  years,  but 
finally  moved  his  home  to  Kernersville  and  went 
on  the  road  as  a  traveling  salesman.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-eight.  He  married  Susan  Brown, 
a  native  of  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Brown,  a  wagon  manufacturer. 
Mrs.  Susan  Robertson  died  in  September,  1916. 
She  wa3  the  mother  of  two  children,  the  only 
daughter,  Mollie,  being  the  wife  of  D.  A.  Boden- 
hamer. 

Thomas  J.  Robertson  attended  rural  schools 
while  his  father  lived  on  a  farm,  and  was  also 
educated  partly  in  the  Kernersville  Academy.  He 
has  had  experience  in  practically  no  other  trade 
or  profession  than  printing  or  newspaper  work. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  an  apprentice- 
ship in  the  Kernersville  Printing  Office.  In  1888 
he  became  foreman  of  the  Burlington  News  office, 
remaining   there   three  years,   after   which   he   re- 

Vol.  V— 25 


turned  to  Kernersville  and  bought  the  News.  After 
publishing  that  a  year  he  leased  the  North  Wilkes- 
boro  News  for  three  years,  and  in  1896  established 
the  Hustler,  which  live  and  popular  journal  he 
published  ten  years.  In  1906,  having  sold  out,  he 
went  to  Southern  Virginia  and  established  the 
South  Hill  Enterprise.  This  also  prospered  under 
his  management  for  four  years,  and  on  selling  the 
property  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  and  es- 
tablished the  Advance  at  North  Wilkesboro.  After 
a  year  he  became  proprietor  of  the  Morganton 
Messenger  at  Morganton,  and  was  its  publisher  for 
four  years.  His  fortunes  have  been  identified  with 
Madison  since  1915  and  he  is  founder  of  the 
Madison  Messenger  which  is  published  weekly 
and  is  a  paper  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  people  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Robertson  married  in  1904  Minnie  McMil- 
lan. She  was  born  in  Grayson  County,  Virginia 
daughter  of  Frank  B.  and  America  (Parks)  Mc- 
Millan. Their  only  child  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Robertson  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  faith 
while  his  wife  is  a.  Baptist.  He  is  affiliated  with 
Dan  River  Lodge  No.  249,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons. 

Ernest  S.  Williams.  Ever  since  1892  Ernest 
S.  Williams,  office  deputy  United  States  marshal 
for  the  Western  District  of  North  Carolina,  has 
been  the  incumbent  of  an  official  position  at  Char- 
lotte. He  has  been  a  resident  of  the  city  during  a 
period  of  forty-five  years,  and  in  this  time  has  as- 
sisted in  the  growth  and  development  of  the  com- 
munity, both  officially  and  as  a  private  citizen, 
exerting  a  beneficial  influence  and  displaying  a 
fine   public    spirit. 

Mr.  Williams  was  born  at  Portsmouth,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1853,  his  parents  being  James  Avery  and 
Adeline  (Cornell)  Williams.  He  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  lose  both  of  his  parents  in  the  great 
yellow  fever  epidemic  of  Norfolk  in  1855— one 
of  the  most  terrible  scourges  ever  known  in  Amer- 
ica. His  grandfather  lost  in  this  epidemic  by 
death  his  wife  and  seven  sons,  and  altogether  in 
the  Williams  family  there  were  thirty-eight  deaths 
in  nineteen  days.  The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, whose  name  was  also  James  Avery  Williams, 
was  a  shipbuilding  mechanic  and  was  nota- 
ble for  having  been  master  mechanic  of  the  Con- 
federate shipyards  where  the  famous  Confederate 
ram  Merrimae  was  built  and  which,  before  she 
was  sunk  by  the  Monitor,  wrought  such  havoc 
among  Federal  gunboats  on  the  James  River,  in- 
eluding  the  destruction  of  the  Congress,  the  Cum- 
berland, the  Minnesota  and  others.  Although  a 
very  young  boy  at  the  time,  Mr.  Williams  still 
remembers  witnessing,  from  where  he  stood  at 
Pinner's  Point,  the  last  fight  and  the  sinking  0f 
the  Merrimae. 

The  Williams  family  is  of  English  origin  and 
one  of  the  very  old  families  of  the  historic  City 
of  Portsmouth,  Virginia.  Seven  generations  (in- 
cluding members  of  the  present  generation  now 
living  there)  have  lived  in  the  old  Williams  home 
on  Court  Street,  at  Portsmouth,  in  which  city  the 
family  had  located  long  before  the  War  of  the 
Revolution. 

Ernest  S.  Williams  learned  the  trade  of  ma- 
chinist and  while  still  a  youth  went  to  New  York 
City  and  worked  in  the  shipvards  of  John  Roach 
the  great  shipbuilder,  whose  yards  were  later  es- 
tablished at  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Williams 
working  at  that  point  until  1872.  On  April  16 
of    that   year   he    arrived    at    Charlotte,    and    this 


386 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


city  has  been  his  home  continuously  since  that 
time,  he  having  witnessed  and  taken  part  in  the 
great  growth  of  Charlotte  during  that  period.  He 
came  here  to  take  a  position  in  the  Meeklenburg 
Iron  Works,  under  the  proprietorship  of  the  late 
Capt.  John  Wilkes,  and  for  forty  years  had 
charge  of  the  shops  of  that  concern.  His  long, 
intimate  and  most  pleasant  association  with  Cap- 
tain Wilkes  and  family  made  him  closely  at- 
tached to  them,   and  they  to   him. 

Mr.  Williams,  as  before  noted,  has  been  con- 
tinuously an  official  at  Charlotte  since  1892.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  an  alderman,  and  in  1912 
was  elected  to  his  present  position,  member  of 
the  board  of  water  commissioners.  During  his 
incumbency  of  this  last-named  office  the  board 
has  built  a  new  plant  at  a  cost  of  $300,000.  In 
January,  1914,  Mr.  Williams  was  appointed  office 
deputy  United  States  marshal  for  the  Western 
District  of  North  Carolina,  with  headquarters  in 
the  old  historic  United  States  Mint  Building  at 
Charlotte.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Charlotte  Lodge  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  and,  like  his  ancestors  before  him, 
is  an  Episcopalian.  He  has  occupied  various  po- 
sitions of  prominence  in  the  democratic  party, 
such  as  chairman  of  the  district  committee,  mem- 
ber of  the  county  committees,  and  delegate  to  all 
conventions,  etc. 

Mr.  Williams  has  a  family  of  which  any  hus- 
band and  father  should  well  be  proud  to  possess. 
He  has  reared  eight  children  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  all  splendidly  educated  an  trained 
for  the  serious  business  of  life.  Mrs.  Williams 
was  before  her  marriage  Miss  Rachel  Jarrett, 
daughter  of  the  late  Col.  J.  M.  Jarrett,  of  Ashe- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  and  their  children  are  as 
follows:  Delia,  the  wife  of  Capt.  R.  G.  Chest- 
nut, of  Charlotte;  Mark  Wilkes,  James  Avery, 
Clarendon  Baker,  Clairmont  Cornell,  Ernest,  Rosa 
Lee  and  Brevard.  Mr.  Williams'  mother,  who 
met  the  untimely  death  above  noted,  was  a  lit- 
erary woman  of  acknowledged  talents  in  her  day. 
Using  the  nom  de  plume  of  "Agnes  Scott,"  she 
was  a  frequent  contributor  to  various  periodicals, 
including  Godey 's  Lady's  Book,  as  the  files  of 
that  famous  old  magazine  will  show. 

James  B.  Bennett.  Successful  merchant,  well- 
established  banker,  hard-working  county  commis- 
sioner and  prominent  and  energetic  citizen  of  El- 
lerbe,  James  R.  Bennett  has  reached  in  young 
manhood  a  position  which  many  men  would  be 
glad  to  attain  after  a  lifetime  of  effort.  His 
business  career  is  represented  by  a  period  of 
but  eight  years  of  activity,  for  his  initial  venture 
had  its  inception  in  1909,  but  these  years  have 
been  ones  crowded  with  activity  and  characterized 
by  sterling  success.  He  is  a  native  son  of  the 
community  in  which  his  business  prosperity  and 
position  have  been  attained  and  has  passed  his 
entire  life  in  this  locality. 

James  R.  Bennett  was  born  at  the  old  Bennett 
home,  five  miles  north  of  Ellerbe,  Richmond  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1884.  The  Bennett  place  is  on 
Big  Mountain  Creek  in  Steele's  Township,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  known  old  homesteads  in  this  part 
of  the  state.  Three  generations  of  the  Bennett 
family  have  made  their  home  on  this  plantation. 
R.  H.  Bennett,  the  father  of  James  R.,  is  still 
residing  at  the  family  place,  but  Mrs.  Bennett, 
who  before  her  marriage  was  Bosanna  Chappell,  is 
now  deceased.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the 
late   Hon.   Joshua   Chappell,   who   in   his   day   was 


one  of  Richmond  County 's  most  prominent  char- 
acters in  public  life,  having  been  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  Legislature  and  a  political 
leader  of  wide  influence. 

James  B.  Bennett  attended  the  local  schools, 
Wingate  College  in  Union  County  and  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  at  Raleigh.  He 
established  a  mercantile  business  at  Ellerbe  in 
1909,  about  a  year  before  Ellerbe  began  to  take 
size  and  form  as  a  commercial  center,  and  as  the 
pioneer  merchant  of  this  thriving  community  has 
assisted  materially  in  its  growth  while  adding  to 
his  own  interests.  Old  Ellerbe  Springs  had  for  a 
long  number  of  years  been  noted  for  the  benef- 
icent effect  of  its  mineral  waters,  but  there  was 
no  real  town  started  until  the  completion  of  the 
Norfolk  &  Southern  Railroad  in  1910.  Since  that 
time  it  has  enjoyed  a  constant  and  substantial 
growth,  and  now,  with  splendid  business  blocks  and 
handsome  modern  residences,  has  become  one  of 
the  best  country  towns  in  North  Carolina,  with 
excellent  prospects  of  growing  into  a  substantial 
city.  Late  in  1916  a  company  was  formed  to  estab- 
lish a  knitting  mill  at  this  point,  which,  with  the 
already  established  lumber  mill  and  other  indus- 
tries in  prospect,  together  with  the  large  tribu- 
tary territory  of  rich  agricultural  lands  to  draw 
upon,  indicates  for  Ellerbe  a  most  promising 
future. 

Mr.  Bennett 's  mercantile  business  prospered 
from  the  start  and  has  grown  rapidly.  His  estab- 
lishment is  a  large  general  store,  recognized  by 
traveling  men  from  the  large  cities  to  be  one  of 
the  best  country  enterprises  in  the  Carolinas,  the 
structure  being  a  handsome  and  commodious  brick 
store  building,  equipped  with  every  modern  facility 
for  giving  efficient  and  expeditious  service  to  its 
patrons.  It  is  the  popular  trading  place  for  the 
farmers  and  planters  throughout  a  large  surround- 
ing territory,  as  well  as  for  the  citizens  of  Ellerbe. 
The  business  is  carried  on  under  the  corporate 
name  of  J.  R.  Bennett  Company  and  cares  for 
both  the  wholesale  and  retail  trade. 

Mr.  Bennett  is  also  president  of  the  Bank  of 
Ellerbe,  a  flourishing  financial  institution  which 
was  established  in  1912.  He  was  one  of  the 
promoters  and  is  at  present  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  knitting  mill  referred  to  above.  In  1914 
he  was  honored  by  election  to  the  responsible 
office  of  county  commissioner  of  Richmond  County, 
representing  his  part  of  the  county,  and  was  re- 
elected to  this  office  in  1916.  Mr.  Bennett  is  also 
an  extensive  and  successful  farmer,  his  agricultural 
interests  lying  within  two  or  three  miles  of  Ellerbe. 
Mr.  Bennett  possesses  talents  of  a  business  and 
financial  nature  unusual  in  so  young  a  man.  He 
has  identified  himself  in  every  way  with  the  growth 
and  development  of  Ellerbe  and"  the  surrounding 
country,  and  is  especially  interested  in  encourag- 
ing substantial  farmers  to  locate  upon  and  culti- 
vate the  rich  farming  soil  in  Ellerbe 's  territory- 
Mrs.  Bennett  before  her  marriage  was  Miss  Mag- 
gie O  'Brien,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Elijah  Bascom 
O  'Brien,  a  prosperous  farmer  living  near  Ellerbe. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  have  a  son  and  a  daughter: 
James  Harold  and  Lee  Ernestine. 

C.  J.  Cox.  The  interests  and  activities  that 
make  C.  J.  Cox  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Ash- 
boro  are  milling  and  manufacturing.  He  is  one 
of  the  oldest  prominent  lumber  men  of  the  state, 
and  has  built  up  a  very  extensive  business  in  that 
line  at  Ashboro. 

Mr.   Cox  was  born  on   a   farm  in  Grant   Town- 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


387 


ship,  Randolph  County,  where  several  generations 
of  the  family  have  lived  usefully  and  with  the 
honors  paid  to  good  citizenship.  His  great-grand- 
father was  a  farmer  and  planter  of  that  county, 
His  grandfather,  Simon  Cox,  born  on  a  farm  in 
Grant  township,  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of 
the  home  estate,  and  was  always  identified  with 
agriculture.  He  married  Riith  Allen,  who  was 
born  in  Randolph  County  and  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two.  Her  parents  were  Dr.  Joseph  and 
Martha  Allen,  the  former  a  practicing  physician. 
Simon  Cox  and  wife  were  members  of  the  Society 
of  Friends. 

Among  their  five  sons  was  Nathaniel  Cox,  who 
was  born  on  the  old  farm  in  Randolph  County. 
During  his  youth  Nathaniel  Cox  learned  the  trade 
of  carpenter.  From  that  occupation  he  turned  to 
lumbering.  At  that  time  great  quantities  of  vir- 
gin timber  stood  over  much  of  the  area  of  this 
section  of  the  state,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first 
in  Randolph  County  to  convert  that  resource  into 
building  material.  He  operated  a  saw  mill  on 
Deep  River,  and  also  had  a  portable  mill  operated 
by  steam  power,  which  he  conveyed  from  place 
to  place  according  to  the  local  demands.  He  was 
active  in  the  lumber  business  until  his  death  at 
the  age  of  fifty-five.  Nathaniel  Cox  married  Lydia 
Littler,  a  native  of  Davidson  County,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Catherine  (Stewart)  Littler.  Mrs 
Lydia  Cox  passed  away  June  22,  1918. 

C.  G.  Cox  received  his  early  training  in  the 
rural  schools  and  was  also  a  student  in  the  West 
Town  Boarding  School  in  Pennsylvania.  As  a 
boy  he  learned  much  of  the  lumber  business  around 
his  father's  mills,  and  has  shaped  and  trained  all 
his  experiences  to  the  utmost  proficiency  in  that 
business.  About  1892  Mr.  Cox  came  to  Ashboro 
as  a  result  of  his  appointment  as  receiver  for  the 
Ashboro  Wood  and  Iron  Works.  He  wound  up 
the  affairs  of  that  concern  with  proper  satisfaction 
to  all,  and  then  organized  and  built  the  Ether 
Lumber  Company  of  Ether,  in  Montgomery 
County,  where  for  four  years  he  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business.  In  Ashboro  Mr. 
Cox  bought  the  Crown  Roller  Mills,  and  while 
operating  them  for  the  grinding  of  flour  and  feed 
he  also  continued  lumbering.  The  flour  mills  he 
sold  in  1905,  and  then  organized  the  Cox  Lumber 
Company,  of  which  he  has  since  been  secretary 
and  treasurer,  his  executive  associates  being  J.  R. 
Wall,  president,  and  W.  L.  Wall,  vice  president. 
The  company  has  done  a  large  and  satisfactory 
business   for   over   a  dozen   years. 

In  1S86  Mr.  Cox  married  Sophronia  Spencer,  a 
native  of  Randolph  County  and  daughter  of  Nathan 
F.  Spencer.  Mrs.  Cox  died  in  1890,  leaving  one 
son,  Irvin,  with  whom  Mr.  Cox  is  now  connected 
in  the  cotton  manufacturing  business  in  Worth- 
ville,  North  Carolina.  Irvin  received  the  most  of 
his  education  at  Westtown,  Pennsylvania,  and  then 
took  the  management  of  the  Riverside  Mills  in 
1913.  Two  years  later  he  was  married  to  Con- 
nie Belle  Auman,  a  native  of  the  state,  and  to 
whom  was  born  a  son,  Irvin,  Jr.  For  his  present 
wife  Mr.  Cox  married  Vida  Millikan.  Mrs.  Cox 
was  born  in  Back  Creek  Township  of  Randolph 
County,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Alniina  Ann  Mil- 
likan. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cox  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  named  Isley,  Ruth.  Annie,  Wistar,  Rich- 
ard. Clarence,  Leo  ami  Margaret  The  parents 
are  members  of  the  Friends  Church. 


John  M.  Maness,  M.  D.  The  advent  of  Dr. 
John  M.  Maness  at  Ellerbe  antedated  by  some 
years  the  beginning  of  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  this  thriving  community,  which  had  its 
real  birth  as  a  center  of  commercial  importance 
with  the  arrival  of  the  Norfolk  &  Southern  Rail- 
road in  1910.  Prior  to  this  Doctor  Maness  with 
foresight  and  faith  in  the  future  of  the  region 
had  identified  himself  with  a  number  of  enter- 
prises, and  with  increased  values  and  business 
.progress  has  gained  a  position  of  independence 
and  importance  at  Ellerbe.  However,  his  reputa- 
tion principally  rests  upon  his  achievements  as  a 
worker  in  the  broad  field  of  medical  and  surgical 
science,  and  few  men  of  his  profession  in  Rich- 
mond County  occupy  a  stronger  place  in  public- 
esteem  and  confidence. 

Doctor  Maness  has  resided  in  the  south  central 
part  of  North  Carolina  all  his  life.  He  was  born 
at  Elise,  a  town  in  the  north  part  of  Moore 
County,  in  1878,  and  is  a  son  of  Enoch  and  Julia 
Ann  (Kennedy)  Maness.  Mrs.  Maness  died  in 
1913,  and  the  father  is  making  his  home  with 
his  son  at  Ellerbe.  Enoch  Maness  was  born  at 
Elise,  being  a  member  of  an  old-time  and  well- 
known  family  of  Moore  County,  where  the  old 
Moore  family  home  was  located  in  the  center  of 
what  was  then  a  flourishing  gold-mining  section. 
During  the  war  between  the  states  he  served  in 
the  Confederate  Army,  his  services  consisting  prin- 
cipally of  guard  duty  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Northern  Carolina.  He  is  of  Scotch  ancestry  and 
belongs  to  a  family  that  has  always  been  noted 
for  its  high  character  and  principles  of  integrity. 

John  M.  Maness  received  his  early  education  in 
the  local  schools  of  Moore  County,  this  attendance 
being  followed  by  a  course  at  Shiloh  Academy  in 
Randolph  County.  He  next  enrolled  on  the  mem- 
bership list  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  after  a  literary  course  took  up  the  study  of 
medicine,  a  profession  for  which  he  had  shown  a 
preference  from  youth.  His  studies  were  prose- 
cuted at  the  university,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  his  degree  in  1909,  but  before  this  had 
commenced  practice,  having  dropped  out  of  the 
university  a  year  and  returned  in  1909  to  com- 
plete his  course.  He  began  his  professional  labors 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  County  of  Richmond, 
where  he  has  continued  to  make  his  home,  having 
located  at  what  is  now  the  Town  of  Ellerbe  in 
1906.  When  he  first  came  to  this  community  it 
was  still  only  a  little  hamlet,  which  was  severely 
handicapped  because  of  lack  of  railroad  or  other 
good  transportation  facilities.  Still,  it  was  only 
awaiting  the  opportunity  to  grow  and  develop 
and  this  eame  when  the  Norfolk  &  Southern 
Railroad  was  built  through  in  1910.  Immediately 
the  little  village  took  on  new  life,  its  men  began 
to  energetically  promote  its  interests,  and  now  this 
is  one  of  the  most  thriving  among  the  smaller  cities 
of  the  state.  In  this  work  Doctor  Maness  has 
played  no  insignificant  part.  He  is  widely  known 
as  a  skilled  and  thoroughly  learned  and  practical 
physician  and  surgeon,  occupying  a  high  place  in 
his  profession  as  well  as  in  the  esteem  and  con- 
fidence of  a  large  practice;  and  is  also  accounted 
a  good  business  man,  with  various  interests  of  an 
important  character.  One  of  the  matters  which 
he  has  given  a  large  amount  of  his  attention  is 
the  commendable  work  of  setting  more  land 
opened  up  for  cultivation.  Not  alone  at  Ellerbe, 
hut  in  the  northern  part  of  Richmond  County, 
he   has  large   holdings.     While   he   has   not  sought 


388 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


public  preferment  of  a  political  character,  he  has 
been  an  energetic  worker  in  a  number  of  beneficial 
movements,  and  has  always  performed  faithfully 
the  duties  of  good,  citizenship. 

Doctor  Maness  was  married  to  Miss  Cassie 
O  'Brien,  daughter  of  Elijah  Bascom  0  'Brien,  a 
large  and  successful  farmer  near  Ellerbe.  Mr. 
0  'Brien  is  one  of  the  notable  self-made  men  of 
Richmond  County.  When  he  commenced  opera- 
tions here  he  was  absolutely  without  capital  and 
his  struggle  to  get  a  foothold  on  the  ladder  of 
success  was  one  which  taxed  his  energies  to  the 
full.  Once  started,  he  rose  rapidly,  accumulated 
a  jdantation  that  is  one  of  the  most  profitable 
and  successful  in  this  section  of  the  state,  and 
reared  a  family  of  eight  daughters  and  four  sons, 
all  of  whom  grew  up  to  be  useful  and  industrious 
members  of  society.  Doctor  Maness  and  wife  are 
the  parents  of  a  very  fine  little  son,  John  M., 
Jr.,  whose  birth  occurred  in  August,  1916. 

John  Bryant  Lane,  of  Fremont,  is  an  expert 
authority  on  the  manufacture  of  cotton  seed  oil 
and  the  various  by-products  of  the  cotton  plant, 
and  has  been  largely  responsible  for  making  the 
Fremont  Oil  Mill  Company  one  of  the  leading 
industries   of  that   section. 

Mr.  Lane  was  born  in  Wayne  County,  North 
Carolina,  January  14,  1875,' a  son  of  George  H. 
and  Elizabeth  (Carr)  Lane.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  the  son  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  learned 
all  the  practical  details  of  agriculture  long  be- 
fore he  entered  a  business  career  in  which  he 
comes  into  more  or  less  close  contact  with  farm- 
ers and  agricultural  problems.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  at  Fremont  and  subsequently 
attended   Trinity   College  at  Durham. 

In  January,  1905,  Mr.  Lane  came  from  the  farm 
to  identify  himself  with  the  Fremont  Oil  Com- 
pany and  has  since  been  its  secretary,  treasurer 
and  general  manager.  This  company  operates 
with  a  capital  of  $72,000.  It  has  a  capacity  for 
the  manufacture  of  5,000  tons  of  cotton  seed 
products  every  year,  and  it  turns  out  3,000  tons 
of  fertilizers.  The  company  also  operates  an  ex- 
tensive cotton  storage  warehouse. 

Mr.  Lane  is  a  member  and  chairman  of  the 
board  of  education  of  Fremont,  a  position  he 
has  filled  for  the  past  four  years,  and  is  an  active 
member  with  his  family  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South.  He  was  married  January  10, 
1901,  to  Miss  Louise  Person,  of  Wayne  County. 
They  have  three  living  children,  Percy  Clare,  John 
Bryant,  Jr.,   and   Edgar  Budolph. 

Herbert  Floyd  Seawell.  The  Eastern  District 
of  North  Carolina  has  no  lawyer  of  nobler  promise, 
no  stronger  example  of  what  enterprise,  perse- 
verance and  never-ending  application  can  achieve 
than  Herbert  Floyd  Seawell  of  Carthage.  Faithful 
attention  to  the  interests  of  his  clients,  every  de- 
tail in  each  case  fully  weighed  and  properly  con- 
sidered, have  contributed  to  the  attainment  of 
Mr.  Seawell 's  success  in  his  profession.  His  hon- 
orable conduct  in  each  and  every  position  in  which 
he  has  found  himself  and  the  display  of  abilities 
of  the  very  highest  order  account  for  the  honor 
which  was  accorded  him  in  his  appointment  to  the 
office  of  United  States  district  attorney  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  North  Carolina,  a  position  in 
which  he  served  most  capably  for  a  period  of 
nearly  four  years. 

Herbert  F.  Seawell  was  born  near  Wallace,  Du- 
plin County,  North  Carolina,  in  1869,  his  parents 


being  Dr.  V.  N.  and  Ellen  (Croom)  Seawell.  The 
Seawell  family  is  of  English  origin  and  has  pro- 
duced some  notable  characters,  in  the  North  as 
well  as  in  the  South.  In  some  branches  of  the 
family  the  name  is  spelled  Sewall,  as  notably 
Arthur  Sewall,  the  Maine  shipbuilder,  who  was  a 
candidate  for  vice  president.  In  some  sections  of 
the  country  the  name  became  changed  to  Sowell, 
this  being  particularly  the  case  with  those  branches 
of  the  family  that  were  pioneer  settlers  in  the 
newer  parts  of  the  South  and  of  the  far  South- 
west. Judge  Henry  Seawell,  who  was  one  of  the 
prominent  lawyers  and  jurists  of  his  day,  was  born 
in  Moore  County  and  lived  here  until  he  was  a 
young  man.  He  was  a  member  of  the  court  of 
conference,  was  twice  superior  court  judge,  resided 
in  Raleigh  and  is  buried  near  Baleigh  on  the  road 
leading  out  to  Crabtree  Creek. 

The  grandfather  of  Herbert  F.  Seawell  was  E. 
Quimby  Seawell,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Moore 
County.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Jesse  Seawell,  a 
noted  Baptist  preacher  of  the  early  years,  a  pioneer 
preacher  of  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina. 
He  married  Mary  Dixon  Phillips,  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Eli  Phillips,  who  was  for  years  moderator 
of  the  Sandy  Creek  Baptist  Association.  She  was 
descended  from  O  'Connor  Dowd,  who  came  from 
Ireland  to  North  Carolina  and  was  the  progenitor 
of  the  famous  Dowd  family  of  which  the  late 
Maj.  Clement  Dowd  of  Charlotte  was  a  noted 
member.  The  maternal  grandmother  of  Herbert 
F.  Seawell  was  a  Moore  of  Moore  's  Creek,  Pender 
County,  North  Carolina. 

Dr.  V.  N.  Seawell,  the  father  of  Herbert  F. 
Seawell,  was  born  in  1839,  in  Moore  County,  on 
the  old  Seawell  place  near  Carthage.  He  was 
well  educated,  both  in  a  literary  and  medical  way, 
adopted  medicine  as  his  profession,  and  began 
practice  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  South  and  the 
North,  continuing  in  active  practice  until  within 
the  last  few  years.  For  several  years  past,  ever 
since  his  retirement,  his  home  has  been  at  Faison 
in  Duplin  County.  In  his  young  manhood  he  fol- 
lowed the  vocation  of  teaching  before  beginning 
the  practice  of  medicine,  and  about  1860  left 
Moore  County,  and  for  some  time  taught  school 
in  Bladen  and  Pender  counties.  Later  he  went 
to  Wayne  County;  and  in  1887  returned  to  Moore 
County,  where  he  remained  in  successful  practice 
until  his  retirement.  During  his  active  career  he 
was  accounted  one  of  the  leading  and  representa- 
tive members  of  his  profession  in  the  various  com- 
munities in  which  his  activities  were  centered,  and 
at  all  times  was  known  as  a  dependable,  reliable 
and  public-spirited  citizen,  with  a  keen  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  the  locality  in  which  his  home 
was  made.  He  has  led  an  industrious  and  useful 
life,  and  in  his  declining  years  is  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  comforts  that  a  long  life  of  energetic 
labor  brings.  Mrs.  Seawell,  who  also  belonged  to 
an  old  and  honored  family  of  North  £ arolina,  has 
been  dead  for  many  years,  having  passed  away 
when  her  son,  Herbert  F.,  was  still  a  child. 

Within  recent  years  Herbert  F.  Seawell  has 
purchased  the  land  which  constituted  part  of  the 
old  Seawell  home  place  in  Moore  County,  situated 
about  seven  miles  west  of  Carthage  and  near 
Friendship  Church.  It  was  here  that  Rev.  Jesse 
Seawell  built  a  home,  mostly  with  his  own  hands. 
He  was,  in  addition  to  being  a  brilliant  and  in- 
spired minister,  an  expert  stonecutter,  a  trade 
which  he  had  learned  in  his  early  youth,  and  the 
specimens  of  the  almost   perfect  stone  work  which 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


389 


still  exist  at  the  old  home  place  form  eloquent 
evidence  of  the  thoroughness  and  enduring  quality 
of  his  handicraft. 

Herbert  F.  Seawell  had  the  distinction  when  a 
boy  of  being  a  student  in  the  seventh  grade  at 
Goldsboro  under  Dr.  E.  A.  Alderman,  who  is  now 
the  president  of  the  University  of  Virginia.  He 
was  also  a  student  at  Wake  Forest  College,  in  the 
academic  department,  and  his  legal  studies  were 
prosecuted  in  the  meantime  during  his  spare  hours. 
Subsequently  he  studied  for  his  profession  in  the 
law  department  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  1887  accompanied  his  father  to  Moore 
County.  In  1891  and  1892  he  taught  the  graded 
school  at  Clarkeville,  Virginia,  and  in  the  summer 
of  the  latter  year  established  himself  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Carthage.  Here  he  has 
since  resided  and  has  become  one  of  the  leading 
and  most  successful  lawyers  of  this  section  of  the 
state.  In  189-1  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  fohe 
district  which  at  that  time  embraced  the  counties 
of  Moore,  Anson,  Richmond,  Scotland,  Cumberland, 
Bladen,  Columbus  and  Brunswick,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  for  four  years.  President  Roosevelt 
appointed  him  United  States  judge  to  succeed 
Judge  T.  R.  Pumell,  but  this  appointment  was 
never  acted  on  by  the  Senate.  In  1910  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Taft  to  the  position  of 
United  States  district  attorney  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  North  Carolina,  a  position  which  he 
rilled  with  distinction  for  nearly  four  years.  Mr. 
Seawell,  in  addition  to  being  a  finished,  learned  and 
thorough  lawyer,  expert  alike  as  counsellor  or  trial 
lawyer,  is  a  brilliant  orator  and  of  unusual  charm 
and  manner  of  speech.  He  is  a  republican  in 
politics  and  in  campaign  years  his  services  as  a 
speaker  are  greatly  sought. 

Before  her  marriage  Mrs.  Seawell  was  Miss  Ella 
MaeNeill,  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Alexander  H. 
MacNeill,  of  Moore  County,  for  thirty-two  consecu- 
tive years  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Moore 
County,  and  a  member  of  a  family  whose  history 
is  closely  intertwined  with  that  of  the  county. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  bright  and  talented 
children:  Ella  Mead,  Herbert  Floyd,  Jr.,  and 
Henry. 

Manleff  Jarkell  Wrenn.  The  distinguishing 
feature  of  High  Point  as  an  industrial  center  of 
North  Carolina  is  its  great  woodworking  estab- 
lishment, involving  in  the  aggregate  a  production 
of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  furniture  and 
other  woodeuware  annually.  One  of  the  men  most 
prominently  identified  with  this  industry  over  a 
long  period  of  years  has  been  Mr.  Manleff  Jarrell 
Wrenn,  whose  name  is  also  closely  associated  with 
the  city 's  progress  and  welfare  through  his  official 
service  as  mayor  and  in  other  capacities. 

Mr.  Wrenn  was  born  near  Liberty  in  Randolph 
County,  North  Carolina.  The  founder  of  the  fam- 
ily in  this  state  was  his  great-grandfather,  Kilby 
Wrenn,  who  came  here  in  colonial  times  and  se- 
cured six  hundred  acres  of  land,  the  title  to  which 
was  granted  by  the  Crown.  The  Christian  name 
Kilby  has  been  handed  down  through  the  differ- 
ent generations  of  his  descendants.  James  Wrenn, 
a  native  of  Randolph  County,  and  grandfather  of 
the  High  Point  manufacturer,  succeeded  to  the 
ownership  of  a  part  of  the  old  homestead  and 
spent  his  entire  life  there.  He  was  widely  known 
as  ' '  Colonel  Jimmie  ' '  Wrenn.  He  married  Sally 
Hardin,  sister  of  the  wife  of  Edwin  M.  Holt,  a 
pioneer  North  Carolina  cotton  manufacturer.   They 


reared  six  sons  and  several  daughters,  the  names 
of  the  sons  being  William,  Kilby,  John,  James  C, 
Jr.,  Merritt  C,  and  Frank.  The  three  youngest 
sons  all  wore  the  uniforms  of  Confederate  sol- 
diers, and  Merritt  and  Frank  lost  their  lives  dur- 
ing the  war. 

Merritt  C.  Wrenn,  father  of  Manleff  Jarrell, 
was  born  in  Randolph  County,  grew  up  on  the 
farm,  and  after  his  marriage  settled  on  part  of 
the  ancestry  estate.  With  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
as  his  physical  strength  and  health  did  not  per- 
mit the  arduous  service  of  the  field,  he  was  detailed 
for  duty  in  the  dispensary  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment at  Raleigh.  He  died  while  at  the  capital 
city  and  his  remains  were  buried  there.  He  mar- 
ried Nancy  Elizabeth  Jarrell,  who  was  born  near 
the  present  site  of  Guilford  College,  daughter  of 
Absalom  and  Lydia  (Cucle)  Jarrell.  Lydia  (Cude) 
was  a  daughter  of  Timothy  Cude,  a  pioneer  set- 
tler of  Guilford  County.  Absalom  Jarrell  owned 
a  farm  ten  miles  south  of  Greensboro.  Nancy 
Elizabeth  Jarrell  was  educated  in  the  New  Gar- 
den Boarding  School  and  was  a  teacher  before 
her  marriage. 

Manleff  Jarrell  Wrenn  was  a  small  child  when 
his  father  died,  and  he  grew  up  to  the  age  of 
twenty-one  in  the  home  of  his  uncle,  Manleff  Jar- 
rell, at  High  Point.  He  worked  in  his  uncle 's 
hotel  and  attended  school,  and  began  his  inde- 
pendent career  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.  By 
careful  saving  of  his  earnings  he.  was  able  two 
years  later  to  engage  in  the  grocery  business  for 
himself,  starting  with  a  very  small  stock  in  trade. 
Patronage  came  to  him  and  by  degrees  he  en- 
larged his  business,  and  finally  his  brother  Thomas 
F.  became  associated  with  him.  This  partner- 
ship was  continued  for  about  ten  years.  In  the 
meantime  Mr.  Wrenn  had  also  become  interested 
in  the  furniture  business  established  by  his  brother 
Thomas,  and  out  of  this  has  grown  the  great 
industry  now  known  as  the  High  Point  Furniture 
Company,  of  which  Mr.  Wrenn  is  sole  proprietor. 
The  High  Point  Furniture  Company  is  the  oldest 
furniture  industry  in  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina. He  is  also  interested  in  the  Wrenn-Columhia 
Furniture  Company,  and  is  sole  owner  of  the 
Union  Brokerage  Company,  taking  the  output  of 
a  number  of  manufacturers,  and  is  identified  with 
various  other  enterprises. 

Mr.  Wrenn  has  long  been  a  figure  in  local  dem- 
ocratic politics.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  seven  years  and  his  term  as 
mayor  was  for  four  years,  a  period  in  which  much 
of  the  substantial  municipal  progress  of  High 
Point  was  effected.  Mr.  Wrenn  has  been  delegate 
to  various  county,  district  and  state  conventions 
of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South. 

On  June  11,  1918,  Mr.  Wrenn  was  married  to 
Miss  Louise  Clinard,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Hiram 
F.  Clinard,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  and  Desde- 
mona  Charles  Clinard,  also  a  niece  of  the  Capt. 
Harper  Charles,  who  was  a  graduate  in  law  and 
president  of  an  old  Virginia  college,  but  resigned 
and  helped  to  organize  the  Guilford  Grays,  fighting 
bravely  until  he  fell  on  the  last  evening  of  the 
seven  days '  fight  at  Richmond.  The  last  utter- 
ance of  Captain  Charles  was,  '{ Follow  me,  boys, 
and  I  will  follow  the  enemy." 

Mrs.  Wrenn  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal 
College,  and  a  woman  of  extraordinary  business 
ability,  having  been  Mr.  Wrenn 's  private  seere- 
tarv  for  a  number  of  vears. 


390 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Gen.  Bryan  Grimes  was  born  November  2,  1828, 
in  Pitt  County,  North  Carolina,  youngest  child  of 
Bryan  and  Nancy  Grimes.  He  graduated  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  in  1848  and  soon 
alter  graduating  his  father  gave  him  a  valuable 
plantation  in  Pitt  County,  whereon  he  resided  until 
the  time  of  his  death  with  the  exception  of  his  four 
years  of  service  in  the  Confederate  Army.  April 
9,  1851,  he  married  Elizabeth  Hilliard,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Davis  of  Franklin  County.  She  died 
in  1857.  September  5,  1863,  he  married  Miss 
Charlotte  Emily  Bryan,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  H. 
Bryan  of   Raleigh. 

General  Grimes  took  part  in  the  secession  con- 
vention of  May,  1861,  but  soon  resigned  to  ac- 
cept field  duty  in  the  army.  His  first  service 
was  as  major  of  the  Fourth  Regiment  of  State 
Troops,  and  on  May  1,  1862,  he  was  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment.  After  con- 
spicuous bravery  and  leadership '  in  the  battle  of 
Seven  Pines  he  was  promoted  June  19,  1862,  to 
colonel  of  the  regiment  and  with  it  took  part 
in  the  first  Maryland  campaign,  was  in  the  thick 
of  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  and  led  the  ad- 
vance into  the  Town  of  Gettysburg,  and  subse- 
quently assisted  most  efficiently  in  protecting  the 
rear  guard  after  that  battle. 

It  was  conspicuous  action  on  May  19,  186-1, 
during  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  by  personally 
leading  his  brigade  in  a  gallant  charge  he  was 
accredited  by  General  Lee  himself  with  having 
saved  the  army,  and  was  promoted  to  brigadier- 
general.  He  led  his  brigade  in  the  early  move- 
ments of  the  great  campaign  through  the  valley 
of  Virginia  and  after  the  battle  of  October  19th, 
where  General  Ramseur  was  mortally  wounded, 
General  Grimes  was  put  in  command  of  the  divi- 
sion and  the  following  February  was  commissioned 
as'  major-general.  He  was  one  of  the  division 
commanders  in  many  of  the  terrific  struggles 
which  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and 
without  recounting  in  detail  this  record  which 
can  be  found  in  many  published  works,  there  re- 
mains one  event  in  his  military  career  that  de- 
serves to  be  especially  remembered  by  North 
Carolina  people. 

It  was  General  Grimes  who  planned  and  led 
the  last  charge  made  by  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  at  Appomattox.  He  was  called  into  a 
council  headed  by  General  Lee.  After  much  dis- 
cussion and  indecision  as  to  what  should  be 
done,  General  Grimes  finally  became  impatient 
and  declared  that  it  was  someone 's  duty  to  make 
an  attack  and  that  he  personally  would  under- 
take it.  Receiving  consent,  he  at  once  made  all 
the  necessary  arrangements,  placed  the  troops  in 
proper  position,  and  gave  the  signal  to  advance, 
which  was  done  in  gallant  style.  General  Grimes 
then  sent  a  message  to  his  superior,  General  Gor- 
don, announcing  his  success  and  that  the  road  to 
Lynchburg  was  open  for  the  escape  of  the  wagons. 
To  his  great  surprise  he  received  orders  to  re- 
tire, but  declined  to  do  so.  The  orders  were  re- 
peated, and  General  Grimes  continued  to  disre- 
gard them,  thinking  that  General  Gordon  was  in 
Ignorance  of  his  position.  Finally  came  an  order 
from  General  Lee  himself,  and  he  reluctantly 
withdrew  his  troops  from  the  advanced  position 
they  had  gained.  As  the  withdrawal  began  in  an 
orderly  manner,  the  Federal  forces  made  a  sudden 
rush  until  they  were  met  by  a  withering  volley 
from  one  of  the  Confederate  brigades,  and  that 
volley,  which  allowed  the  troops  to  retire  without 
further   molestation,   was    the   last    volley   fired   at 


Appomatox   and   the   last    one    by   the   old   Army 
of   Northern  Virginia. 

Upon  reporting  to  his  superior  officer  General 
Grimes  was  informed  that  General  Lee  was  nego- 
tiating a  surrender.  He  was  so  astounded  and 
chagrined  that  he  immediately  turned  his  horse 
and  started  toward  his  command  with  the  inten- 
tion of  informing  his  men  that  if  they  desired 
they  might  escape  with  him.  General  Gordon 
quickly  overtook  him  and  calmly  reasoned  with 
him  that  such  action  would  be  a  reflection  upon 
General  Lee  and  a  disgrace  upon  an  officer  of 
such  high  rank  as  General  Grimes.  The  appeal 
had  an  immediate  effect,  but  probably  no  com- 
manding officer  of  the  old  army  ehafed  more  un- 
der the  restraint  imposed  by  these  negotiations 
than  General  Grimes. 

After  the  war  he  led  the  quiet  life  of  a  coun- 
try gentleman  on  his  farm  and  plantation,  and 
dispensed  hospitality  with  a  lavish  hand,  especially 
doing  what  he  could  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the 
needy  and  repair  the  wounds  made  to  his  beloved 
state  and  its  people.  August  14,  1880,  while  re- 
turning home  from  the  Town  of  Washington  in 
his  home  county,  General  Grimes  was  shot  from  - 
':he  roadside  by  a  concealed  assassin  and  almost 
instantly  killed. 

Charles  Dewey  is  one  of  the  most  capable 
citizens  and  business  men  of  Goldsboro.  His  has 
not  been  an  easy  life.  When  a  boy  he  accepted 
responsibilities,  and  these  responsibilities  have  in- 
creased until  he  is  now  a  directing  factor  in  half 
a  dozen  large  business  institutions  and  also  in 
other  institutions  closely  connected  with  the  pub- 
lic  welfare. 

He  was  born  in  Goldsboro  December  10,  1851, 
a'  son  of  Dr.  Charles  Francis  and  Harriet  Maria 
(Borden)  Dewey.  His  father,  who  was  a  physi- 
cian, came  originally  of  a  Connecticut  family. 

Charles  Dewey  was  educated  in  private  schools 
in  Goldsboro  and  Raleigh,  attending  Mrs.  Whit- 
taker  and  the  Ray  schools  and  Doctor  Lacy 's  pri- 
vate school,  but  most  of  his  literary  acquire- 
ments he  gained  by  self  study  and  his  own  efforts. 
When  a  boy  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old  he 
sold  tobacco  to  Union  soldiers  when  Sherman's 
army  passed  through.  He  made  20  cents  on  every 
dollar  's  worth  which  he  sold,  and  his  aunt  allowed 
him  to  keep  this  earning.  For  eight  years  he  was 
clerk  in  a  hardware  store  and  learned  the  busi- 
ness which  in  its  kindred  lines  he  has  followed 
more  or  less  ever  since. 

On  December  16,  1874,  Mr.  Dewey  married  Mary 
Alice  Steele,  of  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  iii 
1875  he  entered  business  for  himself  in  partuer- 
ship  with  W.  F.  Kornegay,  selling  hardware  and 
agricultural  implements.  In  1880  another  depart- 
ment was  added  for  the  sale  of  engines  and  boil- 
ers, and  about  that  time  Mr.  Dewey  was  burned 
out,  and  he  has  since  been  giving '  his  chief  at- 
tention to  the  machinery  business.  In  1885  his 
partner  sold  out  and  he  then  reorganized  as  Dewey 
Brothers.  In  1904  this  firm  was  incorporated 
under  that  name,  with  Mr.  Charles  Dewey  as  pres- 
ident, and  he  is  now  president  of  Dewey  Broth- 
ers,   Incorporated. 

He  is  president  of  the  Wayne  Agricultural 
Works,  of  the  Goldsboro  Garage  and  Transport 
Company,  is  vice  president  of  the  Whiteville  Lum- 
ber Company,  vice  president  of  the  Goldsboro  Ice 
Company,  and  a  director  in  the  Goldsboro  Furni- 
ture Company,  the  Enterprise  Lumber  Company, 
the    Wayne    National     Bank,    the    Borden    Cotton 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


391 


Mills,  the  A.  T.  Griffin  Manufacturing  Company, 
and   the   Empire    Manufacturing   Company. 

His  civic  spirit  can  be  best  understood  by  ref- 
erence to  some  of  the  organizations  in  which  he 
has  an  official  part.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Wayne 
County  Fair  Association,  is  chairman  of  the 
Wayne  County  Highway  Commission,  is  resident 
trustee  of  the  Odd  Fellows  Orphans  Home  at 
Goldsboro,  to  which  he  has  given  liberally  both 
of  his  means  and  his  time,  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
Orphanage,  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Caswell  Train- 
ing Sehool,  a  state  institution  at  Kinston.  Mr. 
Dewey  is  a  steward  of  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

His  first  wife  died  in  1893.  There  are  four 
living  children:  George  Steele,  Thomas  Augustus, 
Ernest  Miller  and  Harriet  Maria.  One  daughter, 
Hannah,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  as  Mrs. 
J.  Langhorne  Barham,  wife  of  the  well  known  at- 
torney of  Goldsboro.  There  were  other  children 
who  died  in  infancy.  On  February  16,  1898,  Mr. 
Dewey  married  Annie  Lawrence  Snow,  of  Ea- 
leigh,  daughter  of  Theophilus  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
iMurdock)  Snow,  the  former  a  farmer,  merchant 
and  lumberman. 

George  Steele  Dewey,  son  of  Charles  Dewey,  was 
born  at  Goldsboro,  August  19,  1881.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools,  Guilford  College 
(X.  0.),  Virginia  Military  Institute,  where  he 
graduated  in  1903,  and  then  spent  two  years  at 
Cornell,  graduating  as  mechanical  engineer  in 
1906.  Since  that  date  he  has  filled  the  position 
of  general  manager  of  Dewey  Brothers,  Incorpo- 
rated, machine  shops  and  foundry.  Since  1915 
he  has  also  been  president  of  the  Goldsboro  Street 
Railway  system. 

Thomas  Augustus  Dewey,  a  son  of  Mr.  Charles 
Dewey  by  his  first  wife,  was  born  at  Goldsboro 
June  6,  1883,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  the  Virginia 
Military  Institute,  where  he  graduated  in  1903, 
and  spent  two  years  as  a  technical  student  in  Cor- 
nell University,  where  he  finished  his  course  in 
1906.  As  an  electrical  engineer  he  practiced  one 
year  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  December,  1907, 
became  identified  with  Dewey  Brothers,  Incorpo- 
rated, and  since  the  following  year  has  been  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  company.  He  is  also 
a  director  of  the  Utility  Manufacturing  Company. 
Socially  he  has  membership  in  the  Algonquin  Club, 
of  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  governors, 
and  belongs  to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

Ernest  Miller  Dewey,  another  son  of  Charles 
Dewey,  was  born  at  Goldsboro  December  25.  1886. 
Besides  the  public  schools  he  took  the  four  years ' 
course  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  1906.  He  spent  some  time 
with  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  and 
then  took  a  position  with  Dewey  Brothers,  Incor- 
porated, at  Goldsboro.  but  since  1910  has  been 
general  manager  of  the  Whitesville  Lumber  Com- 
pany. He  resides  at  Whitesville,  is  an  alderman 
of  that  city,  and  fraternally  is  affiliated  with  the 
Odd  Fellows.  On  December  28,  1915,  he  mar- 
ried Marguerite  Louise  Croom,  of  Wilmingtou. 
They  have  one   daughter,   Marguerite   Devane. 

George  Hollister  Roberts,  Jr..  though  only  a 
young  man  in  years,  has  attained  an  enviable  prom- 
inence  in   business    affairs   at   Newbern,   and   has 


won  promotion  on  merit  and  the  ability  to  do 
things  himself  and  get  things  done  by  others. 

A  native  of  Newbern,  where  he  was  born  May 
10,  1890,  he  is  a  son  of  George  Hollister  and 
Hannah  (Jarvis;  Roberts.  The  senior  Mr.  Roberts 
has  been  for  many  years  a  well  known  figure  in 
business  and  financial  circles  at  Newbern.  The 
Roberts  home  was  one  of  comfort  and  excellent 
ideals,  and  the  son  was  well  educated  and  had 
the  best  of  influences  around  his  youth.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  and  private  schools,  the 
Trinity  School,  took  a  course  in  the  Georgia  Sehool 
of  Technology  of  Atlanta,  and  iu  1910  graduated 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

His  first  position  on  leaving  college  was  as  man- 
ager of  the  Oriental  lee  and  Fuel  Company  at 
Newbern.  For  a  time  he  was  a  traveling  salesman 
and  then  in  1915  he  went  wtih  the  Newbern  Iron 
Works    and    Supply    Company. 

On  November  7,  1916,  Mr.  Roberts  married  Miss 
Mary  Nixon,  of  Newbern. 

Chisholm  C.  Ckaxford.  One  of  the  biggest 
contributors  to  Ashboro  's  distinetiou  as  a  manu- 
facturing center  in  Chisholm  C.  Cranford,  who 
began  his  business  career  as  a  flour  miller,  and 
gradually  expanded  the  scope  of  his  operations 
until  they  now  include  holdings  and  executive  con- 
nections with  a  number  of  business  institutions, 
including  furniture  factories,  banks  and  cotton 
mills.  Mr.  Cranford  is  also  a  former  mayor  of 
Ashboro. 

His  family  have  been  residents  of  Randolph 
County  for  several  generations.  His  great-grand- 
father, Sawney  Cranford,  was  a  planter  in  New- 
Hope  Township  of  that  county.  He  reared  four 
sons  and  three  daughters,  named  Henry,  Tempe, 
Seth,  Thomas,  Cynthey,  Betsy  and  Sally.  Henry 
Cranford,  grandfather  of  Chisholm  C,  was  born 
in  New  Hope  Township  of  Randolph  County,  and 
after  his  marriage  bought  a  farm  there  and  was 
a  resident  a  number  of  years,  when  he  sold  his 
possessions  and  bought  a  new  place  in  Concord 
township,  on  which  he  lived  about  thirty  years. 
He  then  removed  to  Guilford  County,  buying  a 
farm  a  mile  from  High  Point,  and  this  was  his 
home  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  He 
married  Demaris  Cranford,  who  was  born  in  New 
Hope  Township,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Betsey 
(Davis)  Cranford.  Her  death  occurred  when  about 
seventy  years  old.  They  had  twelve  children, 
Zimri  A.,  Diana,  Elizabeth,  Tucker,  Julius,  Sam- 
uel, Minerva,  John,  Calier,  Jefferson,  William  and 
Emma. 

Zimri  A.  Cranford,  father  of  the  Ashboro  busi- 
ness man,  was  born  on  a  plantation  in  New  Hope 
Township  of  Randolph  County,  August  22,  1842. 
He  grew  up  on  that  farm,  and  was  nineteen  years 
old  when  in  November,  1861,  he  enlisted  for  serv- 
ice in  the  Confederate  army.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  H  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Regiment,  and 
was  with  that  regiment  in  many  of  its  campaigns 
and  battles  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
not  far  from  Appomattox  when  Lee 's  army  sur- 
rendered. Hostilities  ended,  he  returned  home,  and 
two  years  later  bought  a  farm  in  Concord  Town- 
ship, where  he  was  busily  engaged  with  agricul- 
ture until  1908,  when  he  sold  his  farm  and  retired 
to  Ashboro,  where  he  is  now  living.  In  1870  he 
married  Rozina  Maria  Lassiter.  She  was  born  in 
New  Hope  Township,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Car- 
oline (Bingham)  Lassiter.  Zimri  Cranford  and 
wife  had  eight  children,  Crissie,  Chisholm  C, 
Charles,  Matilda,  Herman,  Mabel,  Mattie  and  Erv- 
ing.     Mabel  and  Erving  are  now  deceased. 


392 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Bom  on  his  father 's  farm  in  Concord  Town- 
ship, Chishohn  C.  Cranford  had  the  environment 
of  a  rural  district  during  his  youth,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools.  He  left  the  paternal 
roof  at  the  age  of  twenty  and  gained  a  knowledge 
of  the  milling  business  as  an  employee  in  the  Ash- 
boro  Eoller  Mill  at  Ashboro,  with  which  he  was 
connected  for  four  years.  He  then  bought  a  finan- 
cial interest  in  the  mill,  and  was  its  manager 
three  years.  Selling  out,  he  acquired  the  property 
of  the  Crown  Roller  Mill,  operating  that  for  some 
years.  In  the  meantime  he  had  become  interested 
in  other  enterprises,  including  the  Acme  Hosiery 
Company.  On  selling  the  Crown  Eoller  Mill  in 
1909  he  bought  the  plant  of  the  Randolph  Chair 
Company,  of  which  he  is  now  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. In  1917  he  organized  the  Ashboro  Hosiery 
Mill  Company,  of  which  he  is  treasurer.  In  1914 
he  helped  organize  and  is  a  director  of  the  Pied- 
mont Chair  Company,  and  in  1917  he  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Bentwood  Chair  Company, 
of  which  he  is  president.  The  Southern  Chair 
Company  of  High  Point  also  numbers  him  as  a 
director,  and  he  served  as  a  director  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Ashboro  and  as  president  of  the 
Ashboro.  Drug  Company,  and  vice  president  of  the 
Southern  Crown  Milling  Company  of  Ashboro. 

Though  too  busy  a  man  to  give  much  attention 
to  politics,  Mr.  Cranford  has  always  aimed  to  do 
his  duty  as  a  good  citizen,  and  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Ashboro  Town  Board  and  was  elected  mayor 
in  1914.  He  is  affiliated  with  Balfour  Lodge  No. 
188,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  he 
and  his  wife  are  both  active  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  served  a  number  of  years 
as  steward. 

In  November,  1896,  Mr.  Cranford  married  Mary 
Annie  Davis,  who  was  born  in  Randolph  County, 
daughter  of  Dougan  and  Lucinda  (Hill)  Davis. 
They  are  the  parents  of  four  children:  Edward, 
Vivian,  Clarence  and  Davis.  Edward  is  now  a 
student  in  the  Bailey  Military  Institute  at  Green- 
ville, South  Carolina. 

Hon  Walter  D.  Siler.  The  popular  confi- 
dence and  judgment  which  elevated  Walter  D. 
Siler  to  his  present  position  as  solicitor  for  the 
Fourth  Judicial  District  is  due  not  only  to  his 
splendid  record  as  a  lawyer  and  public-spirited 
citizen  but  also  to  the  fact  that  for  generations 
the  Silers  have  been  a  family  of  irreproachable 
honor  and  of  distinctive  usefulness  in  Chatham 
County  One  of  the  important  towns  of  that 
county  is  Siler  City,  the  home  of  Mr.  Walter  D. 
Siler,  where  he  has  practiced  law  for  fifteen  years. 

His  great-gTandfather,  Josiah  D.  Siler,  was  a 
native  of  Chatham  County  and  owned  and  oper- 
ated a  large  plantation,  which  was  the  scene  of 
his  busy  and  active  career.  The  grandfather  of 
Walter  Siler  was  Josiah  Davis  Siler,  born  in  the 
same  locality  of  Chatham  County  and  also  a 
planter  and  lifelong  resident.  His  descendants 
now  own  and  occupy  the  plantation  on  which  he 
lived  and  died.  He  married  Delilah  King,  a  native 
of  Orange  County,  North  Carolina,  and  both  lived 
to  good  old  age.  They  reared  a  family  of  seven 
sons  and  three  daughters. 

Alson  R,  Siler,  father  of  Walter  D.,  was  born 
on  a  plantation  in  Chatham  County  and  came  to 
manhood  with  a  very  good  education  and  train- 
ing. He  was  one  of  the  young  men  who  re- 
sponded to  the  needs  of  the  Confederacy  for 
soldiers  and  enlisted  on  August  15,  1863,  in  Com- 
pany E  of  the  Twenty-Sixth  North  Carolina 
Troops.      He    went    to    the    front   with    his    com- 


mand and  was  with  it  in  many  battles  until 
the  close.  His  name  appears  on  the  official  list 
of  those  who  surrendered  and  were  paroled  at 
Appomattox.  Following  the  war  he  engaged  in 
merchandising  in  a  country  district  in  Chatham 
County,  and  when  Siler  City  was  established  he 
moved  his  store  there  and  kept  up  business  until 
ill  health  compelled  him  to  retire.  He  died  in 
1913.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Nannie 
Jones,  who  was  born  in  Guilford  County  and  is 
now  a  resident  of  Siler  City.  They  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  six  children. 

Walter  D.  Siler  was  born  at  Siler  City  and 
partly  through  the  family  position  and  as  a 
result  of  his  own  energies  and  ambitions  he 
acquired  every  qualification  for  a  successful 
career.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Thompson 
High  and  Military  School  and  afterwards  pur- 
sued an  academic  as  well  as  the  law  course  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Siler  was 
licensed  to  practice  in  1900,  and  soon  afterwards 
opened  his  law  offices  in  Siler  City.  Public  honors 
soon  came  to  him  and  in  1903  he  was  elected  to 
represent  Chatham  County  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture. He  was  promoted  to  his  present  dignities 
and  responsibilities  as  solicitor  of  the  Fourth 
Judicial  District  in  1913,  and  has  been  re-elected 
for  a  second  term.  As  a  democrat  he  has  accorded 
the  stanchest  support  and  admiration  for  the  party 
policies  of  President  Wilson. 

Joseph  Foster  Sanders.  The  career  of  the 
late  Joseph  Foster  Sanders,  who  died  March  7, 
1918,  was  significant  in  more  ways  than  one.  He 
was  a  member  of  one  of  the  three  regiments  raised 
in  the  eastern  counties  of  the  state  for  service  in 
the  Civil  war  in  the  Union  army.  He  began  life 
at  a  mechanical  trade  and  at  its  end  was  propri- 
etor of  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of 
Elizabeth  City,  the  Elizabeth  City  Iron  Works 
and  Supply  Company. 

The  late  Mr.  Sanders  belonged  to  one  of  the 
oldest  families  of  Pasquatank  County,  a  family 
which  through  intermarriage  was  related  with 
many  others  of  the  leading  families  of  that  sec- 
tion. Joseph  Foster  Sanders,  the  son  of  Joseph 
and  Ann  (Meads)  Sanders,  was  born  December 
10,  1845.  The  first  seventeen  years  of  his  life 
he  spent  with  his  father  farming  and  attending 
the  local  schools. 

On  September  19,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  First  North  Carolina  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, Union  Army.  He  was  with  the  Federal 
forces  until  the  close  of  the  war  and  returned 
home  with  the  rank  of  corporal.  All  the  three 
regiments  that  North  Carolina  raised  for  the 
Union  army  acquitted  themselves  well,  particu- 
larly the  First,  and  the  records  show  that  no 
braver,  more  gallant  or  loyal  soldiers  ever  faced 
danger  during  those  four  troubled  years.  Mr. 
Sanders  was  wounded  at  Indiantown  and  his  in- 
juries kept  him  in  a  hospital  for  ten  months,  and 
caused  him  suffering  throughout  the  remainder 
of   his  life. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Sanders  went  west  to  Ne- 
braska and  Missouri  for  a  time  but  returned  to 
Pasquotank  County  and  in  1870  opened  a  coun- 
try blacksmith  shop,  principally  entering  a  line 
of  business  that  in  that  section  was  a  necessary 
adjunct  of  the  neighborhood  's  industrial  life.  In 
1874  he  enlarged  the  scope  of  his  business  by  com- 
ing to  Elizabeth  City  and  erecting  a  three-story 
building,  in  which  he  installed  facilities  and  ap- 
paratus for  the  manufacture  of  carriages  and 
wagons.     A  careful  worker,  a  good  business  man, 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


393 


he  steadily  prospered  during  all  the  subsequent 
years.  In  1897  he  sold  out  his  original  shop  in 
order  to  establish  the  Elizabeth  City  Iron  Works 
and  Supply  Company.  That  is  a  big  industry,  fur- 
nishing employment  to  fifty  skilled  workmen.  Mr. 
Sanders  was  president  and  active  head  of  the 
company  until  his  death  and  his  three  oldest  sons 
were  also  associated  with  him. 

Mr.  Sanders  married  Miss  Millicent  Lowry,  a 
native  of  Pasquotank  County,  North  Carolina. 
She  died  September  7,  1898,  December  31,  1903. 
Mr.  Sanders  married  Miss  Agnes  M.  Hodge,  a 
native  of  Cornwall,  Ontario,  Canada.  By  his  first 
wife  he  was  the  father  of  seven  children :  Henry 
W.,  secretary  of  the  Elizabeth  City  Iron  Works 
&  Supply  Company ;  Brad,  vice  president  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  company ;  Andrew,  who  is 
treasurer  of  the  company  but  is  now  serving  as 
a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Navy;  Margaret; 
and  three  deceased,  Robert,  John  and  Ella.  By 
his  second  marriage  Mr.  Sanders  had  two  sons, 
Archibald  G.  and  Ernest  J. 

Joseph  F.  Sanders  was  one  of  the  oldest  mem- 
bers of  Elizabeth  City  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows. 

William  B.  Hicks  is  best  known  over  a  wide 
region  of  North  Carolina  as  a  lumberman.  He 
has  been  a  practical  man  in  the  lumber  industry  in 
North  Carolina  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
prior  to  that  was  a  successful  railroad  builder 
and  contractor.  Mr.  Hicks '  home  is  at  Biscoe, 
Montgomery  County. 

The  Hicks  family  is  of  English  origin  and  his 
paternal  grandfather  was  a  Virginian.  Mr.  Hicks 
was  born  at  Raleigh  in  1864,  son  of  William  J.  and 
Julia  (Harrison)  Hicks.  The  family  lived  at 
Raleigh  for  a  number  of  years,  and  from  1861  to 
1865  the  father  had  active  charge  of  the  powder 
mill  at  the  State  Capital,  manufacturing  powder 
for  the  Confederate  army. 

During  his  boyhood  at  Raleigh  William  B.  Hicks 
attended  the  private  school  of  the  noted  educator 
Jefferson  Lovejoy.  When  a  young  man  he  took 
up  contracting,  and  was  identified  with  the  con- 
struction of  several  important  links  in  the  North 
Carolina  railroad  system.  He  built  the  old  Louis- 
burg  road,  the  Oxford  and  Henderson  roads,  the 
Carthage  road  in  Moore  County,  and  several  others. 

Beginning  about  1888  Mr.  Hicks  became  a  lum- 
ber manufacturer,  and  that  has  been  his  main 
business  activity  ever  since.  His  first  lumber  mill 
was  on  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railroad  between 
Aberdeen  and  Keyser.  Since  then  he  has  oper- 
ated mills  at  various  points  through  this  section 
of  the  state,  and  for  several  years  has  been  one 
of  the  larger  manufacturers.  He  established  his 
home  at  Biscoe  in  Montgomery  County  in  1893  and 
has  a  beautiful  residence  surrounded  with  ample 
and  attractive  grounds.  For  several  years  he  con- 
ducted a  mill  at  Biscoe,  but  it  is  not  now  in 
operation.  His  chief  manufacturing  interest  at 
present  is  a  large  planing  mill  at  Pedee  in  Rich- 
mond County. 

He  has  always  stood  as  a  man  of  influence  in 
his  community,  and  for  several  years  has  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  High 
School  at  Biscoe,  and  served  several  terms  as  mayor 
of  the  town.  Mr.  Hicks  married  Miss  Bertha 
Baldwin,  member  of  a  prominent  family  of  Rich- 
mond and  Montgomery  counties.  They  have  six 
children:  Frank,  Frances,  Bertha,  Harrison,  Min- 
nie  and   Julia. 

Archibald  Sherrod.  Some  of  the  important 
industrial  history  of  High  Point  may  properly  be 


written  as  the  experience  and  achievement  of  Arch- 
ibald Sherrod,  who  for  many  years  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  figures  in  the  furniture  industry  of 
the  city. 

Mr.  Sherrod  represents  an  old  and  noted  pioneer 
family  of  Martin  County.  He  was  born  near 
Oak  City  of  Martin  County,  and  the  same  town- 
ship was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Robert 
W.  Sherrod.  His  grandfather,  William  R.  W. 
Sherrod,  owned  and  operated  a  plantation  there, 
was  a  slave  owner,  and  probably  spent  all  his  life 
there.  Robert  W.  Sherrod  attended  Horner  's  Mil- 
itary Institute,  and  during  early  manhood  taught 
one  or  two  terms  of  school.  Having  inherited 
slaves  and  a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  he  engaged 
in  the  business  of  planter,  but  left  his  home  and 
duties  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  put  on 
the  Confederate  uniform.  He  was  a  cavalryman, 
but  during  his  service  was  taken  ill  and  died  soon 
after  his  return  home.  He  married  Jane  F.  Parker. 
She  was  a  native  of  Orange  County  and  her  father, 
Jesse  Parker,  moved  from  that  county  to  Martin 
County,  where  he  had  a  plantation.  Jesse  Parker 
married  Mary  Armstrong,  also  a  native  of  Orange 
County.  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Sherrod  was  a  cousin  of 
Prof.  James  Horner,  founder  of  the  Horner's  Mil- 
itary Institute.  She  was  largely  educated  under 
the  direction  of  that  famous  educator.  She  died 
two  or  three  years  after  her  husband,  leaving  two 
children,  Archibald  and  Mollie,  who  married  C.  H. 
Baker. 

Mr.  Archibald  Sherrod  was  a  small  child  when 
his  parents  died.  He  grew  up  in  the  home  of  his 
uncle,  Joseph  J.  Parker,  where  he  attended  local 
schools,  and  later  was  a  student  in  the  Vine  Hill 
Academy  at  Scotland  Neck,  in  Halifax  County, 
and  in  1881  took  a  business  course  in  Eastman's 
Business  College  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York. 

His  practical  business  experience  covers  a  pe- 
riod of  over  thirty-five  years.  After  leaving  school 
he  clerked  in  a  general  store  at  Hamilton  a  year. 
He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Baker,  and  bought  the  stock  and  good 
will  of  his  employer,  and  both  of  them  gave  their 
united  enterprise  to  the  handling  of  the  store  for 
twelve  years.  Mr.  Sherrod  then  sold  out  to  Mr. 
Baker,  and  coming  to  High  Point  bought  the  fac- 
tory of  the  Best  Chair  Company.  A  year  later 
Mr.  Baker  having  sold  his  business  at  Hamilton, 
also  joined  him  at  High  Point,  and  they  formed  a 
partnership,  each  with  a  half  interest  in  the  fac- 
tory. They  also  established  a  store,  Mr.  Baker 
having  the  management  of  the  latter  while  Mr. 
Sherrod  was  the  executive  head  of  the  factory.  One 
year  later  they  sold  their  interests  at  High  Point 
and  returned  to  Hamilton,  where  as  joint  part- 
ners they  established  a  factory  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  trousers,  and  a  store  continuing  the  same 
plan  of  management  of  each  branch  of  their  enter- 
prise. In  1904  Mr.  Sherrod  again  sold  his  inter- 
ests at  Hamilton  and  returned  to  High  Point, 
where  he  bought  stock  in  the  Union  Furniture 
Company.  Since  that  date  he  has  been  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  this  important  corporation,  and 
is  also  interested  in  other  local  enterprises  and  is 
quite  an  extensive  owner  of  city  property. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Mr.  Sherrod  married 
Mollie  Sherrod,  who  was  born  in  Martin  county, 
daughter  of  Henry  L.  and  Susan  (Bass)  Sherrod. 
She  died  leaving  four  children :  Lillie,  Debbie, 
Archibald,  Jr.,  and  Henry.  Lillie  is  the  wife  of 
Judge  Walter  L.  Watson.  Debbie  married  W.  R. 
Morrow  and  has  two  children,  named  Arch  Sher- 
rod and  Robert.  Archibald,  Jr.,  married  Clara 
Stanton    and    has    a    son    named    David    Stanton. 


394 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Henry  is  a  lieutenant  in  the  American  Army  and 
is  now  in  France. 

For  his  present  wife  Mr.  Sherrod  married  a 
sister  of  his  first  wife,  Lizzie  Sherrod.  They  have 
three  children,  Mary,  Lucile  and  Frank.  Mary  is 
now  a  student  in  the  Goucher  College  at  Baltimore. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherrod  are  active  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Stewards  of  that 
church  for  the  past  twenty-five  years.  Fraternally 
he  is  affiliated  with  Numa  F.  Beid  Lodge  No.  344, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  High 
Point  Lodge  No.  108,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks. 

Frank  C.  Boyles,  cashier  of  the  American  Bank 
of  Greensboro,  has  earned  a  name  and  an  estab- 
lished reputation  in  commercial  affairs  in  that 
city,  reflecting  honor  and  credit  upon  his  talents 
and   early  training  and  environment. 

Mr.  Boyles  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Lincoln 
County,  North  Carolina,  son  of  Bev.  Marcus  W. 
Boyles,  a  native  of  the  same  locality  and  grand- 
son of  Joseph  Boyles,  who  was  a  planter  and  slave 
owner  and  a  local  minister  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Lincoln  County,  where  he 
spent  all  his  days.  He  married  a  Miss  Yount. 
Bev.  Marcus  W.  Boyles  completed  his  education 
at  Butherford  College,  was  converted  in  early  life, 
and  after  preparing  for  the  ministry  entered  the 
North  Carolina  Conference  and  held  various  pastor- 
ates over  the  state.  His  last  years  were  spent  in 
Lexington,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  fifty  five. 
He  married  Susan  Wood,  a  native  of  Lincoln 
County,  where  the  father,  John  H.  Wood,  was  a 
planter.  She  survived  her  husband  and  died  at 
Greensboro,  the  mother  of  six  children,  named 
Augustus  C,  Frank  C,  J.  Henry,  Blanche,  Marvin 
and  Pitman. 

Frank  C.  Boyles  having  determined  upon  a 
business  rather  than  a  professional  career  left 
Trinity  College  before  graduating  and  acquired 
his  first  practical  knowledge  of  mercantile  affairs 
at  Mount  Gilead,  where  he  spent  two  years,  and 
from  there  came  to  Greensboro  and  for  four  years 
clerked  with  the  Odell  Hardware  Company.  With 
this  general  knowledge  of  business  he  entered  the 
Greensboro  National  Bank  as  collector,  and  was 
with  that  institution  until  1911,  when  he  resigned 
to  become  cashier  of  the  American  National 
Bank. 

Mr.  Boyles  married  Myrtie  Ham,  who  was  born 
at  Mount  Olive,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of 
Henry  T.  and  Lucy  Ham.  They  have  one  son, 
Richard.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boyles  are  members  of 
the  West  Market  Street  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  for  fifteen  years  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  its  Board  of  Stewards.  Fraternally  he  is 
affiliated  with  Greensboro  lodge  No.  76,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Bueua  Vista  Lodge 
No.  21  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  Greensboro  Lodge  No.  80  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

Paul  Cameron  Whitlock  is  a  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession, is  trust  officer  and  attorney  for  the  Amer- 
ican Trust  Company,  and  president  of  the  cham- 
ber of  Commerce  at  Charlotte.  More  than  that, 
Mr.  Whitlock  is  a  citizen  of  very  alert  and  pro- 
gressive type  and  is  one  of  the  most  constuctive 
men  in  the  modern  evolution  of  Charlotte,  as  a 
citizen  basing  its  greatness  upon  the  wholesome 
welfare  of  the  citizens  as  well  as  its  material 
achievement. 

Mr.    Whitlock     was    born     at    Bockingham    in 


Richmond  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1878,  a 
son  of  E.  D.  and  Caroline  (Cameron)  Whitlock. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Montgomery  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  went  with  his  father  and 
family  to  Richmond  County  in  1867,  locating  in 
Wolf  Pitt  Township.  E.  U.  Whitlock  afterwards 
moved  to  Rockingham,  where  for  a  number  of 
years  he  has  since  successfully  engaged  in  busi- 
ness. 

Caroline  Cameron,  mother  of  Paul  C.  Whitlock, 
and  now  deceased,  was  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Col.  John  W.  Cameron,  distinguished  as  a  law- 
yer, statesman  and  citizen.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  law  partner  of  the  late  Major 
Shaw  of  Bockingham.  Major  Shaw,  himself  a 
lawyer  of  brilliant  parts  and  attainments,  paid 
Colonel  Cameron  the  compliment  that  he  was  the 
best  lawyer  he  ever  knew.  A  year  or  two  after 
the  war  Colonel  Cameron  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Legislature  and  while  there  was  instrumen- 
tal in  having  passed  a  homestead  law  giving  land 
owners  exemption  from  execution  on  their  home 
lands  up  to  $1,000  worth.  The  wisdom  and  ben- 
eficence of  this  act  are  the  better  understood  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  period  was  that  follow- 
ing the  devastation  of  war  when  all  farmers  in 
North  Carolina  were  invariably  poor.  During  the 
'50s  Colonel  Cameron  was  editor  of  the  old  Fay- 
etteville  Argus.  He  made  a  brilliant  record  as 
a  Confederate  officer  during  the  Civil  war. 

Paul  Cameron  Whitlock  graduated  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  with  the  class  of 
1898,  and  also  studied  law  there.  On  admission 
to  the  bar  he  practiced  at  Rockingham  for  about 
six  years  in  partnership  with  Cameron  Morrison. 
The  firm  then  moved  to  Charlotte,  and  the  two 
partners  were  associated  for  about  four  years, 
after  which  Mr.  Whitlock  engaged  in  an  inde- 
pendent practice.  He  was  city  attorney  of  Char- 
lotte during  Dr.  C.  A.  Bland 's  first  administra- 
tion as  mayor,  but  after  several  months  resigned 
to*  take  up  his  present  work  as  trust  officer  and 
attorney   for   the   American   Trust   Company. 

On  September  6,  1917,  Mr.  Whitlock  was  elected 
president  of  the  Charlotte  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  immediately  entered  into  the  responsibilities 
of  directing  a  work  in  which  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce proposed  to  co-operate  with  all  the  inter- 
ests fundamental  and  vital  to  the  welfare  and 
progress  of  the  City  of  Charlotte  and  Mecklen- 
burg Count}',  and  in  the  laying  of  whieh  program 
Mr.  Whitlock  had  previously  had  a  most  influential 
part.  Mr.  Whitlock  is  credited  with  much  of  the  en- 
thusiasm that  changed  the  character  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  from  a  social  body  into  a  de- 
pendable working  organization  for  the  welfare 
of  the  community.  He  took  an  active  part  in  re- 
organizing the  chamber  and  served  as  a  director 
of  its  highways  bureau  before  his  election  as 
president.  Mr.  Whitlock  did  some  splendid  serv- 
ice with  his  associates  in  securing  Charlotte  the 
location  of  the  National  Army  Cantonment  of 
Camp  Greene. 

LTpon  his  inauguration  as  president  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  Mr.  Whitlock  delivered  an 
address  that  called  for  and  allows  general  en- 
thusiasm in  one  of  the  broadest  constructive  pro- 
grams  ever   embraced   by  a   North   Carolina   city. 

While  his  address  cannot  be  quoted  at  length, 
the  following  excerpt  deserves  permanent  record : 
"If  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  existed  solely  for 
the  promotion  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
city,  which  it  does  not,  the  surest  way  of  attain- 
ing its  object  would  be  to  concern  itself  with  the 
deeper  and  broader  factors  of  the  city  's  life.     A 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


395 


wholesome  growth  can  be  brought  about  only  by 
uniform  development.  The  way  to  make  Char- 
lotte a  big  city,  if  bigness  were  our  sole  object, 
would  be  to  make  it  a  good  place  in  which  to 
live.  The  city  that  makes  itself  a  good  place 
in  which  to  live  will  draw  people  to  it  and  these 
people  will  bring  their  industries  with  them.  The 
modern  manufacturer,  when  he  goes  to  select  a 
location  for  his  plant,  looks  farther  than  to  the 
purely  natural  advantages.  In  this  great  coun- 
try there  are  plenty  of  places  that  offer  good 
natural  advantages  to  almost  any  line  of  busi- 
ness or  industry.  Other  things  being  ecpjal,  the 
city  that  is  the  best  place  in  which  to  live  has  the 
advantage.  Therefore  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
if  it  would  serve  the  truly  commercial  interests 
of  the  city,  would  better  concern  itself  with  such 
questions  as  schools,  parks,  playgrounds,  amuse- 
ments, health,  good  water  and  all  those  things 
that  touch  the  lives  of  its  people. ' '  Another  quo- 
tation should  be  made  from  an  editorial  that  ap- 
peared in  the  Charlotte  Observer  :  ' '  The  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  in  its  former  days  was  great  at 
wearing  spike  tailed  coats  and  white  vests  two 
or  three  times  a  year,  making  speeches  and  build- 
ing air  castles.  But  the  organization  has  happily 
moved  from  the  old  ideas  arid  has  come  into  a 
correct  realization  of  its  substance.  For  some 
time  past  it  has  been  officered  by  men  of  progres- 
sive ideals  and  there  has  been  progressive  promo- 
tion in  the  selection  of  its  new  leader  in  the  per- 
son of  Mr.  Paul  Whitlock.  The  new  president 
has  given  proof  that  he  holds  the  proper  concep- 
tion of  the  duties  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
The  Observer  believes  that  the  man,  the  hour  and 
the  organization  have  come  into  conjunction  and 
that  the  Charlotte  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  been 
at  last  launched  upon  a  career  of  unbounded  use- 
fulness not  alone  to  the  city,  but  to  the  county, 
for  it  has  wisely  enlarged  its  scope  so  as  to  look 
after  the  development  of  community  interests  in 
their  various  ramifications.  The  general  pur- 
poses of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  are  pretty  well 
understood  by  the  public,  but  there  is  not  quite 
so  good  an  appreciation  of  the  constantly  ex- 
panding opportunities  of  the  organization.  Mr. 
Whitlock  appears  to  have  gTasped  these  in  the 
fullest  meaning,  and  particularly  in  connection 
with  co-operation  in  rural  endeavor.  -  He  takes 
the  proper  view  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
could  find  no  better  way  in  the  promotion  of  the 
good  of  Charlotte  than  in  lending  its  influence  to 
the  development  of  the  agricultural  resources  in 
Mecklenburg  County. ' ' 

Mr.  Whitlock  is  a  member  of  the  Trinity  Meth- 
odist Church.  He  married  Miss  Maude  Crosland, 
of  Richmond  County,  daughter  of  William  E. 
Crosland.  Their  four  children  are :  Virginia  Le- 
Grande,  Paul  Cameron,  Jr.,  Caroline  Elizabeth 
and  Neil. 

Richard  Fenner  Yarborough,  M.  D.  A  physi- 
cian of  wide  and  successful  experience  who  has 
practiced  at  Louisburg  nearly  twenty  years,  Dr. 
Richard  Fenner  Yarborough  had  the  best  of  early 
training  and  natural  qualifications  preliminary  to 
his  work  in  the  profession. 

Born  in  Louisburg  March  21,  1872,  son  of  Col. 
William  Henry  and  Lula  (Davis)  Yarborough,  his 
father  formerly  a  merchant  and  at  one  time  col- 
lector of  internal  revenue  for  the  United  States 
Government,  Doctor  Yarborough  's  early  education 
ivas  supervised  in  private  schools,  followed  by 
a  course  in  the  Raleigh  Male  Academy,  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  from  there  he  went 


to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  was  a 
student  in  the  medical  department  of  Columbian 
University,  now  the  George  Washington.  He  grad- 
uated M.  D.  in  1898  and  during  1899  did  post- 
graduate work.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Louisburg  and  has  since  been  busied  with  a  large 
general  practice.  He  is  president  of  the  Franklin 
County  Medical  Society,  a  former  member  of  the 
Central  State  Hospital  Board,  active  in  the  State 
Medical  Society,  and  is  a  former  superintendent 
of  the  County  Board  of  Health. 

November  29,  1916,  Doctor  Yarborough  mar- 
ried Miss  Martha  Harriett  Ballard,  of  Franklinton, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  W.  Ballard,  a  well  known 
merchant   and  cotton   factor  of   Franklinton. 

Johx  Oscar  Redding  has  for  a  number  of 
years  been  identified  with  the  industrial  interests 
of  Ashboro,  especially  the  manufacturing  of 
furniture.  He  is  a  man  of  splendid  ability,  and 
he  has  earned  and  well  deserves  the  esteem  he 
enjoys  in  that  community. 

Mr.  Redding  was  born  at  Hoover  Hill  Gold 
Mines,  in  Randolph  County.  His  great-grand- 
father, John  Redding,  is  known  to  have  spent  his 
life  in  Randolph  County.  The  grandfather,  John 
Redding,  was  born  three  miles  west  of  Ashboro  in 
old  Redding  settlement,  and  he,  too,  was  a  farmer 
and  lifelong  resident  of  the  county.  He  married 
Diza  Steed,  who  was  born  three  miles  west  of 
Ashboro,  daughter  of  Charles  Steed.  Both  the 
Reddings  and  Steed  families  were  among  the  pion- 
eers of  what  is  now  Randolph  County. 

John  Stanley  Redding,  father  of  John  O.,  was 
born  on  a  farm  seven  miles  southwest  of  Ashboro 
in  1840,  grew  up  there,  and  when  the  war  broke 
out  entered  the  service  of  the  Confederacy,  being 
detailed  for  special  work  at  the  salt  works  near 
Wilmington.  He  was  there  uutil  after  the  war, 
and  then  bought  the  farm  upon  which  his  son, 
John  O.,  was  born.  He  still  directs  the  opera- 
tions of  his  fields,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Trinity 
Township,  hale  and  hearty  in  his  seventy-eighth 
year.  He  married  Eugenia  Andrew,  who  was 
reared  at  Wytherville,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Na- 
than and  Anna  (Stanton)  Andrew.  She  is  also  still 
living,  now  in  her  seventy-sixth  year.  They  had 
a  family  of  five  children:  Thomas  H.,  John  Oscar, 
Charles  W.,  Ocia  and  Virginia.  Oeia  is  the  wife 
of  Robert  L.  M.  Blair. 

The  early  environment  of  John  Oscar  Redding 
was  his  father's  farm  and  Hoover  Hill  gold  mines. 
He  is  a  man  of  education,  having  supplemented 
his  work  in  the  public  schools  with  a  class  in  Guil- 
ford College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1898. 
Besides  taking  up  a  business  career,  he  taught  for 
one  year  in  Guilford  College.  At  High  Point  he 
was  employed  for  two  years  by  J.  Elwood  Cox, 
and  then  came  to  Ashboro  and  has  been  a  rising 
figure  in  the  woodworking  industries  of  this  city. 
After  a  year  in  the  general  lumber  business  he 
organized  the  Ashboro  Chair  Company  in  1903, 
and  has  directed  the  affairs  of  that  enterprise 
with  competence  and  success  and  profit  as  man- 
ager ever  since. 

In  1905  Mr.  Redding  married  Blanche  Wood. 
Mrs.  Redding  is  a  daughter  of  William  Penn  and 
Henrietta  (Gunter)  Wood.  Her  father  is  now 
one  of  the  prominent  state  officials,  being  auditor 
of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Redding  have 
two  sons,  John  0.,  Jr.,  and  Penn  Wood. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Redding  are  both  active  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  he 
has  served  on  the  official  board  of  the  church  and 
is  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school.    For  fifteen 


396 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


years  he  has  been  secretary  of  the  Ashboro  School 
Board,  and  has  always  maintained  a  vigorous  in- 
terest in  local  affairs.  He  is  affiliated  with  Bal- 
four Lodge  No.  188,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  with 
Ashboro  Council,  Junior  Order  United  American 
Mechanics. 

Walter  B.  Covington.  Perhaps  no  one  factor 
has  had  more  to  do  with  the  remarkable  develop- 
ment within  the  past  few  years  of  many  sections 
of  the  county  than  the  good  roads  movement,  and 
Richmond  County,  North  Carolina,  is  indisputable 
proof  of  its  operative  value.  Looking  back  but 
thirteen  years,  citizens  can  recall  neglected  high- 
ways in  every  township  over  which  travel  was 
dangerous  and  hauling  practically  impossible  dur- 
ing some  seasons.  These  are  very  apt  to  be 
enthusiastic  over  the  change  that  has  been  brought 
about  through  the  earnest,  well  directed  efforts 
of  Walter  B.  Covington,  an  expert  in  road  making, 
who  filled  office  of  county  superintendent  of  roads 
for  seven  years,  and  who  is  also  one  of  the  large 
planters  and  stockraisers  of  Richmond  County.  He 
resigned  his  office  on  the  1st  of  August,  1918. 

Walter  B.  Covington  was  born  in  1869,  within 
three  miles  of  Rockingham,  Richmond  County, 
North  Carolina,  His  parents  were  J.  E.  and 
Amanda  (McKinzey)  Covington,  and  his  grand- 
parents were  W.  K.  Covington  and  B.  B.  McKinzie. 
The  Covington  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  prolific  in  this  section  of  the  state  and  is 
of  English  origin.  Its  arrival  here  from  near  the 
Great  Peedee  River  Valley,  South  Carolina,  was 
about  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  its 
members  settled  within  three  miles  of  Rocking- 
ham, up  and  down  the  creek,  upon  sites  now 
occupied  by  cotton  mills.  The  family  has  always 
been  largely  agricultural. 

Walter  B.  Covington  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  and  has  devoted  his  life  in  large  part  to 
agricultural  industries.  His  fine  plantation,  com- 
prising 500  acres,  lies  five  miles  north  of  Rock- 
ingham, on  the  Ellerbe  road.  In  addition  to  ex- 
tensive farming  he  has  given  much  attention  to 
the  breeding  of  fine  stock,  horses,  Jersey  cows  and 
Duroc-Jersey  and  Essex  hogs.  At  present  he  is 
interested  in  experimenting  in  the  hope  of  develop- 
ing from  the  Pereheron  and  a  cross  with  common 
work  horse  a  new  mixed  breed  which  will  possess 
the  strong  bone  and  sinew  but  will  be  smaller  in 
size  and  less  clumsy  than  the  full-blooded  Per- 
eheron and  has  reason  to  hope  that  his  experiments 
will  be  successful. 

As  stated  above,  Mr.  Covington  was  county 
superintendent  of  roads  of  Richmond  County, 
which  section  he  has  made  famous  over  the  state 
for  its  beautiful  and  durable  sand-clay  roads. 
At  the  instance  of  the  late  Capt.  W.  I.  Everett, 
of  Rockingham,  Mr.  Covington,  in  1905  made  a 
beginning  on  the  present  Ellerbe  road  extending 
between  Eockingham  and  Ellerbe.  Under  Captain 
Everett  he  learned  'the  principles  of  modern  road 
making,  and  ever  since  that  time  has  been  con- 
tinuously engaged  in  the  work.  Following  the 
completion  of  the  road  mentioned  above,  Mr.  Cov- 
ington under  Captain  Everett,  built  the  first  road 
in  Mark's  Creek  Township.  He  was  then  employed 
to  make  good  roads  in  Stewartsville  Township,  in 
the  adjoining  County  of  Scotland,  upon  which  he 
was  engaged  for  seven  months,  working  in  asso- 
ciation with  the  government  civil  engineer.  Then 
Richmond  County  really  awakened  to  the  value 
of  his  work,  offered  him  a  fair  salary  and  urged 
him  to  become  county  superintendent  of  their  road 


system.  When  Mr.  Covington  took  charge  of  this 
work  the  county  had  four  mules  and  one  road 
machine  and  work  had  been  done  on  225  miles  of 
road.  The  present  equipment  includes  two  good 
chain  gang  outfits,  eighteen  head  of  mules,  a 
traction  engine  outfit,  and  in  six  years  he  has  built 
500  miles  of  road,  including  the  widening  of  many 
sections  to  the  standard  width  of  twenty  feet. 
Under  his  management  the  road  building  was 
carried  on  with  a  view  of  benefiting  the  most 
people  and  preparing  for  further  development  in 
the  future.  Every  town  in  the  county,  even  the 
smallest,  in  any  direction  from  Rockingham,  the 
county  seat,  is  on  a  good  road.  This  has  brought 
about  increased  travel,  increased  sociability  and 
consequent  prosperity. 

Mr.  Covington  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  P.  Em- 
merson,  who  was  born  in  Montgomery  County, 
North  Carolina,  and  they  havei  the*  following 
children:  Alma,  Mrs.  Hutchison;  and  Ethel,  Chloe, 
Pratt,  Catherine,  George,  Robert,  Walter  K., 
Josephine  and  Alice.  The  family  belongs  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Covington  is 
interested,  as  becomes  a  good  citizen,  in  public 
affairs  and  shirks  no  responsibility.  He  belongs 
to  two  well  known  fraternal  organizations,  the 
Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

William  Hopton  Smith,  M.  D.  The  work  of 
Doctor  Smith  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  has 
largely  been  done  in  his  native  City  of  Goldsboro. 
He  has  been  in  active  practice  nearly  ten  years, 
and  has  become  recognized  as  a  man  of  excep- 
tional attainment,  with  the  skill  of  the  thorough 
surgeon,  and  with  that  broad  wisdom  and  human 
understanding  which  gives  a  true  physician  his 
best  power  and  ability  to  serve. 

A  member  of  an  old  and  prominent  family  of 
Goldsboro,  Doctor  Smith  was  born  in  that  city 
May  29,  1882,  a  son  of  Wiley  Hopton  and  Mary 
Elizabeth  (McArthur)  Smith.  His  father  was 
a  well  known  manufacturer  and  merchant.  Doc- 
tor Smith  was  educated  in  the  Goldsboro  grammar 
and  high  schools,  took  his  literary  courses  in  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  then  entered 
the  medJcal  department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1906. 
For  three  years  he  practiced  at  Bailey,  North 
Carolina,  and  then  after  1%  years  of  further 
preparation  in  the  Polyclinic  Hospital  at  Phil- 
adelphia he  returned  to  Goldsboro  and  has  since 
given  his  best  energies  to  his  large  and  growing 
general  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne 
County,  the  Fourth  District  and  the  North  Caro- 
lina Medical  societies  and  the  American  Medical 
Association.  In  1916  he  became  county  physician 
of  Wayne  County,  his  term  expiring  in  1919. 

Doctor  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Or- 
der, the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  be- 
longs to  the  Algonquin  Club  of  Goldsboro.  He 
was  married  January  5,  1903,  to  Miss  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Pool,  daughter  of  David  and  Lydia  (Mc- 
Comas)  Pool,  both  of  whom  are  natives  of  Ohio. 
They    have    one    child,    Mary    Elizabeth. 

William  C.  Mudgett,  M.  D.  As  one  of  the  most 
noted  winter  resorts  of  North  Carolina  Southern 
Pines  in  Moore  County  has  a  wealth  of  advantages 
such  as  would  not  ordinarily  be  expected  of  a  town 
of  its  size.  Not  least  among  these  is  the  presence 
of  one  of  the  very  able  surgeons  of  the  state,  who 
is  also  chief  of  staff  of  a  recently  established 
hospital  which  has  brought  no  little  fame  to  the 
town   and  the   district  surrounding  it. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


397 


Doctor  Mudgett  came  to  North  Carolina  from  the 
atmosphere  of  the  best  schools  and  from  a  train- 
ing and  experience  that  already  had  made  him 
recognized  as  one  of  the  capable  surgeons  of  New 
England.  He  is  of  New  England  birth  and  an- 
cestry and  was  born  at  Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1880.  His  parents,  William  E.  and  Salome 
(Chase)  Mudgett,  were  also  natives  of  New  Hamp- 
shire and  of  old  families  of  that  state.  The  mother 
was  descended  from  Thomas  Chase  of  Williamsport, 
Massachusetts,  one  of  the  three  brothers  who 
founded  the  noted  Chase  family  in  America,  a  name 
that  is  intimately  interwoven  with  the  history  of 
New  England  and  the  nation. 

Doctor  Mudgett  was  reared  at  Hopkinton,  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  also  attended  the 
New  Hampton  School,  one  of  the  best  preparatory 
schools  of  the  New  England  states.  He  finished 
his  literary  education  in  Dartmouth  College  and 
took  his  medical  courses  in  Baltimore  Medical 
College  and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1903. 
Following  that  he  had  the  special  advantages  of 
hospital  work  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  While 
there  his  time  and  services  were  largely  employed 
in  operative  surgery. 

With  this  equipment  Doctor  Mudgett  came  to 
Southern  Pines,  North  Carolina,  in  the  fall  of  1907. 
He  has  since  been  busily  and  successfully  engaged 
m  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  is  primarily 
a  surgeon,  though  his  work  calls  him  into  a  gen- 
eral and  varied  practice.  Himself  a  man  of  varied 
attainments,  he  keeps  in  close  touch  with  every- 
thing connected  with  his  professional  life  and  is 
a  helpful  leader  in  the  public  health  movement, 
sanitation  and  the  general  public   welfare. 

From  the  public  standpoint  perhaps  the  most  in- 
teresting phase  of  his  work  is  as  surgeon  and  head 
of  the  staff  of  the  James  McCounell  Memorial 
Hospital  at  Eureka  in  Moore  County.  This  hos- 
pital was  opened  in  May,  1917,  and  Doctor  Mud- 
gett was  given  the  distinction  of  performing  the 
first  operation.  Though  not  a  large  one,  the  hos- 
pital is  almost  ideal  in  its  location  and  in  its 
entirely  modern  equipment  and  facilities  for  sur- 
gical and  medical  cases.  It  was  built  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Sand  Hills  Board  of  Trade,  pri- 
marily for  carrying  out  the  recommendations  of 
the  State  Board  of  Health  relating  especially  to 
the  Sand  Hills  region,  which  embraces  all  of  Moore 
County  and  sections  of  adjoining  counties.  The 
State  Board  of  Health  had  made  a  thorough  sur- 
vey of  the  children  of  this  district,  their  congenital 
and  acquired  ailments,  and  their  recommendations 
for  the  hospital  were  based  upon  this  survey.  As 
an  instance  of  the  good  results  already  accom- 
plished by  the  hospital,  there  were  treated  suc- 
cessfully up  to  October  1,  1917,  about  35  per 
cent  of  a  total  of  317  cases  of  enlarged  tonsils 
and  adenoids  reported  by  the  board. 

The  hospital  is  constructed  with  a  central  ad- 
ministration building,  witli  an  extension  or  wing  on 
each  side,  after  plans  approved  by  the  best  hos- 
pital practices.  The  operating  room,  under  the 
skylight  from  the  top  tloor,  is  20  by  20  feet.  The 
equipment  and  instruments  in  themselves  repre- 
sent a  large  investment.  Other  features  of  the 
hospital  are  an  exercising  room,  a  recovery  room, 
a  laboratory,  a  diet  kitchen,  work  kitchen,  surgeons 
and  nurses  lavatories,  lavatories,  resident  physi- 
cian 's  office  and  nurses '  bed  rooms,  four  private 
rooms  for  patients,  two  with  private  baths,  while 
two  large  bath  rooms  furnish  facilities  for  the 
wards.     The  male  and   female  wards  are  separate. 


The  hospital  has  proved  so  popular  that  already 
extensions  to  its  capacity  are  planned,  including 
an  X-ray  room.  Every  Friday  a  general  clinic  is 
held,  at  which  the  physicians  of  the  staff  give 
their  services  free.  There  is  a  regular  staff  of 
four  graduate  nurses. 

Besides  the  individual  cases  probably  the  best 
work  accomplished  by  the  hospital  is  in  diagnosis. 
Patients  are  given  the  most  thorough  and  skillful 
examination  and  diagnosis,  equal  to  that  available 
in  the  largest  hospitals,  and  this  work  affords  a 
basis  and  a  scientific  standard  which  is  bound  to 
result  in  great  improvement  in  general  medical 
practice  and  methods  throughout  the  entire  dis- 
trict. 

Doctor  Mudgett  is  a  member  of  the  County  and 
State  Medical  societies,  the  Southern  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, the  American  Medical  Association  and  the 
Clinical  Congress  of  Surgeons.  He  is  an  unusually 
active  man  in  his  profession  and  during  his  resi- 
dence has  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  local 
service  and  facilities  by  which  Southern  Pines  is 
judged  as  a  home  resort  by  its  large  number  of 
winter  residents. 

Doctor  Mudgett  married  Miss  Edith  Heizmann. 
Her  father,  A.  A.  Heizmann,  is  a  resident  of 
Beading,  Pennsylvania,  and  with  his  family  spent 
several  winters  at  Southern  Pines.  Doctor  and 
Mrs.  Mudgett  have  two  children,  Lucile  Heizmann 
and  William  Chase. 

William  Gatetvood  Shipman  has  the  unique 
distinction  of  having  built  up  and  developed  the 
only  organ  manufactory  in  the  South.  This  great 
industry,  turning  out  thousands  of  high  class 
organs  every  year,  instruments  of  wonderful  tone 
and  quality,  is  located  at  High  Point  in  Guilford 
County.  It  is  a  great  addition  to  the  industrial 
resources  of  that  city,  which  already  ranks  as 
the  foremost  furniture  manufacturing  center  in 
the  South  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  in  America. 

Mr.  Shipman  is  a  Southern  man,  and  was  born 
at  Salem,  Virginia,  a  son  of  A.  M.  and  Willie 
(Smith)  Shipman,  the  father,  deceased  but  the 
mother  is  still  living.  Both  the  Shipmans  and 
Gatewoods,  the  latter  in  the  maternal  ancestry, 
were  prominent  and  old  families  of  Virginia.  Mr. 
Shipman  was  educated  in  Roanoke  College  and  his 
primary  purpose  was  to  become  a  physician.  He 
studied  two  years  for  that  profession,  when  owing 
to  failing  eyesight  he  gave  up  his  studies  and 
went  West.  Locating  in  Colorado,  he  was  for 
about  fifteen  years  engaged  in  business  in  that 
state. 

Leaving  that  city  in  1904,  he  traveled  over 
various  sections  of  the  South  in  search  of  an  eligi- 
ble place  where  he  might  engage  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  organs.  He  studied  the  situation  care- 
fully and  thoroughly  and  in  1905  determined  upon 
High  Point.  This  town  had  already  become  noted 
for  its  extensive  furniture  manufacturing  plants 
and  possessed  many  other  advantages  which  Mr. 
Shipman  considered  as  contributory  for  an  ideal 
location   for   his   own   industry. 

The  manufacture  of  organs  is  only  in  a  slight 
degree  allied  with  furniture  making.  Thus  Mr. 
Shipman  could  not  count  upon  drawing  from  the 
furniture-making  trade  for  his  own  industry  beyond 
a  certain  limited  degree.  He  had  to  overcome 
many  obstacles  and  handicaps.  There  was  almost 
total  lack  of  skilled  labor  in  the  South,  either  in 
the  piano  or  organ  working  trades.  In  the  old- 
time  piano  and  organ  concerns  of  the  North  and 
East   positions   of  skilled  labor   are  handed   down 


398 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


from  father  to  son,  and  those  who  hold  them  are 
considered  a  permanent  part  of  the  organization. 
Mr.  Shipman  thoroughly  realized  and  understood 
the  traditions  of  the  organ-making  trade.  In  order 
to  succeed  he  felt  that  he  must  develop  similar 
conditions  in  his  own  factory.  By  hard  and  per- 
sistent work  he  took  in  and  trained  young  and 
ambitious  men  for  the  skilled  positions,  and  has 
gradually  been  building  up  an  organization  which 
will  in  time  rank  with  the  big  factory  organiza- 
tions of  the  North.  Some  of  the  men  who  were 
with  him  at  the  start  are  still  in  the  plant,  and 
the  idea  of  permanence  has  been  emphasized  and 
has  been  to  a  large  degree  responsible  for  the 
remarkable  results.  From  a  labor  standpoint  the 
Shipman  establishment  is  an  ideal  one.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  indication  of  any  distinction 
between  ' '  capital  and  labor. ' '  A  high  and  gen- 
erous wage  scale  is  maintained,  only  men  of  good 
character  are  employed,  and  nearly  all  of  them  are 
home  owners  and  good  citizens.  There  is  a  spirit 
of  good  fellowship  and  comradeship  between  em- 
ployer and  employe,  though  in  no  sense  does 
it  result  in  slackening  of  discipline  or  shop  effi- 
ciency. It  was  a  wise  and  wholesome  policy  under- 
taken at  the  first  and  carefully  worked  out  in  all 
its  details  that  has  given  the  Shipman  concern  its 
great  power  and  prosperity.  The  men  who  make 
the  Shipman  organs  are  greatly  attached  to  Mr. 
Shipman  personally  and  have  shown  their  regard 
on   numerous   occasions. 

Mr.  Shipman  himself  is  a  man  of  remarkable 
initiative,  as  needs  no  further  proof  than  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  industry  unheard  of  in  this 
state,  and  has  the  ability  and  energy  to  carry  out 
plans  and  ideas.  The  industry  he  has  established 
promises  to  be  a  most  gratifying  life  work  for 
himself  and  a  fine  heritage  for  his  children.  Any- 
one might  justly  take  pride  in  such  an  industry 
as  he  has  built  up  unaided  and  alone.  He  had 
to  encounter  the  competition  of  the  older  and  larger 
concerns  of  the  East  and  North,  and  while  his  first 
thought  and  purpose  was  to  make  instruments  of  a 
high  quality  and  reliable  workmanship,  he  has  not 
been  less  successful  in  building  up  and  broadening 
his  trade.  During  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the 
Shipman  Organ  Company  turned  out  a  very  few 
organs  as  compared  with  older  industries  else- 
where in  the  United  States.  Among  all  manufac- 
turers in  this  country  the  Shipman  Company  now 
stands  third  in  point  of  output.  With  a  contin- 
uation of  the  present  growth  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time  when  this  will  rank  first.  In  1917  the  rate 
of  manufacture  was  six  thousand  organs  per  year. 
In  1911  a  disastrous  fire  almost  destroyed  the 
entire  plant.  It  did  not  discourage  Mr.  Shipman 
for  a  minute,  and  he  began  rebuilding  within  a 
few  days.  The  new  plant  has  fifty  thousand  feet 
of  floor  space  and  all  modern  facilities,  equipment 
and  machinery. 

The  Shipman  organs  are  shipped  to  every  state 
in  the  South.  Until  the  European  war  put  an  end 
to  the  export  trade  large  numbers  of  the  instru- 
ments were  sent  across  the  ocean.  Perhaps  the 
highest  proof  of  Shipman  quality  and  business 
efficiency  is  that  this  is  the  only  organ  factory  in 
the  country  that  has  not  lessened  its  output  since 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  In  fact,  no  business  in 
North  Carolina  has  shown  so  large  a  growth  in 
so  short  a  time.  The  company  almost  doubled  its 
capacity  on  two  different,  occasions,  and  in  1914 
its  capital  stock  was  doubled. 

Mr.  Shipman  has  a  beautiful  and  spacious  home 
in  the  Quaker  Woods  section  of  High  Point.     Both 


he  and  his  family  take  the  greatest  of  pleasure  in 
that  home.  Mrs.  Shipman  before  her  marriage  was 
Miss  Hazel  Fisher,  the  daughter  of  George  F. 
Fisher,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  but  who  resided 
in  Chicago  for  many  years,  where  Mrs.  Shipman 
was  born.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  children: 
Elizabeth,  Hazel,  Marian  and  Gatewood.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

James  Benjamin  Cummings  has  for  over  thirty 
years  been  an  active  factor  in  Kinston  's  commer- 
cial life,  for  fully  thirty  years  in  the  general 
merchandise  business  and  more  recently  he  has 
had  the  general  agency  over  five  counties  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina  for  the  Jefferson  Standard 
Life  Insurance  Company.  He  has  done  much  to 
strengthen  that  company 's  business  and  standing 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  has  proved  a  very 
able  and  aggressive  business  getter.  As  the  fruit 
of  his  long  and  active  career  he  has  acquired  much 
property  in  Kinston,  and  is  one  of  that  city 's 
most  substantial  men. 

Mr.  Cummings  was  born  at  Kinston,  December 
11,  1861,  a  son  of  James  Benpamin  and  Matilda 
(Singletary)  Cummings.  His  mother  was  of  the 
Singletary  family  of  Bladen  County.  His  father 
was  a  tailor  by  trade.  Mr.  Cummings  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Kinston,  and  in  his  early 
life  he  served  five  and  a  half  years  as  clerk  in 
a  general  merchandise  store.  The  proprietor,  Mr. 
Chauncey  Gray,  then  gave  him  a  half  interest  in 
the  profits  of  the  store  and  after  four  years  he 
was  able  to  set  up  in  business  for  himself. 

Mr.  Cummings  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Order,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Mystic  Circle,  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Knights  of  Har- 
mony. His  church  home  is  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  denomination. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  on  January  14,  1884, 
he  married  Miss  Fleter  Eliza  Cox.  She  was  a 
granddaughter  of  General  James  W.  Cox,  a 
daughter  of  James  Gabriel  Cox  of  Kinston,  and 
was  also  a  granddaughter  of  General  William  A. 
Pollock,  one  of  North  Carolina's  noted  citizens. 
Mrs.  Cummings  died  May  10,  1896,  leaving  four 
children:  Charles  Gehrmann,  who  is  a  salesman 
at  Newbern,  North  Carolina ;  Irma,  Mrs.  R.  C. 
Tunsdall,  of  Kinston;  Essie  B. ;  Olive  B.,  Mrs. 
Frank  Provanga,  a  lumber  dealer  at  Newbern. 
On  January  20,  1897,  Mr.  Cummings  married  Mary 
Bryan,  of  Institute,  North  Carolina.  There  are 
also  four  children  by  the  second  marriage:  James 
Benjamin,  Jr.,  who  is  now  a  member  of  Company 
B  of  the  Second  North  Carolina  Infantry;  Henry 
Bryan;   Lloyd  Frizzell;   and  John  Wilber. 

Rev.  Arthur  Raine  Freeman.  As  priest  in 
charee  of  St.  Mary 's  Roman  Catholic  Church  at 
Goldsboro,  Rev.  Arthur  Raine  Freeman  occupies 
a  position  of  great  responsibility,  his  spiritual 
ministrations  covering  a  parish  that  includes 
thirty  families  and  100  communicants.  Many  of 
these  have  known  him  from  boyhood  and  with  lo- 
cal pride  have  watched  his  progress  from  studi- 
ous youth  to  priestly  ministrations. 

Arthur  Raine  Freeman  was  born  at  Goldsboro, 
North  Carolina,  April  29,  1886.  His  parents  are 
Arthur  Baker  and  Georgia  (Raine)  Freeman,  old 
residents,  his  father  serving  in  the  office  of  chief 
of  police.  After  completing  the  public  school 
course  the  youth  entered  Mount  St.  Mary 's  Col- 
lege at  Emtnitsburg.  Maryland,  from  which  old  in- 
stitution he  was  graduated  in  1907  with  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  and  in  1909  that  of  A.  M. 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


399 


During  1907  and  19U8  Mr.  Freeman  taught 
in  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  ami  during  1909 
and  1910  he  served  as  principal  of  the  high  school 
at  Pikeville,  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina,  fol- 
lowing which  for  two  years  he  was  connected  in 
a  business  way  with  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil 
Company.  In  1912  he  resumed  his  studies,  enter- 
ing Belmont  Seminary,  at  Belmont,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  continued  until  1915,  in  June  of 
which  •  year  he  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood 
and  was  stationed  at  St.  Mary  's,  Goldsboro.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate  both  the  material  and  spiritual 
progress  of  the  parish  has  been  marked  and  his 
Christian  zeal  and  influence  are  helpful  in  every 
direction. 

Charles  E.  Boger.  All  too  infrequently  there 
comes  into  the  world  a  man  modest  but  intensely 
in  earnest  who  wrests  from  his  everyday  and  often 
depressing  surroundings  the  victory  of  a  notable 
and  noble  achievement.  As  a  general  rule  there 
are  few  institutions  which  present  a  more  forbid- 
ding appearance,  or  which  are  more  devoid  of  all 
inspiration  tor  anything  ideal  or  elevating  than 
the  reformatories  to  which  are  sent  the  youth  of 
our  country  who  have  broken  the  laws  of  society 
and  state.  It  is  true  that  philantropists  have 
occasionally  brought  their  hope,  kind  words  and 
helpful  deeds  to  bear  upon  the  lives  of  the  in- 
mates; but  for  the  keeper  of  these  charges  to 
burden  himself  with  the  care  and  moral  responsi- 
bility of  those  who  come  under  his  charge  and  to 
endeavor  to  return  them  to  society  with  softened 
natures  and  worthy  ambitions,  is  something  so 
uncommon  as  to  be  remarkable.  And  in  this  con- 
nection it  is  apropos  to  speak  of  Charles  E. 
Boger,  and  of  the  Stonewall  Jackson  Manual 
Training  and  Industrial  School  at  Concord,  North 
Carolina,  of  which  he  is  the  superintendent.  In 
him  the  old  ideas  of  grim,  unresponsive,  cold- 
hearted  and  cold-blooded  treatment  are  revolu- 
tionized. So  well  blended  are  the  ideas  of  home 
and  school,  l>oth  tempered  and  softened  by  the 
influence  of  church  and  Sunday  school,  the  visitor 
gets  the  impression  of  one  big  home  where  in- 
stant obedience  is  required  and  cheerfully  given. 
Although  he  has  always  been  a  strict  disciplinarian, 
he  has  from  the  first  treated  his  charges  as  youths 
never  beyond  the  pale  of  good  influences,  and  has 
made  the  institution  of  which  he  is  the  head  an 
unique  and  far-reaching  influence  for  good,  the 
purposes  of  which  are  destined  to  be  put  into 
operation   by   similar   schools  elsewhere. 

Charles  E.  Boger  was  born  at  the  Boger  home 
place,  in  Township  No.  10,  about  eight  miles  south- 
east of  Concord,  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina, 
his  parents  being  Daniel  and  Nannie  Estelle 
(X'rowell)  Boger,  both  members  of  very  old  fami- 
lies of  Cabarrus  County,  his  father  of  German 
descent  and  his  mother  of  English  stock.  The 
Crowell  name  was  originally  spelled  Cromwell,  and 
Mr.  Boger 's  mother  was  directly  descended  from 
that  famous  English  family.  The  Bogers  are  of 
the  German  families  who  came  from  Pennsylvania 
to  North  Carolina  prior  to  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  settled  in  Cabarrus  County.  Mr.  Boger 's 
mother  is  deceased,  but  his  father,  who  has  been 
by  occupation  a  lifelong  agriculturist,  is  still 
living.  He  served  throughout  the  war  between  the 
states  in  the  Confederate  army  from  Cabarrus 
County,  being  lieutenant  of  his  company  in  the 
Seventh  North  Carolina  Regiment  of  Infantry,  in 
Lane  's   Brigade. 


Charles  E.  Boger  was  born  and  reared  on  the 
farm.  He  attended  a  private  school  in  his  home 
district,  and  then  spent  several  years  as  a  student 
in  the  famous  Unionville  Academy  in  Union 
County,  which  at  the  time  of  his  attendance  was 
taught  by  that  distinguished  instructor,  Prof.  O. 
C.  Hamilton,  who  had  been  the  teacher  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  characters  of  North  Carolina 
and  the  nation,  an  unusual  teacher  and  character- 
builder  under  whom  Mr.  Boger  made  excellent 
progress  and  developed  numerous  inherent  traits. 
Mr.  Boger  was  also  a  student  at  the  North  Caro- 
lina College  at  Mount  Pleasant,  and  since  taking 
up  teaching  as  a  profession  has  taken  several 
courses  of  work  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, being  a  splendidly  educated  and  thoroughly 
equipped  school  man.  He  was  a  teacher  and  prin- 
cipal of  public  schools  for  four  or  five  years  in 
Cabarrus  County,  and  at  Mount  Holly  in  Gaston 
County,  and  before  being  appointed  to  his  present 
position  was  for  thirteen  years,  by  successive  elec- 
tions, county  superintendent  of  schools  of  Cabarrus 
County.  In  1914  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  Stonewall  Jackson  Training  and  Industrial 
School,  a  state  institution,  located  three  miles  from 
Concord. 

This  institution  is  such  a  truly  remarkable  one 
that  a  short  history  of  its  work  and  a  resume  of 
its  accomplishments  will  undoubtedly  prove  in- 
teresting. Much  of  this  is  secured  from  the  first 
biennial  report  of  the  superintendent,  which  was 
issued  for  the  biennium  ending  November  30,  1915. 
After  a  full  and  thorough  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  needs  for  such  an  institution  having  been 
presented  by  the  King's  Daughters,  by  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  and  by  various  educational  and 
charity  workers,  the  North  Carolina  General  As- 
sembly of  1907  chartered  the  Stonewall  Jackson 
Manual  Training  and  Industrial  School  for  way- 
ward and  unfortunate  white  boys.  An  appro- 
priation of  $10,000  was  made  for  the  beginning 
of  the  work,  and  the  responsibility  of  inaugurating 
this  new  educational  undertaking  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  fifteen  people,  four  named  in  the 
charter  and  eleven  by  the  governor  upon  nomina- 
tions and  suggestions  of  the  charter  members. 
Through  the  big  heartedness  and  generosity  of  the 
people  of  Concord  the  state  became  the  possessor 
of  nearly  300  acres  of  land,  property  which  was 
valued  at  more  than  $10,000.  This  is  situated  on 
the  Southern  Railway,  two  miles  south  of  Con- 
cord, its  elevation  being  780  feet  above  sea  level, 
the  building  site  thus  being  ideal  and  overlooking 
a.  territory  the  radius  of  which  is  seventeen  miles. 
Here  is  located  a  splendid  rock  quarry,  from  which 
the  railroad  in  the  past  has  secured  an  immense 
amount  of  ballast,  and  the  place  has  running 
streams,  good  pastures  and  numerous  large  level 
fields  which  under  kind  treatment  and  intelligent 
tilling  have  proved  invaluable  in  the  conduct  of  the 
school. 

The  construction  of  the  buildings  began  January 
1.  1908,  and  during  the  year  that  followed  the 
first  superintendent,  Mr.  Walter  Thompson,  and  his 
associates  struggled  untiringly  in  overcoming  great 
obstacles,  so  that  by  January  12,  1909.  the  institu- 
tion was  ready  to  open  and  on  that  date  received 
its  first  pupil.  As  is  true  in  the  case  of  any  new- 
institution,  there  were  many  impositions  practiced 
upon  the  institution  before  order  and  regularity, 
such  as  now  exist,  could  be  obtained.  But  the 
men  and  women  connected  with  the  school  labored 
unceasingly,    and    their    reward    came    in    the    way 


400 


HISTORY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  a  well-nigh  perfect  organization  which  began 
to  accomplish  the  work  for  which  it  had  been 
intended  by  its  founders.  Part  of  the  work  came 
in  the  shape  of  informing  the  judiciary  of  the 
state  what  the  real  purpose  and  hope  of  the  in- 
stitution were,  so  that  the  judges  might  send  to 
the  school  only  those  for  whom  there  was  hope 
of  reclamation.  That  this  reclamation  has  been 
truly  marvelous  is  shown  in  the  gratifying  figures 
that  mark  the  percentage  of  the  youths  who  have 
lived  manly  clean  and  straightforward  lives  since 
leaving  the  institution 's  care. 

On  a  beautiful  campus,  facing  the  National 
Highway,  are  to  be  found  four  cottages,  an  ad- 
ministration building,  a  chapel,  an  industrial  build- 
ing, a  barn,  a  greenhouse  and  several  outbuildings. 
Each  cottage  has  been  built  to  accommodate  thirty 
boys  and  an  officer.  The  cottages  are  of  brick, 
three  stories  in  height,  with  large,  well-lighted  at- 
tics, and  the  whole  covered  with  slate.  The  cot- 
tages are  52  by  52  feet,  and  the  first  floors  are 
divided  into  storage,  recreation  and  toilet  rooms, 
shower  baths,  personal  wardrobes,  etc.;  the  second 
floors,  fronted  by  an  attractive  porch,  contain 
kitchen,  dining  room,  officer's  room,  small  hall  and 
stairway  for  exclusive  use  of  officer  and  matron, 
the  general  stairway,  enclosed  in  brick,  being  a 
part  of  the  building.  The  third  floor  contains 
thirty  white-enameled  beds,  and  the  room  has 
ten  large  windows  and  transoms  and  is  open  on 
three  sides  to  the  outside  world.  The  administra- 
tion building  is  a  beautiful  two-story  red  brick 
building,  standing  on  a  rolling  eminence  that  over- 
looks all  the  grounds  and  fields  of  the  institution 
and  from  it  can  be  seen  all  the  buildings  of  the 
school.  In  this  building  are  located  the  administra- 
tive offices,  the  director 's  room,  the  student  recep- 
tion room,  visitor 's  reception  room,  superintend- 
ent 's  home  quarters  and  a  number  of  other  rooms, 
given  over  to  certain  helpers  in  the  institution  and 
for  other  purposes  in  carrying  out  the  plans  and 
problems  connected  with  the  conservation  of  youth. 

The  Industrial  Building,  which  was  the  voluntary 
and  generous  gift  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  T.  Both  of 
Elkin,  North  Carolina,  who  built  it  as  a  loving 
memorial  to  their  mothers,  contains  the  printing 
office,  where  the  boys  are  instructed  in  the  art 
of  the  printer's  trade;  the  woodshop,  where  cabi- 
net making  and  practical  carpentry  are  taught  by 
practical  experience;  and  two  schoolrooms,  in 
which  one-half  of  the  boys  receive  instruction  at 
a  time.  The  barn  is  probably  the  most  modernly 
equipped  in  that  district  of  North  Carolina,  its 
arrangement,  and  the  manner  of  its  construction, 
making  it  a  most  splendid  building  of  its  kind. 
This  barn  was  made  possible  by  the  donation  of 
$1,000  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  N.  Reynolds,  of 
Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina.  The  chapel  was 
the  gift  of  the  North  Carolina  branch  of  the 
United  King's  Daughters,  and  is  built  of  beautiful 
Rowan  granite,  being  located  on  a  knoll  of  like 
material  just  across  the  National  Highway  and 
facing  the  other  buildings  of  the  institution. 

In  its  service  the  institution  has  become  of  state- 
wide importance.  It  has  grown  gradually,  but  its 
student  body  now  represents  counties  from  every 
section  of  the  commonwealth.  The  Stonewall  Jack- 
son Manual  Training  and  Industrial  School  is  not 


a  prison,  it  is,  as  its  name  designates,  an  industrial 
school  where  the  students  may  learn  the  dignity 
and  value  of  honest  labor,  and  where  the  honor 
system  is  practiced  in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  not 
within  the  province  of  this  article  to  give  in  full 
the  description  of  the  various  departments.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  all  are  practical,  well  managed  and 
largely  self-supporting.  The  printing  office  is  one 
of  the  big  assets,  the  woodshop  annually  turns  out 
a  large  amount  of  salable  product,  the  farm  has 
increased  its  productiveness  yearly  and  the  garden 
has  proven  the  source  from  which  have  come  great 
amounts  of  fresh  vegetables.  The  plant  is  lighted 
throughout  with  electricity,  an  excellent  well  fur- 
nishes pure  and  healthful  water,  numerous  societies 
furnish  pleasure  and  instruction  for  the  pupils,  as 
do  also  all  kinds  of  athletics,  and  the  Sunday 
school  is  one  of  the  best  to  be  found  in  Cabarrus 
County. 

The  Stonewall  Jackson  Manual  Training  and 
Industrial  School  does  not  receive  boys  who  have 
reached  their  sixteenth  birthday,  and  no  boy  can 
be  entered  except  he  be  committed  by  some  of- 
ficer of  the  law  for  violation  of  some  criminal 
law.  There  is  no  equipment  whatever  for  the 
treatment  of  any  save  the  intellectually  normal  boys 
and  there  is  therefore  no  place  for  the  mental  de- 
fective. The  school  tries  to  encourage  its  pupils 
to  lead  clean  lives,  mentally,  morally  and  physically, 
to  form  correct  habits,  to  keep  their  word,  to 
be  obedient  and  industrious,  to  train  their  minds, 
to  learn  trades,  to  obey  God  and  to  be  men. 

The  success  of  the  institution  under  Superin- 
tendent Boger's  administration  may  be  adjudged 
in  part  by  the  letters  which  come  from  paroled 
boys  and  their  parents,  speaking  of  their  hap- 
pier, cleaner  lives,  of  their  awakening  to  a  true 
sense  of  living,  and  to  the  affection  which  they 
hold  for  him.  The  writer  has  before  him  a  num- 
ber of  these  letters,  and  they  are  at  the  same 
time  pathetic  and  inspiring.  Mr.  Boger  has  im- 
pressed upon  his  officers,  all  of  whom  are  first  class 
men,  several  being  graduates  of  leading  colleges 
and  high  schools,  the  necessity  of  implanting  the 
idea  in  the  minds  of  their  charges  that  the  of- 
ficers are  not  their  natural  enemies,  but  rather 
their  friends  called  upon  officially  to  perform  cer- 
tain necessary  duties.  Many  citizens  are  little 
more  than  aware  that  this  institution  exists,  and 
yet  among  the  various  reformatories  and  schools 
whose  object  is  to  restrain  and  soften  the  evil  of 
human  nature  before  it  can  expend  its  violence  on 
society,  none  have  more  far-reaching  effects  when 
properly  administered  than  the  one  now  under  tile 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Boger.  In  his  responsible 
position  he  has  fitted  into  his  proper  sphere,  and 
the  great  good  which  he  will  yet  accomplish  is  in- 
calculable. 

Mr.  Boger  married  Miss  Elise  Barnhardt,  of 
Pioneer  Mills,  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina, 
daughter  of  Hon.  John  A.  Barnhardt,  state  senator 
from  Cabarrus  County,  and  a  prominent  farmer 
and  retired  merchant  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
county.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Colonel  Barnhardt 
who  founded  the  large  mercantile  and  other  in- 
terests at  Pioneer  Mills.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boger 
have  two  children:  Sarah  Estelle  and  Charles 
Edgar,  Jr. 


